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Post-Literacy Ends Politics as We Know It

Source: jacobin.com

Philosopher Byung-Chul Han argues that literacy once created a sovereign individual capable of independent thought, but digital media is destroying this foundation.
Today's screens push constant reactivity and distraction, turning people into data-generating machines without deep reflection.
Without literacy's power, political agency fades, risking a world dominated by algorithms and shallow opinions.

Byung-Chul Han's essay explores how the decline of literacy in the digital age undermines individual sovereignty and political thought. He contrasts the deep, linear thinking enabled by reading books with the fragmented, reactive experience of scrolling screens. Involved are tech platforms like social media that profit from attention, eroding the quiet focus needed for real politics. It matters because without literate minds, people lose the ability to resist manipulation and engage meaningfully