The Internet and the End of the Cold War

[chirack]

Originally Posted by Futurist110

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Just to make sure, though--had the USSR survived until the present-day, you think that the Internet would have still become available and widespread starting from the mid-1990s (to the extent that it would have still been just as widespread right now (throughout the world) as it actually is), correct?

Yeap. The USSR would have filtered or banned the internet but computers and the use of the internet were independent things in the west to the fall of the USSR. In 1991, people are still buying their first home computers. PC or Mac and not the "toy" ones of the 80ies(Atari, Commodore, ect.). , most people don't own cell phones much less smart phones. Windows 3.1 is hot and the nerds among us are just connecting to bbs systems and not the internet.

[spicymeatball]

I don't think it's entirely coincidence, no. The end of the Cold War led to the embrace of extreme libertarian/neoliberal capitalism we have today and the growth of the Internet was fueled by capitalist speculation. If the Cold War didn't end I doubt the government would have been as keen to privatize the Internet. I'd also say it was very likely Tim Berners-Lee gave the Web to the public because of the globalization fervor that struck the world after the Berlin Wall fell. The Web was a huge boon to the success of the Internet itself.

[travric]

The Web was a huge boon to the success of the Internet itself.

Incredible how bits and bytres revolutinized 'revolution'. I never knew how something used for consumer 'advertising' couuld be so immensely functional for keeping autocrats at bay throughout the world. Or helping to keep eevrybody up on their shenanigans.

[Hypersion]

I always assumed that a lot of the private/business (as opposed to military) computer boom was due to the end of the cold war and engineers and scientist moving from defense companies to other businesses.