Collective Action and Decision-making

Mass collaboration and the aggregation of information enable potentially profound changes in business and politics. In this class, we will compare and contrast the transformations in economic life and collective decision-making processes brought on the information revolution. The discussions will also explore the role of open information systems on business and the scope for greater transparency and participation in government, politics and public life.

Readings

• James Surowiecki, Wisdom of Crowds (excerpt)
  • NYT Review

• Wikinomics wiki Peruse the wiki to get a sense of the arguments.

• Ethan Zuckerman's blog review of Infotopia Great summary of the issues in the book.

• Jaron Lanier, Digital Maoism A critique of hive mentality.

Additional Thoughts

• Federalist Papers published under the pseudonym Publius.
• Divided They Blog - a paper showing trackbacks between political blogs, mentioned by Ethan Zuckerman in his review of Cass Sunstein's Infotopia