But the issue is largely academic, when viewed in isolation from the genral social scene. The prospects for a democratic communications policy are invevitably constrained by the distribution of effective power to determine the course and functioning of major social instititutions. Hence the goal can be approached only as an integral part of the further democratization of the social order. This central component, with an indespensable contribution to make. Such a conception of democracy, though so familiar from early years that it might even merit the much-abused term 'conservative,' is remote from those that dominate public discourse hardly a surprise, given its threat to estalished privilege.
Human beings are the only species with a history.
Whether they also have a future is not sobovious.