A Quick Roundup Of Future Perfect News

I've been so crazed with the book tour for Future Perfect that I haven't had a chance to put together some account of the response the book is receiving. I've tried to capture at least some of this on Twitter, but I finally got some time this morning to put it all in one place. There's more to come in the next few weeks, but this is a snapshot of how the conversation has developed thus far.

Two weeks ago, a handful of adaptations of the argument ran in a few different venues. In The Wall Street Journal, I laid out the basic argument for "peer progressive" politics, and in the NY Times Magazine, I discussed the question of who invented the Internet, and why we should care. Interestingly, Deepak Chopra asked me to write a post for his site on the "power of peers."

Reviewing the book for The Wall Street Journal, John Horgan wrote, "If you're a pessimist—and chances are you are—you should read 'Future Perfect' by the technophilic science writer Steven Johnson. In fact, read it even if you're an optimist, because Mr. Johnson's book will give you lots of material to brighten the outlook of your gloomy friends." Horgan then wrote a follow-up post for Scientific American, called, "Comrades, Join the “Peer Progressive” Movement!" It included this criticism from his colleague, Andy Russell, a historian of technology at Stevens Institute of Technology: "Andy objects to Johnson’s claim that the Internet is itself the product of a peer network. Johnson calls Arpanet, the Pentagon-funded network that gave rise to the Internet, a 'radically decentralized system' and a 'network of peers, not a hierarchy.' Wrong, says Andy, who has done lots of research on the development of standards for the Internet. 'The evidence is pretty clear that the Arpanet and Internet were designed and built through a hierarchical process,' Andy writes. 'In fact its hierarchy (and well-heeled sponsor, the Department of Defense) was the single factor most responsible for the Internet’s success: it kept at bay the factions unleashed by democracy in international standards committees.'" (I will try to dive into this more deeply when I have a bit more time, as it's a very important point.)

Writing for the SF Chronicle, Glenn C. Altschuler ends his review with these lines: "Johnson knows that direct democracies sometimes elect corrupt or incompetent leaders and spend money on trivial, dangerous or damaging policies. He recognizes that market-based economies sometimes produce grotesque income inequalities and catastrophic bubbles. And yet, despite an analysis that can be rather facile, "Future Perfect" serves the estimable service of arguing persuasively that direct democracy is more feasible in a networked age than it has been for a very long time - and prompting one to ask whether, despite its imperfections, it beats the alternatives." Reviewing the book for Reuters, Bernard Vaughan calls the book "a refreshing tonic to fears that the Web is dehumanizing." The Boston Globe called it a "buoyant and hopeful book" though included this one "quibble": "Johnson’s notion of armies of peer progressives changing the world sounds mighty familiar. They’ve had a less-flashy name for decades: grass-roots community organizers." Maria Popova at Brain Pickings called it "an absorbing, provocative, and unapologetically optimistic vision."

Future Perfect was designed from the beginning to be a conversation starter, so it's appropriate that the tour has included a series of delightful public discussions with some of my favorite thinkers and makers. (More to come in the next month or two.) For starters, Richard Florida interviewed me for AtlanticCities, which was a real treat given how much I respect Richard's work. We have video of almost all the public discussions, starting with this panel discussion sponsored by Personal Democracy Media, featuring Beth Noveck, Tina Rosenberg, and Clay Shirky. Last week, I talked about the personal and social impact of networks with MIT's Sherry Turkle at the New York Public Library. There's an entertaining pre-debate chat between us, conducted by The Verge's Paul Miller. And then this week, I had the great pleasure of appearing on BookTV's Author In-Depth series, where we talked about all of my books (and many other topics) for three hours!

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Hello. I certainly hope the Peer Progressive movement goes global.

On a separate note, please allow me to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your views on David Byrne and introducing his online journal. I blogged about a Japan-related entry he made some time back. I hope you find it amusing.

http://rmaht.typepad.com/blog/david-byrne/

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Peer networks do not necessarily weed out bad ideas - or promote good ones.

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I'm just learning of your books. This is my first introduction to them and quite frankly, I know that the future will be better. I guess I am an optimist and I try to surround myself with people who think the same way.

I am more interested in Where Good Ideas Come From. I think they are born of experience and inspiration from God. you are right that an environment or a person has to be conducive, or open to new ideas for them to result in good.

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I'm now interested to read your book, although I must say I believe the founders of our nation did it right, whether or not it's now more possible to have a direct democracy, I still find the possibility for mob rule too great to change our current system.

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[John O'Leary]

Steven: just saw you on CSPAN's Book TV and am now a fan. (For anyone who wants to see the interview, past shows can be viewed at http://www.booktv.org) I LOVED the fact that you're a Beatlephile — but I shouldn't be surprised, given the fact that the Beatles wrote the book on pop music innovation. Looking forward to reading your books!

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[Tad]

Very nice CSPAN interview, watched the whole thing. Thanks for taking on every question. The questions seem to illustrate the intersection point of how people understand your writing and their own experiences. I especially appreciate the explanation of your writing process. I will be adapting some of it to my own work.

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News will always be a part of everyday household.

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I especially appreciate the explanation of your writing process. I will be adapting some of it to my own work.

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Just pre ordered this book few days back and waiting to be shipped but till not received the shipment.Can't wait to read it.