A Hacker Manifesto


Book Description

A double is haunting the world--the double of abstraction, the virtual reality of information, programming or poetry, math or music, curves or colorings upon which the fortunes of states and armies, companies and communities now depend. The bold aim of this book is to make manifest the origins, purpose, and interests of the emerging class responsible for making this new world--for producing the new concepts, new perceptions, and new sensations out of the stuff of raw data. "A Hacker Manifesto" deftly defines the fraught territory between the ever more strident demands by drug and media companies for protection of their patents and copyrights and the pervasive popular culture of file sharing and pirating. This vexed ground, the realm of so-called "intellectual property," gives rise to a whole new kind of class conflict, one that pits the creators of information--the hacker class of researchers and authors, artists and biologists, chemists and musicians, philosophers and programmers--against a possessing class who would monopolize what the hacker produces. Drawing in equal measure on Guy Debord and Gilles Deleuze, "A Hacker Manifesto" offers a systematic restatement of Marxist thought for the age of cyberspace and globalization. In the widespread revolt against commodified information, McKenzie Wark sees a utopian promise, beyond the property form, and a new progressive class, the hacker class, who voice a shared interest in a new information commons.




A Hacker Manifesto


Book Description

A double is haunting the world--the double of abstraction, the virtual reality of information, programming or poetry, math or music, curves or colorings upon which the fortunes of states and armies, companies and communities now depend. The bold aim of this book is to make manifest the origins, purpose, and interests of the emerging class responsible for making this new world--for producing the new concepts, new perceptions, and new sensations out of the stuff of raw data. A Hacker Manifesto deftly defines the fraught territory between the ever more strident demands by drug and media companies for protection of their patents and copyrights and the pervasive popular culture of file sharing and pirating. This vexed ground, the realm of so-called "intellectual property," gives rise to a whole new kind of class conflict, one that pits the creators of information--the hacker class of researchers and authors, artists and biologists, chemists and musicians, philosophers and programmers--against a possessing class who would monopolize what the hacker produces. Drawing in equal measure on Guy Debord and Gilles Deleuze, A Hacker Manifesto offers a systematic restatement of Marxist thought for the age of cyberspace and globalization. In the widespread revolt against commodified information, McKenzie Wark sees a utopian promise, beyond the property form, and a new progressive class, the hacker class, who voice a shared interest in a new information commons.




Capital Is Dead


Book Description

It's not capitalism, it's not neoliberalism - what if it's something worse? In this radical and visionary new book, McKenzie Wark argues that information has empowered a new kind of ruling class. Through the ownership and control of information, this emergent class dominates not only labour but capital as traditionally understood as well. And it’s not just tech companies like Amazon and Google. Even Walmart and Nike can now dominate the entire production chain through the ownership of not much more than brands, patents, copyrights, and logistical systems. While techno-utopian apologists still celebrate these innovations as an improvement on capitalism, for workers—and the planet—it’s worse. The new ruling class uses the powers of information to route around any obstacle labor and social movements put up. So how do we find a way out? Capital Is Dead offers not only the theoretical tools to analyze this new world, but ways to change it. Drawing on the writings of a surprising range of classic and contemporary theorists, Wark offers an illuminating overview of the contemporary condition and the emerging class forces that control—and contest—it.




Gamer Theory


Book Description

Ever get the feeling that life's a game with changing rules and no clear sides? Welcome to gamespace, the world in which we live. Where others argue obsessively over violence in games, Wark contends that digital computer games are our society's emergent cultural form, a utopian version of the world as it is. Gamer Theory uncovers the significance of games in the gap between the near-perfection of actual games and the imperfect gamespace of everyday life in the rat race of free-market society.




The Geek Manifesto


Book Description

Whether we want to improve education or cut crime, to enhance public health or to generate clean energy, we need the experimental methods of science - the best tool humanity has yet developed for working out what works. Yet from the way we're governed to the news we're fed by the media we're let down by a lack of understanding and respect for its insights and evidence. In The Geek Manifesto Mark Henderson explains why and how we need to entrench scientific thinking more deeply into every aspect of our society. A new movement is gathering. Let's turn it into a force our leaders cannot ignore. This edition includes an appendix: 'A Geek Manifesto for America' by David Dobbs.




