After the Future

Franco Berardi (Bifo)

Edited by Gary Genosko and Nicholas Thoburn


Translated by Arianna Bove, Melinda Cooper, Erik Empson, Enrico,
Giuseppina Mecchia, and Tiziana Terranova

1
Contents
Preface: The Transversal Communism of Franco Berardi
Gary Genosko and Nicholas Thoburn
Introduction
1. The Century that Trusted in the Future
Futurism and the eversal o! the Future
The Media "topia o! the Avant#Garde
$aum and Technomaya
Activism
Connection and %ensibility
End o! the Future
Cursed Be the &rophet
The 'ast "topia
(nversion o! the Future

2. The Zero Zero Decade
From %eattle to Copenha)en
*n the Brink o! +isaster
A!ter the +otcom Crash
The Fuzzy Economy o! Co)nitive 'abor
(n!olabor and &recarisation
City o! &anic

. Baro!ue and "emioca#ital
'umpen (talian
'an)ua)e and &oison
The (talian Anomaly
%hirkers
Aleatory ,alue in -eo#Baro.ue %ociety
%el! +espise

$. %&haustion and "u'(ectivity
&recarious Future
E/haustion0 e#readin) Baudrillard
-ecronomy
%in)ularity (nsurrection
1hen *ld &eople Fall in 'ove
2appy End
A!ter Futurism

Bi'lio)ra#hy
3
Preface: The Transversal Communism of Franco Berardi

Gary Genosko and Nicholas Thoburn

1hat happens to political thou)ht, practice, and ima)ination 4hen it loses
hold on 5the !uture67 (t )oes into crisis8 The analytic, psycholo)ical, and
libidinal structures o! 39th century revolutionary politics 4ere beholden to the
temporal !orm o! the !uture : it even )ave the name to the !irst movement o!
the avant#)arde0 Futurism8 The !uture 4as on the side o! the revolution8 (t 4as
a )reat and empo4erin) myth, but !e4 believe it any lon)er0 the !uture is over8
(ts last vesti)es 4ere s.uandered in the schemes o! a heavily !uturized
!inancial capitalism8
This is Franco Berardi;s radical dia)nosis here8 (t is a clinical dia)nosis as
much as it is a political one, !or Berardi traces the symptoms o! the end o! the
!uture across the social and corporeal body8 Co)nitive, a!!ective, lin)uistic,
semiotic, desirin), economic, or)anisational, mediatic processes are the matter
o! this assessment o! the contemporary malaise8 %ymptoms not only point
back4ards to repressed contents, but lean into a post#!uture that is still !indin)
a 4ay to coalesce8 %uch symptoms are not very en<oyable8
But the dia)nosis is more radical than this8 The point is not to revive the !uture
in a ne4 van)uard8 The !uture 4as itsel! a hi)hly suspect temporal !orm= !or
Berardi, the 5ima)inary e!!ect6 o! the capitalist mode o! production, 4ith its
e/pansive pursuit o! surplus value8 1>?? is the point thin)s started to turn, the
moment o! the pro)ressive dissolution o! 5the century that trusted in the
!uture68 (t is here identi!ied in British punk, but also in the (talian 5Movement
o! ;??6 that Berardi is so closely associated 4ith8
Franco Berardi, or 5Bi!o6, is principally kno4n to An)lo#American readers !or
his association 4ith Operaismo @54orkerism6A and the movement o!
Autonomia @5autonomy6A8 This current in (talian thou)ht and e/tra#
parliamentary politics came to prominence and considerable in!luence in the
1>?9s !or its trans!ormative approach to communist politics : placin)
4orkers; needs, desires and or)anizational autonomies at the centre o! political
pra/is : and !or the 4ave o! repression unleashed a)ainst it @1ri)ht 3993A8
%ince then, and under the rubric o! 5post#autonomism6 and 5post#4orkerism6
: 4hat Bi!o pre!ers to call 5compositionism6 : this current has come to have
considerable in!luence in activist circles, post#media cultures, and the
university8 Antonio -e)ri is, o! course, the principle !i)ure here, but it 4ould
be a )reat mistake to take his 4ork as an emblem !or the historical !orms and
contemporary parameters o! this mode o! thou)ht and politics as a 4hole8
A comrade 4ith -e)ri, aniero &anzieri, and Mario Tronti in the key
4orkerist or)anisation, Potere Operaio, Bi!o;s politics have continued to
display the si)ns o! the 4orkerist current8 This is not least in his insistence on
en)a)in) and researchin) the most contemporary technical and anta)onistic
B
composition o! any class !ormation, never !allin) back on a pre#constituted,
identitarian understandin) o! political sub<ectivity8 The deployment o! the
autonomist talisman o! Mar/;s concept o! the 5)eneral intellect6 is perhaps the
endurin) si)n o! this style o! intellectual commitment in his 4ork8 But Bi!o;s
relation to the critical current o! Operaismo is somethin) o! a zi)za), a
transversal connection that is as much open to the outside o! autonomist
politics as it is an elaboration o! it8
This is no more apparent than in the Bolo)na collective A/Traverso @5(n#
bet4een6A that Bi!o helped establish in the mid#1>?9s, and in its associated
independent radio station, adio Alice8 (n these techno#cultural e/periments in
publishin), research, or)anization, and broadcastin), autonomist theses 4ere
enmeshed 4ith pop#cultural styles, media capacities, the urban rebellions o!
proletarian youth, se/ual politics, modernist poetics, and the conceptual
innovations o! poststructuralist thou)ht, most especially those o! +eleuze and
Guattari8 %hutdo4n by armed police !or its contribution to the Bolo)na
uprisin)s in the %prin) o! 1>??, adio Alice has entered into a certain
mytholo)y, one con!irmed in the hi)hly evocative !ilm about adio Alice,
Lavorare con lentezza, in 4hich Bi!o has a cameo role as a Mar/ist la4yer8
Bi!o;s transversal politics, 4ritin), and media practice has since developed
throu)h numerous or)anisational and media !orms, as radio 4aves have been
<oined by di)ital technolo)ies in the !ield o! political composition : the
movement o! community television, Telestreet, and the 1eb !orum,
ekombinant, are notable instances8 But returnin) to the themes o! this book,
ho4 are Bi!o;s ar)uments di!!erent or transversal to the positions that have
come to be associated 4ith post#4orkerism7
Bi!o;s dia)nosis is considerably darker than that o! 2ardt and -e)ri, as 4e can
see 4ith a comparison o! Bi!o;s position to the concept o! 5immaterial labor68
(n the rise to prominence o! the intellectual, semiotic, and a!!ective content o!
4ork and its product, it is no4 4ell kno4n that 2ardt and -e)ri detect a
tendency to4ard 4orkers; autonomy8 2ere, capital becomes a parasitic a)ent
o! capture eternal to the sel!#or)anization o! labor8 Bi!o;s conclusions are
rather di!!erent8 The a)ential !orce in contemporary con!i)urations o! 4ork is
not labor, but most decidedly capital8 (n a dozen pa)es o! the Grundrisse
kno4n by Operaismo as the 5Fra)ment on Machines6, Mar/ @1>?B0 C>3A
observed that the capitalist production mechanism is a 5vast automaton
consistin) o! numerous mechanical and intellectual or)ans68 2ere, as he
continues,

'abour appearsDmerely as a conscious or)an, scattered amon) the individual
livin) 4orkers at numerous points o! the mechanical systemD 4hose unity
e/ists not in the livin) 4orkers, but rather in the livin) @activeA machinery,
4hich con!ronts his individual, insi)ni!icant doin)s as a mi)hty or)anism8
@Mar/ 1>?B0 C>BA
E

(n A!ter the Future, Bi!o iterates Mar/;s thesis in the radically ne4 times o!
di)ital capitalism8 And he !inds that the 5automaton6 has multiplied its po4ers
to disa))re)ate and orchestrate the parts or or)ans o! labor= the 4hole
psychosphere o! the human bein) becomes sub<ect to the movement o! capital,
no4 operatin) at di)ital speeds8 1ith the net4orkin) po4ers o! in!ormation
and communications technolo)y the capacities o! capitalist 4ork processes to
orchestrate labor have not only been e/tended spatially, across the )lobe, but
have intensi!ied temporally also8 Today;s !irms do not purchase the 4orker as
a 4hole, but a !ra)ment o! their activity, sensibility, attention, communicative
capacity8 *ne o! Bi!o;s most compellin) contributions to the theory o!
5semiocapitalism6 : capitalism that makes a!!ects, attitudes, attributes and
ideas directly productive 4ithout materializin) them : is the cellularization o!
labor8 As production becomes semiotic, co)nitive 4orkers are precariously
employed : on occasional, contractual, temporary bases : and their 4ork
involves the elaboration o! se)ments or 5semiotic arte!acts6 that are hi)hly
abstract entities combined and recombined throu)h an e/ploitative di)ital
net4ork only at the precise time they are re.uired8 The social !ield is 5an
ocean o! valorizin) cells convened in a cellular 4ay and recombined by the
sub<ectivity o! capital68 These in!o#laborers are paid only !or the moments
4hen their time is made cellular, yet their entire days are sub<ected to this kind
o! production, 5pulsatin) and available, like a brain#spra4l in 4aitin)6,
Blackberries and mobiles ever ready8
The psychic and somatic !orm o! the human cannot take this, and as our
co)nitive, communicative, emotional capacities become sub<ect to cellular
!ra)mentation and recombination under the ne4 machine#speed o!
in!ormation, 4e )et sick8 +epression, panic, unhappiness, an/iety, !ear, terror
: these are the a!!ective conditions o! contemporary labor, the 5psycho#
bombs6 o! co)nitive capitalism, each, naturally, 4ith their o4n
psychopharmacolo)y8 -onetheless, 4e actively submit ourselves to this
re)ime= this is the perversity o! contemporary culture8 *! course, the vast
ma<ority has no choice : these are the structural conditions o! 4ork8 But the
pro)ressive commercialization o! culture, deadenin) o! metropolitan li!e, loss
o! solidarity, and insidious dispersal o! mechanisms o! competition are such
that 4e have come to !i/ate our desires on 4ork8 Even as it pushes human
a!!ective and co)nitive capacities to breakin) point, the enterprise !orm is the
only ade.uate e/pression o! our communicative and a!!ective .ualities, and
the one most able to con!irm our increasin)ly competitive and narcissistic
drives8
%uch e/istential 5precarity6 is not to be solved by a return to the Fordist model
o! labor#time and contract#security8 This 4as not only a temporary and no4
passed !ormation in the lon) history o! other4ise precarious labor @and one
that 4as even then peculiar to a particular racialized and )endered !ra)ment o!
F
the 4orkin) populationA= it 4as also the speci!ic ob<ect o! 4orkers; resistance
in the 1>?9s, resistance that Bi!o and Autonomia valorized as the 5re!usal o!
4ork68 And neither are the militant strate)ies o! the past any lon)er viable8 For
one, Bi!o has no interest in revivin) the corpse o! orthodo/ communism8 2is
opinion o! this tradition is abundantly clear in The "oul at #ork$

The only relation bet4een the %tate Communism imposed by the 'eninist
parties in the %oviet "nion and else4here, and the autonomous communism o!
the 4orkers, is the violence systematically e/erted by the !irst over the second,
in order to subdue, discipline and destroy it8 @Berardi 399>0 GFA

There is, then, no return to 'enin or Mao8 Alon)side 2ardt and -e)ri, perhaps
the most prominent and in!luential o! e!!orts to re#!ound a communism
ade.uate to the current con<uncture is to be !ound in the 4ork o! Alain Badiou8
(n his later 4ork, Badiou has turned a4ay !rom the van)uard model o! the
party : he took his time, but )ot there in the end8 Het this is because 4e have
entered a ne4 5se.uence6, beyond that 4hich 4as characterized @and, !or
Badiou, properly e/pressedA in the 'eninist party !orm and the Maoist Cultural
evolution @Badiou 399GA8 Bi!o;s di!!erence is that, 4hether correctly
characterized by a series o! se.uences or not, communism proper never 4ent
by the 4ay o! 'enin or Mao @the 5Mao#+adaism6 o! adio Alice 4as
somethin) .uite otherA8 As shorthand !or this criti.ue, 4e 4ould si)nal the
a!!irmation and intensi!ication : not re!usal : o! 4ork in the %oviet and
Chinese re)imes8 But the problem that Bi!o isolates in these pa)es is the
sub%ective political model inherent to such orthodo/ communism, the
5militant6, and its not so distant cousin, the 5activist68
Activism, Bi!o ar)ues, is the narcissistic response o! the sub<ect to the in!inite
and invasive po4er o! capital, a response that can only leave the activist
!rustrated, humiliated, and depressed8 Bi!o here locates this modern political
con!i)uration 4ith 'enin, and makes a most heretical statement0 5( am
convinced that the 39th century 4ould have been a better century had 'enin
not e/isted68 2e dia)noses this condition in these pa)es throu)h a readin) o!
'enin;s bouts o! depression, but 4e 4ould hi)hli)ht that else4here Bi!o also
identi!ies the problem in FIli/ Guattari, a most surprisin) move, )iven the
sophistication o! Guattari;s schizoanalytic criti.ue o! authoritarian political
sub<ectivation8 Bi!o developed his !riendship 4ith Guattari 4hile in e/ile !rom
(taly in the 1>G9s, a period that Guattari characterized as his 54inter years6,
the coincidence o! personal depression and neoliberal reaction8 "nder these
conditions, a certain political activism appeared central to Guattari, but not so
to Bi!o0 5( remember that in the 1>G9s FIli/ o!ten scolded me because ( 4as
no lon)er involved in some kind o! political militancy8 D For me, militant 4ill
and ideolo)ical action had become impotent6 @Berardi 399G0 1BA8 For Bi!o, at
times o! reaction, o! the evacuation o! political creativity !rom the social !ield,
C
activism becomes a desperate attempt to 4ard o!! depression8 But it is doomed
to !ail, and, 4orse, to convert political innovation and sociality into its
opposite, to 5replace desire 4ith duty60

FIli/ kne4 this, ( am sure, but he never said this much, not even to himsel!,
and this is 4hy he 4ent to all these meetin)s 4ith people 4ho didn;t appeal to
him, talkin) about thin)s that distracted himD And here a)ain is the root o!
depression, in this impotence o! political 4ill that 4e haven;t had the coura)e
to admit8 @Berardi 399G0 1BA

*ne can discern t4o aspects to Bi!o;s analysis o! depression8 (t is a product o!
the 5panic6 induced by the sensory overload o! di)ital capitalism, a condition
o! 4ithdra4al, a disinvestment o! ener)y !rom the competitive and narcissistic
structures o! the enterprise8 And it is also a result o! the loss o! political
composition and anta)onism0 5depression is born out o! the dispersion o! the
community;s immediacy8 Autonomous and desirin) politics 4as a proli!eratin)
community8 1hen the proli!eratin) po4er is lost, the social becomes the place
o! depression6 @Berardi 399G0 1BA8 (n both mani!estations, depression is a real
historical e/perience, somethin) that must be actively !aced and en)a)ed 4ith
: 4e cannot merely 4ard it o!! 4ith appeals to militant voluntarism8 1e need
to assess its contours, conditions, products, to !ind an analytics o! depression,
and an ade.uate politics8 And that is the )oal o! this book, a !irst step to4ard a
politics a!ter the !uture, and a!ter the redundant sub<ective !orms o! 4hich it
4as made8
Bi!o !inds many resources in this venture o! dia)nosis and escape, traversin)
the Futurist aesthetics o! speed, the psychic corruption o! Berlusconi;s
mediatic empire, transrational lan)ua)e, senility, the dotcom bubble, the
Copenha)en climate summit, the dynamics o! semiocapitalism, and the
possibilities o! a Baro.ue modernity8 The book be)ins and ends 4ith a
mani!esto8 The !irst, Marinetti;s Futurist &ani!esto, opened the century that
trusted in the !uture8 1ritten a century later, Bi!o;s &ani!esto o! Post'
Futurism, is a rather di!!erent entity, a love son) to the 5in!inity o! the
present68 As the co)nitariat casts o!! the shackles o! sel!#entrepreneurship and
reconnect 4ith their o4n bodies, son), poetry, and therapy !reely mi/ into a
cocktail that clears the head o! any !urther illusions o! the !uture8

?
Introduction

( 4rote this book in di!!erent moments and circumstances durin) the last
decade8 The parts o! the book are there!ore conceived and structured in
di!!erent 4ays and 4ith varyin) aims8 eaders 4ill not be surprised to !ind
that these !eatures o! composition are e/pressed in the style o! the di!!erent
te/ts they encounter here8 Taken to)ether, these processes o! conception,
structure, aim and style have composed a book about the end o! the !uture,
immersed in the comple/ constellations o! the present8
(n the !irst part : 5The Century that Trusted in the Future6 : ( retrace the
history o! the ima)ination o! 5the !uture6 over the 39th century, !rom the
enthusiastic e/pectations and proclamations o! the Futurists to the punk
ima)ination o! its end, o! 5-o Future68 This part, 4hich ( 4rote durin) 399>,
ran)es !rom the Futurist &ani!esto o! 1>9> to the di)ital Futurism o! the
#ired ideolo)y that blossomed in the last decade o! the 39th century8
The second part is a collection o! articles and short essays that ( have
published durin) the last ten years, in the horizon o! the movement !or )lobal
<ustice8 These have appeared previously in ekombinant8or), Generation
*nline, "ubstance, and (oices !rom Occupied London8
The third part is dedicated to the concept o! semiocapitalism and to the
emer)ence o! a societal !orm 4here Baro.ue spirit, plebean violence and hi)h#
!inance criminality co#min)le0 (taly in the a)e o! Berlusconi8
The !ourth part is !ocused on activism and on the current perspectives o!
sub<ectivity8 ( try to ans4er the .uestion0 ho4 can 4e ima)ine a !uture o!
conscious collective sub<ectivation7 2o4 4ill it be possible to create a
collective consciousness in the a)e o! precariousness and the !ractalization o!
time7 2o4 4ill it be possible to practice social autonomy in a 4orld 4here
capitalism has instituted irreversible trends o! destruction7
The verti)inous zero zero decade has chan)ed our vie4s and our landscape in
an astoundin) 4ay8 From the dotcom crash to %eptember 11th 3991, to the
criminal 4ars o! the Bush administration to the near collapse o! the )lobal
!inancial and economy, the recent history o! the 4orld has been marked by
shockin) events and surprisin) reversals8 For me this decade, heralded by the
uprisin) o! %eattle, and initiated by the spreadin) o! the counter#)lobalization
movement, has been e/citin), surprisin) and e/hilaratin) : but it has !inally
turned despairin)8
At the end o! the decade, not4ithstandin) the victory o! Barack *bama in the
"nited %tates, the prospect is )loomy8 Corporate capitalism and neoliberal
ideolo)y have produced lastin) dama)e in the material structures o! the 4orld
and in the social, cultural, and nervous systems o! mankind8 (n the !irst years
o! the decade a ne4 movement emer)ed and )re4 !ast and 4ide, .uestionin)
every4here the po4er o! capitalist corporations8
( call 5movement6 a collective displacin) o! bodies and minds, a chan)in) o!
G
consciousness, habits, e/pectations8 Movement means indeed conscious
chan)e, chan)e accompanied by collective consciousness and collective
elaboration, and !i)ht8 Conscious8 Collective8 Chan)e8 This is the meanin) o!
5movement68
From %eattle 1>>> to Genoa 3991 a movement tried to stop the capitalist
devastation o! the very conditions o! civilized li!e8 These 4ere the stakes, no
more, no less8
The counter#)lobalization )lobal people had a simple messa)e0 i! 4e do not
stop the machine o! e/ploitation, debt, and compulsory consumption, human
cohabitation on the planet 4ill become dark, or impossible8
1ell, ten years a!ter %eattle, in the 4ake o! the 399> Copenha)en
summit !ailure, 4e can state that those people 4ere speakin) the truth8
The )lobal movement a)ainst capitalist )lobalization reached an impressive
covera)e and pervasiveness, but it 4as never able to chan)e the daily li!e o!
society8 (t stayed an ethical movement, not a social trans!ormer8 (t could not
create a process o! social recomposition, it could not produce an e!!ect o!
social sub<ectivation8 Those people 4ere silenced by &resident Bush, a!ter the
hu)e demonstrations o! February 1Fth 399B 4hen many millions o! people
4orld4ide )athered in the streets a)ainst the 4ar in (ra.8
The absence o! movement is visible today, at the end o! the zero zero
decade0 absence o! an active culture, lack o! a public sphere, void o! collective
ima)ination, palsy o! the process o! sub<ectivation8 The 4ay to build a
conscious collective sub<ect seems obstructed8
1hat no47 -o4 a conscious collective chan)e seems impossible at the level
o! daily li!e8 Hes, ( kno4, chan)e is happenin) everyday, at a pace that 4e
have never e/perienced be!ore8 1hat is the election o! a black &resident at the
head o! the "nited %tates i! not chan)e7 But chan)e is not happenin) in the
sphere o! social consciousness8 Chan)e happens in the spectacular sphere o!
politics, not in daily li!e, and the relationship bet4een politics and daily li!e
has become so tenuous, so 4eak that sometimes ( 4ould say that 4hatever
happens in politics, li!e 4ill not chan)e8
The !antastic collapse o! the economy is certainly )oin) to chan)e thin)s in
daily li!e, you can bet on it8 But is this chan)e consciously elaborated7 (s this
connected 4ith some conscious collective action7 (t is not8 This is 4hy
neoliberal !anaticism, not4ithstandin) its !ailure, is survivin) and drivin) the
a)enda o! the po4ers o! the 4orld8
The so#called counter#)lobalization movement, that 4as born in the days o!
%eattle, on the eve o! the end o! the century, has been a collective conscious
actor, a movement o! unprecedented stren)th and e/tent8 But it has chan)ed
nothin) in the daily li!e o! the masses, it has not chan)ed the relationship
bet4een salaried labor and capitalist enterprise, it has not chan)ed the daily
relationship bet4een precarious 4orkers, it has not chan)ed the condition o!
li!e o! mi)rants8 (t has not created solidarity bet4een people in the !actories, in
>
the schools, in the cities8 %o, neoliberal politics !ailed, but social autonomy
could not emer)e8
The ethical consciousness o! the insanity o! neoliberal politics spread
every4here but it did not shape the a!!ective and social relations bet4een
people8 The movement has stayed an e/pression o! ethical protest= it has,
nonetheless, produced e!!ects8 The neoliberal ideolo)y that 4as be!ore
accepted as the 4ord o! God, as a natural and undisputable truth, started to be
.uestioned in the days !ollo4in) the %eattle riots, and 4as 4idely denounced8
But the ethical demonstrations did not chan)e the reality o! social domination8
The )lobal corporations did not slo4 the e/ploitation o! labor and the massive
destruction o! the planet;s environment8 The 4armon)ers did not stop
or)anizin) and launchin) deadly attacks a)ainst civil populations in
A!)hanistan, in (ra., in &alestine, and in many other places o! the 4orld8
1hy so7 1hy is it that the lar)est demonstration in human history, the anti#
4ar Global Action that the movement launched on February 1Fth 399B did not
succeed in stoppin) the bombin) o! Ba)hdad7
1hy 4as conscious collective action, althou)h massive, and 4orld4ide,
unable to chan)e thin)s7 This is the .uestion ( have been tryin) to ans4er
durin) the last ten years, this is the .uestion that ( have been tryin) to ans4er
in this book8
(;ll say here, in short, that the ans4er is not to be !ound in the
political strate)y o! the !i)ht, but in the structural 4eakness o! the social
!abric8
+urin) the 39th century, social stru))le could chan)e thin)s in a collective
and conscious 4ay because the industrial 4orkers 4ere able to create
solidarity and unity in daily li!e, and so could !i)ht and 4in8 Autonomy 4as
the condition o! victory, because autonomy means the ability to create social
solidarity in daily li!e, and means the ability to sel!#or)anize outside the rules
o! labor and e/ploitation8 Autonomous community 4as the condition o!
political stren)th8 1hen social recomposition is possible, collective conscious
chan)e is possible8
(n social history 4e can speak o! recomposition 4hen the !orces o! labor can
create common cultural !lo4s and a common )round o! sensibility, so that
they become a collective actor, sharin) the same .uestions and sometimes also
the same ans4ers8
(n conditions o! social recomposition social autonomy !rom capital becomes
possible8
Autonomy is the possibility o! counterbalancin) the po4er o! capital, counter#
po4er in daily li!e, in the !actories, nei)hborhoods, houses, in the a!!ective
relationships bet4een people8
That seems to be over8 The or)anization o! labor has been !ra)mented by the
ne4 technolo)y, and 4orkers; solidarity has been broken at its roots8 The labor
market has been )lobalized, but the political or)anization o! the 4orkers has
19
not8 The in!o#sphere has dramatically chan)ed and accelerated, and this is
<eopardizin) the very possibility o! communication, empathy and solidarity8
(n the ne4 conditions o! labor and communication lies our present inability to
create a common )round o! understandin) and a common action8 The
movement that spread in the !irst years o! the decade has been able to
denounce the e!!ects o! capitalist )lobalization, but it has not been able to !ind
the ne4 path o! social or)anization, and o! autonomy !rom capitalist
e/ploitation8
As ( have said already, this book is not linear in its composition8 (t is an
e/pression o! the comple/ constellations that comprise our present8
%ometimes the reader may !ind that the development is not per!ectly
consistent8 Actually it is not, because ( do not kno4 4here 4e are headin) at
the moment, and ( do not pretend to have a solution !or the current problems
o! social autonomy8 1hat ( can do is sketch the map o! our 4anderin)s8
And search !or a 4ay out8
11
Cha#ter 1. The Century that Trusted in the Future

As !ar as 4e think o! the avant#)arde as a conscious movement devoted to
revolution in society, in communication, and in the relationship bet4een
society and communication, Futurism, namely (talian Futurism, can be
considered as the avant#)arde;s !irst conscious declaration8 The &ani!esto
Futurista JFuturist &ani!estoK o! 1>9> is an act o! !aith in the !uture8 ( 4ould
ar)ue that it is also the cultural and ideolo)ical inau)uration o! the history o!
the 39th century, the century that trusted in the !uture8
+urin) the 39th century Futurism, both in its (talian and in its ussian !orm,
became the leadin) !orce o! ima)ination and o! pro%ect, )ivin) birth to the
lan)ua)e o! commercial advertisin) @especially in the (talian variationA and to
the lan)ua)e o! political a)it#propa)anda @in the ussian variationA8 The idea
o! the !uture is central in the ideolo)y and in the ener)y o! the 39th century,
and in many 4ays it is mi/ed 4ith the idea o! utopia8 -ot4ithstandin) the
horrors o! the century, the "topian ima)ination has never stopped to )ive ne4
breath to the hope o! a pro)ressive !uture, until the hi)h point o! ;CG, 4hen the
modern promise 4as e/pected to be on the brink o! !ul!ilment8
(n the last three decades o! the century the utopian ima)ination 4as slo4ly
overturned, and has been replaced by the dystopian ima)ination8 For many
reasons the year 1>?? can be seen as a turnin) point0 this 4as the year 4hen
the punk movement e/ploded, 4hose cry : 5-o Future6 : 4as a sel!#!ul!illin)
prophecy that has slo4ly enveloped the 4orld8
A ne* utopia appeared on the sta)e durin) the last decade o! the century that
trusted in the !uture0 cyberculture, 4hich has )iven 4ay to the ima)ination o!
a )lobal mind, hyper#connected and in!initely po4er!ul8 This last utopia ended
in depression, a!ter the sudden chan)e o! li)ht that !ollo4ed the >L11 event,
and it has !inally produced a )ro4in) system o! virtual li!e and actual death, o!
virtual kno4led)e and actual 4ar8 The artistic ima)ination, since that day,
seems unable to escape the territory o! !ear and o! despair8 1ill 4e ever !ind a
path beyond the limits o! the +ystopian ,in)dom7
(n this book ( 4ant to reconsider the cultural history o! the century
!rom this point o! vie40 the mytholo)y o! the !uture8 The !uture is not an
obvious concept, but a cultural construction and pro<ection8 For the human o!
the Middle A)es, livin) in the sphere o! a theolo)ical culture, per!ection 4as
placed in the past, in the time 4hen God created the universe and humankind8
There!ore, historic e/istence is the dimension o! the Fall, abandonment and
!or)ettin) o! the ori)inal per!ection and unity8
The rise o! the myth o! the !uture is rooted in modern capitalism, in the
e/perience o! e/pansion o! the economy and kno4led)e8 The idea that the
!uture 4ill be better than the present is not a natural idea, but the ima)inary
e!!ect o! the peculiarity o! the bour)eois production model8 %ince its
be)innin), since the discovery o! the ne4 continent, and the re4ritin) o! the
13
maps o! the 4orld, modernity is de!ined by an act o! ampli!ication o! the very
limits o! the 4orld, and the peculiarity o! capitalist economy resides e/actly in
the accumulation o! the surplus value that results in the constant enhancement
o! the sphere o! material )oods and kno4led)e8
(n the second part o! the 1>th century, and in the !irst part o! the 39th, the
myth o! the !uture reached its peak, becomin) somethin) more that an implicit
belie!0 a true !aith, based on the concept o! 5pro)ress6, the ideolo)ical
translation o! the reality o! economic )ro4th8 &olitical action 4as re!ramed in
the li)ht o! this !aith in a pro)ressive !uture8 'iberalism and social democracy,
nationalism and communism, and anarchism itsel!, all the di!!erent !amilies o!
modern political theory share a common certainty0 not4ithstandin) the
darkness o! the present, the !uture 4ill be bri)ht8
(n this book ( 4ill try to develop the idea that the !uture is over8 (t is not a ne4
idea, as you kno40 born 4ith punk, the 1>?9s and ;G9s 4itnessed the
be)innin) o! the slo4 cancellation o! the !uture8 -o4 those bizarre predictions
have become true8 The idea that the !uture has disappeared is o! course rather
4himsical, as 4hile ( 4rite these lines the !uture is not stoppin) to un!old8
But 4hen ( say 5!uture6 ( am not re!errin) to the direction o! time8 ( am
thinkin), rather, o! the psycholo)ical perception, 4hich emer)ed in the
cultural situation o! pro)ressive modernity, the cultural e/pectations that 4ere
!abricated durin) the lon) period o! modern civilization, reachin) a peak in the
years a!ter the %econd 1orld 1ar8 Those e/pectations 4ere shaped in the
conceptual !rame4orks o! an ever pro)ressin) development, albeit throu)h
di!!erent methodolo)ies0 the 2e)elo#Mar/ist mytholo)y o! Au!hebun) and
instauration o! the ne4 totality o! Communism= the bour)eois mytholo)y o! a
linear development o! 4el!are and democracy= the technocratic mytholo)y o!
the all encompassin) po4er o! scienti!ic kno4led)e, and so on8
My )eneration )re4 up in the hi)h point o! this mytholo)ical temporalization,
and it is very di!!icult, maybe impossible, to )et rid o! them, and look at
reality 4ithout these kind o! cultural eye)lasses8 (;ll never be able to live in
accordance 4ith the ne4 reality, no matter ho4 evident, unmistakable, even
dazzlin) the ne4 reality o! social planetary trends8 These trends seem to be
pointin) to4ard the dissipation o! the le)acy o! civilization, based on the
philosophy o! universal ri)hts8
The ri)ht to li!e, to e.ual opportunities !or all human bein)s, is daily denied
and trampled on in the )lobal landscape, and Europe is no e/ception8 The !irst
decade o! the ne4 century has marked the obliteration o! the ri)ht to li!e !or a
)ro4in) number o! people, even thou)h economic )ro4th has enhanced the
amount o! available 4ealth and 4idened the consumption o! )oods8 A )ro4in)
number o! people are !orced to leave their villa)es and to4ns because o! 4ar,
environmental 4aste, and !amine8 They are re<ected, mar)inalized, and
simultaneously sub<ected to a ne4 !orm o! slave e/ploitation8 The massive
internment o! mi)rant 4orkers in detention centers disseminated all over the
1B
European territory dispels the illusion that the 5camp6 has been 4iped out
!rom the 4orld8 Authoritarian racism is every4here, in the la4s o! security
voted by the parliaments o! the countries o! Europe, in the a))ressiveness o!
the European 4hite ma<ority, but also in the ethnicization o! social con!licts
and in !undamentalist identi!ication8
The !uture that my )eneration 4as e/pectin) 4as based on the unspoken
attainment that human bein)s 4ill never a)ain be treated as Me4s 4ere treated
durin) their German ni)htmare8 This assumption is provin) to be misleadin)8
( 4ant to re4ind the past evolution o! the !uture in order to understand 4hen
and 4hy it 4as trampled and dro4ned8


