# A Technical Structure Is Not a Metaphor for Liberty by Nicholas G. Carr > “Like many others, I mistakenly interpreted a technical structure as a metaphor for human liberty. In recent years, we have seen clear signs that while the Net may be a decentralized communications system, its technical and commercial workings actually promote the centralization of power and control.” > **— Nicholas G. Carr**, *2008, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [The Radiant and Infectious Web](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10641) — the official response page preserves this exact, continuous passage and its surrounding argument. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2008 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2008 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response object and all canonical reminder links derived from it. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]] - **Article:** [[articles/Cyber-Physical Lessons from Imperial Beekeeping|Cyber-Physical Beekeeping]] - **Article:** [[articles/Christopher Nolan's Odyssey at the Threshold of Machine Succession|Nolan's Odyssey]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Infrastructure Capture|Infrastructure Capture]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Infrastructure Capture|Infrastructure Capture]] - [[wiki/Regulatory Capture|Regulatory Capture]] - [[wiki/Category Capture|Category Capture]] - [[wiki/Scale of Capture|Scale of Capture]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Like many others, I mistakenly interpreted a technical structure as a metaphor for human liberty. In recent years, we have seen clear signs that while the Net may be a decentralized communications system, its technical and commercial workings actually promote the centralization of power and control.” — Nicholas G. Carr, 2008, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-nicholas-carr-technical-structure-not-liberty ```