For now this must be a battle between philosophies. It must be a web not for the consumer, but for the citizen

The chance to construct a new society is the stuff of dreamers and proselytisers. It is centuries since every readily habitable corner of the earth was populated, and constructing ideal communities has been limited to model towns and Utopian settlements. Until, that is, 30 years ago when Tim Berners-Lee's world wide web conjured up a truly virgin territory. A place of almost unimaginable opportunity, it used to seem beyond doubt the web would be ruled by a spirit of shared community, a source of individual empowerment against corporate and political might. But it has become........

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