Futurism and the *eversal of the Future

*n February 39th 1>9> Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published the !irst
Futurist &ani!esto= in the same year 2enry Ford put into operation the !irst
assembly line in his automobile !actory in +etroit8 Both events can be
considered as the inau)uration o! the century that trusted in the !uture8 The
assembly line is the technolo)ical system that best de!ines the a)e o! industrial
massi!ication8 Thanks to the assembly line the mass production o! the
automobile becomes possible and the mobilisation o! social ener)ies is
submitted to the )oal o! the acceleration o! labor;s productivity8
Acceleration, speed, cult o! the machine : these are the values emphasized by
the Futurist &ani!esto8 The te/t 4ritten by MarinettiJ1K is a hymn to the
disruptin) modernity that in those decades 4as chan)in) the !ace o! the 4orld,
especially in the industrialized countries8 (taly 4as not one o! them0 havin)
only recently reached national union, its economy 4as based on a)riculture,
and the (talian style o! li!e and consumption 4as traditional and back4ard8
-ot by chance the Futurist movement sur!aced in (taly : and in ussia8 These
t4o countries shared a common social situation0 scant development o!
industrial production, mar)inality o! the bour)eois class, reliance on the
cultural and reli)ious models o! the past, attraction o! !orei)n culture
@especially FrenchA !or the urban intellectuals8 This is the back)round o! the
Futurist e/plosion, both in (taly and in ussia, but 4e should not only see this
movement as a reaction a)ainst national back4ardness8 *n the contrary, it 4as
the activator o! an aesthetic ener)y 4hich spread all over Europe durin) the
!ollo4in) decades, and the artistic core o! the enthusiastic belie! that the !uture
4as )oin) to be the !ul!ilment o! )reat e/pectations in the !ield o! politics,
science, technolo)y, and o! ne4 styles o! li!e8

1e declare that the splendor o! the 4orld has been enriched by a ne4 beauty0
the beauty o! speed8 A racin) automobile 4ith its bonnet adorned 4ith )reat
tubes like serpents 4ith e/plosive breath 888 a roarin) motor car 4hich seems
1E
to run on machine#)un !ire, is more beauti!ul than the ,ictory o! %amothrace8
@Futurist &ani!esto, Clause EA

The Futurist Mani!esto declared the aesthetic value o! speed8 The myth o!
speed sustained the 4hole edi!ice o! the ima)inary o! modernity, and the
reality o! speed played a crucial role in the history o! capital, 4hose
development is based on the acceleration o! labor time8 &roductivity in !act is
the )ro4th !actor o! the accretion o! relative surplus value determined by the
speed o! the productive )esture and by the intensi!ication o! its rhythm8

1e 4ill sin) o! the )reat cro4ds a)itated by 4ork, pleasure and revolt= the
multi#colored and polyphonic sur! o! revolutions in modern capitals0 the
nocturnal vibration o! the arsenals and the 4orkshops beneath their violent
electric moons0 the )luttonous rail4ay stations devourin) smokin) serpents=
!actories suspended !rom the clouds by the thread o! their smoke= brid)es 4ith
the leap o! )ymnasts !lun) across the diabolic cutlery o! sunny rivers0
adventurous steamers sni!!in) the horizon= )reat#breasted locomotives, pu!!in)
on the rails like enormous steel horses 4ith lon) tubes !or bridle, and the
)lidin) !li)ht o! aeroplanes 4hose propeller sounds like the !lappin) o! a !la)
and the applause o! enthusiastic cro4ds8 @F&- Clause 11A

The Mani!esto asserted the aesthetic value o! the machine8 The machine par
e/cellence is the speed machine, the car, the airplane, tools makin) possible
the mobilisation o! the social body8 Marinetti dedicated a poem to the racin)
car0

To The .acin) /ar

,eeeeehemently )od o! a race o! steel
Car drrrunken on space,
that pa4s the )round and trembles 4ith an)uish
seizin) the bit 4ith shrill teeth D
Formidable Mapanese monster,
4ith the eyes o! a !or)e,
nourished on !lame
and mineral oils,
ea)er !or horizons and sidereal prey D
( unchain your heart that pulsates diabolically,
( unchain your )i)antic tires,
!or the dance that you kno4 ho4 to dance
a4ay throu)h the 4hite sheets o! the 4hole 4orldN D @Marinetti 399E0 E?A

For us, d4ellers o! the postmodern conurbation, drivin) back home !rom the
1F
o!!ice, stuck and immovable in the tra!!ic <am o! rush hour, Marinetti;s
adoration o! the car seems a little bit ludicrous8 But the reality and concept o!
the machine have chan)ed a hundred years a!ter the Futurist &ani!esto8
Futurism e/alted the machine as an e/ternal ob<ect, visible in the city
landscape, but no4 the machine is inside us0 4e are no lon)er obsessed 4ith
the e/ternal machine= instead, the 5in!o#machine6 no4 intersects 4ith the
social nervous system, the 5bio#machine6 interacts 4ith the )enetic becomin)
o! the human or)anism8 +i)ital and bio#technolo)ies have turned the e/ternal
machine o! iron and steel into the internalised and recombinin) machine o! the
bio#in!o era8 The bio#in!o machine is no more separable !rom the body and the
mind, because it is no more an e/ternal tool, but an internal trans!ormer o! the
body and o! the mind, a lin)uistic and co)nitive enhancer8 -o4 the nano#
machine is mutatin) the human brain and the lin)uistic ability to produce and
communicate8 The Machine is us8
(n the mechanical era the machine stood in !ront o! the body, and chan)ed
human behaviour, enhancin) their potency 4ithout chan)in) their physical
structure8 The assembly line, !or instance, althou)h improvin) and increasin)
the productive po4er o! laborers did not modi!y their physical or)anism nor
introduce mutations inside their co)nitive ability8 -o4 the machine is no more
in !ront o! the body but inside it8 Bodies and minds there!ore cannot e/press
and relate anymore 4ithout the technical support o! the bio machine8
Because o! this chan)e political po4er has chan)ed its nature8 1hen the
machine 4as e/ternal the %tate had to re)ulate the body and !or this used the
la48 A)encies o! repression 4ere used in order to !orce the conscious
or)anisms to submit to that rhythm 4ithout rebellion8 -o4 the political
domination is internalized and is undistin)uishable !rom the machine itsel!8
-ot only the machine but also the machinic ima)ination under)oes a mutation
durin) this passa)e8 Marinetti conceived the machine in the modern 4ay, like
an e/ternal enhancer8 (n the bio#social a)e the machine is di!!erence o!
in!ormation0 not e/teriority but lin)uistic modelin), lo)ic and co)nitive
automatism, internal necessity8
A hundred years on since the publication o! the Futurist &ani!esto, speed too
has been trans!erred !rom the realm o! e/ternal machines to the in!ormation
domain8 %peed itsel! has been internalised8 +urin) the 39th century, the
machine o! speed accomplished the colonisation o! )lobal space= this 4as
!ollo4ed by the colonisation o! the domain o! time, o! the mind and
perception, so that the !uture collapsed8 (n the acceleration o! psychic and
co)nitive rhythm is rooted the collapse o! the !uture8
Thanks to the e/ternal machine the colonization o! the space o! the planet has
been accomplished0 transportation tools have made us reach every inch o! the
Earth, and have )iven us the possibility o! kno4in), markin), controllin) and
e/ploitin) every sin)le place8 The machines have made it possible to displace
!ast, to penetrate the bo4els o! the Earth, to e/ploit the under)round resources,
1C
to occupy every visible spot 4ith the products o! technical reproduction8 As
lon) as the spatial colonization 4as still under4ay, as !ar as the e/ternal
machine could )o to4ards ne4 territories, a !uture 4as conceivable, because
the !uture is not only a dimension o! time, but also a dimension o! space8 The
!uture is the space that 4e do not yet kno4= 4e are yet to discover and e/ploit
it8 1hen every inch o! the planet has been colonized, the colonization o! the
temporal dimension has be)an, i8e8, the colonization o! mind, o! perception, o!
li!e8 Thus be)an the century 4ith no !uture8
The .uestion o! the relationship bet4een an unlimited e/pansion o!
cyberspace and the limits o! cyber time opens up here8 Bein) the point o!
virtual intersection o! the pro<ections )enerated by countless issuers,
cyberspace is unlimited and in a process o! continuous e/pansion8 Cybertime,
4hich is the ability o! social attention to process in!ormation in time, is
or)anic, cultural and emotional, there!ore it is everythin) but unlimited8
%ub<ected to the in!inite acceleration o! the in!o#stimuli, the mind reacts 4ith
either panic or de#sensitisation8 The concept o! sensibility @and the di!!erent
but related concept o! sensitivityA are crucial here0 sensitivity is the ability o!
the human senses to process in!ormation, and sensibility is the !aculty that
makes empathic understandin) possible, the ability to comprehend 4hat 4ords
cannot say, the po4er to interpret a continuum o! non#discrete elements, non#
verbal si)ns and the !lo4s o! empathy8 This !aculty, 4hich enables humans to
understand ambi)uous messa)es in the conte/t o! relationships, mi)ht no4 be
disappearin)8 1e are 4itnessin) no4 the development o! a )eneration o!
human bein)s lackin) competence in sensibility, the ability to empathically
understand the other and decode si)ns that are not codi!ied in a binary system8
1hen the punks cried 5-o Future6, at the turnin) point o! the year 1>??, that
cry seemed a parado/ not to be taken too seriously8 Actually, it 4as the
announcement o! somethin) .uite important0 the perception o! the !uture 4as
chan)in)8 Future is not a natural dimension o! the mind, rather it is a modality
o! perception and ima)ination, a !eature o! e/pectation and attention, and its
modalities and !eatures chan)e 4ith the chan)in) o! cultures8 Futurism is the
artistic movement that embodies and asserts the accomplished modernity o!
the !uture8 The movement called Futurism announces 4hat is most essential in
the 39th century because this century is pervaded by a reli)ious belie! in the
!uture8 1e do not believe in the !uture in the same 4ay8 *! course, 4e kno4
that a time a!ter the present is )oin) to come, but 4e don;t e/pect that this
time 4ill !ul!ill the promises o! the present8
The Futurists : and the moderns in )eneral : thou)ht that the !uture is reliable
and trust4orthy8 (n the !irst part o! the century Fascists and Communists and
the supporters o! +emocracy held very di!!erent ideas, and !ollo4ed diver)ent
methods, but all o! them shared the belie! that the !uture 4ill be bri)ht, no
matter ho4 hard the present8 *ur post#!uturist mood is based on the
consciousness that the !uture is not )oin) to be bri)ht, or at least 4e doubt that
1?
the !uture means pro)ress8
Modernity started 4ith the reversal o! the theocratic vision o! time as Fall and
distancin) !rom the City o! God8 Moderns are those 4ho live time as the
sphere o! a pro)ress to4ards per!ection, or at least to4ards improvement,
enrichment, and ri)htness8 %ince the turnin) point o! the century that trusted in
the !uture : and ( like to place this turnin) point in the year 1>?? : humankind
has abandoned this illusion8 The insur)ents o! ;CG believed that they 4ere
!ul!illin) the Modern 2e)elian "topia o! the becomin) true o! thou)ht, the
Marcusean !usion o! reason and reality8 By the inte)ration o! eality and
eason @embedded in social kno4led)e, in!ormation and technolo)yA turned
history into a code#)enerated 4orld8 Terror and Code took over the social
relationship and utopia 4ent dystopic8 The century that trusted in the !uture
could be described as the systematic reversal o! utopia into dystopia8 Futurism
chanted the utopia o! Techni.ue, %peed and Ener)y, but the result 4as Fascism
in (taly and totalitarian communism in ussia8


The +edia ,to#ia of the Avant-.arde

Avant')arde is a 4ord that comes !rom military le/icon8 Both ussian and
(talian Futurism have a military back)round and a military conception o!
cultural action8 But the 4ord avant#)arde is also linked to the concept o!
"topia, as it implies the openin) and pre!i)uration o! a possible historical
!uture8
-eruda speaks o! "topia in terms o! an horizon8 1e 4alk and see the horizon,
and in that direction 4e head8 Althou)h the horizon is shi!tin) !urther and
!urther and 4e never can reach it, lookin) at the horizon )ives a sense to our
4alkin)8 "topia is like the horizon8 The etymolo)y o! the 4orld implies that
"topia can never be brou)ht into e/istence, but the history o! the 39th century
avant#)arde tells a di!!erent story8 Generally utopia has been realized, althou)h
in an overturned sense0 the libertarian utopias o! the century have )enerally
)iven birth to totalitarian re)imes8 The utopia o! the machine, nurtured by
(talian Futurism, )ave birth to the overproduction o! cars and to the alienated
production !orm o! the assembly line8 The communitarian utopia )ave birth to
the reality o! nationalism and !ascism8 The utopia o! ussian Futurism met the
totalitarian violence o! %talinism8
Then, at the end o! the century that trusted in the !uture, utopia )ives birth to
the kin)dom o! dystopia8 (n the !irst decades o! the century, the machines !or
the ampli!ication and di!!usion o! the voice 4ere an indispensable tool !or the
creation o! authoritarian po4er8 Both democratic and totalitarian re)imes
based the creation o! consensus on the ne4 electric technolo)ies o!
communication @loudspeaker, radio, and cinemaA )ivin) leaders the possibility
to !ill hu)e urban places 4ith cro4ds o! !ollo4ers, and to brin) to)ether 4ide
1G
territories and distant populations8 Futurism e/perimented 4ith and anticipated
this utilization o! the media8 The bio)raphies o! artists like Marinetti, ussolo,
Can)iullo, +epero and many other (talian !uturists attest to this anticipation8
Emphasizin) electricity as the universal medium, Futurism can be vie4ed as
the premonition o! the ultimate "topia, cyberculture, emer)in) in the last t4o
decades o! the century8
&aul ,alIry 4rites some4here that in the !uture the citizens o! the 4orld
4ould be able to receive in!ormation directly in their houses, like 4ater that
comes out o! the tap8 The universal !lo4 o! communication 4as !oreseen as
the actualization o! the ideal human universality8 The 54ireless ima)ination6
that Marinetti speaks o! is the ori)in o! the net4ork o! techni.ue, kno4led)e
and sensibility that durin) the century has <oined the planet, until turnin) it
into an all#pervadin) Global &ind, as Oevin Oelly @1>>EA calls it in the book
Out o! /ontrol8
The contribution o! Futurism to the development o! the media sensibility is
si)ni!icant8 The visual e/periments o! French pointillism and divisionism at
the end o! the 1>th century had opened the 4ay to cinematic techni.ue and
perception8 (n those years, 4hen cinema 4as be)innin) its development,
Balla;s and Boccioni;s 4orks 4ere intended to e/periment 4ith visual
techni.ues that could provide the perception o! movement in the motionless
!rame4ork o! the paintin)8
2enri Ber)son says that the cinema sho4s a close relationship bet4een
consciousness and the technical e/troversion o! movement in time8 For the
!irst time in the human history cinema makes possible the re#actualization o!
an action that happened in the past, and )ives us the possibility o! comin)
back to the !uture 4hen !uture has become past8 (n 1>13 +elaunay, 4ho 4as a
pupil o! Ber)son;s, 4rote in a letter to the (talian Futurists0 5Hour art has
velocity as e/pression and the cinema as a tool86 (n the &ani!esto tecnico
della pittura !uturista JFuturist Paintin)$ Technical &ani!estoK 4ritten in 1>19
and si)ned by Boccioni, Balla, CarrP, %everini, and ussolo @1>?90 3?A, the
idea o! dynamism is proclaimed as !ollo4s0 5The )esture 4hich 4e 4ould
reproduce on canvas shall no lon)er be a !i/ed moment in universal
dynamism8 (t shall simply be the dynamic sensation itsel!68
Futurist dynamism 4ants to in!use in the paintin) the perception o! temporal
pro)ression, as 4e can see in Balla;s paintin) "i)norina con ca)nolino- and in
Boccioni;s "tati d0animo8 Futurist innovation e/polits the rhythm o! techno#
media innovation0 photo)raphy, cinema, radio8 Cubo#!uturist painters intend to
capture the dynamic o! the movement by the simultaneous presentation o!
di!!erent sides o! the ob<ect, preparin) the sensibility o! cinema and television8
Ohlebnikov and Oruchonykh sin) the praises o! radio as the medium o!
universal love and sympathy amon) men8 A!ter dreamin) o! the evolution o!
the media, a!ter proclaimin) the advent o! universal communication and
4ireless ima)ination, in the second hal! o! the century the avant#)arde 4ill
1>
perceive the conversion o! the media into tools o! domination over the
collective mind8 But the ambi)uity is there !rom the be)innin)8
(n 1>31 ,elimir Ohlebnikov @1>G?0 B>3#>CA 4rote an amazin) paper, titled
5The adio o! the Future68 (n this te/t you may !ind everythin) and its
contrary8 The e/hilaratin) adventure o! communication is evoked that spreads
all over the planet <oinin) and connectin) distant villa)es and communities,
brin)in) 4ords and ima)es and enli)htenin) every spot o! the 4orld8 But in
the same 4ords and in the same tones you can !eel the prophecy o! totalitarian
control, o! centralized state domination 4hich is annihilatin) !reedom8 1topia
and dystopia come out !rom Ohlebnikov;s ima)ination o! the radio, 4hich is
simultaneously irradiation o! the li)ht o! love and o! kno4led)e, and voice o!
the almi)hty po*er8
(n the country o! Gu)lielmo Marconi, Futurism translates the spirit o! the ne4
medium 4ith the !ormula o! 4ireless ima)ination, and Ohlebnikov, in the
ne4born %oviet epublic, chants the )lory o! the irradiatin) medium8 (n
ussia these are the years o! civil 4ar and massive scarcity and starvation, but
the enli)htened and naive spirit o! the Futurist poet 4andered beyond the !o)s
and the clouds and sa4 the bri)ht !uture o! the media8 The radio becomes in
Ohlebnikov;s 4ords a )i)antic screen in the central place o! all the cities and
the villa)es so that the people can receive ne4s and su))estions and lessons
and medical instructions8 (n this visionary te/t Ohlebnikov is clearly
!oreseein) somethin) that 4e today call the (nternet, the in!inite connection o!
places 4ithout a place8 And his ima)ination is simultaneously 4ildly
libertarian and despondently totalitarian8 2is radio broadcasts color and
ima)es thanks to a system o! mirrors re!lectin) 4hat is happenin) in a distant
place8 But the !lo4 o! ima)es and 4ords that can be received by the 4eb o!
radio#screens disseminated every4here in the country comes !rom a central
place 4hich is the %upreme %oviet o! %ciences broadcastin) everyday to all
the schools and villa)es8 Ohlebnikov !oretells a medium that 4e call today
television8 The history o! the 39th century may be described as the stru))le
bet4een the broadcast and the 4eb, bet4een the centralized medium o!
television and the proli!eratin) medium o! the (nternet8 The t4o models are
obviously intermin)lin) and interactin), but the philosophy o! one and the
philosophy o! the other are clearly distin)uishable as utopia and dystopia o!
the mediascape8 But in the ima)ination o! the Futurist ,in) o! the 1niverse
@as Ohlebnikov named himsel!A the t4o !aces are united in the same
ni)htmare#dream8


Zaum and Technomaya

The poetics o! Ohlebnikov may be vie4ed as a utopian and anticipatory
appreciation o! the ne4 reality o! lan)ua)e in the a)e o! media tech8 2e 4as
39
the prophet o! late century cyberculture, and the utopian thinker o! the mi/ o!
technolo)y, transmentality, and psychedelics8 2e created the 4ord 5$aum6,
transmental emotional lan)ua)e, re!errin) to the ability to trans!er meanin)s
4ithout need o! any conventional lin)uistic symbols8
This issue 4as sharply perceived by the %ymbolist poets8 %ince the end o! the
1>th century, %ymbolist poetics tried to overcome the lin)uistic limit to
interpersonal comprehension and looked !or a !orm o! communication !reed
!rom semantic convention8 The point o! arrival o! the %ymbolist poetical
school is the notion o! transmental lan)ua)e8 MallarmI seeks a poetics able to
transmit emotion rather than meanin)8 The MallarmIan concept o! emotion
must be understood in a sense that has has nothin) to do 4ith any romantic
and decadent su))estion8 MallarmI 4rites in a letter @5'ettre P Cazalis6, B9
*ctober 1GCEA that symbolism is 5une poIti.ue trIs nouvelle, .ui peut peindre
non la chose mais l;e!!et .u;elle produit86 To paint, he says, not the thin), but
the e!!ect produced in the mind o! the receiver o! the messa)e8 2is intention is
!ar !rom the tardo @lateA#romantic aura0 the emotional e!!ect MallarmI is
talkin) about is the transmission o! mental states8 The action o! color, o!
phoneme, ima)e and 4ord is intended to 4ork as mental chan)e, as
neurolo)ical emotion, as synesthetic telepathy8
Ohlebnikov had been in!luenced by %ymbolist poetics be!ore <oinin) the
Futurist movement in the roarin) years o! the evolution8 The a!!inities
bet4een %ymbolism and Futurism are much more interestin) than their
di!!erences8 Ohlebnikov, 4ho loved to travel by train all around ussia, and
4ho loved the archaic 4ays o! li!e like the ma)ical#shamanistic practices o!
deep, traditional ussia, 4anted to create a lan)ua)e virtually planetarian, able
to be understood beyond lin)uistic boundaries, and he called this lan)ua)e
2aum @5beyond sense6A, meanin) a transmental emotional lan)ua)e8 An)elo
Maria ipellino @1>?G0 >BA points out that 5Futurism has t4o !aces8 *n one
side it emphasizes technolo)y, skyscrapers, machines= on the other side it;s
moved by the tro)lodytes, the 4ild, caves, and the stone#a)e= and so it opposes
the sleep o! a pre#lo)ic Asia to the modern European metropolitan !renzy68
2ere 4e are on ambivalent )round, open on t4o di!!erent sides0 2aum is
seduced by pre#symbolic !orms o! communication, the ori)inal protolin)uistic
vocality, the lan)ua)e o! ori)inal emotions8 But at the same time, it is
predisposed to ima)ine the possibility o! a post#symbolic communication, i8e8,
a telepathic technolo)y= in that sense 4e see %ymbolism and Futurism
conver)in) to4ards the ima)ination o! lin)uistic utopias, mer)in) archaism
and !uturism8
Ohlebnikov is charmed by the enchantin) virtues o! sounds, by the phonetic
sorcellerie J4itchcra!tK0 5Faith in 4itchery o! phonemes, interest in the
shamanic culture, research o! a ritual lan)ua)e, this is the symbolist in!luence0
poetry is a ma)ical action, and an oracular messa)e8 Many poems by
Bal;mont, Bel;i<, Blok are conceived as means o! ma)ical action, similar to
31
4itches balms, animal brains, snake skin, %avina leaves and belladonna or
datura and so on6 @op3 cit8A8 Ohlebnikov turns his back on the European
modern 4orld, not4ithstandin) his !uturistic !lirtations, pre!errin) eternal
Asia, and he dives into the 5etymolo)ical ni)ht,6 into the deepness o! a past
that is protended to4ards ima)inary ori)ins8 (n this ma)ical back)round he
sees the possibility o! a telepathic e!!ect o! transmission o! meanin) 4ithout
the mediation o! a conventional si)ni!ier, throu)h the direct stimulation o!
neurolo)ical emotions correspondin) to meanin)8 The Ohlebnikov 4ay leads
to pre#symbolic communication, but this 4ay must conver)e 4ith post#
%ymbolic research, 4hich is today our task8 Ohlebnikov seems to be the point
o! connection bet4een the t4o directions8 The aim o! Ohlebnikovian
transmental lan)ua)e is to !ind a non#conventional dimension o!
communication throu)h travel 4 rebours in the nocturnal territory o!
etymolo)ies and ori)ins= but no4 4e pro)ress to4ards the same end throu)h
the dan)erous e/perimentation o! telepathic techni.ues8
"ymbolist research is e/plicitly tied 4ith the mystical searches o! every time,
because mysticism kno4s the 4ay to non#conventional dimension o!
communication8 (n Foundations o! Tibetan &ysticism, 'ama Ana)arika
Govinda @1>C90 1?A says0 5The essential nature o! 4ords is there!ore neither
e/hausted by their present meanin), nor is their importance con!ined to their
use!ulness as transmitters o! thou)hts and ideas68 Ana)arika Govinda is
per!ectly conscious o! the !act that on this )round Buddhist symbolism sho4s
a deep coincidence 4ith poetical symbolism, and notes0 5The ma)ic 4hich
poetry e/erts upon us, is due to this .uality and the rhythm combined
there4ith 888 The birth o! lan)ua)e 4as the birth o! humanity8 Each 4ord 4as
the sound#e.uivalent o! an e/perience, connected 4ith an internal or e/ternal
stimulus86 @1>C90 1?#1GA The material consistency o! the poetic si)n @i8e8
sound, rhythm, vibrationA produces its e!!iciency and capability to create
mental e!!ects8 e!errin) to the Tibetan tradition, Ana)arika Govinda
distin)uishes bet4een the 4ord as shabda and the 4ord as mantra= shabda is
the ordinary 4ord composin) common speech, the 4ord that is able to carry
si)ni!ication throu)h conventional understandin)8 &antra, on the other hand,
is the impulse that creates a mental ima)e, the po4er to chan)e mental states8
5Mantra is a tool !or thinkin), a thin) 4hich creates a mental picture86 @1>C90
1>A 1ith sound it calls !orth its content into a state o! immediate reality8
Mantra is po4er, not merely speech, 4hich the mind can contradict or evade8
1hat mantra e/presses by its sound e/ists, comes to pass8 (t is the peculiarity
o! the true poet that his 4ord creates actuality, calls !orth and unveils
somethin) real8 Mantra is a !orce able to evoke ima)es, create and transmit
mental states8
'eibniz 4rote some4here in the late 1C?9s0 5A universal character could be
introduced in communication, somethin) better than the character used by the
Chinese8 1e could employ little !i)ures in place o! 4ords, in order to
33
represent visible thin)s and invisible too8 This could be use!ul in order to
communicate 4ith the !ara4ay nations, but 4e could use it also in the ordinary
communication8 The use o! this 4ay o! 4ritin) 4ould be very use!ul !or the
enrichment o! the ima)ination, and !or the production o! thou)hts86 The
characteristica universalis, as translin)uistic symbolization, opens an issue o!
)reat importance today, in the a)e o! intercultural planetary communication8
&oetical and ma)ical symbolism are both involved in the process o! evocation
that the 4ord and the si)n can produce8 But 4e must reconsider the problem
startin) !rom a ne4 datum, comin) !rom electronic technolo)y0 the virtual
reality machine, that involves the same problem posed by poetical and ma)ical
symbolism, that is, ( mean the problem o! telepathic communication8
'in)uistic communication is made possible by si)ns conventionally and
arbitrarily connected 4ith meanin)s= here 4e speak o! communication
stimulatin) mental states correspondin) to the ima)e, to the emotion, to the
concept that the sender 4ants to transmit8 The production o! technical tools !or
simulation, and especially o! machines !or (irtual .eality, puts the problem in
a ne4 li)ht8 1e may label ,irtual eality any technolo)y capable o!
transmittin) directly impulses !rom one brain to another, in order to stimulate
in the receiver brain a synaptic connection correspondin) to a certain
representation, to a certain con!i)uration, ima)e, concept, emotion8 (n a purely
abstract 4ay 4e may say that ,irtual eality is the stimulation o! a neuronic
4ave, structured !ollo4in) models that are intentional and isomorphic to the
mental states that correspond to a certain e/perience8 1e can say that this
technolo)y is the most adapt !or a telepathic kind communication8 Maron
'anier, 4ho in the 1>G9;s 4as the !irst creator o! ,irtual eality machines,
spoke in those years o! post#symbolic communication8 (! you can provide a
reality as you can do 4ith the ,irtual eality tools, and i! you can share this
reality 4ith other persons, you don;t need anymore to describe the 4orld,
because you can simply create this contin)ence, this coincidence= you donQt
need to describe an action, you can create it8
%tartin) !rom this premise, 4e can )o back to the problem posed by 'eibniz,
the problem o! characteristica universalis, i8e8, in contemporary terms, the
problem o! a planetary lan)ua)e, o! a lan)ua)e that should be able to connect
people belon)in) to di!!erent cultural and lin)uistic traditions8 &ierre 'Ivy
@1>>1A has proposed in L0id5o)raphie dynami6ue J+ynamic 7deo)raphyK the
idea o! a communication technolo)y that he himsel! has named dynamic
ideo)raphy8 1hat does it mean, synthetically7 +ynamic ideo)raphy is a
communication technolo)y that enables people to transmit mental states,
ima)es, emotions, concepts, sense con!i)urations, 4ithout any conventional
means8 The transmission is made possible by a direct stimulation o! the neuro#
physical connections correspondin) to sense con!i)urations8 +ynamic
ideo)raphy is a communication technolo)y that can trans!er !rom a
communicatin) person to another the mental models that are involved in
3B
seein) a certain ima)e, in e/periencin) a certain situation, in thinkin) a certain
concept8 (t;s easy to see the relationship bet4een ,irtual eality and dynamic
ideo)raphy8 The dynamic ideo)raphy is a techni.ue that activates a se.uence
o! virtual realities, correspondin) to the contents that ( 4ant to send and
communicate8 +ynamic ideo)raphy is transmission o! mental models
@emotional, or conceptual modelsA0 an analo)ical tool o! a )lobal and
synesthetic kind, directly actin) on ima)ination8
(ma)ination is an in!inite variation o! analo)ical combinatory items8
(ma)ination is an in!inite variation o! possibilities that the mind processes,
startin) !rom disposable en)rams8 The store o! Memory is a limited one, but
the possibilities o! composin) the items that are stored in the Memory are
unlimited8 The process o! combinin) these analo)ical plastic items is named
(ma)ination8 The theoretical and practical study o! the Becomin) o!
(ma)ination can be named &sychedelics8
5&sychedelics6 means the possibility o! manipulatin) and trans!ormin) mind
activity throu)h chemical, electrical or other stimulation8 2o4 is it possible to
produce a pro)rammed, intentioned, controlled stimulation o! the mental
activity o! our communication partner7 %tartin) !rom the possibility to
transmit mental models, to stimulate synaptic 4aves correspondin) to the
mental states that 4e 4ant to communicate, no4 4e see that it becomes
possible to share ima)inary 4ords, in mental co#evolution8 *n this basis 4e
can say that any !orm o! lan)ua)e is the transmission o! si)ns intended to
tri))er in the mind o! the receiver the buildin) o! mental models, !ollo4in)
the intentions o! the sender8
(n the pa)es o! Neuromancer, 1illiam Gibson @1>GE0 G1A sees the 4orld as
5Cyberspace60 5A consensual hallucination e/perienced daily by billions o!
le)itimate operators, in every nation, by children bein) tau)ht mathematical
concepts D A )raphic representation o! data abstracted !rom the banks o!
every computer in the human system68
Cyberspace is a hypothesis o! the 4orld0 *ntolo)y and Gnoseolo)y are on the
same level o! consistency, since Bein) is essentially a pro<ection8 51e are in a
sort o! cave, like &lato said, and they;re sho4in) us endless !unky !ilms,6
&hilip +ick says in 1bik @1>C>A8 1e can think that reality is the in!inite
pro<ection o! endless movies on the screen o! our brain8 But, i! 4e 4ant to
move !rom the hallucinatory to the real#4orld dimension, 4e simply must
introduce the notion o! communication, i8e8 sharin) the hallucination8 +ick
continues0 51hen t4o people share the same dream, it ceases to be an illusion0
the !undamental proo! that distin)uishes reality !rom ima)ination is the
consensus )entium, the !act that another person or several people see the same
thin) that ( see8 This is idios kosmos, the private dream, opposed to the dream
that all o! us share, koinos kosmos8 (n the a)e o! virtual technolo)ies 4e are
be)innin) to see the plastic and vibratin) .uality o! the common 4orld, and
this scares us, because o! its insubstantiality, and 4e are be)innin) to see that
3E
the .uality o! hallucination is not mere smoke8 'ike science !iction, a third
reality is emer)in) bet4een the t4o86 The 2indus call it &aya8 But the
concept is not easy to understand in its deepest meanin)8 Maya is illusion
because it has been torn !rom its livin) connections and limited in time and
space8 The individuality and corporality o! the unenli)htened human bein),
tryin) to maintain and preserve its illusory sel!hood, is Maya in this ne)ative
sense8
Also the body o! the Enli)htened *ne is Maya, but not in the ne)ative sense,
because it is the conscious creation o! a mind that is !ree !rom illusion8 Maya
does not mean illusion, but somethin) more0 ( 4ould say that it means
pro<ection o! the 4orld8 The pro<ection o! the 4orld can be !rozen and become
mere illusion, sel!#deception, i! 4e think that the ima)ined 4orld is
independent !rom ima)ination, and i! 4e think that the ima)in) sel! is
independent !rom communication and !rom the becomin) o! the 4orld8 But
Maya in itsel! means pro<ectin) action, creation o! the 4orld8 Thus Maya
becomes the cause o! illusion, but it is not illusion itsel!8
1e are 4itnessin) a process o! proli!eration o! technolo)ical tools !or
simulation8 The social technolo)y o! communication is aimed to connect
ima)ination and pro<ection o! the individuals and )roups8 This pro<ection#4eb
could be called Technomaya, neuro#telematic net4ork endlessly pro<ectin) a
movie shared by all the conscious or)anisms 4ho are connected8 This techno#
ima)ination, this mutual implication in the koinos kosmos is socialization
itsel!8 Throu)h the proli!eration o! machines !or electronic, holo)raphic
stimulation, and o! pro)rammed neuro#stimulation, 4e can enter the domain
o! Techno#maya, because 4e can produce 4orlds o! Meanin), and 4e can
transmit these 4orlds, tri))erin) the ima)inations o! other people8


