Well written but disagree. I don’t see the internet playing a significantly larger role in 2016 than in the last couple of elections. The real distinction is the trajectory of the economy and people’s belief in the future. Sanders and Trump both represent populism, just on different sides of the political spectrum. Populism is the defining factor of this election cycle, not the Internet. I love tech, but sometimes it isn’t the center of the universe.
Perhaps the Internet has made insurgency candidacies easier, but I bet history would dispute this. A quick google search of underdog candidates shows that Lincoln may have been one.[1] I wasn’t alive then so can’t say for sure, but American politics seems to be a battle of insurgencies and their absorption by one party or the other to gain the upper hand. A strong vein of populism can even create a whole party dedicated to bringing down a single perceived elite institution.[2] Even while one of their main targets, Andrew Jackson, was trying to take down the elite bankers himself.[3] Populism is the undercurrent here, not a change in technology.
Perhaps the Internet has made insurgency candidacies easier, but I bet history would dispute this. A quick google search of underdog candidates shows that Lincoln may have been one.[1] I wasn’t alive then so can’t say for sure, but American politics seems to be a battle of insurgencies and their absorption by one party or the other to gain the upper hand. A strong vein of populism can even create a whole party dedicated to bringing down a single perceived elite institution.[2] Even while one of their main targets, Andrew Jackson, was trying to take down the elite bankers himself.[3] Populism is the undercurrent here, not a change in technology.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-President-Underdogs-Republican...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Masonic_Party
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_War