The Internet We Could Have Had by Kelty, Christopher M.
The Internet We Could Have Had by Kelty, Christopher M.

The Internet We Could Have Had

What happened to the internet we could have had? Can we remember a future that did not...
$24.00 USD
$24.00 USD
Please hurry! Only 62 left in stock
Author: Christopher M. Kelty
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $24.00
The Internet We Could Have Had by Kelty, Christopher M.

The Internet We Could Have Had

$24.00
The Internet We Could Have Had by Kelty, Christopher M.

The Internet We Could Have Had

$24.00
Author: Christopher M. Kelty
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Description
What happened to the internet we could have had? Can we remember a future that did not come to pass? The Internet We Could Have Had takes up the challenge, revisiting the days of "end-to-end" networks, of net neutrality, of free and open source software, the days of Geocities and the lulz of Anonymous. Not as nostalgia, but as a reckoning with the internet we do have.

The internet we could have had was a promise; it could have been a global brain, an end to monopoly capitalism, a liberation of free speech. How did we get from there to here: to surveillance capitalism and data colonialism, facing an extractive AI industry and a fragmented social media landscape powered by misinformation and advertising? Where did it all go wrong? What happened to the promise of the internet and how did it become the disaster we know today?

Part political inquest, part theoretical autopsy, Kelty documents how aspirations of liberation, openness, and participatory democracy opened a door -- and through that door walked the Facebook Like Button, Amazon Web Services, Google's Chrome browser and much more. A work of concerted remembering, The Internet We Could Have Had is an attempt to fathom how this past was immensely generative of a future we didn't ask for.

Author: Christopher M. Kelty
Publisher: Polity Press
Published: 10/27/2026
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 8.58h x 5.86w x 0.98d
ISBN: 9781509574506


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2026
Foreword 10/27/2026

About the Author

Christopher M. Kelty is Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.


Shipping & Return

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Review