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• 1 2013-10-23T10:31:19-07:00 Participation 7 split 2014-01-02T10:59:57-08:00
  How do we understand the value of civic and political participation in an era of sharp partisan divides? What does civic participation mean in the digital era? Since the 1960s, participatory democracy has been a value strongly embraced by the left, and many of the most spectacular examples of participatory politics have come from progressive groups, yet we are also seeing more conservative groups, whether the Tea Party or the Second Wave of American Libertarianism, embracing similar practices. Do these shared tactics suggest some kinds of shared values or do they amount to an escalation of the kinds of ideological warfare already being conducted within institutionalized politics? How can groups, networks and movements invite and scaffold meaningful participation?
  Real World Example
  In a blog post dedicated to Second Wave Libertarianism and posted on March 15, 2013, Alex McCobin of Students for Liberty states: "A new generation of libertarians is developing, forming our own identity and crafting a new strategy for social change.  It is a generation that strongly promotes libertarianism, but it is a libertarianism of a different stripe than that which was advocated throughout most of the 20th century." Taking a historical perspective, the blog argues that in the mid 20th century, during libertarianism's first wave, "there were no think tanks, no political party, no activist organizations, no places to really support the growth of libertarianism." After this era, libertarians often chose to strategically align themselves with existing dominant ideologies to achieve at least some of their goals. Differentiating from the past, second wave libertarians "are focused on building a truly libertarian movement, one that stands on its own without a permanent, entangling alliance with any other ideology."