In some countries where racial prejudice is acute, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences, that it is not even questioned. There are countries where the white man imposes his rule by brute force; there are countries where the black man protests by setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging. Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence – as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instincts remain basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have still not learnt that violence never solves a problem but makes it more acute. The sheer horror, the bloodshed, the suffering mean nothing. No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us.

 

The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and herder to get a hearing. They are despised, mistrusted and even persecuted by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement. If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living-standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution. Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme. The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law.

Before we can even begin to contemplate peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each other's problems. And to do this, we must learn about them: it is a simple exercise in communication, in exchanging information. "Talk, talk, talk," the advocates of violence say, "all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser." It's rather like the story of the famous barrister who painstakingly explained his case to the judge. After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. "Possible, my lord," the barrister replied, "none the wiser, but surely far better informed." Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom: the knowledge that violence creates the evils it pretends to solve.

Three hundred years ago news travelled by word of mouth or 1etter, and circulated in taverns and coffee houses in the form of pamphlets and newsletters．“The coffee houses particularly are very roomy for a free conversation，and for reading at an easier rate all manner of printed news，”noted one observer．Everything changed in 1833 when the first mass-audience newspaper, The New York Sun，pioneered the use of advertising to reduce the cost of news，thus giving advertisers access to a wider audience．The penny press，followed by radio and television，turned news from a two-way conversation into a one—way broadcast，with a relatively small number of firms controlling the media．

Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house．The internet is making news more participatory，social and diverse，reviving the discursive characteristics of the era before the mass media．That will have profound effects on society and politics．In much of the world, the mass media are flourishing．Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6% between 2005 and 2009．But those global figures mask a sharp decline in readership in rich countries．

Over the past decade，throughout the western world，people have been giving up newspapers and TV news and keeping up with events in profoundly different ways．Most strikingly, ordinary people are increasingly involved in compiling，sharing，filtering，discussing and distributing news．Twitter lets people anywhere report what they are seeing．Classified documents are published in their thousands online．Mobile phone footage of Arab uprisings and American tornadoes is posted on social-networking sites and shown on television newscasts．Social-networking sites help people find，discuss and share news with their friends．

And it is not just readers who are challenging the media elite．Technology firms including Google，Facebook and Twitter have become important conduits of news．Celebrities and world leaders publish updates directly via social networks；many countries now make raw data available through“open government”initiatives．The internet lets people read newspapers or watch television channels from around the world．The web has allowed new providers of news，from individual bloggers to sites，to rise to prominence in a very short space of time．And it has made possible entirely new approaches to journalism，such as that practiced by WikiLeaks，which provides an anonymous way for whistleblowers to publish documents．The news agenda is no longer controlled by a few press barons and state outlets．

In principle，every liberal should celebrate this．A more participatory and social news environment，with a remarkable diversity and range of news sources，is a good thing．The transformation of the news business is unstoppable，and attempts to reverse it are doomed to failure．As producers of new journalism，individuals can be scrupulous with facts and transparent with their sources．As consumers，they can be general in their tastes and demanding in their standards．And although this transformation does raise concerns，there is much to celebrate in the noisy, diverse，vociferous，argumentative and stridently alive environment of the news business in the ages of the internet．The coffee house is back．Enjoy it．