Activism

Futurism and the avant#)arde set themselves the task o! violatin) rules8
+ere)ulation 4as the le)acy le!t by imbaud to the e/perimentation o! the
1>99s8 +ere)ulation 4as also the rallyin) cry o! the hyper#capitalism o! late
modernity, pavin) the 4ay !or the development o! semiocapital8 (n the
totalitarian period o! the e/ternal machine and mechanical speed, havin)
previously used the state !orm to impose its rule on society, capitalism decided
to do 4ithout state mediation as the techni.ues o! recombination and the
absolute speed o! electronics made it possible !or control to be interiorised8 (n
the classical !orm o! manu!acturin) capitalism, price, 4a)es and pro!it
!luctuations 4ere based on the relationship bet4een necessary labor time and
the determination o! value8 Follo4in) the introduction o! microelectronic
technolo)ies and the resultin) intellectualisation o! productive labor, the
relationship bet4een di!!erent ma)nitudes and di!!erent productive !orces
3F
entered a period o! indeterminacy8 +ere)ulation- as launched by Mar)aret
Thatcher and onald ea)an, marked the end o! the la4 o! value and turned
its demise into a political economy8 (n his main 4ork, "ymbolic Echan)e and
+eath- Mean Baudrillard @1>>Ba0 3A intuitively in!ers the overall direction o!
the development o! the end o! the millennium0 5The reality principle
corresponded to a certain sta)e o! the la4 o! value8 Today, the 4hole system is
s4amped by indeterminacy, and every reality is absorbed by the hyperreality
o! the code and simulation86
The 4hole system precipitates into indeterminacy as all correspondences
bet4een symbol and re!erent, simulation and event, value and labor time no
lon)er hold8 But isn;t this also 4hat the avant#)arde aspired to7 +oesn;t
e/perimental art 4ish to sever the link bet4een symbol and re!erent7 (n sayin)
this, ( am not accusin) the avant#)arde o! bein) the cause o! neoliberalist
economic dere)ulation8 ather, ( am su))estin) that the anarchic utopia o! the
avant#)arde 4as actualized and turned into its opposite the moment society
internalised rules and capital 4as able to abdicate both <uridical la4 and
political rationality to abandon itsel! to the seemin) anarchy o! internalised
automatisms, 4hich is actually the most ri)id !orm o! totalitarianism8
As industrial discipline d4indled, individuals !ound themselves in a state o!
ostensible !reedom8 -o la4 !orced them to put up 4ith duties and dependence8
*bli)ations became internalised and social control 4as e/ercised throu)h a
voluntary albeit inevitable sub<u)ation to chains o! automatisms8
(n a re)ime o! aleatory and !luctuatin) values, precariousness became the
)eneralised !orm o! social relations, 4hich deeply a!!ected the social
composition and the psychic, relational and lin)uistic characters o! a ne4
)eneration as it entered the labor market8 ather than a particular !orm o!
productive relations, precariousness is the dark soul o! the productive process8
An uninterrupted !lo4 o! !ractal and recombinin) in!o#labor that circulates in
the )lobal 4eb as the a)ent o! universal valorisation, yet its value is
indeterminable8 Connectivity and precariousness are t4o sides o! the same
coin0 the !lo4 o! semiocapitalist production captures and connects cellularized
!ra)ments o! de#personalised time= capital purchases !ractals o! human time
and recombines them in the 4eb8 From the standpoint o! capitalist
valorisation, this !lo4 is uninterrupted and !inds its unity in the ob<ect
produced= ho4ever, !rom the standpoint o! co)nitive 4orkers the supply o!
labor is !ra)mented0 !ractals o! time and pulsatin) cells o! labor are s4itched
on and o!! in the lar)e control room o! )lobal production8 There!ore the supply
o! labor time can be disconnected !rom the physical and <uridical person o! the
4orker8 %ocial labor time becomes an ocean o! valorisin) cells that can be
summoned and recombined in accordance 4ith the needs o! capital8
'et us return to the Futurist &ani!esto0 4ar and the contempt !or 4omen are
the essential !eatures o! mobilization, 4hich traverses the 4hole parable o!
historical van)uards8 The Futurist ambition really consisted in mobilisin)
3C
social ener)ies to4ards the acceleration o! the productivity o! the social
machine8 Art aided the discourse o! advertisin) as the latter !ed into
mobilisation8 1hen industrial capitalism transposed into the ne4 !orm o!
semiocapitalism, it !irst and !oremost mobilised the psychic ener)y o! society
to bend it to the drive o! competition and co)nitive productivity8 The ne*
economy o! the 1>>9s 4as essentially a prozac'economy, both neuro#
mobilization and compulsory creativity8
&aul ,irilio has sho4n the connection bet4een 4ar and speed0 in the modern
!orms o! domination, the imposition o! 4ar onto the 4hole o! social li!e is an
implicit one precisely because economic competitiveness is 4ar, and 4ar and
the economy share common )rounds in speed8 As 1alter Ben<amin 4rites0 5all
e!!orts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thin)0 4ar86 The becomin)
aesthetic o! li!e is one aspect o! this mobilisation o! social ener)ies8 The
aestheticization o! 4ar is !unctional to the sub<u)ation o! everyday li!e to the
rule o! history8 1ar !orces the )lobal masses to partake in the process o! sel!#
realisation o! the 2e)elian %pirit, or, perhaps more realistically, to become part
o! capitalist )lobal accumulation8 Captured in the dynamics o! 4ar, everyday
li!e is ready to be sub<ected to the unlimited rule o! the commodity8
From this standpoint, there is no di!!erence bet4een !ascism, communism and
democracy0 art !unctions as the element o! aestheticization and mobilisation o!
everyday li!e8 Total mobilization is terror, and terror is the ideal condition !or a
!ull realisation o! the capitalist plan to mobilise psychic ener)y8 The close
relation bet4een Futurism and advertisin) is an inte)ral part o! this process8
(n Art and .evolution$ Transversal Activism in the Lon) T*entieth /entury,
Gerald auni) @399?A 4rites on the relationship bet4een the artistic avant#
)arde and activism8 2is 4ork provides a use!ul phenomenolo)ical account o!
the relation bet4een art and political mobilisation in the 39th century, but it
!ails to )rasp the absolute speci!icity o! the current situation, that is, the crisis
and e/haustion o! all activism8
The term 5activism6 became lar)ely in!luential as a result o! the anti#
)lobalisation movement, 4hich used it to describe its political communication
and the connection bet4een art and communicative action8 2o4ever, this
de!inition is a mark o! its attachment to the past and its inability to !ree itsel!
!rom the conceptual !rame o! re!erence it inherited !rom the 39th century8
%hould 4e not !ree ourselves !rom the thirst !or activism that !ed the 39th
century to the point o! catastrophe and 4ar7 %houldn;t 4e set ourselves !ree
!rom the repeated and !ailed attempt to act !or the liberation o! human ener)ies
!rom the rule o! capital7 (sn;t the path to4ards the autonomy o! the social
!rom economic and military mobilisation only possible throu)h a 4ithdra4al
into inactivity, silence, and passive sabota)e7
( believe that there is a pro!ound relationship bet4een the drive to activism
and the male depression o! late modernity, 4hich is most evident in the
voluntaristic and sub<ectivist or)anisation o! 'eninism8 Both !rom the
3?
standpoint o! the history o! the 4orkers; movement in the 1>99s and !rom that
o! the strate)ic autonomy o! society !rom capital, ( am convinced that the 39th
century 4ould have been a better century had 'enin not e/isted8 'enin;s
vision interprets a deep trend in the con!i)uration o! the psyche o! modern
masculinity8 Male narcissism 4as con!ronted 4ith the in!inite po4er o! capital
and emer)ed !rom it !rustrated, humiliated, and depressed8 (t seems to me that
'enin;s depression is a crucial element !or understandin) the role his thou)ht
played in the development o! the politics o! late modernity8
( have read 2IlRne CarrRre +;Encausse;s bio)raphy o! 'enin8 The author is a
researcher o! Geor)ian descent, 4ho also published L;empire 5clat5, 4here
she !oresa4 the collapse o! the %oviet empire as an e!!ect o! the insur)ence o!
(slamic !undamentalism8 1hat interested me in CarrRre +;Encausse;s
bio)raphy o! 'enin more than the history o! 'enin;s political activity 4as his
personal li!e, his !ra)ile psyche, and his a!!ectionate and intellectual
relationships 4ith the 4omen close to him0 his mother, his sister, Orupskaia,
comrade and 4i!e, 4ho looked a!ter him at times o! acute psycholo)ical
crises, and, !inally, (nes Armand, the perturbin), the unheimlich- the lover
4hom 'enin decided to neutralise and remove, like music, apparently8
The !rame4ork o! the psyche described in this bio)raphy is depression and
'enin;s most acute crises coincided 4ith important political shi!ts in the
revolutionary movement8 As CarrRre +;Encausse 4rites0

'enin used to invest everythin) he did 4ith perseverance, tenaciousness and
an e/ceptional concentration0 such consistency, 4hich he thou)ht necessary in
each o! his e!!orts, put him in a position o! )reat superiority over the people
around him JDK8 This !eature o! his character o!ten had ne)ative e!!ects8
E/ceedin)ly intensive e!!orts 4ould tire him and 4ear do4n his already
!ra)ile nervous system8 The !irst crisis dates back to 1>938 @+;Encausse 1>>G0
?GA

These 4ere the years o! the Bolshevik turn, o! #hat 7s to 8e +one9 Orupskaia
played a !undamental role in the crisis o! her comrade0 she intervened to !ilter
his relations 4ith the outside 4orld, paid !or his therapy and isolation in
clinics in %4itzerland and Finland8 'enin emer)ed !rom the 1>93 crisis by
4ritin) #hat 7s to 8e +one9 and en)a)in) in the construction o! a 5nucleus o!
steel6, a block o! 4ill capable o! breakin) the 4eakest link in the @imperialistA
chain8 The second crisis arrived in 1>1E at the hei)ht o! the break up o! the
%econd (nternational and the split o! the Communists8 The third crisis, as you
mi)ht )uess, occurred in the sprin) o! 1>1?8 Orupskaia !ound a sa!e resort in
Finland, 4here 'enin conceived The April Theses and the decision to impose
4ill on intelli)ence0 a rupture that disre)arded the deep dynamics o! class
stru))le and !orced onto them an e/ternal desi)n8 (ntelli)ence is depressive,
there!ore, 4ill is the only cure to the abyss= i)nore but do not remove it8 The
3G
abyss remained and the !ollo4in) years not only uncovered it, but the century
slipped into it8
2ere ( do not intend to discuss the politics o! 'enin;s !undamental choices8 (
am interested in pointin) out a relationship bet4een Bolshevik voluntarism
and the male inability to accept depression and develop it !rom 4ithin8 2ere
lies the root o! the sub<ectivist voluntarism that produced the setback o! social
autonomy in the 1>99s8 The intellectual decisions o! 'eninism 4ere so
po4er!ul because they 4ere capable o! interpretin) the male obsession 4ith
voluntarism as it !aced depression8


Connection and "ensi'ility

By the be)innin) o! the 31st century the lon) history o! the artistic avant#
)arde 4as over8 Be)innin) 4ith 1a)ner;s Gesamtkunst*erk and resultin) in
the +adaist cry to 5Abolish art- abolish everyday li!e- abolish the separation
bet*een art and everyday li!e6, the history o! the avant#)arde culminates in
the )esture o! >L118 %tockhausen had the coura)e to say this, 4hilst many o! us
4ere thinkin) the same0 terrorizin) suicide is the total 4ork o! art o! the
century 4ith no !uture8 The !usion o! art and li!e @or death, 4hat di!!erence
does it make7A is clearly visible in the !orm o! action that 4e mi)ht call
5terrorisin) suicide68 'et us take &ekka Auvinen as an e/ample8 The Finnish
youn)ster turned up to his class at school 4ith a machine )un, killin) ei)ht
people, himsel! included8 &rinted on his T#shirt 4as the sentence0 52umanity
is overrated86 1asn;t his )esture pre)nant 4ith si)ns typical o! the
communicative action o! the arts7
'et me e/plain0 ( am not invitin) the youn) readers o! this essay to )o to a
cro4ded place 4ith an e/plosive belt8 ( am tryin) to say, pay attention0 a
)i)antic 4ave o! desperation could soon turn into a suicidal epidemic that 4ill
turn the !irst connective )eneration into a devastatin) psychic bomb8
( do not think that this 4ave o! suicides can be e/plained in terms o! morality,
!amily values and the 4eak discourse used by conservative thou)ht to account
!or the ethical dri!t produced by capitalism8 (n order to understand the
contemporary !orm o! ethical ship4reck 4e need to re!lect on the
trans!ormations o! activity and labor, the subsumption o! the time o! the mind
under the competitive realm o! productivity= 4e have to understand the
mutation o! the co)nitive and psycho#social system8
The conte/t o! my understandin) o! present historical and cultural dynamics is
the transition !rom a realm o! con<unction to one o! connection, 4ith a special
!ocus on the emer)ence o! the !irst connective )eneration, those 4ho learn
more 4ords !rom a machine than a mother8 (n this transition, a mutation o! the
conscious or)anism is takin) place0 to render this or)anism compatible 4ith a
connective environment, our co)nitive system needs to be re!ormatted8 This
3>
appears to )enerate a dullin) o! the !aculties o! con<unction that had hitherto
characterised the human condition8
The realm o! sensibility is involved in this on)oin) process o! co)nitive
re!ormattin)= 4e see aesthetic thou)ht as bein) inserted at a <uncture8 Ethical
and political thou)ht is also reshapin) its observational standpoint and
!rame4ork around the passa)e !rom a con<unctive to a connective !orm o!
human concatenation8
Con<unction is becomin)#other8 (n contrast, in connection each element
remains distinct and interacts only !unctionally8 %in)ularities chan)e 4hen
they con<oin= they become somethin) other than they 4ere be!ore their
con<unction8 'ove chan)es the lover and a combination o! a#si)ni!yin) si)ns
)ives rise to the emer)ence o! a meanin) that does not e/ist prior to it8 ather
than a !usion o! se)ments, connection entails a simple e!!ect o! machinic
!unctionality8 (n order to connect, se)ments must be compatible and open to
inter!acin) and inter#operability8 Connection re.uires these se)ments to be
lin)uistically compatible8 (n !act the di)ital 4eb spreads and e/pands by
pro)ressively reducin) more and more elements to a !ormat, a standard and a
code that make di!!erent se)ments compatible8
The se)ments that enter this rhizome belon) to di!!erent realms o! nature0 they
are electronic, semiotic, machinic, biolo)ical, and psychic= optic !ibre circuits,
mathematical abstractions, electroma)netic 4aves, human eyes, neurons and
synapses8 The process 4hereby they become compatible traverses
hetero)eneous !ields o! bein) and !olds them onto a principle o! connectivity8
The present mutation occurs in this transition !rom con<unction to connection,
a paradi)m o! e/chan)e bet4een conscious or)anisms8
Central to this mutation is the insertion o! the electronic into the or)anic, the
proli!eration o! arti!icial devices in the or)anic universe, in the body, in
communication and in society8 There!ore, the relationship bet4een
consciousness and sensibility is trans!ormed and the e/chan)e o! si)ns
under)oes a process o! increasin) desensitisation8
Con<unction is the meetin) and !usion o! rounded and irre)ular !orms that
in!use in a manner that is imprecise, unrepeatable, imper!ect and continuous8
Connection is the punctual and repeatable interaction o! al)orithmic !unctions,
strai)ht lines and points that <u/tapose per!ectly and are inserted and removed
in discrete modes o! interaction8 These discrete modes make di!!erent parts
compatible to predetermined standards8 The di)italisation o! communication
processes leads on the one hand to a sort o! desensitisation to the curve and to
the continuous !lo4s o! slo4 becomin), and on the other hand to a becomin)
sensitive to the code, to sudden chan)es o! states and to the se.uence o!
discrete si)ns8
(nterpretation !ollo4s semantic criteria in the realm o! con<unction0 the
meanin) o! the si)ns sent by the other as she enters in con<unction 4ith you
needs to be understood by tracin) the intention, the conte/t, the nuances and
B9
the unsaid, i! necessary8 The interpretative criteria o! the realm o! connection
on the other hand are purely syntactic8 (n connection, the interpreter must
reco)nise a se.uence and be able to per!orm the operation re.uired by )eneral
synta/ or the operatin) system= there is no room !or mar)ins o! ambi)uity in
the e/chan)e o! messa)es, nor can the intention be sho4n by means o!
nuances8
This mutation produces pain!ul e!!ects in the conscious or)anism and 4e read
them throu)h the cate)ories o! psychopatholo)y0 dysle/ia, an/iety and apathy,
panic, depression and a sort o! suicidal epidemic is spreadin)8 2o4ever, a
purely psychopatholo)ical account !ails to capture the .uestion in its depth,
because 4e are in !act con!ronted 4ith the e!!ort o! the conscious or)anism to
adapt to a chan)ed environment and a read<ustment o! the co)nitive system to
the techno#communicative environment8 This )enerates patholo)ies o! the
psychic sphere and in social relations8
Aesthetic perception : here properly conceived o! as the realm o! sensibility
and aesthesia : is directly involved in this trans!ormation0 in its attempt to
e!!iciently inter!ace 4ith the connective environment, the conscious or)anism
appears to increasin)ly inhibit 4hat 4e call sensibility8 By sensibility, ( mean
the !aculty that enables human bein)s to interpret si)ns that are not verbal nor
can be made so, the ability to understand 4hat cannot be e/pressed in !orms
that have a !inite synta/8 This !aculty reveals itsel! to be useless and even
dama)in) in an inte)rated connective system8 %ensibility slo4s do4n
processes o! interpretation and renders them aleatory and ambi)uous, thus
reducin) the competitive e!!iciency o! the semiotic a)ent8
The ethical realm 4here voluntary action is possible also plays an essential
role in the re!ormattin) o! the co)nitive system8 eli)ious sociolo)ists and
<ournalists lament a sort o! ethical lack o! sensitivity and a )eneral
indi!!erence in the behaviour o! the ne4 )eneration8 (n many cases, they
lament the decline o! ideolo)ical values or community links8 2o4ever, in
order to understand the discom!ort that invests the ethical and political realms,
the emphasis needs to be placed on aesthetics8 Ethical paralysis and the
inability to ethically )overn individual and collective li!e seem to stem !rom a
discom!ort in aesthesia : the perception o! the other and the sel!8
The arts o! the 1>99s !avoured the re)ister o! utopia in t4o !orms0 the radical
utopia o! Mayakovsky and the !unctional utopia o! the Bauhaus8 The
dystopian thread remained hidden in the !olds o! the artistic and literary
ima)ination, in Fritz 'an), e/pressionism, and a kind o! bitter paranoid
surrealism !rom %alvador +ali to &hilip O8 +ick8 (n the second hal! o! the 1>th
century the literary dystopia o! *r4ell, Burrou)hs and +e'illo !lourished8
*nly today, at the be)innin) o! the 31st century, does dystopia take centre
sta)e and con.uer the 4hole !ield o! the artistic ima)ination, thus dra4in) the
narrative horizon o! the century 4ith no !uture8 (n the e/pression o!
contemporary poetry, in cinema, video#art and novels, the marks o! an
B1
epidemic o! psychopatholo)y proli!erate8
(n her videos, Ei<a#'iisa Ahtila @#ind= 7! : *as ;= Anne- Aki and GodA narrates
the psychopatholo)y o! relations, the inability to touch and to be touched8 (n
the !ilm &e and <ou and Everyone #e ,no*- Melinda Muly tells the story o! a
video#artist 4ho !alls in love 4ith a youn) man and o! the di!!iculty o!
translatin) emotion into 4ords and 4ords into touch8 'an)ua)e is severed
!rom a!!ectivity8 'an)ua)e and se/ diver)e in everyday li!e8 %e/ is talked
about every4here, but se/ never speaks8 &ills accelerate erection because the
time !or caresses is limited8
A !ilm by Mia $han)#Oe, entitled "till Li!e @"ania haorenA and produced in
2on) Oon) in 399C, sho4s devastation un!oldin)8 This !ilm is e/traordinarily
beauti!ul and tells a simple story, 4ith the back)round o! a sad, desolate and
devastated China, as both the scenery and its soul8 The predominant colour is a
rotten, )reyish, violet )reen8 2uo %anmin) returns to his place o! birth in the
hope o! !indin) his 4i!e and dau)hter, 4hom he had le!t years earlier to )o
and !ind 4ork in a distant northern mine8 2is villa)e, alon) the riverbank o!
the Han)tze, no lon)er e/ists8 The construction o! the three )or)es dam had
erased many villa)es8 2ouses, people and streets 4ere covered by 4ater8 As
the buildin) o! the dam proceeds, the destruction o! villa)es continues and the
4ater keeps risin)8 2uo %anmin) arrives in this scenario o! devastation and
risin) 4ater and is unable to !ind his 4i!e and dau)hter= so his search be)ins8
2e looks !or them as )roups o! 4orkers armed 4ith their picks take 4alls
do4n, as e/plosives demolish buildin)s in the urban centre8 A!ter lon)
searches he !inally !inds his 4i!e, she has a)ed and been sold by her brother to
another man8 They meet in the rooms o! a buildin) as it is bein) demolished
and talk about their dau)hter in 4hispers, 4ith their heads do4n, a)ainst a
dark )reen spaceship back)round o! bricks and iron spatterin) onto a shit#
coloured sky8 (n the last scene o! "till Li!e, a ti)htrope 4alker 4alks on a rope
!rom the roo!s o! a house to4ards nothin)ness, a)ainst a back)round that
recalls the dark surrealism o! +ali;s bitter canvas8 "till li!e is a lyrical account
o! Chinese capitalism, acted inside out, !rom the standpoint o! submer)ed li!e8
(n The /orrections, Monathan Franzen @3991A speaks o!
psychopharmacolo)ical ad<ustments as the corrections used by a humanity
devastated by depression and an/iety to ad<ust to an e/istence that must
pretend to be happy8 Corrections are the ad<ustment to a volatile stock market
to avoid losin) the money invested in private pension !unds that mi)ht
suddenly disappear8 Franzen recounts the old a)e o! a !ather and mother !rom
the Mid4est 4ho have )one nuts as a result o! decades o! hyper#labor and
con!ormism8 Corrections are the small and unstoppable slides to4ards the
point o! turn#o!!, the horror o! old a)e in the civilisation o! competition= the
horror o! se/uality in the 4orld o! puritan e!!iciency8
Franzen di)s deep into the !olds o! the American psyche and describes in
minute details the pulpi!action o! the American brain0 the depression and
B3
dementia resultin) !rom a prolon)ed e/posure to the psychic bombardment o!
stress !rom 4ork= the apathy, paranoia, puritan hypocrisy and the
pharmaceutical industry around them= the psychic unmakin) o! men 4ho are
encapsulated in the claustrophobic shell o! economic hyper#protection= the
in!antilism o! a people 4ho pretends to believe, or perhaps really believes, in
the !ulsome Christmas !airy tale o! compassionately liberalist cruelty8 By the
end o! the lon) a4aited Christmas dinner, as the psychopathic !amily happily
)athers to)ether, the !ather tries to commit suicide by shootin) himsel! in the
mouth8 2e is not success!ul8
<akizakana no 1ta starts 4ith a !ish in cellophane 4rappin) on a supermarket
shel!8 A boy )rabs it and takes it to the till= he pays, leaves, puts it in the
bicycle basket and cycles home8 5Good mornin) Mr %tudent, (;m very happy
to be 4ith you8 +o not 4orry, (;m not a !ish 4ho complains,6 the !ish says
4hilst the student briskly pedals home8 5(t;s nice to make the ac.uaintance o!
a human bein)8 Hou are e/traordinary bein)s= you are almost the masters o!
the universe8 "n!ortunately you are not al4ays peace!ul, ( 4ould like to live in
a peace!ul 4orld 4here everyone loves one another and even !ish and humans
shake hands8 *h it;s so nice to see the sunset, ( like it ever so much,6 the !ish
becomes emotional and <umps in the cellophane ba) inside the basket8 5( can
hear the sound o! a stream D ( love the sound o! streams, it reminds me o!
somethin) !rom my childhood86
1hen they )et home the boy unpacks the !ish and puts it on a plate, thro4s a
little salt on it, as the !ish )ets e/cited and says 5AhN ( like salt very much, it
reminds me o! somethin)86 The boy puts it on the )rill in the oven and turns
the knob8 The !ish keeps chattin)0 5*h Mr %tudent it;s nice here, ( can see a
li)ht do4n there D ( !eel hot D hot D6 until its voice becomes hesitant8 (t
starts sin)in) a son), more and more !eebly and disconnectedly, like the
computer 2al in =>>?$ A "pace Odyssey as his 4ires are unplu))ed8
<akizakana no 1ta, by Husuke %akamoto, is perhaps the most harro4in)
animation !ilm ( sa4 in Mune 399C at the Cai/a Forum o! Barcelona, durin) the
@istorias animadas !estival8 Het ( perceived a common tone runnin) throu)h
all o! the 4orks presented at the !estival0 one o! ironic cynicism, i! you allo4
me this e/pression8 Place in time by Mi)uel %oares recounts millions o! years
!rom the standpoint o! an improbable bu), an or)anic insect, as the 4orld
chan)es around it8 Animales de compania by uth Gomes uses !erocious
ima)es to tell the story o! a )eneration o! 4ell dressed anthropopha)i, youn)
beasts in ties= they run and run to avoid bein) cau)ht by !ello4s, collea)ues,
!riends, and lovers 4ho 4ound, kill and eat them as soon as they !all into their
)rip, 4ith terrorised smiles and dilated eyes8
This art is no denunciation8 The terms 5denunciation6 and 5en)a)ement6 no
lon)er have meanin) 4hen you are a !ish )ettin) ready to be cooked8 The art
o! the 31st century no lon)er has that kind o! ener)y, even thou)h it keeps
usin) e/pressions !rom the 1>99s, perhaps out o! modesty, perhaps because it
BB
is scared o! its o4n truth8 Artists no lon)er search !or the 4ay to a rupture, and
ho4 could they7 They seek a path that leads to a state o! e.uilibrium bet4een
irony and cynicism that allo4s them to suspend the e/ecution, at least !or a
moment8 All ener)y has moved to the 4ar !ront8 Artistic sensibility re)isters
this shi!t and is incapable o! opposin) it8 (s art simply postponement o! the
holocaust7


