Analysis Of Nathan Heller's Estonia, The Digital Republic

Nathan Heller praises the online Estonian government in the New Yorker article “Estonia, the Digital Republic.” The Baltic country functions almost entirely online, and Heller admiringly describes its technological advancement to an American audience. He observes bemusedly of the United States, “It struck me then how long it had been since anyone in America had spoken of society-building of any kind” (18). Although the article is about Estonia, Heller uses the opportunity to reflect on American society. The reflection also emphasizes the appeals to logos in the piece as he repeatedly uses direct examples such as identification and security to compare America to Estonia. Heller remains largely praiseful of the new model of society. He writes