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Re: [ox-en] hackers v 'politicians'



Hi Graham and all!

Last week (9 days ago) Graham Seaman wrote:
I just found an article quoting oekonux messages as part of an interesting
comparison between hackers and activists and the limitations of their
interaction. I'm not sure when it was published, it may be old to others
but I hadn't seen it before:

http://multitudes.samizdat.net/article.php3?id_article=1030
(by Patrice Riemens)

A very interesting article. Particularly these paragraphs I
wholeheartedly agree with:

  "Hacker culture", a concept one often encounters these days among
  networked activists, purports to represent this playful confluence
  between tech wizardry and the moral high ground. Hence, "Open
  Source" (see note 3 again) is fast becoming an omnibus framework and
  a near-universal tool-kit to tackle very diverse social issues, such
  as artistic production, law, epistemology, education, and a few
  others (5), which are but remotely - if at all - related to the
  field of software research and development, and the social
  environments from which it originates. There is little wrong in
  itself to this - imitation being the best of compliments - but for
  the fact that it tends to obscure a sticky problem. Between hackers
  and activists often looms a wide gap in approach and attitude that
  is just too critical to be easily papered away. And it is precisely
  this fundamental difference that is usually being hushed up by the
  evangelists of what I call the "hackers-activists bhai-bhai"(6)
  gospel. A good, if a contrario, example of a really occurring
  non-equivalence between political activists applying ICT and hackers
  is provided by that spurious hybrid known as "hacktivism" (7).

  The main principle at work here is the so-called "Hackers Ethic".
  And its practice is the usual, daily activity of hackers. To put it
  very simply, without going deeper into its precise content, the
  hacker ethic runs strikingly parallel to the formula "l'art pour
  l'art' (art for art's sake). What matters here, is the realisation
  that, unlike activists, hackers are focused on the pursuit of
  knowledge and the exercise of curiosity for its own sake. Therefore,
  the obligations that derive from the hacker ethic are perceived by
  genuine hackers as sovereign and not instrumental, and always
  prevail above other aims or interests, whatever these may be - and
  if there are any at all. This consequently makes the hackers
  movement to be wary of any particular blueprint of society, however
  alternative, and even adverse to embrace particular antagonism (some
  hackers, and not minor ones, are for instance loath to demonise the
  Microsoft Corporation). Hence the spread of political and
  philosophical opinions harboured by individual hackers, without any
  loss of their feeling of identity and belonging to the 'mouvance' at
  large or even their particular group, is truly astonishing, and very
  unlikely to obtain within any other 'new social movement'. In fact,
  the militant defense of individual liberties and a penchant for
  rather unequalitarian economic convictions one encounters in tandem
  among a good many hackers has provided for bafflement among
  networked political (i.e. left-leaning) activists coming to be
  better acquainted with their 'natural allies'. Yet it is neither
  fortuitous nor aberrant that the Californian transmutation of
  libertarianism (8) enjoys such widespread support among hackers.

  The existence of such 'ideological' positions has its reflection in
  the daily and usual activities of hackers, which are generally
  characterised by an absence of preconceived ideas and positions.
  Despite the avowed 'end of the great narratives', this is not the
  case with political activists, since they do have objectives and
  aims that precede their actions. Hackers, on the other hand, are
  usually happy with the 'mere', but unrestricted, pursuit of
  knowledge, which reduces their 'political program', if that can be
  so called, to the freedom of learning and enquiry, and thus would
  seem to fall very much short of demands for justice, equality,
  emancipation, empowerment, etc that are formulated by political
  militants. Yet they seem to be content with it, and there are (immo)
  good arguments to think that such a program, as limited as it may
  sound, is essential, not subsequent, to the achievement of the
  better society we all aspire too.

I could not have it said better (especially not in English ;-) ) and
this is exactly why I do not count much (any more) on the traditional
left. There are some - like the leftist people on this list - who can
see there is something new and promising here and a lot who simply do
what they always did. This is also an answer to Martin's question
about the traditional left.

Ahm - I added this to the link page.


						Mit Freien Grüßen

						Stefan

_______________________
http://www.oekonux.org/



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