Vectors vs. Borders
A Hacker Manifesto
Globalisation, being a flow and convergence of information, information is always created, and its flow is always controlled, sometimes by its creator, sometimes by another class altogether. This is the Vector and Border class, controller and creator respectively. Wark describes the creators as “Hackers” and says that they are experimenters of technology, they break rules, innovate, and act as frontiers in their respective fields, such as writers, artists, biologists, philosophers, musicians, and programmers. (Wark 2004) Whereas the Vectors act as a possessing, ruling, class. The ruling class monopolizes what the Hacker produces, distributing and making profit.
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The Vector class endeavours to capitalise and control goods, they monopolise and gain power, reproducing value of the content created by the Hacker class. This is patent in the form of managers and producers, owners and labels. They control distribution and organises and controls the content, making a profit. A Hacker Manifesto describes a file sharing gift economy, the hacker is free to share and gift their information, data, and content however they wish, this destabilizes the vector class, as they have no way to monopolise it, although the vector class does benefit the hacker in the sense that it increases their reach and profit in the long run, sort of a “sell out” situation, which keeps the vector class operating. The vector class traps the information into its identity as a material thing to be possessed, rather than an idea or abstract concept, it becomes assigned to an owner.
The hackers not only create content, but also re-appropriate information and content, as a collective of information produced as common to society. I believe the hacker manifesto is accurate to a point, I do not believe the vectoral class has as much control as it is suggested in A Hacker Manifesto, and that information and data and content can remain free from being monopolized and managed in such a way, it does not need to belong to an identity, it can exist as an abstract thought and idea, and be interpreted by many freely and individually and used by the general populace in their own personal ways, rather than to be used for popularity or profitable gain in a capitalised way. New software creates and shapes subcultures, with the addition of the vector class, they control how and what subcultures it has an effect on, rather than letting it run its natural course of effect.
