Page 28 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Feasibility Study of New Media Technology
on Constructing Online Public Sphere

sphere, describing it as a ‘public realm’, and indicated that ‘while human life always

evolves within societies, the social-being part of human nature, political life, was in-
tentionally constructed by only a few of these societies as a space for individuals to
achieve freedom through the construction of a common world’ (Arendt, 1958, p.2).
Habermas (1989) described the ‘public sphere’ as a realm in which individuals can ex-
change views on major issues of common interest, cultivate rational critical discussion

and produce public opinion. He asserted that, with the development of civil society, the
public sphere surpassed the traditional limitation within the ‘intimate sphere of the con-
jugal family’ (Habermas, 1989, p.29). It developed into a broader space which could be

defined as the ‘tension-charged field between state and society’ (ibid, p.141). In western
culture, places like the ancient Greek square, the town halls of England, coffeehouses,
local churches, even street corners had been part of a public space enabling citizens to
discuss public affairs. Public opinion was formed in numerous similar places, which
fostered environments where political parties were nurtured. Though such a public

sphere does not necessarily involve every individual in society or play a decisive role
in the implementation of parliamentary proposals, the existence of a public sphere con-
tributes to the positive development of representative democracy (Li, 2006).

The precondition of accessing the public sphere was that individuals should be
‘propertied and educated’ (Habermas, 1989, p.37) to enable participation in real places
like coffeehouses or space like magazines, journals, and TV news. Those who did not
meet the requirements would be excluded from even the most modest participation
(Habermas, 1989). Habermas’s public sphere was thus possessed of certain restrictions

and was not completely open to all sectors of society. The restrictions made it a bour-
geois public sphere.
The rise of capitalism brought significant changes to western people’s lives. With

economic prosperity there emerged a hierarchy of power in the western world, which
actuated citizens’ demand for discourse power. Information exchange became more
active in leading to an extension of the public sphere. It gradually switched to a broader
realm by recognising the ‘private sphere’, which comprised civil society in the narrow-
er sense, dealing with the realm of commodity exchange and social labour.

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