Blogs and Iran

Ace discusses the limits and potential for Iranian bloggers in sowing change:

I don't think it's absurdly unlikely that Weblogistan can defeat Mullahistan. A thriving alternative media can set off a preference cascade, in which people stop falsifying their preferences (because they believe they're expected to or compelled to) and express their true preferences. And the more repressive a society is, the more effective an alternative media can be in bringing down the government.

Exactly. Not that long ago, it appeared as if Iran was on the point of loosening the repressive tactics plied by the mullahs. That changed for the worst when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was "elected" as president. Iran has slid back to the Ayatollah Knomeini brand of Islamic theocracy that is slowly becoming Taliban-like.

China has shown that you can crack down on internet dissidents but you can't silence them completely. Here's to hoping that the Iranian alternative media can survive and continue getting the word out to the world.

Update: Charles Johnson has more.