Stay informed. Talk about the issues. Always be engaged.Liberal societieshave encouraged their members to take part—or at least interest—in politics. Yet, even in developed nations where it is said to work, the democratic process as we know it routinely fails to give voice, on the one hand, & to appeal at all, on the other hand, to a good number of citizens.Whatever countervailing hopes the worldwide web gave rise to in its dawning years, far from restoring the “public sphere” of yore, the internet has completed its fragmentation. According toJapanesethinkerHiroki Azuma, the way forward must be sought through whatnetwork technologyis actually good at: aggregating & processing the traces we leave (without always meaning to) every time we wade into the world of connectivity.Harking back toRousseau& his idea of the general will, dropping byFreud& his discovery of the unconscious, taking inspiration fromGoogle& the tenor of its innovations, revisitingChristopher Alexander& his highway planning, & making curious bedfellows ofTwitter,Rorty, &Nozick,General Will 2.0is a wild ride bound to delight not just citizens who “care” but those who find doing so to be increasingly difficult & false.