The Net Delusion is a polemic and should be read as such. It is an angry and often overwritten tumult of evidence. There are arguments against some of what Morozov says, but none, I think, that can justify the full-blooded cyber-utopian position.
I think a problem arises simply from the fact that, as Bryan notes, Morozov is an apostate. His anti-utopianism is his former utopianism turned inside out and therefore retains much of the shape of the original mould.
and if you're in the Cambridge, MA, area next month, you can see him debate the position:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bostonreview.net/about/ideasmatter/#morozov