%nd of the Future

The publication o! the Club o! ome book The Limits to Gro*th in 1>?3, by
+onella Meado4s, +ennis Meado4s, Mor)en anders and 1illiam Behrens,
marked an important step in the reversal o! the pro)ressive vision o! the
!uture8 Althou)h harshly criticized by many economists at the time, the book
announced the sur!acin) o! a consciousness o! e/haustibility8
E/haustion plays no role in the ima)ination o! Modernity, and remains
unthinkable in the !irst part o! the century that trusted in the !uture8 But in the
1>?9s, under)round cultural currents started to si)nal the ne4 horizon o!
e/haustion8
(n 1>?1 -icholas Geor)escu#oe)en, pro!essor o! %tatistics and o! Economics
in Bucharest and in &aris, published The Entropy La* and the Economic
Process= his idea o! a dissipation o! productive ener)y is a use!ul addition to
the Mar/ist criti.ue o! capitalism, althou)h Mar/ist philosophers have never
spoken o! entropy as one o! the causes o! the 2usammensbruck @breakdo4nA
o! capitalism8
(n the short te/t 5Ener)y and Economic Myths,6 published in 1>?F, -icholas
Geor)escu#oe)en 4rites0

The !avorite thesis o! standard and Mar/ist economists alike, ho4ever, is that
the po4er o! technolo)y is 4ithout limits8 1e 4ill al4ays be able not only to
!ind a substitute !or a resource 4hich has become scarce, but also to increase
the productivity o! any kind o! ener)y and material8 %hould 4e run out o!
some resources, 4e 4ill al4ays think up somethin), <ust as 4e have
continuously done since the time o! &ericles8 -othin), there!ore, could ever
stand in the 4ay o! an increasin)ly happier e/istence o! the human species8
*ne can hardly think o! a more blunt !orm o! linear thinkin)8 By the same
lo)ic, no healthy youn) human should ever become a!!licted 4ith rheumatism
or any other old#a)e ailments= nor should he ever die8 +inosaurs, <ust be!ore
they disappeared !rom this very same planet, had behind them not less than
one hundred and !i!ty million years o! truly prosperous e/istence8 @And they
did not pollute environment 4ith industrial 4asteNA @Geor)escu#oe)en 1>?F0
BC9A

BE
The approach o! Geor)escu#oe)en is especially interestin) because he points
to the relationship bet4een economic and biolo)ical dimensions0

Dman;s addiction to e/osomatic instruments is neither only biolo)ical nor
only economic8 (t is bioeconomic8 (ts broad contours depend on the multiple
asymmetries e/istin) amon) the three sources o! lo4 entropy 4hich to)ether
constitute mankind;s do4ry : the !ree ener)y received !rom the sun, on the
one hand, and the !ree ener)y and the ordered material structures stored in the
bo4els o! the earth, on the other8 @Geor)escu#oe)en 1>?F0 BC>A

"nderstandin) that the economic process takes place in the sphere o! li!e, and
inter!eres 4ith it, the omanian understands that the main problem o! the
capitalist !uture is not so much the social contradiction, but the e!!ects o!
economic e/pansion on the biosphere itsel!8
(n the Mar/ist account o! capitalism there is no place !or the concept o! limits
to )ro4th8 Mar/ does not deal 4ith size, only 4ith relationships8 2e does not
care about the possibility o! e/haustion8 Mar/;s vision o! the !uture is !ocused
on the idea o! deployment o! the inner potency o! labor, and this potency is
boundless, as the physical !orce o! human 4ork meets 4ith the potency o! the
5)eneral intellect68
But e/perience is sho4in) that the deployment o! the potency o! labor, in its
con<unction 4ith the pro!it oriented dynamics o! capital, is leadin) to
e/haustion o! the physical resources o! the planet @air, land, 4ater, sources o!
ener)yA and also the psychical resources o! the human brain8
The ;?9s 4as the 4atershed8 +urin) those years the perception o! the !uture
shi!ted, and in my memory the turnin) point o! this shi!t can be dated 1>??8
'et;s see 4hy8
(n 1>?B %yria and E)ypt launched a military operation a)ainst (srael, and a
4ar !ollo4ed8 The e!!ects o! the 4ar 4ere resented all over the 4orld8 *il
prices 4ent crazy8 The 1estern economy 4as hit harshly, and this led to
recession and crisis 4ith unemployment risin) every4here8 The 4estern
)overnments 4ere !orced to declare a period o! austerity, and people 4ere
asked to sacri!ice !or the sake o! the economy8 (n!lation, sta)!lation and social
unrest spread all over8
For the !irst time in the history o! capitalism scarcity o! a special resource
@natural or man#produced does not matterA became the main !actor o!
economic crisis and social unrest8 (n 1>??, in places like (taly and Great
Britain, this social instability 4as the incubator o! a ne4 cultural sensibility0
political activism, social movement and artistic e/perimentation melted
to)ether in the cultural movements o! autonomia, punk, and ne4 4ave8
The year 1>?? is )enerally recorded as a year o! violence8
(n Germany, 1>?? 4as a very )loomy year8 2ans Martin %chleyer, an
important corporate !i)ure, 4as kidnapped and killed by the ed Army
BF
Faction, and some days later, Andreas Baader, Carl 2ans aspe and Gudrun
Ensslin died in their prison cells in %tammheim, possibly killed by the )uards8
The impressive movie directed by Al! Brustellin, ainer 1erner Fassbinder,
Ale/ander Olu)e, ,olker %chlSndor!! et al, Germany in Autumn @1>?GA, tells
o! the 4idespread perception o! the comin) end o! social solidarity8 (n that
movie 4e perceive the sudden sadness, !o), and clouds descendin) over
people;s lives8 The prison o! %tammheim becomes a kind o! metaphor !or the
everyday <ail that social li!e 4as becomin) in those years, in the passa)e !rom
the restless decade a!ter ;CG to the decade o! the neoliberal counter#revolution8
(n (taly, the ed Bri)ades started their crazy, bloody campai)ns8 The riots in
the streets o! ome, Bolo)na and many other to4ns at the time 4ere not at all
peace!ul meetin)s and !riendly promenades8 ,iolence became a central issue
4hen the police reacted violently to the demonstrations, 4hen the Government
ordered their repression and the police shot dead students in Bolo)na, ome,
and else4here8
There 4as a ra)e in the air8 -ot only because 1FT o! the population,
especially youn) people, 4ere unemployed8 There 4as a kind o! e/istential
ra)e, a 4ave o! insubordination, because the baby boomers all over the 4orld
4ere hit by the premonition that the 4el!are state 4as )oin) to be dismantled,
and that the modern horizon 4as dra4in) to its dissolution8
But 1>?? is not only a time o! unrest and insurrection8 (t is a turnin) point in
the history o! culture, technolo)y and philosophical thou)ht8
1>?? is the year 4hen %teve 1ozniak and %teven Mobs created the
Apple trademark and, 4hat is more, created the tools !or spreadin)
in!ormation technolo)y= it is also the year 4hen Alain Minc and %imon -ora
4rote The /omputerization o! "ociety$ A .eport to the President o! France, a
te/t 4hich theorizes the comin) dissolution o! nation states due to the political
e!!ects o! emer)in) telematics8
(n that year Huri Andropov, secretary o! the OGB, 4rote a letter to 'eonid
Brezhnev, ar)uin) that the %oviet "nion 4as in dan)er o! disappearance i! the
)ap 4ith the "%A in the !ield o! in!ormatics 4as not brid)ed8 (t 4as the year
4hen Mean FranUois 'yotard 4rote The Postmodern /ondition$ A .eport on
,no*led)e, in 4hich he analyses the ne4 or)anization o! kno4led)e and the
disappearance o! the )rand narrative o! pro)ressive modernity8
The year 1>?? sa4 the last revolt o! the communist proletarians o! the 39th
century a)ainst capitalist rule and a)ainst the bour)eois state8 But at the same
time it sa4 the !irst revolt o! the co)nitariat, the intellectual 4orkers, bearers
o! the Technische #issenscha!t 7ntelli)enz8
(n that year 4e can see the premonition o! a ne4 cultural process and a ne4
social landscape8 (taly had a special place in the cultural )eo)raphy o! that
year8 The tensions sho4in) every4here in that country took the !orm o! a
stran)e movement, in 4hich the concepts o! political radicalism met the ideas
o! desire, rhizome and schizopolitics, creatin) a ne4 ima)e and a ne4 style o!
BC
activism, !ocused on the politics o! ima)ination8
1hat is special about the (talian movement o! ;?? is the !act that in its history
you can see both !aces o! the chan)in) times0 the happy utopian side o!
creativity and the despair, hopelessness, and terror8
(n the !irst part o! that year the color!ul and utopian occupation o! public space
by the subversive cro4ds o! 5Metropolitan (ndians6 and 5Mao#+adaists6,
sounded like the announcement o! the possibility o! collective happiness, a
less 4orkaholic society, and !ree access to the media8 But a!ter the e/plosion
o! the riots, a!ter the killin)s and the hundreds o! arrests, the !eelin) turned
murky, and a 4ave o! despair sur!aced, <oinin) the punk sensibility, 4hich
ori)inated in the 'ondon streets the same year8
The ne4 )eneration o! 4orkers did not have so much to do 4ith the old
tradition o! the 4orkers; parties8 -or did they have anythin) to do 4ith the
socialist ideolo)y o! a state#o4ned system8 These youn) 4orkers had much
more to do 4ith the hippy movement and the history o! the art avant#)arde8 A
massive re!usal o! the sadness o! 4ork 4as the leadin) element behind their
protest8
1hat is the le)acy o! the Movement o! 1>??7
The le)acy and memory are ambi)uous8 1e remember the cultural alertness
and !eelin) o! a shared happiness, and the !reedom o! daily li!e !rom the rules
o! 4ork and money, but 4e also remember the dark side o! the events, the !ear
and repression, and the dystopian content o! the ima)ination8 Today, at the end
o! the !irst decade o! the ne4 century, 4e are in a 4ay 4itnessin) the
realization o! the bad dream o! that year, the becomin) true o! the dystopian
ima)ination nurtured by the movement and in<ected into the 2eit)eist o! the
century;s end8
(n 1>?? (n)mar Ber)man produced the movie The "erpent0s E)),
probably not one o! Ber)man;s best movies, but a very disturbin) insi)ht in
the construction o! the totalitarian mind all the same8 1hen ( sa4 that !ilm-
ri)ht at the end o! that year, ( !elt that somethin) 4as directly speakin) to me,
to us8 The "erpent0s E)) is about the incubation o! -azism durin) the years
1>3B to 1>BB8 (n those years, the e)) o! the serpent 4as slo4ly openin), and
)ivin) birth to the monster8 (n the time that !ollo4ed the students; uprisin) o!
March 1>?? 4e !elt somethin) like this8 1e detected the smell o! a ne4
totalitarianism in the makin)8 A totalitarianism that 4as not !ounded on
political po4er, but on the slo4 pervasion o! the social mind8
Charlie Chaplin : the man 4ho had recounted the de#humanization
o! the industrial process, and sho4n the kindness o! people 4ho 4ere able to
be human althou)h they 4ere poor : passed a4ay at the end o! 1>?? on the
3Fth o! +ecember8 -o more place !or kindness in the postindustrial 4orld o!
immaterial production8 Then, and in the !inal days o! 1>?? in the movie
"aturday Ni)ht Fever- Mohn Travolta per!ormed the ne4 hero o! the 4orkin)
class, happy to be e/ploited all 4eek lon) in e/chan)e !or some !un in the
B?
disco on %aturday ni)ht8
1>?? 4as the year o! mass youth suicide in Mapan0 the o!!icial !i)ure
bein) ?GE8 1hat caused an outcry 4as the !ast succession, at the end o! the
summer holidays o! that year, o! suicides by children0 thirteen, to be e/act, all
amon)st primary school children8 1hat is disconcertin) here is not so much
the number as the )ratuitousness and the incomprehensibility o! the )esture8 (n
all these cases, there are no motivations or reasons !or the act8 There is a
strikin) lack o! 4ords, an inability on the part o! the adults that lived 4ith
their children to predict, understand, or e/plain 4hat happened8
(n Mapan as in Europe and the "%A, 1>?? is the year o! passa)e beyond
modernity8 But 4hereas in Europe, this passa)e is si)naled by the philosophy
o! authors such as Baudrillard, ,irilio, Guattari, +eleuze, and by the political
consciousness o! mass movements such as the creative (talian autonomia or
'ondon punk, in -orth America it takes the !orm o! a cultural e/plosion, o! a
movement o! urban trans!ormations 4hich is e/pressed in the artistic and
musical 5no 4ave6= in Mapan, the passa)e already appears 4ithout mediation,
as an une/plainable monstrosity 4hich .uickly becomes daily normality, the
prevalent !orm o! collective e/istence8
%ince 1>??, the collapse o! the 1estern mind has assumed a sneakin),
subterranean, episodic tra<ectory, but at the threshold o! the millennium, it
takes on the precipitous rhythm o! an uncontainable catastrophe8 The
consciousness o! the character o! movement since 1>?? perceived a dan)er in
the acceleration o! the rhythm o! production, technolo)y and daily li!e that
+eleuze and Guattari have named deterritorialization8 -o4adays the e!!ects o!
that acceleration and deterritorialization are evident in the 4aves o! !ear,
insecurity and panic traversin) the )lobalised social sphere8
Certain events have si)naled this passa)e, becomin) viruses, carryin)
in!ormation that reproduces, proli!erates and in!ects the entire social or)anism8
The e/ceptional event o! the T4in To4ers crashin) in a cloud o! dust
!ollo4in) the deadly suicide o! nineteen youn) Muslims is certainly the most
impressive, the ima)e#event that spectacularly inau)urates the ne4 times8 But
the Columbine school massacre, 4hich took place some years be!ore, mi)ht
have carried a more uncanny messa)e, because it spoke o! daily li!e, o!
American normality, the normality o! a humanity that has lost all relation 4ith
4hat used to be human and that stumbles alon) lookin) !or some impossible
reassurance in search o! a substitute !or emotions 4hich it no lon)er kno4s8


Cursed 'e the #ro#het

( took part in the movements o! the ;?9s, and ( 4as especially involved in the
;?? insurrection in Bolo)na and in ome8 Actually, that insurrection 4as less a
political upheaval intended to chan)e the !orm o! political po4er, than an act
BG
o! prediction, a collective prophecy aimed at en)enderin) a consciousness in
social a4areness, a consciousness that the 4orld could not )o on that 4ay, that
the pro!it economy 4as leadin) to devastation8 ( remember the insur)ents o!
Bolo)na and ome as a small cro4d o! crazy prophets, shakin) their hands
and cryin) eni)matic 4ords in order to stop the march o! the massive thron)8
1e 4ere not picturin) the realities o! those years so much as !i)htin) a)ainst
science !ictional enemies8 But those enemies @4ho 4e !elt in our ni)htmaresA,
came to li!e, a!ter4ards, in the !uture o! no !uture 4e are inhabitin) no48
The vision o! the !uture is cursed in many traditional cultures8 (n
ancient times the visionary 4ho sees the !uture is tra)ic, and more tra)ic is the
destiny o! the prophet, 4ho not only sees but also tells the !uture to his !ello4
contemporaries 4ho do not 4ant to kno48 Tra)ic is the destiny o! Cassandra
and o! Thyresia, because the vision o! the !uture should be the undivided
privile)e o! the )ods8 (n the Christian 4orld the pious mind looks to4ards the
ori)in, to4ards the time 4hen )od created everythin)8 As 4e move a4ay !rom
that distant point 4e lose si)ht o! the li)ht that 4as in the be)innin)8 The
!uture is the time o! the Fall, o! the dark becomin) deeper and deeper8
The Modern mind is reversin) this perception, and replacin) the certainty o!
pro)ress 4ith the !ear o! the comin) apocalypse8 %ince Bacon declares that
kno4led)e is po4er, since the bour)eoisie bets on pro!its comin) !rom
investment, since history can be described as economic )ro4th and
civilization, the !uture ac.uires a totally di!!erent meanin)8
The !uture o! the moderns has t4o reassurin) .ualities8 First, it is
liable to be kno4n, as the trends o! human history can be traced in linear
directions, and science can discover the la4s o! human evolution, as the
motion o! the planets8 %econd, the !uture may be trans!ormed by human 4ill,
by industry, economic techni.ue and political action8 The emphasis on the
!uture reaches its peak 4hen economic science pretends to be able to !oresee
human action, 4ith its con!licts and choices8 The 39th century trusted in the
!uture because it trusted in scientists 4ho !oretold it, and in policy makers able
to make rational decisions8
But the century has tau)ht a bitter lesson to its utopians8 (n the last
part o! the century the utopian ima)ination tends to turn dystopian0 the
ni)htmare o! consciousness and science !iction have been the central
laboratories o! this reversal8 *nce upon a time @in the days o! Mules ,erne or
(saac AsimovA science !iction 4as the place o! the elaboration o! ever
e/pandin) human dominance in space and in time8 (n the late century, %F
ima)ination o! the !uture vanishes, becomes !lat, narro4 and dark, and !inally
turns into a boundlessly e/pandin) present8
1e have to run alon) the dynamic o! disaster, said obert Fripp in his
Frippertronics &ani!esto in 1>?>8 (n the 1>G9s, Cyberpunk 4riters described
the !uture as a never#endin) dystopia8 The prophet once a)ain becomes a
cursed person, as in the ancient times8
B>
1e can see distant spaces, but distant time can no lon)er be seen8 %pace has
e/panded 4ith no limits since 4e have entered virtual space8 ,irtual space is a
vanishin) point, the meetin) point o! in!inite assembla)es o! enunciation8
,irtual time, on the contrary, does not e/ist8 There is no such thin) as a time o!
virtuality, because time is only in li!e, decomposition, and the becomin)#death
o! the livin)8 ,irtuality is the collapse o! the livin)= it is panic takin) po4er in
temporal perception8
This is 4hy the !uture is no lon)er a com!ortable sub<ect8 1e have
understood that it is not liable to be kno4n, as 4e have understood that the
lines o! intersection bet4een the in!o#assembla)es are so comple/ and !ast that
4e cannot reduce them to any scienti!ic la48 And 4e are startin) to doubt that
the !uture can be )overned by political strate)ies and military stren)th8
Every time political leaders o! the 4orld meet in those !unny events called GG
or G39, the !ailure o! political po4er : their lack o! )rasp on the !uture :
becomes more evident8 1hen they met in %apporo, 2okkaido, in Muly 399G,
and in ';A.uila in Muly 399>, the po4er!ul men and 4omen 4ho lead the
nations 4ere supposed to take very important decisions on the crucial sub<ect
o! climate chan)e, and its e!!ects on the planetary ecosystem8 But they 4ere
completely unable to say and to do anythin) meanin)!ul, so they have decided
that in 39F9 to/ic emissions 4ill be reduced by hal!8 2o47 1hy7 -o ans4er8
-o political or technolo)ical action has been taken, no shorter deadline has
been decided upon8 %uch a decision is like a shaman;s ritual, like a rain dance8
The comple/ity o! the problem e/ceeds the po4er o! kno4led)e and in!luence
o! 4orld politicians8 The !uture has escaped !rom the hands o! political
techni.ue, and everythin) has capsized, perhaps because o! speed8
Absolute speed means the ubi.uity o! mind= not o! the body, not o! sensibility8
Absolute speed is made possible by the connection o! si)ns8 An all#pervadin)
semiosis is secreted by uncountable connected brains8 1hat are the e!!ects on
the social psychosphere7 1hat is the acceleration )oin) to produce in the !ield
o! erotic sensitivity, and in the very perception o! others as embodied, as livin)
or)anisms7
The !uture that the Futurists 4ere proclaimin) enthusiastically is here
at last, but it does not have the shape o! the metallic machine e/terior to the
body that they ima)ined8 (t has arrived thanks to the potency o! lan)ua)e, and
the potency o! the connection8 A!ter all, (talian Futurism had a )rip on this
possibility8 Marinetti launched the cry0 7mma)inazione senza !ili0 1(E'E%%
(MAG(-AT(*-8


The /ast ,to#ia

(n the last decade o! the century that trusted in the !uture, a ne4 "topia takes
!orm that can be labeled Cyberculture, or -etculture or ,irtual Culture, i! you
E9
pre!er8 This "topia produces its o4n 4orld in a much more e!!icient 4ay than
the previous century;s "topias8 The -et is the "topia o! an in!inite virtual
space 4here the uncountable tra<ectories o! billions o! intelli)ent a)ents meet
and create their economic, cultural and psychic reality8
Etymolo)ically speakin) "topia is the place that does not e/ist8 %imilarly, 4e
call ,irtuality a space that does not e/ist in the physical sense, althou)h it is
able to create e!!ects o! meanin), perception and economic e/chan)e8 The
,irtual "topia, 4hich spreads in the cultural ima)ination at the century;s end,
is t4ice immaterial, that is, placed t4ice in a space di!!erent !rom the physical
space o! material li!e8
*! all the utopias o! the 39th century, the ,irtual "topia is one that has
produced more consistent e!!ects in the spheres o! technolo)y, economy and
daily li!e, )ivin) 4ay, in a sudden @but lar)ely predictedA reversal, to the !inal
+ystopia0 the disappearance o! the human, or perhaps the submission o! the
human to the chain o! techno#lin)uistic automatisms8
The -et only e/ists in the shared mental space o! its users, 4ho are also its
producers8 This non#territory is the space o! universal deterritorialization, in
the parlance o! +eleuze and Guattari8 Every movement o! deterritorialization
causes a counter#e!!ect o! reterritorialization8 This is 4hy in the 1>>9s, the
decade o! the social construction o! the -et, the )lobalization process and
arti!icial revivals o! nationalism and !undamentalism )re4 to)ether8
The buildin) o! the -et implied a hu)e 4ork o! technical creation,
en)ineerin), and also a 4ide process o! art creation and philosophical
innovation8 (n the sphere o! Cyberculture since the ;G9s, di!!erent visions o!
the -et have been proposed, and contrastin) philosophical ima)inations have
shaped the actual becomin) o! the 1eb8
The evolution o! the -et cannot be reduced to a de!inition, because it is an
in!inite space, and it is !utile to make !inal statements on this sub<ect8
There!ore the di!!erent visions o! the -et have coalesced and revealed
di!!erent !acets o! the same process8 These di!!erent visions )o to)ether
because the -et is the place 4here di!!erent ima)inations co#evolve8 A
comprehensive phenomenolo)y o! -et Culture is beyond my intention and
beyond my skills8 %ome scholars have 4ritten on this sub<ect, ( 4ould
especially mention (talian media theorist Carlo Formenti, !or his Trilo)y o! the
Net @7ncantati dalla .ete, &ercanti di !uturo, and /ybersovietA8 ather, ( 4ant
<ust to point out the di!!erent 4ays o! perceivin) the !uture that animated
Cyberculture since its birth8
The 1ired ima)ination has been, in my opinion, the most in!luential cultural
stream o! the ;>9s8 %ince its start in 1>>B, #ired ma)azine, edited in %an
Francisco by 'uis ossetto, launched the idea that the -et 4as intended to
chan)e the 4hole 4orld o! media, and to became the )eneral paradi)m o!
technolo)y and kno4led)e production8 The -et is the concept, method, and
trend8
E1
Co#evolvin) 4ith the 1orld 1ide 1eb and the !irst bro4sers !or -et
navi)ation, #ired addressed the inner circle o! techno#nerds and cyberpunks8
The hu)e achievement o! the technophile pro#market di)erati o! #ired
Futurism 4as the understandin) o! a ne4 economic trend based on the
creation o! virtual enterprises in the !ield o! communication, !inance and
personal services8
(n this ma)azine the libertarian soul melted 4ith the market theolo)y o!
neoliberal economists8 The illusion o! an in!inite economic e/pansion in the
!ield o! virtual production nurtured the "topia o! the lon) boom and the
ideolo)y o! the ne4 economy8 That illusion 4as po4er!ul8 The dotcom mania
in the last years o! the century created <obs, money, services and )oods, and
helped to chan)e the technolo)ical in!rastructure o! the )lobal media system8
But at the same time, in a !e4 hidden spaces o! -et culture, some
perceived the !uture in darker tones8 Canadian theorist Arthur Oroker, !or
instance, may be labeled as the harbin)er o! the dystopian vision o! the -et8 (n
1>>E Oroker published the book +ata Trash, a remarkable insi)ht into the
psychosocial e!!ects o! techno#chan)e8 2e !orecasts the creation o! a cyber#
authoritarianism, based on the massi!ication and simpli!ication o! the 1eb8 As
he 4rote0

The in!ormation hi)h4ay is the antithesis o! the -et, in much the same 4ay as
the virtual class must destroy the public dimension o! the (nternet !or its o4n
survival8 D !or the virtual class content slo4s the speed o! virtualized
e/chan)e, and meanin) becomes the anta)onistic contradiction o! data8 +ata is
the anti#virus o! meanin)8 Telematic in!ormation re!uses to be slo4ed do4n by
the dra)#4ei)ht o! content8 And the virtual class seeks to e/terminate the
social possibilities o! the (nternet8 @Oroker and 1einstein 1>>E0 ?#GA8

Oroker and 1einstein are concerned about the removal o! the body in ,irtual
space, and !oresee a violent comeback o! the body, in the a))ressive !orm o!
etro#Fascism8 Oroker;s thou)ht develops some o! Baudrillard;s ideas in the
direction o! a theory o! the virtual class8 The virtual class is a class that does
not actually e/ist8 (t is only the abstraction o! the !ractal ocean o! productive
micro#actions o! co)nitive 4orkers8 ,irtual class is a use!ul concept, but it
does not comprehend the social and bodily e/istence o! those people 4ho
per!orm virtual tasks8 The social e/istence o! virtual 4orkers is not virtual, the
sensual body o! the virtual 4orker is not virtual8 This is 4hy !rom the theory
o! the virtual class 4e have to e/trapolate a theory o! the co)nitariat, or
co)nitive proletariat, in order to emphasize the physical @erotic, social,
neurolo)icalA side o! the desires and diseases o! the 4orkers involved in the
net#economy8
%emiocapital puts neuropsychical ener)ies to 4ork, and submits
them to the speed o! electronic machinery8 (t compels our co)nition, our
E3
emotional hard4are to !ollo4 the rhythm o! net#productivity8 Cyberspace
overloads cybertime, because cyberspace is an unbounded sphere, 4hose
speed can accelerate 4ithout limits8 But cybertime @the time o! attention,
memory, and ima)inationA cannot speed beyond a limit8 *ther4ise, it cracks8
And it is actually crackin), collapsin) under the stress o! hyper#productivity8
An epidemic o! panic is spreadin) throu)hout the circuits o! the social brain8
An epidemic o! depression is !ollo4in) the outbreak o! panic8 The crisis o! the
ne4 economy at the be)innin) o! the zero zero decade has to be seen as
conse.uence o! this nervous breakdo4n8
*nce upon a time Mar/ spoke about overproduction, meanin) the e/cess o!
available )oods that could not be absorbed by the social market8 (n the sphere
o! net#production it is the social brain that is assaulted by an over4helmin)
supply o! attention#demandin) )oods8 This is 4hy the social !actory has
become the !actory o! unhappiness0 the assembly line o! net#production is
directly e/ploitin) the emotional ener)y o! the virtual class8 1e have to
become a4are o! it= 4e have to reco)nize ourselves as co)nitarians8 Flesh,
body, desire, in permanent electro#stimulation8
Biolo)ist, philosopher and <ournalist at the same time, Oevin Oelly
4as the animator o! /oEvolution Auarterly in the ;G9s, then editor o! #ired
ma)azine !or many years8 (n his book Out o! /ontrol, he speaks o! a bio#
in!ormatic %uper#or)anism 4hich is the result o! the syner)y o! uncountable
human minds, and is placed outside o! the reach o! human control,
understandin) and )overnment0

As very lar)e 4ebs penetrate the 4orld, 4e see the !irst )limpses o! 4hat
emer)es !rom that net : machines that become alive, smart, and evolve : a
neo#biolo)ical civilization8 There is a sense in 4hich a )lobal mind also
emer)es in the net4ork culture8 The )lobal mind is a union o! computer and
nature, o! telephones and human brains and more8 (t is a very lar)e comple/ity
o! indeterminate shape )overned by an invisible hand o! its o4n8 1e humans
4ill be unconscious o! 4hat the )lobal mind ponders8 This is not because 4e
are not smart enou)h, but because the desi)n o! a mind does not allo4 the part
to understand the 4hole8 The particular thou)hts o! the )lobal mind, and its
subse.uent actions, 4ill be out o! our control and beyond our understandin)8
@Oelly 1>>E0 3C9A

"topia and +ystopia mi/ in Oelly;s vision8 -o sub#)lobal mind 4ill be able to
understand the superior desi)n o! the )lobal mind, because its comple/ity is
unattainable !or the individual brain0 instead, Oelly speaks o! hive mind8
-o sub#)lobal entity @a party, a )overnment, a )roup o! decision makersA 4ill
be able to chan)e the course o! events, because the course o! events is
determined by the inte)rated 4ork o! a )lobal mind mastered by no one8
2uman behavior tends more and more to resemble the behavior o! a s4arm8
EB
The s4arm may be similar to a cro4d o! persons 4ho run to4ards a train
station in order to catch the last train be!ore it;s too late8 But the cro4d is more
aleatory and unpredictable than a s4arm8
The behavior o! persons 4ho take part in a net4ork cannot be aleatory,
because the participation in a net4ork presupposes and commands compliance
4ith the rules8 The principle )overnin) the s4arm is the internalization0 livin)
or)anisms !ollo4 psychical and behavioral automatisms because this is their
4ay o! relatin) to the environment8 The components o! a s4arm are not
conscious, or maybe they are not !ully conscious o! the !act that their
behaviors are driven by inbuilt automatism8
Moinin) the le)acy o! the 'iberal thou)ht o! Adam %mith, and le)itimizin) the
neoliberal trend that 4as triumphant in the ;>9s, Oelly @1>>E0 BBA speaks o!
the invisible hand 4hich is almost heavenly, happily leadin) to an end o! the
su!!erin) and con!licts o! real li!e on the planet8 2e 4rote0 52idden in the -et
is the mystery o! the (nvisible 2and : control 4ithout authority68 (n the
net4ork, like in the s4arm, participants must comply 4ith the rules embedded
in the pro)ram i! they 4ant to continue to participate in the )ame8 The
connection demands operational compliance, not any reciprocal
comprehension on the level o! meanin), or a!!ection8
Connection is interoperability and it makes possible the circulation o! abstract
in!ormation8 (t involves conscious and sensitive bodies, but the conscious and
sensitive body is only a passive carrier o! connection8 Consciousness is only
an operational ability to react8 And sensitivity is slo4ness, hinderin)
acceleration and competition8
Oelly is postulatin) the intrinsic rationality o! the )lobal mind, !ollo4in) the
%mithian and liberal myth o! the (nvisible 2and8 (n the di)ital a)e, the
invisible hand is the system o! technolo)ical, co)nitive and economic
automatisms8 (n the recombinant Technosphere the investments, dislocations
o! capital, and the economic balance o! the %tates don;t depend anymore on
the choices o! policy makers, or on political strate)ies : they depend more and
more on the net4ork o! automated steps o! a pro)ram embedded in the social
machine8 This pro)ram o! pro)rams is ac.uirin) the stren)th and the
inescapability o! natural necessity8
The process o! decision#makin) and pro<ectin) a !uture in 4hich one !uture
amon) many is selected depends less and less on human 4ill8 1e may call it
the parado/ o! the decider0 as the circulation o! in!ormation becomes !aster m
and m m more comple/, the time available !or the elaboration o! the relevant
in!ormation becomes shorter8 The more space taken by the available
in!ormation, the less time there is !or understandin) and conscious choice8
This is 4hy the interdependence bet4een data and decisions is more and more
embedded in in!o machinery, in techno#lin)uistic inter!aces8 This is 4hy the
e/ecution o! the pro)ram is entrusted to automated procedures that human
operators cannot chan)e nor i)nore8
EE
The machine pretends to be neutral, purely mathematical, but 4e kno4 that its
procedures are only the technical rei!ication o! social interests0 pro!it,
accumulation, competition : these are the criteria underlyin) the automatic
procedures embedded in the machine8 2uman volition is reduced to a
procedural pretence8
,irtual "topia has eaten the !uture, subtractin) it to the sphere o! ima)ination
and 4illpo4er8 ,irtual "topia culminates in the +ystopian totalitarianism o!
the 'o)ic o! -ecessity8
(n the year 3999 #ired ma)azine published a te/t by Bill Moy titled 51hy the
Future does not -eed "s86 This te/t harshly con!licts 4ith the spirit o! the
ma)azine, and can be considered as an impressive monument o! +ystopian
consciousness o! a person 4ho is not a radical philosopher, but a man o!
science and technolo)y8 The startin) point o! Moy;s thou)ht is .uite similar to
the core o! Oelly;s co)itation, but Moy subverts the Futurist enthusiasm o!
Oelly8 'ike Oelly, Moy also depicts the trend to4ards the creation o! a )lobal
mind embedded in the lo)ical, lin)uistic, operational technosphere, !ocusin)
on the comin) developments o! nanotechnolo)y8 (! Oelly invites us to
4elcome trust!ully the trend 4ithout demandin) control o! the in!inite
comple/ity o! the )lobal mind, Moy;s tone is overpo4ered by an/iety, by the
!ear o! bein), like doctor Frankenstein, the creator o! a dystopian monster
!rom 4hom 4e;ll not be able to escape8 e!errin) to the proli!eration o!
intelli)ent nano#technomachines, and to the inter4eavin) o! in!o technolo)ies,
biotechnolo)ies, and simulation processes, he dra4s a possible scenario 4here
human bein)s 4ill be obsolete, irrelevant, because the decision is more and
more in the hands @in the brainsA o! intelli)ent machines8
This is perhaps an old humanism, 4ith its )loomy ima)ination be.ueathed
!rom *r4ell, Bradbury and Ballard8 e)ardless, in the !irst decade o! the ne4
millennium these ima)inations are !eedin) the !abric o! social li!e8


