AUTHOR
Andrew Calcutt
ABSTRACT
Cyberbabble about infotopia is now being outstripped by hysteria over the alleged dangers of the Internet. Such inconsistency is in keeping with today’s incoherent society, in which ideological certainties are no longer extant, and traditional networks of social solidarity have broken down.
Most people respond to the confusions of contemporary experience by attempting to establish limits and constraints. Safety is the most valuable commodity in what has become kown as the postmodern condition. But the ensuing atmosphere is best described as a culture of fear, with growing numbers of people trapped in an increasingly dependant relationship with a new form of maternalistic authority.