RE: The Press needs to be Freed from the Tyranny of Money
I wonder: was press ever free? Since the invention of print, press depended on the holders of printing machines, distribution channels, seniors, sovereigns and church. Now they are at the mercy of owners, advertisers and numbers (as in sold copies, ratings etc.).
Freedom in press came more as short outbursts which were swiftly dealt with.
I agree authority should matter and be more strictly related to different fields of authority. On Steem there's the reputation score, which in my opinion has little to no use at the moment, which is the reason why I never bothered to boost mine.
As for proposing Steem reward system to adhere to the "Constitution of Quality" concept, by incorporating
norms, values, virtues, practices, identities, institutions, technologies and evolved psychological mechanisms [that] work together to suppress or regulate selfishness and make social life possible
how would such a concept be implemented?
"Freedom" (as little as there is) can come from having two masters (instead of just one). Because then you get a little bit of wiggle room and choose to position yourself closer to either one or the other.
Currently the press has only one master, money. A second, independent from money, would increase their freedom (ever so slightly but it's still better than nothing). In this context, Steemit reputation does not qualify as it depends on "how much money you made on Steemit" !
Quality is explicitly not part of the design of Steem (see whitepaper). On Steemit, any useful "second master", including the concept of the "Constitution of Quality" needs to be "brought from outside the platform".
And this can only be done if we implement a 1 - 1 mapping between real world persons and steemit accounts. In this manner, when I write something about molecular biology I could have authority because I can claim (and hopefully prove, with proof from outside the platform) that I hold a Masters in the field. Absent this mapping, I can claim that but have no way to prove I'm not lying.
With the press it's easier because the real world has already implemented certification and trust transfer mechanisms
Hmm, I'm afraid sometimes press has more than money as a master, and I'm not sure in this context it's a good thing. Sometimes the endgame is influence, power, control, manipulation. Maybe smart journalists can find a way to introduce their own bias in the influence game, but otherwise more often than not there are certain directives they follow. We can see that clearly with fake news campaigns, FUD and other type of easy to spot manipulations.
I might've not understand you correctly, but if you meant Steem reputation score is related to the amount of money we make on the platform, that's wrong. This reputation score can be artificially inflated and can be brought down when users flag an account. In my opinion, it has nothing or little to do with one's "reputation" on the platform.
Ok, I understood what you meant about including the concept of "Constitution of Quality" to Steem. I tend to agree the "quality is subjective" argument seems to be a cover for all non-sense.
The issue I see with defining authority through certifications, is the active user base will become narrower and probably more elitist. I'm not one to indulge a race to the bottom, but a race to the top will probably inhibit many from the middle, who would otherwise express themselves here.
Probably the Hivemind project will offer the possibility to form various circles of like-minded individuals. That does not exclude the influence of the entire active user base on the rewards pool.
When the endgame is influence, power, control it's not the journalists seeking them, it's those controlling the journalists. People like Murdoch for instance may seek influence and power and use the press to this end but he controls the journalists through money only.
Whatever directives the journalists follow is because of a promise of money: "follow and get money, do not follow and get fired, hence no money".
I think you understood correctly: on Steemit, your reputation increases as a function of the upvotes you receive and their voting power (hence the money you receive from votes). And if you mean to say that it's a bad idea, I agree with you, but this is how it happens. This is why berniesanders has -17, because he got flagged
I agree with you, but in this case, journalists have a job like every other one, and no purpose beyond the paycheck, and if doing it according to the rules will get them paid, breaking the rules will get them fired.
Correct. What is implicit here is that journalism is, from the perspective of a healthy democratic society, not "a job like every other one" - it has a role that is up there with the Legislative, Executive and Judiciary powers. Yet those three are somewhat shielded from the corrupting influence of money (emphasis on somewhat) through them being the prerogative of the State. Not so the Press ("the Fourth Power" in a free society).
Remember that former, less free regimes, used to keep a monopoly on mass communication (the BBC in the UK, the ORTF in France). While no one advocates a return to those times, it wasn't all negative.
Ouch! A monopoly of mass communication in the era of internet (and when we're talking about more revolutionary upgrades to it)?
That is both unfeasible and most likely undesirable, once we have reached this point.
Combating power games and manipulations should not be done by limiting the number of participants to the games.
The correct way I see to accomplish this, is by raising the awareness and involvement of those who are targeted by the power games and manipulations, usually the general public.
If at the same time the agenda of each player could be more transparent and they wouldn't be allowed to jump from one side to the other like nothing ever happened, that would be a bonus.
I meant to write "WHILE no one advocates ..." and I mistyped "why no one ..." !!! :-D
Almost completely opposite meaning ! :-)
Clearly a state monopoly of mass comunication media is unthinkable - you can't "unbreak the eggs".
Indeed the correct way is to raise the awareness of the public. That can partly be done by the educative system. But in adulthood, the role of the educative system is taken by ... the MEDIA !
Hence by corrupting the media one can negatively influence that awareness of the general public !