Inversion of the Future

The !uture has chan)ed si)ns, caution Mi)uel Benasaya) and GIrard %chmidt
@399?A in Les passions tristes JThe A)e o! "ad PassionsK, 4here they re!lect on
their lon) therapeutic practice 4ith the youth livin) in the banlieues o! &aris8
(n the modern era the !uture 4as ima)ined thanks to metaphors o! pro)ress8
%cienti!ic research and economical entrepreneurship in the centuries o!
modern development 4ere inspired by the idea that kno4led)e 4ill lead to an
ever more complete mastery o! the human universe8 The Enli)htenment
sanctions this conception, and positivism makes o! it an absolute belie!8 The
Mar/ist revolutionary ideolo)ies, )uided by an historicist and dialectical
vision, also ima)ine the !uture on the basis o! a pro)ressive teleolo)ical
model8 The present contains, in the !orm o! contradiction, a potential that
EF
history is necessarily destined to resolve8 (t is !rom the dialectical solution o!
present contradictions that a social !orm !ree !rom poverty and 4ar 4ill be
born8 This !orm is 4hat the Mar/ist movement calls communism8 (n the last
part o! the 39th century these philosophical premises disinte)rated8 But 4hat
has disappeared, more than anythin) else, is the credibility o! a pro)ressive
model !or the !uture8

The !uture, the very idea o! the !uture, no4 bears an opposite si)n8 &ure
positivity becomes ne)ativity, and the promise becomes a threat8 *! course,
kno4led)e has developed, but it is unable to suppress human su!!erin) and it
!eeds the pervadin) sadness and pessimism8 @Benasaya) and %chmidt 399?0 3>
A

The !uture becomes a threat 4hen the collective ima)ination becomes
incapable o! seein) possible alternatives to trends leadin) to devastation,
increased poverty and violence8 This is precisely our current situation, because
capitalism has become a system o! techno#economic automatisms that politics
cannot evade8 The paralysis o! the 4ill @the impossibility o! politicsA is the
historical conte/t o! today;s depression epidemic8
The mornin) o! April 39, 399?, ( 4as readin) the (talian ne4spaper 7l
/orriere della "era8 *n the upper corner o! pa)e 39, there 4as a report about
the e/ploits o! Cho %eun) 2ui, the Oorean boy 4ho 4ent to look !or his
)irl!riend at ,ir)inia Tech and, not havin) !ound her, shot about B9 students
and pro!essors at the school8

5#eapons- +eath- +elirium
The ,iller0s (ideo on T(6

That 4as the title o! the article0 in the picture ne/t to it 4e see the boy holdin)
t4o )uns, arms spread apart like an advertisement !or the 'ara Cro!t video
)ames8
"p to no4, nothin) unusual8 All the ne4spapers o! the planet 4ere talkin)
about Cho %eun) 2ui that day8 A!ter havin) killed t4o people at ei)ht#thirty,
and be!ore comin) back to ,ir)inia Tech to kill many more, he had )one
home, prepared a packa)e containin) a video#testament, and had sent it to the
-BC net4ork 4hich, o! course, decided to air it8
But 4hat really )ot my attention 4as the ima)e at the bottom o! pa)e 398 At
the be)innin), a!ter havin) .uickly )lanced at it, ( thou)ht that it 4as part o!
the same story8 A)ainst a black back)round, ( sa4 the ima)e o! a 4oman 4ith
Asiatic, actually Oorean, !eatures8 %he 4as 4earin) dark sun)lasses, 4hich
)ave her a stark, a))ressive, proud look, and she 4as portrayed in three
di!!erent and overlappin) poses8 (n the middle, she is represented !rontally
4hile rotatin) her torso and pro<ectin) her head !or4ard and her le!t arm
EC
back4ard, as i! she 4as launchin) a pro<ectile ri)ht at you8
*n the ri)ht, the same person is raisin) one le) and li!tin) a brie!case made o!
4hite synthetic !abric <ust like her suit8 *n the le!t, the position becomes
decidedly violent0 4e see the lady violently kickin) an invisible tar)et 4ith
her le!t le), 4hile her !olded ri)ht arm seems to be collectin) all her available
stren)th8 This 4as the advertisement !or the (ntel Corp8, promotin) the ne4
processor (ntel Core 3 +uo8 And in !act, in the same ima)e, you can read a
slo)an proclaimin)0

57N/.EA"E <O1. F.EE+O&
&ultiply your per!ormance *ith the 7ntel /ore = processor6

1hy did they choose a 4oman to per!orm those poses7 The Far East transmits
a))ressive vibrations, inde!ati)able 4ork ethics, activity, permanent personal
mobilization, success in international competitions8
Cho and the advertisin) team at (ntel share the same ima)inary o! re!erence8
The messa)e comin) out o! the youn) man;s recorded ima)es is the same as
the one communicated by the advertisers to their readers8
+eadly suicidal e/plosions are o!ten associated 4ith a patholo)ical dia)nosis
o! depression8 There have been many denunciations re)ardin) the violent
suicidal andLor homicidal e!!ects in patients treated 4ith antidepressants
4hich, rather than dealin) 4ith the deep psycholo)ical implications o!
depression, simply remove the inhibition to act8
+epression cannot e/plain Cho;s e/plosion o! violence8 Cho;s act is comple/,
creatively conceived and articulated8 (t is a 4ork o! art saturated 4ith
symbolic re!erents taken !rom contemporary terror#pop8 A)ainst a depressive
back)round, con!irmed also by the te/t 4ritten by Cho, 4e see emer)in) a
po4er!ul reaction, aided by easily available substances0 psychotropic dru)s,
terror#pop ima)ery, precise and po4er!ul 4eapons8 ( don;t kno4 4hat kind o!
substances Cho mi)ht have been takin)8
The pa)e o! the /orriere della "era su))ests, by the casual nature o!
its advertisements, an interpretive key that is irreducible to a depression
dia)nosis0 Cho;s violent act is tied to a saturation o! emotional circuits, a short
circuit caused by overload8 This e/plosively violent behavior !ollo4s the loss
o! control o! the relation bet4een in!ormational stimuli and emotional
elaboration8
This murderous actin) out can be the conse.uence o! a depression treated 4ith
anti#inhibitory dru)s that have no e!!ect on the cause o! depression8
A 4hole semiotic universe has )ra!ted itsel! onto this pharmacolo)ical
disinhibition, a cascade o! semio#stimuli that brou)ht the or)anism to an
incontrollable hypere/citation8
The ob<ect o! study is the panic#depressive cycle8 The messa)e o! the (ntel
corporation, like the 4hole !lu/ o! advertisin) stimuli, mobilizes a competitive
E?
a))ression, the violent trans)ression o! rules, the impulsive a!!irmation o!
one;s o4n e/pressivity8 The multitaskin) sta)ed by (ntel is the most po4er!ul
!actor in the intensi!ication o! productivity typical o! co)nitive labor8 But
multitaskin) is also a de#structurin) !actor in our !aculty to process
in!ormation rationally, and it overe/cites our emotional system in a
patholo)ical manner8 (n the ne4 speech o! semiocapitalist hyper#neoliberalism
the e/pression 5Multiply your !reedom6 actually means 5Multiply your
productivity68 (t should be no surprise that the e/posure to the in!ormational#
advertisin)#productive stimulatin) !lu/ produces panic#like, neurasthenic
e!!ects, and a patholo)ical irritability8 But the succession !rom mobilizin)
stimulation o! nervous ener)y to violent action is not linear, because i! that
4ere the case all 4orkers under)oin) an intense nervous e/ploitation 4ould
become murderers, and this is still not happenin)8 The circuit is more
complicated than that8 The constant mobilization o! nervous ener)ies can lead
to a depressive reaction0 the !rustration o! our attempts to act and compete
leads the sub<ect to 4ithdra4 his or her libidinal ener)y !rom the social arena8
*ur !rustrated narcissism retreats and the ener)y <ust shuts itsel! o!!8
The therapeutic action, at this point, does not address the deep cause o!
depression, because, as 4e shall see, this cause cannot be attacked by a
pharmacolo)ical therapy8 The therapeutic treatment o! depression implies a
deep and lon) 4ork o! lin)uistic elaboration, 4hile a pharmacolo)ical
treatment can act e!!ectively only on the inhibitin) blocka)es, not on the
mental causes o! depression8 And this de#blockin) action can stimulate a
violent action characterized by a depressive back)round8
(ntensi!ication o! nervous stimuli, retreat o! libidinal investment, pain!ul
understandin) o! narcissism0 these are the main aspects o! a very 4idely
spread patholo)ical pro!ile in today;s society8 1e can clearly distin)uish the
patholo)ies caused by overload @panic, attention disorders, dysle/iaA !rom the
ones caused by disinvestment @depression and even autismA8 But this
conceptual distinction should be !ollo4ed by the reco)nition that these
patholo)ies, 4hose ori)ins are di!!erent, act simultaneously and
complementarily, causin) e/tremely violent mani!estations8
*! course, the dru)s that remove the inhibitions to act 4ithout touchin) on the
depressive core can end up unleashin) reckless acts, pure and simple
e/plosions o! sel!#destructive or violent !orces0

A!ter 1>G9, an/iety neuroses have been divided in t4o cate)ories0 the panic
attack and )eneral an/iety syndrome8 These t4o patholo)ies have .uickly
mi)rated in the depressive !ield, because they can be better treated by
antidepressants than 4ith an/iety#reducin) medications8 Today, an/iety is part
o! the depressive !ield8 @Ehrenber) 1>>G0 3FA

The basic patho)enic picture emer)in) !rom the era o! the !irst connective
EG
)eneration is characterized by the hyper#mobilizin) o! nervous ener)ies, by
in!ormational overload, by a constant strainin) o! our attention !aculties8 A
particular aspect and an important conse.uence o! this nervous
hypermobilization is the rarity o! bodily contact, the physical and psychical
solitude o! the in!ospheric individual8 1ithin this condition, 4e have to study
depression as a secondary epidemic phenomenon, per!ectly inte)rated in the
psychotic#panic !rame4ork o! the !irst connective )eneration8
Conceptually, ( !ind it interestin) to distin)uish bet4een an/iety and
depressive syndromes, because in the !irst ( see the e!!ect o! a stimuli
overload, 4hile the second are caused by a disinvestment o! ener)y8 But i! 4e
4ant to e/plain the epidemic e/plosion o! violence at the da4n o! our ne4
millennium 4e have to reco)nize their connection8 A !rustrated hyper#
e/citement leads to a disinvestment o! libidinal ener)y that 4e call depression8
But the sub<ect can e/plode the depressive block 4ith psychotropic dru)s or
potentially deadly behavioral shocks8
+epression can;t be reduced to the psycholo)ical !ield8 (t .uestions the very
!oundation o! bein)8
Melancholic depression can be understood in relation to the circulation o!
sense8 Faced 4ith the abyss o! non#sense, !riends talk to !riends, and to)ether
they build a brid)e on the abyss8
+epression .uestions the reliability o! this brid)e8 +epression doesn;t see the
brid)e8 (t !ell o!! its
radar8 *r maybe it sees that the brid)e does not e/ist8 +epression doesn;t trust
!riendship, or doesn;t reco)nize it8 This is 4hy it cannot perceive sense,
because there is no sense i! not in a shared space8
%ense is the pro<ection o! an intellectual and emotional investment8 1e can
say that sense is the e!!ect o! a libidinal investment in interpretation, in the
construction o! meanin)8
The last book by Gilles +eleuze and FIli/ Guattari, #hat is Philosophy9,
contains re!lections on old a)e, !riendship, chaos and speed8 The theme o!
depression @al4ays repressed or even denied else4here in their 4orkA !inally
emer)es8

Chaos is de!ined not so much by its disorder as by the in!inite speed 4ith
4hich every !orm takin) shape in it vanishes8 (t is a void that is not a
nothin)ness but a virtual, containin) all possible particles and dra4in) out all
possible !orms, 4hich sprin) up only to disappear immediately, 4ithout
consistency or re!erence, 4ithout conse.uence8 Chaos is an in!inite speed o!
birth and disappearance8 @+eleuze and Guattari 1>>E0 11GA

And they add0

-othin) is more distressin) than a thou)ht that escapes itsel!, than ideas that
E>
!ly o!!, that disappear hardly !ormed, already eroded by !or)et!ulness or
precipitated into others that 4e no lon)er master8 These are in!inite
variabilities, the appearin) and disappearin) o! 4hich coincide8 They are
in!inite speeds that blend into the immobility o! the o! the colorlessD
@+eleuze and Guattari 1>>E0 391A

The in!inite acceleration o! the 4orld 4ith respect to the mind is the !eelin) o!
bein) de!initively cut out !rom the sense o! the 4orld8 And immediately it
reverses itsel!, !or)ettin) that kind o! !eelin) that is sense8
%ense is not to be !ound in the 4orld, but in 4hat 4e are able to create8 1hat
circulates in the sphere o! !riendship, o! love, o! social solidarity is 4hat
allo4s us to !ind sense8 +epression can be de!ined as a lack o! sense, as an
inability to !ind sense throu)h action, throu)h communication, throu)h li!e8
The inability to !ind sense is !irst o! all the inability to create it8
'et;s think about depression caused by love8 The lover structures the creation
o! sense around the
person 4ho is the ob<ect o! his or her desire8 The ob<ect o! love is the ma)net
attractin) the desirin) ener)y8 (! this ob<ect disappears, the ability o! creatin)
sense is annihilated, and conse.uently nothin) makes sense anymore8
5-othin) makes sense !or me6, says the abandoned lover, and this sentence
has a very concrete, not a metaphoric, meanin)8
Mulia Oristeva, in her 8lack "un, 4rites0

The depressive mood constitutes itsel! as a narcissistic support, ne)ative to be
sure, but nevertheless presentin) the sel! 4ith an inte)rity, nonverbal thou)h it
mi)ht be8 Because o! that, the depressive a!!ect makes up !or symbolic
invalidation and interruption @the depressive;s 5that;s meanin)less6A and at the
same time protects it a)ainst proceedin) to the suicidal act8 That protection,
ho4ever, is a !limsy one8 The depressive denial that destroys the meanin) o!
the symbolic also destroys the act;s meanin) and leads the sub<ect to commit
suicide 4ithout an)uish o! disinte)ration, as a reunitin) 4ith archaic non#
inte)ration, as lethal as it is <ubilatory, 5oceanic6 @Oristeva 1>>30 1>A

(! 4e consider depression the suspension o! the sharin) o! time, as an
a4akenin) to a senseless 4orld, then 4e have to admit that, philosophically
speakin), depression is simply the moment that comes closest to truth8
The depressed sub<ect doesn;t lose at all the !aculty to rationally elaborate the
content o! his li!e and o! his kno4led)e0 on the contrary, his or her vision can
reach an absolute radicality o! understandin)8
+epression allo4s us to see 4hat 4e normally hide !rom ourselves throu)h the
continuous circulation o! a reassurin) collective narrative8 +epression sees
4hat public discourse hides8 +epression is the best condition to access the
void that is the ultimate truth8
F9
At the same time, thou)h, depression paralyzes any ability to act, to
communicate, to share8 (t is precisely on this inhibition to act, 4hich is
psychically secondary and pra)matically decisive, that the anti#depressants
have their e!!ect8
( don;t intend to deny that dru)s can be e!!ective in treatin) the symptoms o!
depression, nor even that by removin) the symptoms 4e can put back into
motion a temporarily paralyzed ener)y, thereby overcomin) the very core o!
the depression8 But ( 4ant to emphasize the !act that depression is di!!erent
!rom its symptoms, and that the cure !or depression can !ollo4 no other course
than the takin) care o! the impermanent sin)ularity @or o! the impermanence
o! the sin)ularA8
(n his book La Fati)ue d0Btre soi, Alain Ehrenber) starts !rom the idea that
depression is a disturbance that has to be understood 4ithin a social conte/t8
(n today;s hi)hly competitive environment, the depressive syndrome produces
an in!ernal spiral8 +epression is caused by a 4ound to our narcissistic
tendencies, and this 4ound reduces the libidinal ener)y that 4e invest in our
actions8 Conse.uently, depression is rein!orced because it produces a
diminution in our activity level and in our ability to compete8

+epression triumphs 4hen the disciplinary model o! behavioral mana)ement,
the rules concernin) authority and con!ormity typical o! a time 4hen
interdictions assi)ned their destiny to the di!!erent social classes have
retreated in !avor o! norms that encoura)e everyone to individual
achievement, orderin) people to become themselves8 The conse.uence o! this
ne4 normativity is that the entire responsibility o! our lives is located not only
in ourselves, but also in the collective space8 +epression is an illness o!
responsibility, dominated by a !eelin) o! inade.uacy8 The depressed sub<ect is
not capable, he is tired o! bein) him or hersel!8 @Ehrenber) 1>>G0 19A

(t is not surprisin) that depression is spreadin) at a time 4hen an
entrepreneurial and competitive ideolo)y is becomin) dominant8 %ince the
be)innin) o! the 1>G9s, a!ter the de!eat o! the 4orkin) class movements and
the a!!irmation o! neoliberal ideolo)y, the idea that 4e should all be
entrepreneurs has )ained social reco)nition8 -obody can conceive his or her
o4n li!e in a more rela/ed and e)alitarian manner8 %Lhe 4ho rela/es may very
4ell end up in the streets, in the poorhouse or in <ail8
The so#called neoliberal re!orms that are continuously imposed on an
increasin)ly !ra)mented, de!eated, impotent society, 4hich has been crushed
by the dominant ideolo)ies, are directed to4ard the destruction o! any
economic security !or the 4orkin) people, and to e/pose every 4orker;s li!e to
the risks o! the entrepreneurial pro!ession8 (n the past, risk 4as the <ob o! the
capitalist, 4ho invested in his or her o4n abilities, obtainin) enormous )ains
or su!!erin) pain!ul !ailures8 But economic risk 4as his business8 The others
F1
4ere in a ran)e )oin) !rom misery to relative prosperity, but they 4ere not
encoura)ed to take risks in order to have more8 But today 54e are all
capitalist6, as the ideolo)ues o! neoliberal re!orm loudly proclaim, and
there!ore 4e all have to take risks8 &ensions 4ill no lon)er be )iven in
e/chan)e !or the savin)s accumulated thanks to a li!e o! 4ork, but they have
to be tied to pension !unds that 4ill either produce !abulous revenues or !ail
miserably, leavin) us destitute in our old a)e8 The essential idea is that 4e all
should consider li!e as an economic venture, as a race 4here there are 4inners
and losers8
Ehrenber);s analysis sketches the )enealo)y o! the depressive patholo)ies
typical o! a )eneralized entrepreneurial society8 Foucault;s book o! his 1>?G#>
seminar, The 8irth o! 8iopolitics, also identi!ies the spreadin) o! the !ree
enterprise economical model in our 4ays o! livin) and thinkin) as the decisive
trait o! our a)e8 (t is the a)e o! neoliberal totalitarianism8

(n corporate li!e, the disciplinary models typical o! Fordism are retreatin) in
!avor o! norms that push the employees to adopt autonomous behaviors8
&articipatory mana)ement, e/pression )roups, .uality circles constitute ne4
4ays o! en!orcin) authority, aimed at impressin) a spirit o! obedience in every
salaried 4orker8 These 4ays o! re)ulatin) and dominatin) the 4ork !orce are
!ounded on initiative more than on mechanical obedience8 A sense o!
responsibility, the ability to evolve and to create pro<ects, motivation,
!le/ibility0 these .ualities delineate a ne4 mana)erial litur)y8 The issue is the
mobilization o! a!!ects and mental capacities much more than dressin) the
bodies o! the salaried 4orkers8 The obli)ations and the 4ays o! de!inin) the
problem chan)e0 !rom the mid#1>G9s on, both 4ork medicine and
entrepreneurial sociolo)ical research emphasize the ne4 prevalence o!
an/iety, psychosomatic disorders and depression8 Corporate li!e is the
antechamber o! depression8 @Ehrenber) 1>>G0 1>>A8

(n the 1>>9s, a ne4 pharmacolo)ical !ashion e/plodes0 substances such as
sertraline @ $olo!tA and !luore/ine @&rozacA !lood the market8 "nlike
benzodiazepines, a !amily o! dru)s 4hich include diazepam @,aliumA and
bromazepam @'e/otanA, these ne4 products don;t have a hypnotic, rela/in)
and an/iety#reducin) e!!ect= rather, they have a euphoric e!!ect and make
possible the de#blockin) o! the inhibition to act that constitutes one o! the
behavioral mani!estations o! depression8
(n the mid#>9s, the decade 4hich )ave its bi))est impulse to the co)nitive
economy, and that needed the total mobilization o! the mental ener)ies
necessary !or creative labor, there 4as the birth o! a true mytholo)y o! &rozac8
That product became @and still isA one o! the best sellers in pharmacies around
the 4orld8 The entire mana)erial class o! the )lobal economy 4ent into a
constant state o! euphoria and psychic alteration8 The economical decisions o!
F3
the )lobal mana)erial class are a !aith!ul mirror to the substance that allo4ed
the 5deciders6 to see only the euphoric aspect o! the 4orld, 4hile stubbornly
i)norin) the devastatin) e!!ects caused by economic euphoria8 For years,
decisions have been made 4ith $olo!t#impre)nated brains or a!ter havin)
s4allo4ed millions o! &rozac tablets8 At a certain point, a!ter the !inancial
crisis o! the sprin) 3999 and the political crisis o! %eptember 11, 3991, the
4orld mana)erial class 4ent into a depressive phase8 To cure its o4n internal
void, or maybe to remove the depressin) truth o! its ethical de!eat, the 4orld
mana)erial class has in<ected itsel! 4ith a ne4, dan)erous substance0 1ar, an
amphetamine that serves to reinvest an a))ressivity no4 destined to destroy
the residual ener)ies o! the human species and the planet8
(n recent decades, the or)anism has been e/posed to an increasin) mass o!
neuro#mobilizin) stimuli8 The acceleration and intensi!ication o! nervous
stimulants on the conscious or)anism seems to have thinned the co)nitive !ilm
that 4e mi)ht call sensibility8 The conscious or)anism needs to accelerate its
co)nitive, )estural, kinetic reactivity8 The time available !or respondin) to
nervous stimuli has been dramatically reduced8 This is perhaps 4hy 4e seem
to be seein) a reduction o! the capacity !or empathy8 %ymbolic e/chan)e
amon) human bein)s is elaborated 4ithout empathy, because it becomes
increasin)ly di!!icult to perceive the e/istence o! the body o! the other in time8
(n order to e/perience the other as a sensorial body, you need time, time to
caress and smell8 The time !or empathy is lackin), because stimulation has
become too intense8 Can 4e hypothesize a direct relationship bet4een the
e/pansion o! the in!o#sphere @acceleration o! stimuli and nervous solicitation,
o! the rhythms o! co)nitive responseA and the crumblin) o! the sensory !ilm
that allo4s human bein)s to understand that 4hich cannot be verbalized, that
4hich cannot be reduced to codi!ied si)ns7
educers o! comple/ity such as money, in!ormation, stereotypes or di)ital
net4ork inter!aces have simpli!ied the relationship 4ith the other, but 4hen
the other appears in !lesh and blood, 4e cannot tolerate its presence, because it
hurts our @inAsensibility8 The video#electronic )eneration does not tolerate
armpit or pubic hair8 *ne needs per!ect compatibility in order to inter!ace
corporeal sur!aces in connection8 %mooth )eneration8 Con<unction !inds its
4ays throu)h hairs and the imper!ections o! e/chan)e8 (t is capable o!
analo)ical readin), and hetero)eneous bodies can understand each other even
i! they do not have an inter!acin) lan)ua)e8


FB
Cha#ter 2. The Zero Zero Decade

The second chapter o! this book is !ocused on the social and political
landscape o! the !irst decade o! the ne4 millennium, particularly on the
chan)in) perception o! the !uture, the erosion o! the very !oundations o! the
social civilization that implemented the ideolo)y o! pro)ress8
The style o! these te/ts is varied, because here ( have collected te/ts 4ritten
over this decade and published in di!!erent conte/ts8 ( have re4ritten parts
here and there, but the reader should not e/pect a coherent development, but
rather scattered insi)hts and overvie4s o! a multi!orm and chan)in)
landscape8 The !irst te/t is dedicated to the present situation, !ollo4in) the
!ailure o! the 399> "- Climate Chan)e Con!erence in Copenha)en, 5C*&1F68

From "eattle to Co#enha)en

5Copenha)en, 4hich had been co#branded !or the talks on billboards 4ith
Coke and %iemens as 2openha)en, 4as lookin) more like -openha)en86 %o
4rites Amy Goodman @n8d8A, commentin) on the !ailure o! the 399> climate
summit held in +enmark8 Ten years a!ter the %eattle riots, 4hile the 4orld
political system seems unable to take any action !or the )overnment o! the
)lobal environment, the movement is searchin) !or a 4ay out !rom the disaster
that decades o! neoliberal policy have prepared8 The prospect o! a double
disruption : environmental and social : o! the very !oundations o! modern
civilization is more and more possible, but the leadin) class is rea!!irmin) the
strate)y 4hich )enerated the present situation, based on do)mas o!
competition, pro!it and )ro4th0

There is a crisis o! belie! in the !uture, leavin) us 4ith the prospect o! an
endless, deterioratin) present that han)s around by sheer inertia8 (n spite o! all
this turmoil : this time o! 5crisis6 4hen it seems like everythin) could, and
should, have chan)ed : it parado/ically !eels as thou)h history has stopped8
There is an un4illin)ness, or inability, to !ace up to the scale o! the crisis8
(ndividuals, companies and )overnments have hunkered do4n, hopin) to ride
out the storm until the old 4orld re#emer)es in a couple o! years8 Attempts to
4ish the 5)reen shoots6 o! recovery into e/istence mistake an epochal crisis
!or a cyclical one= they are little more than 4ide#eyed boosterism8 Hes,
astronomical sums o! money have prevented the complete collapse o! the
!inancial system, but the bailouts have been used to prevent chan)e, not
initiate it8 1e are trapped in a state o! limbo8 @Turbulence 399>0 BA

The ideolo)ical bases o! neoliberalism have been shaken by the !inancial crisis
and by the ecolo)ical a4areness !ostered by climate chan)e8

FE
(n its heyday, neoliberal ideolo)y 4as e!!ective in banishin) all other thou)ht
because it posed as non#ideolo)ical, as merely the 5reasonable6 application o!
the 5science6 o! utility8 Today, ho4ever, it is possible to see @and sayA that the
presuppositions o! these reasonable decisions 4ere, o! course, ideolo)ical8 The
market does not tend to4ard e.uilibrium, the ma/imisation o! sel!#interest can
override instincts o! sel!#preservation and lead to sub#optimal outcomes, and
in times o! crisis any trickle do4n is reverted into the upstream splur)e o!
bailouts8 The premises o! those supposedly non#ideolo)ical ar)uments : such
as the trans!ormation o! 5the market6 into a natural )iven )overned by
scienti!ic la4s available to ortho'do @5correct opinion6A but not to hetero'do
@5other opinion6A economists : have no4 been debunked8 2ardcore neoliberal
ideolo)y 4ill cease to shape the space o! politics by de!inin) its terms, 4hat is
)ood and bad @investment rather than public spendin), e!!icient private versus
ine!!icient public, markets not plannin)A, and pullin) the centre o! )ravity o!
the debate to4ards itsel!8 -eoliberal orthodo/y no lon)er !orms the middle
)round o! politics in re)ard to 4hich all other opinions have to position
themselves8 @Turbulence 399>0 EA

