Deregulator: Alive since '85!

In its January 1996 print edition,  Reason  published “ alt.fans ,” an essay from physicist and sci-fi author  Gregory Benford  about the emergence of the internet in the public consciousness as “the current hot metaphor for fast change, broader horizons, and info-deluge.” At the time, I was  Reason’s  Washington editor, and my friend (and boss at the time) Virginia Postrel reminded me of the article during a recent phone chat. After re-reading the piece, a lot of Benford’s predictions hold up. Some don’t — though he foreshadowed the possibilities, including the prospect that widespread use of the internet as a publishing platform could lead to toxic discourse. Benford’s prognosis also suggests how we (the sometimes excessively online) might clean up the sewage, at least in our own digital backyards. Benford said that the internet’s gushing enthusiasts (for instance, John Perry Barlow: “the most transforming technological event since the capture of fire”;...

A dozen years ago, my wife and I moved to Raleigh to continue our careers. I worked downtown. It was … boring. The seat of state government. Lawmakers, lobbyists, rent-seekers (people seeking favors from state government).  Other than a few retailers, professional offices, and lunch stops, it had a handful of taverns and restaurants that catered to lawmakers, lobbyists, and rent-seekers. The sort of place that rolled up the sidewalks when the General Assembly ended its business day. Aside from the city-owned performing arts center (nearly a mile from the Legislative Complex), and a handful of nightclubs, local leaders seemingly invited downtown workers and visitors to vamoose once their workday was over. Most of the action was in adjacent neighborhoods — Glenwood South and Cameron Village near N.C. State University (now called “The Village” — the Cameron family was on the wrong side of slavery). North Hills (now known as “Midtown”). The Oakwood neighborhood near Peace College. Five...