Internet politics
Internet politics is the political worldview and common ideology of terminally online internet users. The influence of internet memes; discussion forums such as Twitter; Wikipedia and other wikis; video games; and political Twitch streamers, combined with the high average level of free time enjoyed by most internet users, creates a conception of politics that is uniquely different from the worldview of the general working class and the liberal political science establishment of most countries worldwide. However, as the internet grows in influence, it has begun to affect the real political cultures of some states.
This article will deal mainly with Anglophone internet politics, a political culture which influences much of the internet in the Western world, including through English-language loan words and calques. Chinese netizen politics and those of other language-based political spheres are notably separate, with their own memes, tropes, and views.
Memes
Influences
"Map game" politics
Grand strategy video games, sometimes known as "map games", allow players to simulate control of the political and economic levers of power for one country in a global conflict, such as World War I or World War II. Such games include Hearts of Iron IV and its popular mod Kaiserreich, in which infinite shades of political ideologies and syncretisms are possible.[citation needed]
Political compass
The popularity of the internet political compass since ca. 2017 has significantly influenced political discussions on sites like Reddit. The political compass divides groups into "left-libertarian", "right-libertarian", "left-authoritarian", and "right-authoritarian".
This system of organization dangerously simplifies the differences between different groups by implying a separation, for example, between communists and anarchists, and right-libertarians and fascists, on the spurious basis of authoritarianism. In reality, ruling political factions constantly use both libertarian and authoritarian tools in order to achieve their goals. For example:
- Western political apparatuses, such as that of the United States, use "freedom" and "authoritarianism" as two tools to reduce dissent, alternating between the two depending on which becomes necessary or convenient.
- The forcible or extortive implementation of neoliberal policies, especially free-market reforms, austerity, and privatization. For just a few examples, consider:
- The rule of Augusto Pinochet in Chile;
- The un-democratic liberalizing policies of the US-backed Yeltsin government, which destroyed supply chains and led to the "authoritarian" Putin government;
- The US occupation and forcible neoliberalization of Iraq;
- The use of force, including coups, behind the policies of the IMF and World Bank as seen in countries like Venezuela and Bolivia, and throughout Africa.
Online ideologies
Several ideologies are characterized as being mainly active online.
Left-wing and center
Dengism
"Dengism" is the term used to describe various online communist groups which invest a large amount of their time in supporting China and other countries which they consider to be examples of modern socialism.