-evertheless, the do)mas o! economic !anaticism are imposin) their rule8
Ne*s*eek has titled its late +ecember issue0 (s that all7, meanin) that the
promises o! a deep chan)e a!ter the !inancial collapse have been disre)arded8
The old bour)eoisie 4as able to reconcile the interests o! the enterprise and
the civil pro)ress o! society8 The old bour)eoisie 4as a territorialized class,
4hose 4ealth depended on physical )oods and common in!rastructures8 The
deterritorialized !inancial class has no interest in lon) run social survival8 The
)lobal <ob market has destroyed the ne)otiatin) !orce o! the 4orkers, and
)lobal salaries are steadily !allin) every4here8 The social civilization !ounded
on the !orce the 4orkers has been eroded by neoliberal dere)ulation, and is
no4 sho4in) si)ns o! collapse8
(n this conte/t C*&1F took place in +ecember 399>8 The central sub<ect o!
the summit, 4as not really the environment8 (t 4as the debt that 1estern
imperialism has contracted 4ith the planet and humankind0 the debt o!
colonization, o! )enocide, and o! systematic e/ploitation and environmental
rava)e8 For the 1estern population today the most ur)ent thin) is to save the
livability o! the environment, and to avoid the collapse o! the physical
conditions that made civilization possible8 For the poor o! the )lobal %outh
@and also !or the poor o! the -orthern metropolisA the prospect is di!!erent, as
they did not e/perience the same advanta)e o! modern civilization8
A!ter the !inancial collapse and the American military de!eat the 1est seems
unable to blackmail, and the 4orld is askin) !or reparations8 The 1estern
nations are no more able to impose their a)enda on the ne4 industrialized
countries and to the dispossessed o! the planet8 The 1est !eels the ur)ency o!
the climatic chan)e and is !inally a4are o! the dan)erous e!!ects o! pollution
FF
in )eneral8 But the 1est has created the problem, and has !ounded its 4ealth
on the devastation o! the common environment8 The dispossessed do not !ear
the climatic hell like the 1estern population does, because the dispossessed
are already livin) in hell8 %o 4hat is comin) out !rom the Copenha)en summit
is this !ri)htenin) scenario0 the )lobal %outh is usin) climatic chan)e as a
4eapon a)ainst the )lobal -orth8 (! you don;t 4ant to dro4n you have to pay
the debt accumulated durin) !ive centuries8 1ill the 1est be able to take the
challen)e, or 4ill the con!rontation lead to !urther disruption o! the
)eopolitical balance, and ne4 4ars7
Evo Morales has said0

To pay their debt, the industrialized countries should reduce their emissions
and absorb their )reenhouse )ases in a 4ay that there e/ists a !air distribution
o! atmospheric space bet4een all o! the countries, takin) into consideration
their population, because the countries that are on the path o! development
need atmospheric space !or their development8 The third component o! climate
debt is the payin) o! reparations, reparations !or dama)es that have been
created by the irrationally industrialized countries8 For humanity to)ether, it;s
shame!ul that the 1estern countries have only o!!ered V19 billion !or climate
chan)e8 ( 4as lookin) at some !i)ures8 The "nited %tates : ho4 much does the
"nited %tates spend to e/port terrorism to A!)hanistan, to e/port terrorism to
(ra., and to e/port military bases to %outh America7 They don;t only spend
millions, but billions and trillions8

The concept o! 5debt6 implies a bet on the !uture0 debt is the handover o! a
part o! our !uture in e/chan)e !or somethin) that 4e are consumin) no48 The
concept o! 5)uilt6 also implies the idea that 4e are takin) somethin) no4 that
4e;ll have to atone !or in the !uture @maybe in the a!ter4orldA8 -ot
surprisin)ly in Aramaic @Mesus;s lan)ua)eA debt and )uilt are the same 4ord8
(n the Mudeo#Christian cultural sphere, )uilt !ounds human relations and
historical time8 Atonement is the !uture e/pectin) the sinner8 (! you are able to
atone !or your )uilt in this li!e, you;ll be amon) the elected by God, i! you
persevere in your )uilty behavior you;ll pay 4ith eternal punishment8
(n the Mudeo#Christian 4orld, debt and )uilt are similar, so one can e/pect that
i! you take somethin) today you 4ill )ive it back tomorro4, i! you don;t 4ant
to die in mortal sin8 *nce the principle o! restitution is a)reed in the economic
sphere, credit becomes possible as a system o! borro4in) on the !uture8 The
dynamic o! capitalist accumulation is based on this perpetual process o!
investment in a borro4ed !uture, and the very idea o! !uture becomes a
common cultural dimension 4hen capitalism )rants the relationship bet4een
present borro4in) and !uture repayment8 But i! the promise o! restitution !ails,
i! those 4ho take part in the )ame o! )uilt and atonement, o! debt and
restitution lose !aith in the !uture, then 4hat7 (! those 4ho borro4 kno4 that
FC
the 4orld is )oin) to end soon, or simply don;t care about the other;s !uture,
4hat happens7
(n The Transparency o! Evil, Baudrillard @1>>BbA spoke o! the orbitalization o!
debt8 At a certain point o! capitalist history, Baudrillard 4rites, debt started to
)ro4 verti)inously, so as to become purely virtual and abandon the sphere o!
terrestrial relationships, as a satellite orbits the Earth8 Circulatin) !rom one
bank to the ne/t, !rom one country to the ne/t, debt has taken o!!, and has
started to )o around like atomic debris8 Baudrillard ar)ues that i! those billions
and trillions 4ould !all back to Earth, this 4ould be a true catastrophe8
1hat has happened since %eptember 399G is e/actly 4hat Baudrillard ruled
out as an impossible event8 Trillions o! dollars !loatin) in orbit have !allen
do4n to Earth, and virtual !inance has provoked a collapse o! the economy,
and, it seems, is also )oin) to provoke a collapse o! the 4orld environment8
Baudrillard himsel!, in the last years o! his li!e, had be)an to think about the
possibility o! a return !rom the virtual to the material sphere8 The debt has
made possible a constant increase in consumption by the bulimic population o!
the rich 4orld8 But the physical planet is no4 besie)ed by ill#heath, 4aste, and
drou)ht8
(! the debt is no4 irrecoverable, i! the 1est is unable to repay it, ( think that an
a)e o! violence and misery is )oin) to !ollo48
The only 4ay to pay debt is to chan)e the very idea o! !uture as )ro4th8


0n the Brin1 of Disaster

%ince the start o! the 1>G9s, the 4orld has been )overned by a leadin) )roup
4ho have invested all o! the social ener)ies at their disposal in the economy o!
pro!it8 From ea)an;s America to +en) 2siao &in);s China the 4atch4ord
5)et rich6 became the only imperative and on this criterion a rulin) class 4as
selected, 4ith no culture other than that o! pro!it, no values other than those o!
robbery, no strate)y other than that o! domination and submission8 (n the name
o! the interests o! the pro!it economy it 4as seen as le)itimate to destroy all
social de!ences, all ri)hts, all !orms o! li!e and culture8
ecombinant technolo)ies @computer and biotechnolo)iesA have been used as
instruments o! economic pro!it ma/imization8 The pro!it economy has deeply
permeated the epistemic structures and applications o! these technolo)ies
4hich contain an unprecedented capacity to mould and mutate the human
)enetic make#up @at the physical, psychic and co)nitive levelA8 A real mutation
be)an to modi!y the collective body in accordance 4ith a paradi)m dominated
by the criterion o! economic pro!it8
A !e4 bi) institutions o! 4orld )overnment, 4hich nobody ever elected, have
)overned the )lobalization process that the 4eb technolo)ies have !renetically
accelerated8 These institutions @(MF, 1T*, 1orld BankDA have imposed the
F?
interests o! lar)e )lobal enterprises on the economic, social, political,
technolo)ical and cultural development o! each country o! the 4orld8 This
produced the reduction o! social de!enses a)ainst the intrusiveness o! pro!it,
the privatization o! socially indispensable services, and the reduction o! public
spendin) on health and education8 The end result, lar)ely visible today, is an
increase in i)norance, a di!!usion o! a))ressiveness, and devastation o! the
environment8
+urin) the >9s the development o! the economy 4as prodi)ious, not only in
4estern countries8 Globalization )ave birth to ne4 productive classes in
eastern countries and enormously e/panded the purchasin) po4er o! the
4estern minority inte)rated into the pro!it economy8 -e4 productive sectors
@!irst o! all those linked to the di)italization o! production and communicationA
sustained the demand !or the entire decade and determined the !ormation o! a
mass capitalism to 4hich a conspicuous part o! the 4estern population
participated, throu)h a hu)e di!!usion o! the social entrepreneurial !unction
and a pro)ressive identi!ication o! labor and enterprise, especially in the hi)h
tech sectors8 Co)nitive labor became the leadin) sector o! )lobal production,
takin) the shape o! the economy#driven ideolo)y and identi!yin) itsel! 4ith
the entrepreneurial !unction, participatin) at the !ore!ront o! mass !inancial
capitalism @dotcom#maniaA8 (n the meantime the len)th o! the 4orkin) day,
4hich had been in decline up until the end o! the 1>?9s, be)an to increase
a)ain a!ter the 4orld victory o! liberalism8 The !ree time )ained throu)h a
century o! 4orkers; stru))le 4as pro)ressively subsumed to the rule o! pro!it
and trans!ormed into !ra)mented and di!!used labor8 %ocial ener)ies 4ere
pro)ressively subsumed to economic competition8 Those 4ho didn;t run )ot
run over8 %ociety started runnin) !rantically and many broke do4n8
The competitive mobilization o! social ener)ies rapidly brou)ht about the
breakdo4n o! the social or)anism= this 4as simultaneously nervous and
economic @but the economy had already become a mental sphereA8 From the
sprin) o! 3999 the e/pansive cycle o! the economy started breakin), as a result
o! various trends0
aA the demand !or ne4 technolo)ies had pro)ressively !allen= the !all o! pro!it
in innovative sectors had been precipitously accelerated=
bA the perspective o! an e/haustion o! non#rene4able ener)y sources had
caused !erocious competition=
cA a crisis o! overproduction had spread on innovative sectors8 2u)e .uantities
o! semio#commodities remained unsold8 This provoked a !all in the stock
markets, !ollo4ed by a crisis o! trust in the !uture o! mass capitalism=
dA the investment o! psychic ener)ies into the competitive race provoked an
e!!ect o! saturation o! attention to the point o! creatin) the conditions !or a
)eneralized breakdo4n8
%ome )lobal corporations entered a crisis8 (t became mani!est that the rulin)
)roups o! ne4 capitalism had violated all the rules o! economic correctness,
FG
robbed collective resources and )overned production 4ithout strate)ic
competence, 4ith their attention entirely !ocused on the achievement o!
ma/imum immediate pro!it8 Faith in the rulin) )roup o! the 4orld economy
crumbled8 Mass capitalism be)an to !all8 "nemployment started risin),
especially amon)st the )eneration that 4as no4 enterin) the labor market,
4ho )re4 up 4ith a belie! in the eternal continuity o! economic development8
(n the meantime, a ne4 political class, one that )ot rich throu)h robbery and
achieved consensus by means o! !ull control over the media system and the
)ro4th o! i)norance, came to )overn di!!erent 4estern countries8 The
collective brain !or t4enty years had been bombarded by symbols o!
consumerism and competitive and a))ressive violence8 A sort o! lumpen#
bour)eoisie 4as !ormed 4ith ma!ia money, the robbery o! public !undin), and
the money comin) !rom mass shares and pension !unds8 This lumpen#
bour)eoisie no lon)er respected any principle o! le)ality, nor did it possess the
strate)ic .ualities o! the protestant capitalism o! the past8 (t 4as a baro.ue and
cynical class, ready to use any means to seize po4er8 (n ussia, the communist
leadin) class s4i!tly turned capitalist 4hile continuin) the a))ressive and
authoritarian style o! )overnin) and e/ploitin) social labor8 (n (taly, the ne4
)overnin) class emer)ed out o! ma!ia money, the ille)al seizure o! an
unbounded po4er on social communication, and the corruption o! <ud)es8
(n the "nited %tates, !or the !irst time in t4o hundred years, in the year 3999
4e 4itnessed a phenomenon that 4as comparable to a coup d05tat8 %ince
takin) po4er, the ne4 American president Geor)e Bush put !or4ard an
a))ressively he)emonic policy8 The !irst action o! Bush;s presidency 4as to
rip#up the Oyoto a)reements 4hereby industrialized countries had established
a pro)ressive reduction o! to/ic emissions in order to limit pollution and the
e!!ects o! environmental devastation8 The ne4 president represented the
interests o! the )reat oil and 4eapon producers, 4ho had economically
sustained his electoral campai)n8 2e also represented the interests o! the
rulin) )roup o! companies, such as E-*-, 4hich have !allen a!ter robbin)
the pension !unds in 4hich masses o! shareholders had invested8 The 4hole
)roup sustainin) Bush 4as implicated in the !ailure o! American capitalism8
Bush;s seizure o! po4er 4as also supported by the )reatest monopoly o! the
hi)h#tech industry8 (n e/chan)e, the president promised Bill Gates immunity
!or the monopolistic policies o! Microso!t Corporation that had been
dama)in) mass capitalism and 4eakenin) and robbin) hundreds o! small
companies, thereby breachin) the trust in !ree enterprise and the !ree market8
Bush;s po4er 4as !ounded on an alliance bet4een old oil and the 4eapons
economy, a !ailin) and thievin) lumpen#bour)eois class, and the private
monopoly over in!ormation and communication8
As soon as the economic breakdo4n be)an, as i! by miracle, three planes !le4
throu)h the skies o! 1ashin)ton and -e4 Hork8 A!ter the events o! %eptember
11, 3991 @%11A, miraculously, the capitalism on the ver)e o! bankruptcy could
F>
invest the ener)ies o! the 4hole society @that displayed si)ns o! e/haustionA in
the direction o! 4ar8 The )eneral mobilization o! these ener)ies be)an 4ith a
call to a 2oly 1ar o! the 1est a)ainst the evils o! the 4orld8 2ere be)ins the
)reat Manichean campai)n o! Good versus Evil8 The Good is represented by a
)roup o! oil ma)nates 4ho have notoriously robbed public !unds that led to
the collapse o! )iant companies8 %ince the 4ar on the A!)han population !ailed
to produce any o! the promised results, i8e8 the arrest o! the heads o! the Al#
Waida or)anisation accused o! bein) responsible !or the %11 attacks, the 4ar
must be re#launched8 A ne4 tar)et is chosen0 the !ormer ally and accomplice
%addam 2ussein is the tar)et8
The motivations !or a 4ar on (ra. are ridiculous8 5%addam is an enemy o!
humanity68 *! course, he 4as one already 4hen he acted on behal! o! the
American administration and occupied (ran, as are many o! the American
allies such as %haron and the %audi dynasty8 52e used ille)al 4eapons68 As he
did in 1>GG 4ith the !inancial and political support o! the "%8 52e can make
nuclear 4eapons68 1hich is improbable8 Any4ay, the violations o! the non#
proli!eration treaty are multiple, startin) !rom (srael8 51e need to brin)
democracy to the Middle East68 -othin) could be more hypocritical8
+emocracy in the Middle East 4ould re.uire the departure o! (sraeli !orces
!rom the occupied territories, the reco)nition o! the political ri)hts o! the
Ourdish people, and a reduction o! the role o! the lar)e oil corporations that
!or !i!ty years have been robbin) the resources o! those countries 4hilst
in!luencin) their political li!e in a direct and authoritarian manner ever since
they sponsored a military coup in 1>FB a)ainst &remier Mohammed Mossade.
!or tryin) to nationalize the (ranian oil industry8
The ideolo)y o! security is the product o! a paranoia !uelled by the media and
)eared to create an economic system o! )lobal security that can al4ays !eed on
ne4 paranoia8 51e need to protect our .uality o! li!e68 This is the only
sentence that corresponds to truth in the 4hole o! the 4ar propa)anda0 39T o!
humanity does not 4ish to )ive up the consumption o! G9T o! the 4orld
resources8
1hat are the possible scenarios o! 4ar in (ra.7 *ne is that o! a rapid victory
!or the a))ressors, the capture and trial o! Ba)hdad;s criminal, the imposition
o! a relatively peace!ul protectorate, the American democratization o! the
Middle East, the pro)ressive clearance o! con!lict zones, the imposition o! a
planetary military dictatorship !or )ood purposes8 But does anyone believe this
to be possible7 The more realistic scenario entails the possibility o! a !all o!
the &akistani re)ime 4ith the )ain o! t4o hundred nuclear 4arheads !or the
(slamic !undamentalists8 The most probable conse.uence o! a))ression a)ainst
(ra. is the e/plosion o! Empire, the inau)uration o! the Empire o! Chaos8
Mean4hile, somethin) came to chan)e the 4hole scenario0 in the !rame4ork
o! a paranoid clash bet4een !undamentalist and nationalist !anaticism and
nazi#capitalist !anaticism, a third actor has !inally emer)ed, that 4e have been
C9
4aitin) !or since %11, 4hich has been built 4ith the stubborn labor o! the
)lobal movement a)ainst corporations8 The third actor came into bein) on
February 1Fth, 399B as millions upon millions marched in cities around the
)lobe in protest a)ainst the 4ar in (ra.8 (t is the movement o! )lobal everyday
li!e that rebels a)ainst 4ar mon)erin) dementia8 1hat 4e sa4 on F1F is a
movement that is destined to e/pand and radicalize8 But at that sta)e it 4ill be
a matter o! 4orkin) to4ards pushin) the process o! e/itin) the 4ar to coincide
4ith that o! dissolvin) o! the neoliberal domination o! )lobal capitalism, in
order to repose the dynamic o! anti#capitalist con!lict in society8 Capitalism
brin)s 4ar as clouds brin) storms, but in the course o! the 4ar the conditions
!or a re#dislocation o! capitalism are created8 The .uestion o! subvertin) the
!orces that produced the 4ar 4ill emer)e8 Then it 4ill not be su!!icient to
eliminate the criminal class that produced the 4ar8 (t 4ill be necessary to
clari!y that 4ar is only the continuation o! liberalist devastation by other
means, hence, it 4ill be necessary to cut the roots o! the process that led to
catastrophe8


After the Dotcom Crash

(n the last decade o! the century the 1eb emer)ed as the essential support o!
the lon) e/pansive phase o! di)ital capitalism8 Millions o! Americans and
Europeans started to invest their money, buyin) and sellin) shares !rom their
o4n homes8 The 4hole !inancial system became ti)htly interconnected8
-evertheless, the 1eb, this !antastic multiplier o! popular participation in the
market, risks becomin) the multiplier o! its crisis, and the point o! !li)ht !rom
the mediatic#!inancial system o! control8
Another side to the process needs to be emphasized8 +ue to mass participation
in the cycle o! !inancial investment in the 1>>9s, a vast process o! sel!#
or)anization o! co)nitive producers )ot under4ay8 Co)nitive 4orkers invested
their e/pertise, their kno4led)e and their creativity, and !ound in the stock
market the means to create enterprises8 For several years, the dotcom
entrepreneurial !orm became the point 4here !inancial capital and hi)hly
productive co)nitive labor met8
The libertarian and liberal ideolo)y that dominated the @AmericanA
cyberculture o! the >9s idealized the market by presentin) it as a pure, almost
mathematical environment8 (n this environment, as natural as the stru))le !or
the survival o! the !ittest that makes evolution possible, labor 4ould !ind the
necessary means to valorise itsel! and become enterprise8 *nce le!t to its o4n
dynamic, the reticular economic system 4as destined to optimize economic
)ains !or everyone, o4ners and 4orkers alike, also because the distinction
bet4een o4ners and 4orkers 4ould become increasin)ly imperceptible 4hen
one enters the virtual productive circuit8
C1
This model, ima)ined by authors such as Oevin Oelly and trans!ormed by
#ired ma)azine into a sort o! di)ital#liberal, scorn!ul and emphatic
#eltanschauun), 4ent bankrupt in the !irst couple o! years o! the ne4
millennium, to)ether 4ith the ne4 economy and a lar)e part o! the army o!
sel!#employed co)nitive entrepreneurs 4ho had inhabited the dotcom 4orld8
(t 4ent bankrupt because the model o! a per!ectly !ree market is a practical
and theoretical lie8 1hat neoliberalism supported in the lon) run 4as not the
!ree market, but monopoly8 1hile the market 4as idealized as a !ree space
4here kno4led)e, e/pertise and creativity meet, reality sho4ed that the bi)
)roups o! command operate in a 4ay that !ar !rom bein) libertarian, introduce
technolo)ical automatisms, imposin) themselves 4ith the po4er o! the media
or money, and !inally shamelessly robbin) the mass o! shareholders and
co)nitive laborers8
The !ree market lie has been e/posed by the Bush administration8 (ts policy is
one o! e/plicit !avoritism !or monopolies @startin) 4ith the scandalous
absolution o! Bill GatesA8 (t 4as a protectionist policy imposin) the openin) o!
markets to 4eak states 4hile allo4in) the "nited %tates to impose E9T import
ta/es on steel8
A criti.ue o! the mi/ o! neoliberalism and protectionism !rom the point o!
vie4 o! net culture is contained in Geert 'ovink;s @3993A book +ark Fiber8
This book is the !irst 4orld4ide investi)ation o! )lobal net culture, an analysis
o! the evolution and involution o! the 1eb durin) the !irst decade o! its mass
e/pansion8 'ovink )oes beyond a sociolo)ical, economic and anthropolo)ical
survey8 Many o! the essays in the book outline the theoretical positions o!
various a)ents in the cybercultural scene0 #ired;s libertarian ideolo)y, its
economistic and neoliberal involution, and the radical pessimism o! European
philosophers8 'ovink does not d4ell on American liberal ideolo)y, the
de!eated enemy8 (nstead, he invites us to understand 4hat happened at the
level o! production in the years o! dotcom#mania8
1e have no reason to cheer over the dotcom crash, he says8 The ideolo)y that
characterized dotcom mania 4as a !anatical representation o! obli)atory
optimism and economistic !ideism8 But the real process that developed in
these years contains elements o! social as 4ell as technolo)ical innovation0
elements that 4e should recuperate and re#actualize8 (n the second hal! o! the
>9s a real class stru))le occurred 4ithin the productive circuit o! hi)h
technolo)ies8 The becomin) o! the 1eb has been characterized by this
stru))le8 The outcome o! the stru))le, at present, is unclear8 %urely the
ideolo)y o! a !ree and natural market turned out to be a blunder8 The idea that
the market !unctions as a pure environment o! e.ual con!rontation !or ideas,
pro<ects, the productive .uality and the utility o! services has been 4iped out
by the sour truth o! a 4ar monopolies have 4a)ed a)ainst the multitude o!
sel!#employed co)nitive 4orkers and the sli)htly pathetic mass o! micro#
traders8
C3
The stru))le !or survival 4as not 4on by the best and most success!ul= rather,
it 4as 4on by the !irst to dra4 their )un8 That is, dra4 the )un o! violence,
robbery, systematic the!t, and the violation o! any le)al and ethical norm8 The
Bush#Gates alliance sanctioned the li.uidation o! the market, and at that point
the phase o! the internal stru))le o! the virtual class ended8 *ne part o! the
virtual class entered the techno#military comple/= another part @the lar)e
ma<orityA 4as e/pelled !rom the enterprise and pushed to the mar)ins o!
e/plicit proletarianization8 *n the cultural plane, the conditions !or the
!ormation o! a social consciousness o! the co)nitariat are emer)in), and this
could be the most important phenomenon o! the years to come, the only key to
o!!er solutions to the disaster8 ather than a virtual class, ( pre!er to speak
about a co)nitive proletariat @5co)nitariat6A in order to emphasize the material
@( mean physical, psycholo)ical, neurolo)icalA disease o! the 4orkers involved
in the net#economy8
+otcoms have been the trainin) laboratory !or a productive model and a
market8 (n the end the market 4as con.uered and su!!ocated by monopolies,
and the army o! sel!#employed entrepreneurs and venture microcapitalists 4as
robbed and dissolved8 Thus a ne4 phase be)an0 the )roups that became
predominant in the cycle o! the net#economy !or)ed an alliance 4ith the
dominant )roup o! the old#economy @the Bush clan, representative o! the oil
and military industryA, and this caused a blockin) o! the pro<ect o!
)lobalization8 -eoliberalism produced its o4n ne)ation, and those 4ho 4ere
its most enthusiastic supporters became its victims8
Because o! the dotcom crash o! the year 3999, co)nitive labor has separated
itsel! !rom capital8 The alliance 4as broken8 +i)ital artisans, 4ho durin) the
>9s !elt like entrepreneurs o! their o4n labor, slo4ly realized that they had
been deceived, e/propriated, and this created the conditions !or a ne4
consciousness o! co)nitive 4orkers8
%tartin) !rom these e/periences, 4e need to rethink the old .uestion o! the
intellectual that played such a crucial role in the 1>th century8 (n the 'eninist
vision, the intellectual 4as considered a pre#industrial actor, 4hose !unction
4as determined on the basis o! a choice o! or)anic a!!iliation 4ith a social
class8 The 'eninist party is the pro!essional !ormation o! intellectuals 4ho
choose to serve the proletarian cause8 Antonio Gramsci introduced the notion
o! cultural he)emony : the speci!icity o! a 4ork o! ideolo)y to develop in the
process o! seizin) political po4er8 But Gramsci remained !undamentally
attached to an idea o! the intellectual as an unproductive !i)ure, an idea o!
culture as pure consensus 4ith ideolo)ical values8 The industrialization o!
culture that developed durin) the 1>99s modi!ied these !i)ures, and critical
thou)ht realized this 4hen it mi)rated !rom Frank!urt to 2olly4ood8
Ben<amin and Marcuse, Adorno and 2orkheimer, Brecht and Orakauer
re)istered this passa)e8 But it is not until the di)ital 1eb rede!ined the 4hole
process o! production that intellectual labor assumed the con!i)uration that
CB
Mar/ @1>?B0 ?9CA had, in the Grundrisse, de!ined 4ith the e/pression o!
5)eneral (ntellect68
&ierre 'Ivy calls it collective intelli)ence= +errick +e Oerkhove points out
that it actually is a connective intelli)ence8 The in!initely !ra)mented mosaic
o! co)nitive labor becomes a !luid process 4ithin a universal telematic
net4ork, and thus the shape o! labor and capital are rede!ined8 Capital
becomes the )eneralized semiotic !lu/ that runs throu)h the veins o! the )lobal
economy, 4hile labor becomes the constant activation o! the intelli)ence o!
countless semiotic a)ents linked to one another8 etrievin) the concept o!
5)eneral intellect6 in the ;>9s, (talian post#operaist or compositionist thou)ht
@&aolo ,irno, Christian Marazzi, Maurizio 'azzarato, Carlo FormentiA
introduced the concept o! mass intellectuality, and emphasized the interaction
bet4een labor and lan)ua)e8
1e had to )o throu)h the dotcom pur)atory, throu)h the illusion o! a !usion
bet4een labor and capitalist enterprise, and then throu)h the e!!ects o! the
dotcom#crash, in order to see the problem o! labor emer)e in ne4 terms as
immaterial and co)nitive8


The Fu22y %conomy of Co)nitive /a'or

(s it yet possible to speak o! Economics as a science 4hen the production
process is becomin) immaterial, unstable, and unpredictable, and seems to
elude the rules o! computation that are at the core o! the economic conceptual
system7 &eter +rucker 4rites0

Oeynes, the post#Oeynesians, and the neo#classicists alike cast the economy in
a model in 4hich a !e4 constants drive the entire machinery8 The model 4e
no4 need 4ould have to see the economy as 5ecolo)y,6 5environment,6
5con!i)uration,6 and as composed o! several inte)rative spheres0 a 5micro
economy6 o! individuals and !irms, especially translational ones= a 5macro
economy6 o! national )overnments= and a 4orld economy8 Every earlier
economic theory postulated that one such economy totally controls= all others
are dependent and 5!unctions86 But economic reality no4 is one o! three such
economies8 -one o! them totally controls the other t4o= none is totally
controlled by the others8 Het none is !ully independent !rom the others, either8
%uch comple/ity can barely be described8 (t cannot be analyzed since it allo4s
o! no prediction8 To )ive us a !unctionin) economic theory, 4e thus need a
ne4 synthesis that simpli!ies : but so !ar there is no si)n o! it8 And i! no such
synthesis emer)es, 4e mi)ht be at the end o! economic theory8 @+rucker 1>G>0
1FC#?A

Economics became a science 4hen, 4ith the e/pansion o! capitalism, rules
CE
4ere established as )eneral principles !or productive activity and e/chan)e8
But i! 4e 4ant these rules to !unction 4e must be able to .uanti!y the basic
productive act8 The time#atom described by Mar/ is the keystone o! modern
economics8 Calculatin) the time necessary !or the production o! a commodity
makes possible the re)ulation o! the entire set o! economic relations8 But 4hen
the main element in the )lobal productive cycle is the un!oreseeable 4ork o!
the mind, the un!oreseeable 4ork o! lan)ua)e, 4hen sel!#reproducin)
in!ormation becomes the universal commodity, it is no lon)er possible to
reduce the totality o! e/chan)es and relations to an economic rule8
+rucker continues0

(n any system as comple/ as the economy o! a developed country, the
statistically insi)ni!icant events, the events at the mar)in, are likely to be the
decisive events, short ran)e at least8 By de!inition they can neither be
anticipated nor prevented8 (ndeed, they cannot al4ays be identi!ied even a!ter
they have had their impact8 @+rucker 1>G>0 1CCA

Economic science is !ounded on a .uantitative and mechanistic paradi)m that
could comprehend and re)ulate industrial production, the physical
manipulation o! mechanical matter, but is unable to e/plain and re)ulate the
process o! immaterial production based on an activity that can;t easily be
reduced to .uantitative measurements and the repetition o! constants0 mental
activity8
+ue to the ne4 technolo)ies, Mac.ues obin @1>G>0 B>A e/plains ho4 even the
concept o! productivity !ails to resist the challen)e raised by the ne4 realities
like )ro4th 4ithout <ob creation8 1ith the ne4 technolo)ies the ma<ority o!
production costs are determined by research and e.uipment e/penses that
actually precede the productive process8 'ittle by little, in di)italized and
automated enterprises, production is no lon)er sub<ected to the variations
concernin) the .uantity o! operational !actors8 Mar)inal cost, mar)inal pro!its0
these bases o! neoclassical economic calculations have lost a )ood part o! their
meanin)8 The traditional elements o! salary and price calculation are
crumblin) do4n8
Mental 4ork is not computable in precise and predictable terms like the 4ork
per!ormed by an industrial 4orker8 There!ore, the determination o! value : the
keystone o! classical economy both as a science and as daily economic
practice : becomes aleatory and inde!inable8 5ealist6 economies @the
economies based on the relationship to a computable amount o! labor timeA
4ere )overned by their )oals0 a naXve )oal o! producin) use value !or the
satis!action o! speci!ic needs, or a subtler )oal o! valorization as the increase
o! invested capital8 -o4, instead, it is impossible to e/plain our economies on
the basis o! their )oals, 4hether 4e identi!y them 4ith the intentions o! certain
individuals or certain )roups or 4ith the )oals o! an entire society8 The
CF
economy is )overned by a code, not by its )oals0

Finality is there in advance, inscribed in the code8 The order o! )oals has
simply ceded its place to a molecular play, as the order o! si)ni!ied has yielded
to the play o! in!initesimal si)ni!iers, reduced to their aleatory commutation8
@Baudrillard 1>>Ba0 F>A

(n Baudrillard;s vision, the economy there!ore appears as a hyperreality, a
simulated, double, and arti!icial 4orld that cannot be translated in terms o!
real production8 Conse.uently, economic science can no lon)er e/plain the
!undamental dynamics )overnin) humanity;s productive activities= nor can it
e/plain their crisis8 Economics has to be replaced by a )lobal science 4hose
characteristics and !ield o! in.uiry are still unkno4n0 a science that 4ould be
able to study the processes o! !ormation o! Cyberspace, i8e8 the )lobal net4ork
o! si)ns#commodities8
(n an intervie4 published in 1>>B by the ma)azine #ired, &eter +rucker
develops by his o4n point o! vie4 on the theme o! the inade.uacy o!
economic cate)ories associated 4ith the di)italization o! production0