The Maker Movement Manifesto: Rules for Innovation in the New World of Crafters, Hackers, and Tinkerers


Book Description

YOU can create the next breakthrough innovation A revolution is under way. But it's not about tearing down the old guard. It's about building, it's about creating, it's about breathing life into groundbreaking new ideas. It's called the Maker Movement, and it's changing the world. Mark Hatch has been at the forefront of the Maker Movement since it began. A cofounder of TechShop--the first, largest, and most popular makerspace--Hatch has seen it all. Average people pay a small fee for access to advanced tools--everything from laser cutters and milling machines to 3D printers and AutoCAD software. All they have to bring is their creativity and some positive energy. Prototypes of new products that would have cost $100,000 in the past have been made in his shop for $1,000. The Maker Movement is where all the next great inventions and innovations are happening--and you can play a part in it. The Maker Movement Manifesto takes you deep into the movement. Hatch describes the remarkable technologies and tools now accessible to you and shares stories of how ordinary people have devised extraordinary products, giving rise to successful new business ventures. He explains how economic upheavals are paving the way for individuals to create, innovate, make a fortune--and even drive positive societal change--with nothing more than their own creativity and some hard work. It's all occurring right now, all around the world--and possibly in your own neighborhood. The creative spirit lives inside every human being. We are all makers. Whether you're a banker, lawyer, teacher, tradesman, or politician, you can play an important role in the Maker society. So fire up your imagination, read The Maker Movement Manifesto--and start creating! Praise for The Maker Movement Manifesto "It’s the same revolutionary innovation model, but now applied to one of the biggest industries in the world—manufacturing." --Chris Anderson, CEO, 3D Robotics, and former Editor-in-Chief, Wired "He (Henry Ford) probably would have started in TechShop." --Bill Ford, Executive Chairman, Ford Motor Company, and great-grandson of Henry Ford "We are heading into a new age of manufacturing . . . Hatch has a front-row seat and has written the must-follow guide to democratize this new age. This is the book I wish every American would use. It contains the keys to the future of work and joy for everyone." --Robert Scoble, Startup Liaison Officer, Rackspace “TechShop is the garage that Thomas Edison wished he had, and thanks to Mark Hatch, it’s open it to the public. This book is a lifeline to a country with a skills gap that threatens to swallow us all. For aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs, The Maker Movement Manifesto is a ‘celebration in the making’—even if the only thing you make is a mess.” --Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs "Mark’s book is pitch-perfect on why the Maker Movement is so important for our collective future." --Beth Comstock, CMO and SVP, GE




Hacktivism and Cyberwars


Book Description

As global society becomes more and more dependent, politically and economically, on the flow of information, the power of those who can disrupt and manipulate that flow also increases. In Hacktivism and Cyberwars Tim Jordan and Paul Taylor provide a detailed history of hacktivism's evolution from early hacking culture to its present day status as the radical face of online politics. They describe the ways in which hacktivism has re-appropriated hacking techniques to create an innovative new form of political protest. A full explanation is given of the different strands of hacktivism and the 'cyberwars' it has created, ranging from such avant garde groups as the Electronic Disturbance Theatre to more virtually focused groups labelled 'The Digitally Correct'. The full social and historical context of hacktivism is portrayed to take into account its position in terms of new social movements, direct action and its contribution to the globalization debate. This book provides an important corrective flip-side to mainstream accounts of E-commerce and broadens the conceptualization of the internet to take into full account the other side of the digital divide.




Sensoria


Book Description

Design, Politics, the Environment: a survey of the key thinkers and ideas that are rebuilding the world in the shadow of the anthropocene As we face the compounded crises of late capitalism, environmental catastrophe and technological transformation, who are the thinkers and the ideas who will allow us to understand the world we live in? McKenzie Wark surveys three areas at the cutting edge of current critical thinking: design, environment, technology and introduces us to the thinking of nineteen major writers. Each chapter is a concise account of an individual thinker, providing useful context and connections to the work of the others. The authors include: Sianne Ngai, Kodwo Eshun, Lisa Nakamura, Hito Steyerl, Yves Citton, Randy Martin, Jackie Wang, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Achille Mbembe, Deborah Danowich and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Eyal Weizman, Cory Doctorow, Benjamin Bratton, Tiziana Terranova, Keller Easterling, Jussi Parikka. Wark argues that we are too often told that expertise is obtained by specialisation. Sensoria connects the themes and arguments across intellectual silos. They explore the edges of disciplines to show how we might know the world: through the study of culture, the different notions of how we create such things, and the impact that the machines that we devise have had upon us. The book is a vital and timely introduction to the future both as a warning but also as a road map on how we might find our way out of the current crisis.




50 Years of Recuperation of the Situationist International


Book Description

In this work the author suggests what is still vital in the Situationist legacy as well as how modern provocateurs have picked up the thread of those who dared to negate their contemporary world as a whole and imagine it anew.




Hacker Culture


Book Description