Today on Al Jazeera a protester was asked why the protesters don't appoint a leader. The protester said "There is no need for leadership. People are organizing themselves."
I keep hearing reporters and news hosts asking why the protesters don't have a leader. The answer is that it is a collective action. They have a simple goal - getting Mubarak to step down - and a simple method - protesting. The rest is being done ad hoc as needed, such as organizing a security system for the Tahrir Square.
Many people just can't wrap their heads around a group of people accomplishing a goal without leadership. They should learn soon.
Internet Collective Action is people organizing in a nonhierarchical manner to accomplish a particular goal. The reward is in the doing, and how much or how little anyone participates is completely voluntary, depending on their abilities and commitment to the goal. By this process amazing things can be accomplished. ICA will grow so long as the Internet is free. http://www.lisamcpherson.org/pc.htm is an example of ICA.
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