(nternational economic theory is obsolete8 The traditional !actors o!
production : land, labour, and capital : are becomin) restraints rather than
drivin) !orces8 Ono4led)e is becomin) the one critical !actor o! production8 (t
has t4o incarnations0 kno4led)e applied to e/istin) processes, services, and
products is productivity= kno4led)e applied to the ne4 is innovation8 JDK
Ono4led)e has become the central, key resource that kno4s no )eo)raphy8 (t
underlies the most si)ni!icant and unprecedented social phenomenon o! this
century8 -o class in history has ever risen as !ast as the blue#collar 4orker and
no class has !allen as !ast8 All 4ithin less than a century8 @+rucker, in %ch4artz
1>>30 n8p8A

Furthermore, +rucker remarks that the concept o! intellectual property, 4hich
is a <uridical concept at the basis o! classical economy and the capitalist
system, no lon)er has any meanin) in an a)e 4hen the circulatin) commodity
is in!ormation and the market is the in!o#sphere0

1e have to rethink the 4hole concept o! intellectual property, 4hich 4as
!ocused on the printed 4ord8 &erhaps 4ithin a !e4 decades, the distinction
bet4een electronic transmissions and the printed 4ord 4ill have disappeared8
The only solution may be a universal licensin) system8 1here you basically
become a subscriber, and 4here it is taken !or )ranted that everythin) that is
published is reproduced8 (n other 4ords, i! you don;t 4ant everybody to kno4,
don;t talk about it8 @7bidA

CC
As a conclusion to these observations on the obsolescence o! economics as a
)eneralized interpretive code, ( 4ould like to .uote AndrI Gorz, 4ho 4rites in
his &etamorphoses du travail0

+iscipline by means o! money is a hetero#re)ulation that interrupts the
communicational in!rastructure ensurin) the symbolic reproduction o! the
e/periential 4orld8 This means that all the activities that transmit or reproduce
cultural ac.uisitions, kno4led)e, taste, manners, lan)ua)e, mores JDK, and
that allo4 us to !ind our bearin)s in the 4orld as )ivens, certitudes, values,
and sel!#e/planatory norms= all these activities cannot be re)ulated by money
or by the state 4ithout causin) serious patholo)ies in our 4orld o! e/perience8
@Gorz 1>GG0 1B3A

Money @i8e8 economicsA and the %tate @i8e8 politicsA are no lon)er able to
)overn or to discipline the 4orld o! production, no4 that its centre is not a de#
brained !orce, a uni!orm and .uanti!iable time o! manual 4ork8 That center is
no4 occupied by mind !lo4s, by the ethereal substance o! intelli)ence, 4hich
eludes every measurement and cannot be sub<ected to any rule 4ithout
inducin) enormous patholo)ies and causin) a truly maddenin) paralysis o!
co)nition and a!!ectivity8


Infola'or and Precarisation

1e have no !uture because our present is too volatile8 The only possibility that
remains is the mana)ement o! risk8 The spinnin) top o! the scenarios o! the
present moment8
: 1illiam Gibson, Pattern .eco)nition

(n February 399B the American <ournalist Bob 2erbert published in the Ne*
<ork Times the results o! a co)nitive survey on a sample o! hundreds o!
unemployed youths in Chica)o0 none o! the intervie4ees e/pected to !ind
4ork in the ne/t !e4 years= none e/pected to be able to rebel, or set o!! lar)e
scale collective chan)e8 The )eneral sense o! the intervie4s 4as a sentiment o!
pro!ound impotence8 The perception o! decline did not seem !ocused on
politics, but on a deeper cause, the scenario o! a social and psychical
involution that seems to cancel every possibility o! buildin) alternatives8
+urin) the zero zero decade precariousness has spread all over in the
or)anization o! labor, modelin) the prevailin) !eelin) o! the ne4 )eneration8
The !ra)mentation o! the present time is reversed in the implosion o! the
!uture8
(n The /orrosion o! /haracter$ The Trans!ormation o! #ork in &odern
/apitalism, ichard %ennett reacts to this e/istential condition o!
C?
precariousness and !ra)mentation 4ith nostal)ia !or a past epoch in 4hich li!e
4as structured in relatively stable social roles, and time had enou)h linear
consistency to construe paths o! identity0 5Time;s arro4 is broken= it has no
tra<ectory in a continually reen)ineered, routine#hatin), short#term political
economy8 &eople !eel the lack o! sustained human relations and durable
purposes6 @%ennett 1>>G0 >GA8
But this nostal)ia has no hold on present reality, and attempts to reactivate the
community remain arti!icial and sterile8
&recariousness is itsel! a precarious notion, because it de!ines its ob<ect in an
appro/imate manner, but also because !rom this notion derive parado/ical,
sel!#contradictory, in other 4ords precarious strate)ies8 (! 4e concentrate our
critical attention on the precarious character o! <ob per!ormance 4hat kind o!
pro)ram can 4e propose, to 4hich tar)et can 4e aspire7 That o! a stable <ob
)uaranteed !or li!e7 This 4ould be @and this actually isA a cultural re)ression,
the de!inite subordination o! labor to the rule o! e/ploitation8 -ot4ithstandin)
the idea o! Fle/icurity 4hich has been circulated, 4e are still !ar !rom havin) a
strate)y o! social recomposition o! the labor movement to e/tricate ourselves
!rom unlimited e/ploitation8 1e need to pick up a)ain the thread o! analysis o!
social composition and decompositon i! 4e 4ant to distin)uish possible lines
o! a process o! recomposition to come8
(n the 1>?9s the ener)y crisis, the conse.uent economic recession and !inally
the substitution o! 4ork 4ith numerical machines resulted in the !ormation o!
a lar)e number o! people 4ith no )uarantees8 %ince then the .uestion o!
precariousness became central to social analysis, but also in the ambitions o!
the movement8 1e be)an by proposin) to stru))le !or !orms o! )uaranteed
income, uncoupled !rom 4ork, in order to !ace the !act that a lar)e part o! the
youn) population had no prospect o! )uaranteed employment8 The situation
has chan)ed since then, because 4hat seemed a mar)inal and temporary
condition has no4 become the prevalent !orm o! labor relations8
&recariousness is no lon)er a mar)inal and provisional characteristic, but it is
the )eneral !orm o! the labor relation in a productive, di)italized sphere,
reticular and recombinant8
The 4ord 5precariat6 )enerally stands !or the area o! 4ork that is no lon)er
de!inable by !i/ed rules relative to the labor relation, to salary and the len)th
o! the 4orkin) day8 2o4ever i! 4e analyze the past, 4e see that these rules
!unctioned only !or a limited period in the history o! relations bet4een labor
and capital8 *nly !or a short period at the heart o! the 39th century, under the
political pressures o! unions and 4orkers, in conditions o! @almostA !ull
employment and thanks to a role more or less stron)ly re)ulatory o! the state
in the economy, some limits to the natural violence o! capitalist dynamics
could be le)ally established8 The le)al obli)ations that in certain periods have
protected society !rom the violence o! capital 4ere al4ays !ounded on the
e/istence o! a relation o! !orce o! a political and material kind @4orkers;
CG
violence a)ainst the violence o! capitalA8 Thanks to political !orce it became
possible to a!!irm ri)hts, establish la4s and protect them as personal ri)hts8
1ith the decline in the political !orce o! the 4orkers; movement, the natural
precariousness o! labor relations in capitalism and its brutality have re#
emer)ed8
The ne4 phenomenon is not the precarious character o! the <ob market, but the
technical and cultural conditions in 4hich in!o#labor is made precarious8 The
technical conditions are those o! di)ital recombination o! in!o#4ork in
net4orks8 The cultural conditions are those o! the education o! the masses and
the e/pectations o! consumption inherited !rom late 39th century society and
continuously !ed by the entire apparatus o! marketin) and media
communication8
(! 4e analyze the !irst aspect, i8e8 the technical trans!ormations introduced by
the di)italization o! the productive cycle, 4e see that the essential point is not
the becomin) precarious o! the labor relation @4hich, a!ter all, has al4ays
been precariousA, but the dissolution o! the person as active productive a)ent,
as labor po4er8 The cyberspace o! )lobal production can be described as an
immense e/panse o! de#personalized human time8
(n!o#labor, the provision o! time !or the elaboration and the recombination o!
se)ments o! in!o#commodities, is the e/treme point o! arrival o! the process o!
the abstraction !rom concrete activities that Mar/ analyzed as a tendency
inscribed in the capital#labor relation8
The process o! abstraction o! labor has pro)ressively stripped labor time o!
every concrete and individual particularity8 The atom o! time o! 4hich Mar/
4rote is the minimal unit o! productive labor8 But in industrial production,
abstract labor time 4as impersonated by a physical and <uridical bearer,
embodied in a 4orker in !lesh and bone, 4ith a certi!ied and political identity8
-aturally capital did not purchase a personal disposition, but the time !or
4hich the 4orkers 4ere its bearers8 But i! capital 4anted to dispose o! the
necessary time !or its valorization, it 4as obli)ed to hire a human bein), to
buy all o! its time, and there!ore it had to !ace up to the material needs and to
the social and political demands o! 4hich the human 4as a bearer8 1hen 4e
move onto the sphere o! in!o#labor there is no lon)er a need to buy a person
!or ei)ht hours a day inde!initely8 Capital no lon)er recruits people, but buys
packets o! time, separated !rom their interchan)eable and occasional bearers8
+e#personalized time has become the real a)ent o! the process o! valorisation,
and de#personalized time neither has any ri)ht, nor any demand8 (t can only be
either available or unavailable, but the alternative is purely theoretical because
the physical body, despite not bein) a le)ally reco)nized person, still has to
buy his !ood and pay the rent8
The in!ormatic procedures o! the recombination o! semiotic material have the
e!!ect o! li.ue!yin) the 5ob<ective6 time necessary to produce the in!o#
commodity8 (n all o! the time o! li!e the human machine is there, pulsatin) and
C>
available, like a brain#spra4l in 4aitin)8 The e/tension o! time is meticulously
cellularized0 cells o! productive time can be mobilized in punctual, casual and
!ra)mentary !orms8 The recombination o! these !ra)ments is automatically
realized in the net4ork8 The mobile phone is the tool that makes possible the
connection bet4een the needs o! semiocapital and the mobilization o! the
livin) labor o! cyberspace8 The rin)#tone o! the mobile phone calls the
4orkers to reconnect their abstract time to the reticular !lu/8
%emiocapital puts neuro#psychic ener)ies to 4ork, and submits them to
machinic speed8 (t compels our co)nition, our emotional hard4are, to !ollo4
the rhythm o! net#productivity8 Cyberspace overloads cybertime, because
cyberspace is an unbounded sphere, 4hose speed can accelerate 4ithout
limits8 But cybertime @the time o! attention, memory, and ima)inationA cannot
be speeded up beyond a limit8 *ther4ise it cracks8 And it is actually crackin),
collapsin) under the stress o! hyperproductivity8 An epidemic o! panic is
spreadin) throu)hout the circuits o! the social brain8 An epidemic o!
depression is !ollo4in) the outbreak o! panic8 The current crisis o! the ne4
economy has to be seen as a conse.uence o! this nervous breakdo4n8 *nce
upon a time Mar/ spoke about overproduction, meanin) the e/cess o!
available )oods that could not be absorbed by the social market8 -o4adays it
is the social brain that is assaulted by an over4helmin) supply o! attention#
demandin) )oods8 This is 4hy the social !actory has become the !actory o!
unhappiness0 the assembly line o! net#production is directly e/ploitin) the
emotional ener)y o! the virtual class8 1e are no4 be)innin) to become a4are
o! it, so 4e are able to reco)nize ourselves as co)nitarians8 Flesh, body, desire,
in permanent electrocution8
(t;s a stran)e 4ord : 5liberalism6 : 4ith 4hich 4e identi!y the ideolo)y
prevalent in the posthuman transition to di)ital slavery8 'iberty is its
!oundational myth, but the liberty o! 4hom7 The liberty o! capital, certainly8
Capital must be absolutely !ree to e/pand in every corner o! the 4orld to !ind
the !ra)ment o! human time available to be e/ploitated !or the most miserable
4a)e8 But liberalism also predicates the liberty o! the person8 (n neoliberal
rhetoric, the <uridical person is !ree to e/press onesel!, to choose
representatives, and be entrepreneurial at the level o! politics and the
economy8 All this is very interestin), only that the person has disappeared,
4hat is le!t is like an inert ob<ect, irrelevant and useless8 The person is !ree,
sure8 But his time is enslaved8 2is liberty is a <uridical !iction to 4hich nothin)
in concrete daily li!e corresponds8 (! 4e consider the conditions in 4hich the
4ork o! the ma<ority o! humanity, proletariat and co)nitariat, is actually
carried out in our time, i! 4e e/amine the conditions the avera)e 4a)e
)lobally, i! 4e consider the current cancellation o! previous labor ri)hts, 4e
can say 4ith no rhetorical e/a))eration that 4e live in a re)ime o! slavery8
The avera)e salary on the )lobal level is hardly su!!icient to buy the
indispensable means !or the mere survival o! a person 4hose time is at the
?9
service o! capital8 And people do not have any ri)ht over the time o! 4hich
they are !ormally the proprietors, but e!!ectively e/propriated8 That time does
not really belon) to them, because it is separated !rom the social e/istence o!
the people 4ho make it available to the recombinant cyberproductive circuit8
The time o! 4ork is !ractalized, that is, reduced to minimal !ra)ments !or
reassembly, and the !ractalization makes it possible !or capital to constantly
!ind the conditions o! the minimum salary8
&recariousness is the black heart o! the capitalist production process in the
sphere o! the )lobal net4ork in 4hich circulates a continuous !lo4 o!
!ra)mented and recomposable in!o#4ork8 &recariousness is the trans!ormative
element o! the 4hole cycle o! production8 -obody is outside its reach8 The
4a)es o! the 4orkers at unspeci!ied times are struck, reduced, cut, and the li!e
o! all is threatened by precarization8 The di)ital in!o#4ork can be !ra)mented
in order to be recomposed in a separate place !rom 4here that 4ork is done8
From the point o! vie4 o! the valorization o! capital, !lo4 is continuous, but
!rom the point o! vie4 o! the e/istence and time lived by co)nitive 4orkers,
productive activity has a character o! recombinant !ra)mentation in cellular
!orm8 &ulsatin) cells o! 4ork are lit and e/tin)uished in the lar)e control
board o! )lobal production8 (n!o#4ork is innately precarious, not because o!
the contin)ent viciousness o! employers but !or the simple reason that the
allocation o! 4ork time can be disconnected !rom the individual and le)al
person o! the 4orker, an ocean o! valorizin) cells convened in a cellular 4ay
and recombined by the sub<ectivity o! capital8
(t is appropriate o! reconceptualize the relationship bet4een recombinant
capital and immaterial labor, and it is advisable to obtain a ne4 !rame4ork o!
re!erence8 Given the impossibility, !rom no4 on, to reach a contractual
elaboration o! the cost o! 4ork by basin) it on the le)al person, o4in) to the
!act that the productive abstract labor is disconnected !rom the individual
person o! the 4orker, the traditional !orm o! the 4a)e is put out o! play since
it no lon)er )uarantees anythin) anymore8 There!ore, the recombinant
character o! co)nitive labor seems incompatible 4ith any possibility o! social
recomposition, and 4ith a process o! sub<ectivation8 The rules o! ne)otiation,
collaboration and con!lict have chan)ed, not because o! a political decision,
but because o! a technical and cultural chan)e in the labor relationship8 The
rules are not immutable, and there is no rule 4hich !orces us to comply 4ith
the rules8 The le)alist le!t has never understood this8 Fi/ed on the idea that it is
necessary to comply 4ith the rules, it has never kno4n ho4 to carry out
con!rontation on the ne4 )round inau)urated by di)ital technolo)ies and the
)lobalization o! the cycle o! in!o#4ork8 The neoliberals have understood this
very 4ell and they have subverted the rules that 4ere laid do4n in a century o!
trade#union history8
(n the classical mode o! industrial production, the rule 4as based on a ri)id
relationship bet4een 4ork and capital, and on the possibility o! determinin)
?1
the value o! )oods on the basis o! socially necessary 4orkin) time8 But in the
recombinin) sta)e capital based on e/ploitation o! !luid in!o#4ork, there no
lon)er e/ists any deterministic relations bet4een 4ork and value8
1e should not aim to restore the rules that the neoliberal po4er has violated,
4e should invent ne4 rules ade.uate to the !luid !orm o! the labor#capital
relation, 4here there is no lon)er any .uantitative time#value determinism and
thus 4here there is no lon)er any necessary constant in the relationship
bet4een economic sizes8
2o4 can 4e oppose the systemic de#personalization o! the 4orkin) class and
the slavery that is a!!irmed as a mode o! command o! precarious and
depersonalized 4ork7 This is the .uestion that is posed 4ith insistence by
4homever still has a sense o! human di)nity8 -evertheless, the ans4er does
not arrive because the !orm o! resistance and stru))le that 4ere e!!icacious in
the 39th century appear to no lon)er have the capacity to spread and
consolidate, nor conse.uently can they stop the absolutism o! capital8
1e have learned !rom the e/perience o! 4orkers; stru))le in the last years that
the stru))le o! precarious 4orkers does not become a cycle, does not leave a
social sediment o! consciousness, or)anization and solidarity8 Fractalized 4ork
can also punctually rebel, but this does not set into motion any 4ave o!
stru))le8 The reason is easy to understand8 (n order !or stru))les to !orm a
cycle there must be a spatial pro/imity o! the bodies o! labor and an e/istential
temporal continuity8 1ithout this pro/imity and this continuity, 4e lack the
conditions !or the cellularized bodies to become a community8 -o 4ave can be
created, because the 4orkers do not share their e/istence in time, and
behaviors can only become a 4ave 4hen there is a continuous pro/imity in
time that in!o#labor no lon)er allo4s8


City of Panic

The urban territory is increasin)ly traversed by streams o! diasporic,
hetero)eneous and de#territorialized ima)inaries8 &anic tends to become the
urban psychic dimension8 (t is the reaction o! a sensitive or)anism submitted
to stimulation that is too stron) and too rapid8 The reaction o! an or)anism
ur)ed on by too !re.uent and intense impulses to be emotively and
conversationally elaborated8
1hat is panic7 1e are told that psychiatrists recently discovered and named a
ne4 kind o! disorder : they call it 5&anic %yndrome86 (t seems that it is
somethin) .uite recent in the psycholo)ical sel!#perception o! human bein)s8
But 4hat does panic mean7 5&anic6 used to be a nice 4ord, and this is the
sense in 4hich the %4iss#American psychoanalyst Mames 2illman remembers
it in his book on &an8 &an 4as the )od o! nature and totality8 (n Greek
mytholo)y, &an 4as the symbol o! the relationship bet4een man and nature8
?3
-ature is the over4helmin) !lo4 o! reality, thin)s and in!ormation 4hich
surrounds us8 Modern culture is based on the idea o! human domination,
4hich is the domestication o! nature8 %o the ori)inal panic !eelin) @4hich 4as
somethin) )ood !or the ancient 4orldA is increasin)ly becomin) terri!yin) and
destructive8 Today, panic has become a !orm o! psychopatholo)y0 4e can
speak o! panic 4hen 4e see a conscious or)anism @individual or socialA bein)
over4helmed by the speed o! processes sLheLit is involved in, and has no time
to process this in!ormation input8, or even that )enerated by the or)anism
itsel!8
Technolo)ical trans!ormations have displaced the !ocus !rom the sphere o! the
production o! material )oods to4ards the sphere o! semiotic )oods8 1ith this,
semio#kapital becomes the dominant !orm o! the economy8 The accelerated
creation o! surplus value depends on the acceleration o! the in!o#sphere8 The
di)italization o! the in!o#sphere opens the 4ay !or this kind o! acceleration8
%i)ns are produced and circulated at a )ro4in) speed but the human terminal
o! the system @the embodied mindA is put under )ro4in) pressure and !inally
cracks under it8 ( think that the current economic crisis has somethin) to do
4ith this imbalance in the !ield o! semio#production and the !ield o! semio#
demand8 This imbalance in the relationship bet4een the supply o! semiotic
)oods and the socially available time o! attention is the core o! the economic
crisis as 4ell as the core o! the intellectual and the political crises that 4e are
livin) throu)h no48
%emiocapital is in a crisis o! overproduction, but the !orm o! this crisis is not
only economic, but also psychopathic8 %emiocapital, in !act, is not about the
production o! material )oods, but about the production o! psychic stimulation8
The mental environment is saturated by si)ns that create a sort o! continuous
e/citation, a permanent electrocution, 4hich leads the individual, as 4ell as
the collective mind, to a state o! collapse8
The problem o! panic is )enerally connected 4ith the mana)ement o! time8
But 4e can also see a spatial side to panic8 +urin) the past centuries, the
buildin) o! the modern urban environment used to be dependent on the
rationalist plan o! the political city8 The economic dictatorship o! the last !e4
decades has accelerated the urban e/pansion8 The interaction bet4een cyber#
spatial spra4l and urban physical environment has destroyed the rational
or)anization o! city space8
(n the intersection o! in!ormation and urban space 4e see the proli!eration o! a
chaotic spra4l !ollo4in) no rule, no plan, dictated by the sole lo)ic o!
economic interest8 "rban panic is caused by the perception o! this spra4l and
this proli!eration o! metropolitan e/perience8 &roli!eration o! spatial lines o!
!li)ht8 The metropolis is a sur!ace o! comple/ity in the territorial domain8 The
social or)anism is unable to process the over4helmin)ly comple/ e/perience
o! metropolitan chaos8 The proli!eration o! lines o! communication has created
a ne4 kind o! chaotic perception8
?B
(n the summer o! 3991, Fury, a novel by %alman ushdie, 4as published8 *n
the cover, the Empire %tate buildin) is hit by a bolt o! li)htnin)8 -ot lon) a!ter
the release o! the book !rom the printers that cover looked like a !ri)ht!ul
premonition8 But this premonition 4as not <ust on the cover !or the novel
describes @or rather evokesA the psychic collapse o! the 4estern metropolis8
ushdie depicts the virtual class nervous system, intended as a social class o!
producers o! si)ns as 4ell as a class o! those livin) a common condition o!
evanescence and e/istential !ra)ility0 cellularized splinters, !ra)ments in a
perpetual abstract recombination o! connected terminals8 Hou !eel the
psychopathic vibration that is amassin), a!ter the decade o! permanent
electrocution, a!ter the desire !or economic investment decade8 Hou !eel
an/iety )ro4in), and the urban libidinal economy )oin) insane8
Millions o! mobile phones are callin) each other, mobilizin) the lipid ener)y
postponin) the contact, the pleasure o! or)asm !rom one side to the other o!
the city, !rom a moment o! compressed urban time to another8
The action o! ushdie;s novel develops mainly on the roo!s o! Manhattan
skyscrapers8 %cary black birds 4onderin) about the !ates o! buildin)s
announce the ne/t collapse8
%ome time a)o, Mike +avis mapped the urban territorial perception o! 'os
An)eles in /ity o! Auartz @1>>9A, and the -e4 Hork City version in +ead
/ities @399BA throu)h the rebuildin) o! the mytholo)ies o! !ear, security and
privatization policies that have a devastatin) e!!ect on social space8 For +avis0
5The neo#military synta/ o! contemporary architecture insinuates violence and
averts ima)inary threats8 The pseudo#public spaces o! today, the bi) malls and
the e/ecutive centers, the cultural acropolis and so on are !ull o! invisible
si)ns to keep the underclass !ar a4ay6 @+avis 1>>90 33CA3
A!ter %11, the securitization paranoia became the main tendency in the
ima)inary, in the production o! hi)h technolo)y )oods, and in urban desi)n8
A)ain, +avis 4rites0

The !ear economy )ro4s in the middle o! an overall !amine888 8 The lo4 paid
security )uard army 4ill )ro4 by F9T durin) the decade, 4hile video#
surveillance !ed by !acial reco)nition so!t4are 4ill snatch 4hat is le!t o!
privacy !rom the daily routine8 The airports; departure security re)ime 4ill
provide a model !or the re)ulation o! the urban masses, in the shoppin)
centers, in the sportin) events and else4here888 8 %ecurity, in other 4ords, 4ill
become an urban service completely developed like 4ater, electricity and
telecommunications8 @+avis 399B0 13#1BA

The city o! panic is the place 4here there is no lon)er time to )et close to each
other= there is no more time !or caresses, !or the pleasure and slo4ness o!
4hispered 4ords8 Advertisin) e/alts and stimulates the libidinous attention,
person#to#person communication multiplies the promises o! encounters, but
?E
these promises never )et !ul!illed8 +esire turns into an/iety and time contracts8
?F
Cha#ter . Baro!ue and "emioca#ital

(n the book (uelta de si)lo JTurn o! the /enturyK Bolivar Echeverria @399CA
says that there have been t4o modernities, con!lictin) and inter4eavin), since
the da4n o! the Modern A)e in the 1Cth and 1?th centuries8
The !irst is the prevailin) bour)eois vision o! modernity based on the
&rotestant Ethic and on the stron) perception o! the territoriality o! mundane
thin)s and industrial deeds8 The other vision o! modernity 4as nurtured in the
sphere o! the Catholic counter#e!ormation, and in the sensibility o! the
Baro.ue8 This second modernity 4as denied and mar)inalized 4hen the
industrialization o! the human environment reduced the social !ield to a
process o! mechanization8
The li!e o! the industrial bour)eoisie 4as based on severe dedication to tireless
labor, and on proprietary a!!ection to its products8 The bour)eoisie is stron)ly
territorialized because the accumulation o! value cannot be dissociated !rom
the e/pansion o! physical thin)s produced by the con!lictive cooperation o!
4orkers; manual skills and capitalists; !inancial skills8
Echeverria remarks that since the 1Cth century the Catholic Church has
created a di!!erent stream o! modernity, based on the immaterial skills o!
ima)ination and on the potencies o! deterritorialization8 The spiritual po4er o!
ome has al4ays been based on the control o! minds0 this is its capital,
althou)h this 4as harshly re!used by the pra)matic ethics o! industrial culture8
The Catholic %pain o! the 1Cth and 1?th centuries 4as the harbin)er o! a non#
industrial brand o! accumulation, based on massive robbery o! the ne4
territories discovered and con.uered beyond the Atlantic *cean8 This cultural
stream o! modernity 4as mar)inalized a!ter the military de!eat o! the
5(nvincible Armada6 in the naval 4ar 4ith the British Empire, and the
subse.uent economic decline o! %pain8 The a!!irmation o! -orthern European
capitalism opens the 4ay to the (ndustrial evolution and to the creation o! the
material sphere o! the (ndust#eality8 But the Baro.ue cultural stream o!
modernity has not been erased, it has never stopped 4orkin) under)round in
the modern ima)inary, and it resur!aces at last, 4hen the capitalist system
chan)es its social nature and its ima)ination, at the end o! the 39th century8
&ostmodern ima)ination can be considered as a resur)ence o! the Baro.ue
spirit, and the centrality o! semiotic production in the sphere o! the economy is
the main mark o! postmodern society8
(n his beauti!ul book La )uerre des ima)es, 4hose tellin) subtitle is +e
/ristophe /olomb 4 8lade .unner JThe #ar o! 7ma)es$ From /hristopher
/olumbus to 8lade .unnerK, %er)e Gruzinski recapitulates the history o! the
hybrid#mestizo Baro.ue ima)ination !rom the times o! the %panish con.uest
o! the Me/ican lands to the 2olly4ood a)e8 5The ima)e o! Mannerism and
Baro.ue plays on decoration overload, alle)oric !lo4erin), the sophistication
and the plurality o! meanin)s6 @Gruzinski 1>>90 1?CA8
?C
This sensibility permeated the surrealist and psychedelic ima)ination, and
deeply penetrated Cali!ornian late modern culture, helpin) in the creation o!
the hyper#visual (n!o#sphere 4hich prevailed in the a)e o! movies and T,8 (n
the video#electronic sphere ima)es are no more pure representation o! reality,
they become simulation and psycho#physical stimulation o! the social brain,
takin) central place in the 4orld o! the commodity8 %i)ns are not only )oods
that can be produced and e/chan)ed 4ith money8 They become the universal
merchandise, the )eneral e.uivalent in economic perception8 (n a verti)inous
turn, immaterial si)ns take the place o! physicals thin)s, as the main ob<ect o!
capitalist valorization8 And so, i! the territorialized bour)eois economy 4as
based on the iconoclastic severity o! iron and steel, postmodern
deterritorialization is based instead on the kaleidoscopic machine o! semiotic
production8 This is 4hy 4e can speak o! semiocapitalism0 because the )oods
that are circulatin) in the economic 4orld : in!ormation, !inance, ima)inary :
are si)ns, !i)ures, ima)es, pro<ections, e/pectations8
'an)ua)e is no more a tool !or representation o! the economic process, it
becomes the main source o! accumulation, constantly deterritorializin) the
!ield o! e/chan)e8 %peculation and spectacle intermin)le, because o! the
intrinsic in!lationary @metaphoricA nature o! lan)ua)e8 The lin)uistic 4eb o!
semio#production is a )ame o! mirrors that inevitably leads to crises o! over#
production, bubbles and bursts8
1e need to see the social implications o! the t4o di!!erent streams o!
modernity0 the relationship bet4een the industrial bour)eoisie and the 4orker
class has been a relationship based on con!lict but also on alliance and mutual
cooperation8 The dynamics o! pro)ress and )ro4th, stemmin) !rom the
territorial physical space o! the !actory !orced an a)reement bet4een the t4o
!undamental classes o! industrial times, industrial 4orkers and industrial
bour)eoisie8 This a)reement 4as based on collective ne)otiation and the
creation o! the 1el!are %tate8 The bour)eoisie and 4orker class could not
dissociate their destiny, despite the radical con!lict opposin) salary and pro!it,
livin) time and time o! valorization8
The ideolo)y o! dialectics, especially in the totalitarian vision o! 'eninist
Communism broke this alliance bet4een bour)eoisie and 4orker, and turned
the social history o! the century into a radical split bet4een capitalist
temporality and %oviet communist temporality8
This dialectical polarization and sti!!enin) o! social con!lict into a !orm o!
identitarian, institutional and military anta)onism provoked a catastrophic turn
in the history o! social emancipation and in the perspective o! social
autonomy8 The dialectical ideolo)y did not interpret 4orkers; interests, did not
understand the comple/ity o! the relationship bet4een social stru))le and
technolo)ical pro)ress, and this !orced social stru))le into a conceptual trap
that 4as broken in 1>G>, 4hen the potency o! social autonomy all over the
4orld 4as already e/hausted and dissolvin), under the e!!ects o! technolo)ical
??
restructurin)8
%ince the 1>?9s the relation bet4een capital and labor has been re!ramed,
thanks to the ne4 di)ital technolo)y and to the dere)ulation o! the labor
market8 A hu)e e!!ect o! deterritorialization !ollo4ed, and the very !oundation
o! the classical bour)eois conception 4as s4ept a4ay, to)ether 4ith the old
4orkers; class consciousness8 The !inancialization o! the )lobal economy has
eroded the bour)eois identi!ication o! 4ealth 4ith physical property and
territorial labor8 1hen labor loses its mechanical !orm and becomes
immaterial, lin)uistic, a!!ective, the deterministic relation bet4een time and
value is broken8 The )enesis o! value enters in a phase o! indetermination and
uncertainty8 The 4ay is open to the arrival o! a -eo#Baro.ue vision o! the
4orld, and to the instauration o! an aleatory lo)ic in the heart o! economy0
+ere)ulation8
A ne4 alliance became possible bet4een labor and capital in the last decade o!
the 39th century8 The e/perience o! dotcom enterprises 4as the e/pression o!
this alliance that made possible the e/traordinary technolo)ical pro)ress o! the
di)ital sphere8 But this alliance is broken 4hen criminal behavior !ills the
empty space o! the aleatory8 1hen lan)ua)e becomes the )eneral !ield o!
production, 4hen the mathematical relation o! labor#time and value is broken,
4hen dere)ulation destroys all liabilities, a criminal class takes the lead8 This
is 4hat has happened since neoliberal politics has occupied the scene o! the
4orld8 The !irst principle o! the neoliberal school, the dere)ulation that
destroyed the political and le)al limits to capitalist e/pansion, cannot be
understood as a purely political chan)e8 (t has to be seen in the conte/t o! the
technolo)ical and cultural evolution 4hich has displaced the process o!
valorization !rom the !ield o! mechanical industry to the !ield o! semiotic
production8 The relation bet4een labor time and valorization becomes
uncertain, undeterminable8 Co)nitive labor is hardly reducible to the measure
o! time8 (t;s impossible to determine ho4 much social time is necessary !or the
production o! an idea8 1hen the relation bet4een labor and value becomes
indeterminable, 4hat rei)ns in the )lobal labor market is the pure la4 o!
violence, o! abuse8 -o more simple e/ploitation, but slavery, pure violence
a)ainst the naked li!e o! the 4orkers o! the 4orld8
,iolence has become the prevailin) economic !orce in the neoliberal a)e8
,iolence o! the (talian, Me/ican, ussian or)anizations that command the
market o! narcotics, 4eapons, prostitution, and invest in the !inancial market8
Call it ma!ia or 4hatever8 (n Me/ico as in (taly as in ussia, !inancial markets,
mediascapes and political po4er are in the hands o! people 4ho )ained po4er
!rom la4lessness and violence8
And this is not to mention the role o! corporations like 2aliburton or
Black4ater in the "%0 !uellin) 4ars and destroyin) lives, <eopardizin)
countries because this is their business, a business that needs 4ar8
The -eo#Baro.ue theatre o! cruelty is the e!!ect o! semio#dominance in the
?G
sphere o! social production8 The (talian e/perience durin) the last hundred
years has been the main theatre o! this return o! the Baro.ue spirit8 Both
Mussolini;s and Berlusconi;s per!ormances are based on the theatrical
e/hibition o! macho ener)y, but also on the ability to penetrate into the
recesses o! lan)ua)e, in the deep !ield o! sel!#perception8
The !eminine side o! (talian sel!#perception is at stake in both cases8 Mussolini
and the youn) Futurists o! 1>9> 4anted to despise, possess and subordinate
4omen;s bodies8 Berlusconi and the lumpen 4ho surround him @pimps, media
bootlickers, la4yersA 4ant to soil 4omen;s bodies= they 4ant to in<ect sel!#
hatred into every cell o! the social body8


