Doc Searls posted a link to a dissenting voice in the discussion of blogs and emergent democracy. Richard Bennet posts the follwing:

"Frankly, I don't think the people who like to fantasize about how blogs are changing government really have an interest in government either, because if they had even a passing awareness of how government really works they would not get caught up in such nonsense."

Personally, I don't think blogs will have a major effect on the way legislators interact. It will likely not change the mechanism of government. What I do see is the possibility for blogs to engage a citizenry that has lost interest in the process of democracy. I know that, at least theoretically, the power in our government lies with the people. That power has been abdicated slowly over time. If blogs provoke or excite the people to take a more active role, that will change government.

Mr. Bennett continues:

"So I'd like to suggest an exercise for our utopian technologists: show how your technology can affect the passage of a legislative bill on a measure close to your heart; then try to make it happen in real life, and analyze why your expected result didn't materialize. Then let's talk about world hunger."

I choose copyright and digital rights management.