It's time to show our faces in the 21st century agora

Germany’s chancellor wants citizens to post under their real names. Critics warn of chilling effects. But anonymity may be corroding the very trust democracy depends on.

Dear Reader,

How should we imagine social media platforms and their purpose in a modern democracy? The idealistic vision of social media — one set out by Elon Musk upon his acquisition of Twitter in 2022 — is that it is a digital “town square”, the modern version of the Greek agora.

If that is the ideal, then it helps to ask a simple question: what would a healthy town square actually look like?

Athenian democracy was radical. It produced brilliant orators and reckless ones. It elevated philosophers and artists and empowered sophists. Ultimately, the populism of Athenian democracy — where public officials were chosen by lot and all citizens had the right to address the Assembly — ended in disaster.

But despite its inclusive interpretation of democratic participation, Athenian public debate operated within clear rules.

In fifth-century BC Athens, only citizens addressed the Assembly, and they did so as identifiable members of the polis whose reputations were at stake. They were not permitte…