Martin Gurri

Riding a tsunami of information, the public has trampled on the temples of authority in every domain of human activity, everywhere. The Revolt of the Public tells the story of how ordinary people, gifted amateurs networked in communities of interest, have swarmed over the hierarchies of accredited professionals, questioned their methods, and shouted their failures from the digital rooftops. In science, business, media - and, pre-eminently, in politics and government - established elites have lost the power to command attention and set the agenda.The consequences have been revolutionary. Insurgencies enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere have mobilized millions, toppling dictators in Egypt and Tunisia, crushing the ruling Socialist Party in Spain, inspiring "Tea Parties" and "Occupations" in the United States. Trust in political authority stands at an all-time low around the world. The Revolt of the Public analyzes the composition of the public, the nature of authority and legitimacy, and the part played by the perturbing agent: information. A major theme of the book is whether democratic institutions can survive the assaults of a public that at times appears to be at war with any form of organization, if not with history itself.

And the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium

The Revolt of the Public

 helped clarify my thoughts, expand my worldview, and enlarge my vocabulary with certain societal phenomena. While reading, I could recognize patterns in our political system and acquire language to describe the actors playing in said patterns.

I learned how to understand the world as I see it today, which will be invaluable to navigating the world in the future. This book combines a multitude of factors including geopolitics, social media, protests, and more into a simple explanation of what has happened in the world and what might be around the corner.

 in 2022 isn't too enlightening, because much of what Gurri predicted would happen, happened. As 

I was just twelve during the phase change events of 2011, so I can't speak much to how America and the world has changed since then. I will, however, note that since the increase in cancellations of professors and celebrities who go against The Public's views and the "abolish the police" movements of 2020, it does seem that two things are still true.

First, The Public has yet to provide any alternative to things they wish to destroy.

Second, it does seem that more and more people have given up on "the system" and wish all of it would just disappear. I'm not convinced that's the answer. I think it's much more admirable to work on a solution than to just grumble about the faults of the current one. But working 

 are not the same thing. Question is: what's the right solution?

Dalton Mabery

Revolt of the Public helped clarify my thoughts, expand my worldview, and enlarge my vocabulary with certain societal phenomena. While reading, I could recognize patterns in our political system and acquire language to describe the actors playing in said patterns.

I learned how to understand the world as I see it today, which will be invaluable to navigating the world in the future. This book combines a multitude of factors including geopolitics, social media, protests, and more into a simple explanation of what has happened in the world and what might be around the corner.

Reading Revolt of the Public in 2022 isn't too enlightening, because much of what Gurri predicted would happen, happened. As Scott Alexander dutifully notes:

Anyone who wrote it in 2000 would have been a prophet. Anyone who wrote it in 2020 would have been stating the obvious. Was writing it in 2014 a boring chronicle of clear truths, or an achievement for the ages?

I was just twelve during the phase change events of 2011, so I can't speak much to how America and the world has changed since then. I will, however, note that since the increase in cancellations of professors and celebrities who go against The Public's views and the "abolish the police" movements of 2020, it does seem that two things are still true.

First, The Public has yet to provide any alternative to things they wish to destroy.

Second, it does seem that more and more people have given up on "the system" and wish all of it would just disappear. I'm not convinced that's the answer. I think it's much more admirable to work on a solution than to just grumble about the faults of the current one. But working on a solution and working on the right solution are not the same thing. Question is: what's the right solution?

Daniel Bower

I've been trying to write this review for a while now. The challenge has been trying to synthesise my thoughts on an inredibly wide ranging book that at times I found a natural aversion towards. Gurri and I are unlikely to share a similar political outlook, but at the same time I found myself agreeing with a lot of what he said.

Gurri's central thesis is that the rapid growth of digital information and networks – something he calls the fifth wave – has created a world in which industrial era guardians of "the truth" no longer have influence over much of the general population. People can now quickly establish and share their own realities, leading to widespread fragmentation and a collapse in trust in a variety of political, academic, media and business institutions. None of this sounds particularly novel in 2022, but when you consider that Gurri was writing this in the early 00s and first published it in 2014 you sit up and take notice.

I found some of Gurri's case studies to be somewhat limited, for example his assertion that Napster destroyed the music industry seems off when you consider the ascendency of Spotifty. For the most part however his case studies are convincing and take you all across the world in order to do so. A really enjoyable aspect of the book that benefits from Gurri's many years in the CIA.

Finally, I found it comforting that his antidote do the problems of the fifth wave do not lie in some techno-uptioan future. Gurri's reading of history is that elites have, and always should have, rule over the masses. But what is required is a clearing out of the current elite class and their replacement with people versed in the ideas of our modern digital world. I was, however, left wondering if the recent rise in popularity of crypto-based organisations would have influeced Gurri's thinking at all. TheFifthWaveDAO maybe?

Inês Pinto

From the age of the masses to the emergence of the public. An interesting political analysis on the power imbalance between information and authority. The writing is marvelous. Martin Gurri does a wonderful job presenting data in a beautiful way. 

The Revolt of the Public And the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium

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