/um#en Italian

'ookin) at the (talian scene one could think that this country is a !ancy place
4here craziness rei)ns, and corrupt behavior melds 4ith irresponsibility, a
place that has not much to do 4ith the )eneral history o! the capitalist
postmodern becomin)8 But the truth is .uite di!!erent8 1hile stran)e, the
(talian scene has o!ten been the laboratory o! the ne4 avatars o! capitalist
po4er8 Think o! Mussolini;s dictatorship= althou)h !arcical, it 4as the
be)innin) o! a dramatic turnin) point in the history o! po4er and social
ima)ination8 %o, please don;t lau)h 4hen you think about Berlusconi;s
comedy8 (t;s not only the return o! the commedia dell0arte, but it could also be
the pre!i)uration o! a ne4 4ave in the po4er o! mana)ement, as it is the
e/pression o! the ne4 class leadin) the economy every4here, 4hat ( name the
lumpen#bour)eoisie, a!ter the description o! oberto %aviano @399?A in his
book Gomorrah8
The lumpen#bour)eoisie has lost the virtues o! the old bour)eoisie0 thri!t,
attachment to property and attention to human industriousness8 The 5a!!ectio
societatisC o! the old entrepreneur has disappeared, as the ne4 capitalist does
not build his !ortune on local enterprise, but on aleatory !inancial investment
that has no relationship to territory and the livin) local community8
The concept o! competition has replaced that o! competence8 Competence is
the intellectual skill that enabled the bour)eoisie to carry out its plannin),
administrative, and or)anizational !unction, and <usti!ied its ri)ht to property8
But in !inancial capitalism the competent bour)eoisie o! the past has been
replaced by a class that turned competition into the only rule8 As property
came to coincide 4ith a dusty cloud o! !ractions o! investment rather than 4ith
the person, competition replaced competence8 Many competences are still
necessary to production but they are no4 detached !rom the role o! the
enterprise8 Any intellectual competence that is not related to speculation is
made precarious, devalued and lo4 4a)ed8
*nly those 4ho have developed hi)h skill in mana)erial !unctions are able to
?>
become 4ealthy throu)h their labor8 1hat does a mana)erial !unction
detached !rom the speci!icity o! concrete intellectual competence consist o!7
Fabrication, trickery, lies and !raudulent accountin), ta/ evasion, and, i!
necessary, the physical removal o! competitors, torture, and )enocide8 (n this
respect, 2aliburton is more e!!icient and heinous than the %icilian ma!ia and
the -eapolitan camorra8
()norance rises up to po4er and economic decisions are made purely on the
basis o! the ma/imum and most immediate pro!it8 All that matters is the
reduction o! labor costs, because this is 4hat competition is about, nothin) to
do 4ith the production o! .uality8 As a result, the last 4ord on decisions about
production does not come !rom chemists, urbanists or doctors, but !rom people
4ith mana)erial competence, that is, 4ith the ability to reduce labor costs and
accelerate the realization o! pro!it8 The dynamics o! neoliberalism have
destroyed the bour)eoisie and replaced it 4ith t4o distinct and opposin)
classes0 the co)nitariat on the one hand, i8e8, the precarious and cellularised
labor o! intelli)ence, and the mana)erial class on the other, 4hose only
competence is in competitiveness8 Taken to its e/treme, as evident in
increasin)ly lar)er re)ions o! )lobal capitalist production, competition
becomes the armed removal o! competitors, the armed imposition o! one
supplier, the systematic devastation o! everythin) that does not submit to the
pro!it o! the stron)est8 1ho does competition better than those 4ho remove
their competitors7 And 4hat better techni.ues !or this removal e/ist than
buryin) people alive, slau)hterin) or dissolvin) them in muriatic acid7
Gomorrah is inscribed in the )enetic code o! neoliberalism8
The neoliberal phase o! capitalism appears to be an interminable and
uninterrupted process o! dere)ulation, but in !act it is the e/act opposite8 As all
rules o! coe/istence are abolished, the rules o! violence are imposed8 As the
re)ulations that set limits to the invasiveness o! the principles o! competition
are removed, hard and !ast automatisms are introduced in material relations
bet4een people, 4ho become more enslaved as the enterprise becomes !reer8
The process o! dere)ulation unremittin)ly removes the rules that bridle the
mobility o! productivity and hinder the e/pansive po4er o! capital8 Forms o!
social civilization and human ri)hts established throu)hout modernity are
rules that dere)ulation 4ants to eliminate8 *ne by one the advance o! capitalist
dere)ulation eradicates the cultural and <uridical conventions o! modernity and
bour)eois la48 This is 4hy capitalism has turned into a criminal system and
keeps 4orkin) to4ards the e/pansion o! the realm o! pure violence, 4here its
advancement can proceed unhindered8 "latterkapitalismus0 the end o!
bour)eois he)emony and o! the enli)htened universality o! the la48
Crime is no lon)er a mar)inal !unction o! the capitalist system, but the
decisive 4innin) !actor !or dere)ulated competition8 Torture, homicide, child
e/ploitation, the drive to prostitution, and production o! instruments o! mass
destruction have become irreplaceable techni.ues o! economic competition8
G9


/an)ua)e and Poison

51hen 7 use a 4ord, D it means <ust 4hat ( choose it to mean : neither more
nor less888 The .uestion is, D 4hich Jmeanin)K is to be master : that;s all,6
says 'e4is Carroll;s @1>?10 FCA 2umpty +umpty, reco)nisin) strai)hta4ay,
like a )ood master, that 4hen you ask 4ords to do overtime, you have to pay
them more8
And +eleuze @1>>90 1GA, 4ho re!ers to 2umpty +umpty in the third series o!
The Lo)ic o! "ense, titled 5*! the &roposition,6 comments0 5the last recourse
seems to be identi!yin) sense 4ith si)ni!ication86 -ot sense, but the activity o!
producin) meanin) throu)h the innumerable shi!ts and slides that this process
involves8 (n order to speak o! the (talian d5rive o! the last 1F years 4e must
be)in !rom a semiotic o! trans)ression and o! slidin)8
The 4ord 5derive6 scares those 4ho believe politics must respect a set o! rules
and that la4 must be at the centre o! social li!e, those 4ho think that 4ords
have one meanin) and only that, and that to understand one another in li!e it is
necessary to use 4ords accordin) to their established meanin)s8 This is all
4ron)8 1hen 4e speak 4e do not respect the meanin)s o! 4ords but invent
them8 "nderstandin) is not the e/chan)e o! si)ns supplied 4ith a univocal
re!erent8 To understand is to !ollo4 the slides in the relations bet4een si)ns
and re!erents, reinventin) si)ns as !unctions o! ne4 re!erents and creatin) ne4
re!erents by circulatin) ne4 si)ns8 %imilarly politics does not have to respect
any one la4 because it invents the la4 4hen it creates ne4 relations8
Follo4in) rules is a )ood thin) but politics cannot be reduced to this, because
there is no rule that says that rules must be respected8 This Berlusconi
understood, and he 4on all that he could possibly 4in8 The 'e!t did not
understand it and !inally vanished, to leave space, let;s hope, !or a ne4 social
autonomy capable o! inventin) ne4 4ords, ne4 re!erents and above all, ne4
!orms o! relations8
*ne ni)ht in *ctober 1>?? 4hilst the !ires o! the student riots 4ere dyin) out,
%ilvio Berlusconi met Mike Buon)iorno, a man 4ho had !eatured on the
screen since the be)innin) o! (talian television8 They dined to)ether in a Milan
restaurant and out o! their simple minds an e/traordinary lin)uistic machine
4as born, capable o! a muta)enetic bio#political penetration o! the (talian
brain8 %ince then Berlusconi;s capital has operated in a per!ectly
recombinatory manner0 havin) built its !inancial base on estates, it invested in
advertisin), insurance, !ootball and television8 To put this enormous
con)lomerate into motion, Berlusconi, 4ho 4as a member o! the secret
society &3 and !riends 4ith characters 4ho reeked o! the Ma!ia such as
Marcello +ell;"tri, violated many o! the la4s o! the (talian epublic0 !iddlin)
the books, corruption o! <ud)es, con!licts o! interest8 For 39 years he out#
G1
manoeuvred ma)istrates, <ournalists and institutions that accused him o!
breakin) the la48 But 4hat is the la47 A lin)uistic e!!ect that dissolves as
common sense chan)es8 And in three decades common sense has chan)ed
because Berlusconi;s mediatic machine has inoculated lin)uistic substances in
per!ect doses to produce 4hite noise8
Far !rom bein) a back4ard phenomena or a transitory anomaly, since the
1>G9s and ;>9s the Berlusconi phenomenon is a si)n !or a time to come, 4ell
actually, a time that has no4 arrrived8 (n this time an in!rastructure o! the
en)ineerin) o! the psycho#sphere 4as constituted that 4as capable o!
modulatin) the public mood and producin) opinion, but above all, capable o!
destroyin) psychic sensibility and the empathetic sociability o! the ne4
)enerations, 4ho are induced to mistake the uninterrupted !lo4 o! television
!or 5the 4orld68
Contemporary capitalism can be de!ined as semiocapitalism because the
)eneral shape o! commodities has a semiotic character and the process o!
production is increasin)ly the elaboration o! si)n#in!ormation8 (n the sphere o!
semiocapital, economic production is increasin)ly ti)htly inter4oven 4ith
processes o! lin)uistic e/chan)e, as is e/plained clearly in the books o!
Christian Marazzi and &aulo ,irno8
Thanks to lan)ua)e 4e can create shared 4orlds, !ormulate ambi)uous
enunciations, elaborate metaphors, simulate events or simply lie8 %emio#
economics is the creation o! 4orlds, castles o! metaphors, ima)ination,
predictions, simulations and !abrications8 1hat better country than the one
that )ave us commedia dell0 arte could insert itsel! in a productive system
based on chatter, spectacle and e/hibition7
The Fordist industrial economy 4as !ounded on the production o! ob<ectively
measurable value .uanti!iable by socially necessary labor time8 The post#
industrial economy is based on lin)uistic e/chan)e, on the value o! simulation8
This simulation becomes the decisive element in the determination o! value8
And 4hen simulation becomes central to the productive process, lies, deceit,
and !raud enter to play a part in economic li!e not as e/ceptional
trans)ressions o! the norm but as la4s o! production and e/chan)e8
The la4s in !orce in the sphere o! semiocapital do not resemble those o! the
)lorious epoch o! industry= the relations do not resemble those o! productive
discipline, the ethics o! 4ork or enterprise that dominated the 4orld o!
classical industrial capitalism, the &rotestant capitalism that Michel Albert
dubs 5o! the hine68 A deep trans!ormation has taken place in the last !e4
decades, startin) !rom the separation o! the !inancial circuit !rom the real
economy8
The !oundin) act o! this process o! separation 4as -i/on;s arbitrary decision
to abandon the system established by Bretton 1oods8 (n 1>?1, the American
&resident decided to rescind the rules on the convertibility o! the dollar into
)old and to thus a!!irm the sel!#re!erentiality o! the American standard8
G3
+espite the implications o! ,ietnam, at this time American po4er still had
credibility and the stren)th to impose its decisions as i! they 4ere ob<ective
and incontrovertible8 Today that po4er and credibility have dissolved, the
value o! the dollar has !allen, and the economy o! simulation has thus entered
into a phase o! instability8
From the moment 4hen -i/on told the 4orld o! the decision to unhook the
dollar !rom every )au)e o! ob<ectivity, money !ully became 4hat it already
4as in essence0 a pure act o! lan)ua)e8 -o lon)er a re!erential si)n that relates
to a mass o! commodities, a .uantity o! )old, or to some other ob<ective data,
money no4 relates to a !actor o! simulation, an a)ent capable o! puttin) into
motion arbitrary processes independent o! the real economy8 There!ore
semiocapital is a system o! complete indeterminacy0 !inancialization and
immaterialization have brou)ht to the relations bet4een social actors
unpredictability and chance elements never seen be!ore in the history o! the
industrial economy8 (n Fordist industrial production, the determination o! the
value o! a commodity 4as !ounded on a certain !actor0 the socially necessary
labor time to produce it8 But in semiocapitalism this is no lon)er true8 1hen
the main !eature o! commodity production is co)nitive labor, the labor o!
attention, memory, lan)ua)e and ima)ination, the criteria o! value is no lon)er
ob<ective and cannot be .uanti!ied on the basis o! a !i/ed re!erent8 'abor time
has ceased to count as the absolute touchstone8
"nder aleatory conditions, arbitrariness becomes the la40 lies, violence, and
corruption are no lon)er mar)inal o!!shoots o! economic li!e, but tend to
become the alpha and ome)a o! the daily mana)ement o! a!!airs8 Bands o!
criminals decisively take over the place o! command8 Economic po4er
belon)s to those 4ho possess more po4er!ul lan)ua)e machines8 The
)overnment o! the mediascape, predomination in the production o! so!t4are,
and control over !inancial in!ormation0 these are the !oundations o! economic
po4er8 And the domination o! these sources o! po4er cannot be established by
means o! the dear old competition 4here the best possible mana)ement o!
available resources 4ins, but rather throu)h lies, deceit, and 4ar8 There is no
lon)er any economic po4er that is not criminal, that does not violate
!undamental human ri)hts0 !irst and !oremost the ri)ht to education, sel!#
kno4led)e, and the ri)ht to a non#polluted in!o#sphere8


The Italian Anomaly

&rovidin) a de!inition o! the re)ime that 4as established in (taly in 1>>E : the
year o! the !irst victory o! Forza 7talia @the T,#!ootball &artyA : is more than a
.uestion o! namin)8 'ike other periods in the history o! (taly in the 39th
century, the years o! Berlusconi are indicative o! an (talian anomaly, and
!unctioned as a laboratory !or e/perimentation 4ith social trends8 *ther
GB
moments in history 4hen (taly 4as the laboratory o! ne4 tendencies 4ere
1>33, 4hen techni.ues o! populist and totalitarian mana)ement 4ere
e/perimented 4ith under the appellative o! !ascism, and the 1>?9s8
(n the 1>?9s an anomalous thou)h e/emplary situation arose0 the students;
movement o! 1>CG )ave rise to a lon) period o! social insubordination and
autonomy !rom 4ork that chan)ed the 4hole o! society8 &o4er responded to
this social autonomy by developin) an authoritarian and closed system
!ounded on an alliance bet4een the main churches in the country0 Catholicism
and %talinism8 This 4as the period o! the 5historic compromise6 and the
<udiciary repression o! dissent8 The political closure o! this re)ime and the
repression o! )rassroots movements resulted in a stren)thenin) o! armed
!actions that led to a 4ave o! terrorism culminatin) in the kidnappin) and
killin) o! Aldo Moro8 But 4hat is the (talian anomaly today, and in 4hat sense
is (taly a laboratory o! ne4 !orms o! po4er7 Are 4e con!ronted 4ith a
reinstatement o! Mussolini;s re)ime, as many events in (talian politics seem to
su))est7
The ans4er is no0 this is not a !ascist re)ime8 This re)ime is not !ounded on
the repression o! dissent= nor does it rest on the en!orcement o! silence8 *n the
contrary, it relies on the proli!eration o! chatter, the irrelevance o! opinion and
discourse, and on makin) thou)ht, dissent and criti.ue banal and ridiculous8
Even thou)h there have been and 4ill continue to be instances o! censorship
and direct repression o! critical and !ree thou)ht, these phenomena are rather
mar)inal 4hen compared to 4hat is essentially an immense in!ormational
overload and an actual sie)e o! attention, paralleled by an occupation o! the
sources o! in!ormation operated by the head o! the company8
The present social composition cannot be assimilated to that o! (taly in the
1>39s, 4hich 4as predominantly comprised o! peasantry and country !olk8 (n
the !irst decades o! the 39th century, the !uturist modernism o! Fascism
introduced an element o! innovation and social pro)ress, 4hereas today the
re)ime o! Forza 7talia carries no )erm o! pro)ress and its political economy is
based on the dilapidation o! the patrimony accumulated in the past8 1hilst
Fascism initiated a process o! modernisation o! production in the country, the
re)ime o! Forza 7talia 4asted the resources accumulated in the years o!
industrial development, similar to Carlos Menem in Ar)entina durin) the
decade that preceded the collapse o! Ar)entine economy and society8 This
drive to dissipation and 4aste is in per!ect harmony 4ith the main tendency o!
the planet in the period o! neoliberal unpredictability8
To understand the speci!ic character o! the (talian situation o! the past !ourteen
years, 4e need to look !or 4hat di!!erentiated it !rom the rest o! Europe
throu)hout modernity, and also consider the postmodern peculiarity o! the
(talian trans!ormation in the 4ider conte/t o! a chan)e investin) the system o!
production and the )lobal in!o#sphere8 To )rasp this speci!icity 4e should
be)in 4ith the Counter#e!ormation, 4hich sanctioned the di!!erential speeds
GE
o! the advancement o! the Christian 4orld to4ards the colonisation o! the
Earth and the construction o! modern bour)eois capitalism8 The temporality o!
the countries invested by the Counter#e!ormation @(taly, %pain, Austria, and
&olandA is di!!erent !rom that o! &rotestant countries8
Accordin) to Ma/ 1eber, classical industrial development is sustained by the
&rotestant mentality8 A!ter the &rotestant e!ormation, the European
bour)eoisie 4as able to build the !oundations o! its po4er by sub<ectin) itsel!
to a ri)id ethical and e/istential discipline8 The bour)eoisie assumes
responsibility !or her actions and is accountable !or them be!ore men and God,
but most o! all be!ore the bank mana)er8 Economic !ortune is a 4orldly
con!irmation o! divine benevolence8
(n contrast, a!ter the Council o! Trent @1FEF#CBA, the Catholic Counter#
e!ormation reinstated the primacy o! the reli)ious over the secular realm, and
de!ended the conviction that respectin) the ecclesiastic hierarchy is much
more important than productive discipline8 The deep substratum o! Catholic
culture resists productivity and bour)eois e!!iciency8 (! Calvinism 4as based
on the observance o! the la4, then the spirit o! the Counter#e!ormation
rein!orced the primacy o! mercy and the absolute value o! repentance8 The
Counter#e!ormation remained deeply en)rained in the (talian social
ima)inary throu)hout modernity and mani!ested itsel! in all its reactionary
!orce at decisive moments in the li!e o! the country8 +urin) the -eapolitan
revolution o! 1?>>, the enli)htened bour)eoisie 4as isolated and de!eated
thanks to the complicity o! the people 4ith the po4er o! the Bourbon 2ouse,
the Church;s ally8 From the 1G99s on4ards, the alliance o! the Church 4ith the
rural classes acted as an anti#bour)eois conservative !orce in the de!ence o! the
cultural he)emony o! the Church a)ainst all attempts at laicisation o! national
li!e8 (n the years that !ollo4ed the %econd 1orld 1ar, Christian +emocracy
4as the dominant political !orce, representin) the mediation in a permanent
e.uilibrium bet4een capitalist modernisation and populist and reactionary
resistance8 2o4ever, it 4ould be 4ron) to see the 5la/ness6 that derives !rom
the spirit o! the Counter#e!ormation as a purely re)ressive and conservative
ener)y8
(n the 1>?9s, the 5(talian anomaly6 4as the e/pression used to underline the
peculiarity o! a country 4here the social movements that else4here had been
e/hausted in 1>CG continued to dominate the political scene !or over a decade8
(n the 1>?9s, the 4orkers; resistance produced structures o! mass or)anisation
and !uelled revolts a)ainst capitalist modernisation8 At the time, the (talian
anomaly consisted in the persistence o! 4orkers; autonomy and social con!lict8
(taly under4ent a lon) season o! proletarian stru))les that embraced anti#
modernism in a dynamic and parado/ically pro)ressive 4ay8
This process be)an in Muly 1>C9, 4hen 4orkers in many cities rose up a)ainst
the attempt to !orm a centre#ri)ht )overnment that included men linked to the
old Fascist re)ime, and culminated in the anti#authoritarian and libertarian
GF
insurrection o! 1>??8 +urin) the autonomous 4orkers; stru))les a)ainst the
patrona)e o! the )overnment in cities and !actories, 4e !ind a constant
element0 the re!usal o! the subordination o! li!e to 4ork8 This re!usal 4as
mani!est in a mani!old o! di!!erent 4ays0 !irst o! all as Mediterranean idleness,
the privile)in) o! sensuality and solar li!e over productivity and the economy8
Then it 4as e/pressed in revolts by youths and 4orkers a)ainst the rhythms o!
the !actory, and in endemic absenteeism and 4orkers; disa!!ection 4ith their
labor8 The movement o! 4orkers; autonomy that !lourished !rom 1>C? to 1>??
sums up this attitude o! insubordination and resistance in the !ormula 5re!usal
o! labor68
The notion o! the re!usal o! labor, as it 4as adopted in (taly durin) the 1>?9s,
4as inserted in the !rame4ork o! a pro)ressive political strate)y8 1orkers
re!used the e!!ort and repetitiveness o! mechanical labor, thus !orcin)
companies to keep restructurin)8 1orkers; resistance 4as an element o! human
pro)ress and !reedom, as 4ell as an accelerator o! technolo)ical and
or)anisational development8


"hir1ers

At the ori)in o! the mass re!usal o! productive discipline lies an anti#Calvinist
culture8 Contrary to the &rotestant idea o! pro)ress as !ounded on 4ork
discipline, the autonomous anti#4ork spirit claims that pro)ress : be it
technolo)ical, cultural or social : is based on the re!usal o! discipline8
&ro)ress consists o! the application o! intelli)ence to the reduction o! e!!ort
and dependency, and the e/pansion o! a sphere o! idleness and individual
!reedom8
The technolo)ical, social and cultural pro)ress o! the country 4as stimulated
by this re!usal o! labor, and bet4een the 1>C9s and ;?9s (talian civil society
e/perienced the only authentically democratic period o! an e/traordinary
!lourishin) o! culture, concomitant to 4hen the re!usal o! labor 4as most
intense and hei)htened by the level o! absenteeism in the !actories8
*bviously, the re!usal o! capitalist e/ploitation, the opposition to increases in
productivity and to 4orkers; subordination 4ere not peculiar to (taly8 All
around the 4orld 4orkers demanded more !ree time !or their lives, 4a)e
increases, and opposed the masters; 4ill to subordinate li!e to 4ork and 4ork
to pro!it8 2o4ever, in (taly this insubordination <oined the shirkers; spirit o!
the southern plebs to become an e/plicit, declared and politically relevant
issue0 that is, the re!usal o! labor and the demand !or social autonomy, the
autonomy o! everyday li!e !rom 4ork discipline8
To4ards the end o! the ;?9s, tens o! thousands o! youn) southerners arrived at
the Fiat !actory, Mira!iori8 1ith their ne4 !orms o! stru))le and anti#4ork
attitude, they carried an e/tremism that 4as a dan)er to both the pro)ressive
GC
bour)eoisie and the (talian Communist &arty8 This ne4 dra!t o! 4orkers
completely i)nored, i! not derided, the 4ork ethic and pride in productivity8
+id these youn) 4orkers !rom -aples and Calabria embody the same rascal
spirit, the individualist and anti#modernist populism, that characterised 1?>>
and led the -eapolitan people to oppose the revolutionary enli)htened
bour)eoisie7 Hes, in part8 But this shirkers; spirit also e/pressed the ne4
realisation that the society o! industrial labor 4as nearin) its end8 This idea
spread throu)h youth culture and invaded the 4hole o! society0 industrial labor
4as a remnant o! the past, the development o! technolo)ies and social
kno4led)e opened up the possibility !or the liberation o! society !rom labor8
The most radical parts o! the 4orkers; movement e/pressed the belie! that
industrial labor 4as e/hausted, and that the alienatin) and repetitive !orm o!
4ork 4as there!ore no lon)er historically <usti!ied8 This idea 4as the most
radical innovation o! the (talian 4orkers; movement o! the ;C9s and ;?9s, thus
di!!erentiatin) it !rom the communist tradition o! the 1>99s8
Throu)hout the modernization o! the 39th century, the (talian 'e!t 4as pushed
in t4o opposite directions8 *n the one hand, a &rotestant, industrialist and
modernist soul motivated its protests a)ainst social back4ardness and
demands !or more productivity and e!!iciency in the system o! production, at
the cost o! increasin) 4orkers; e/ploitation and subscribin) to liberalist
policies8 *n the other hand, an anti#productivist, e)alitarian and
communitarian soul drove the 'e!t to demonize capitalism and take re!u)e in
!orms o! 4el!are state that helped in creatin) parasitical political clienteles8
The 4orkers; autonomy o! the ;C9s and ;?9s 4ed)ed in bet4een these t4o
souls o! the traditional 'e!t0 it embodied an anti#productivism inscribed in
(talian culture in its shirkers; !orm, but turned into an anticipation o! the
creative potential that 4ould take centre sta)e in postmodern and post#
industrial production8
A!ter the ;?9s, 4orkers; autonomy 4as de!eated by police repression and the
capitalist o!!ensive o! the early ;G9s hit the !actory 4orkin) class 4ith 4aves
o! redundancies, pavin) the 4ay !or the adoption o! a neoliberal ideolo)y8 But
liberalism (talian style cannot be assimilated to the liberal bour)eois tradition
o! &rotestant derivation that !lourished in Europe durin) modernity8
'iberal culture never a!!irmed itsel! in (taly as a ma<oritarian culture o!
)overnment8 +urin) the 1>th century, the 'iberal &arty led the isor)imento,
but never actually became the ma<oritarian culture o! the (talian bour)eoisie8
The compromise o! %tate and Church, and the alliance bet4een the industrial
bour)eoisie and reactionary lando4ners dominated (talian politics in the 1>th
and 39th centuries8 'iberal culture al4ays demanded a secular state and
represented a cultural component o! political &rotestantism, yet it remained a
minority8 (n the early 1>99s &iero Gobetti, a liberal, had to reco)nise that the
only 4ay to !ree the (talian state !rom the reactionary in!luence o! Catholicism
4as throu)h an alliance bet4een liberals and the 4orkers; movement8 That
G?
alliance could un!ortunately never be realized and Fascism assailed and
destroyed both the communist 4orkers; movement led by Antonio Gramsci
and the liberal movement represented by &iero Gobetti8 -eoliberalism, as a
he)emonic political !orce, a!!irmed itsel! in the ;G9s and has nothin) to do
4ith the liberal le)acy= in !act, it proposes an alliance bet4een all socially and
culturally reactionary !orces under the banner o! the ultra#capitalist principle
o! economic liberalism o! An)lo#American derivation8
(n the ;G9s, in the midst o! a capitalist counter#o!!ensive and the a!!irmation o!
neoliberalism at the international level, (taly )ave li!e to a curious e/periment
in political economy8 A!ter de!eatin) 4orkers; autonomy, social radicalism,
and e)alitarian and libertarian movements, an anti#&rotestant ethics permitted
the political class in )overnment to tolerate economic ille)alities,
embezzlements, corruption, and ma!ia8 These 4ere the years o! Bettino Cra/i8
+espite his socialist and laic credentials, Cra/i 4as the representative o! a
conver)ence o! the Counter#e!ormation spirit o! tolerance and shirkers, and
cultural openness to4ards neoliberal modernization8 Modernization and
corruption, in Cra/i;s theory and pra/is, 4ere not in contradiction= these trends
4ere absolutely complementary, inte)rated and !unctional8
(n the ;?9s, the historic 'e!t @Communist &arty and Catholic 'e!tA responded
4ith violence to the re!usal o! labor o! the youth and 4orkers; anti#
&rotestantism8 They accused the anti#4ork rebels o! the !actories and the
5Metropolitan (ndians6 o! the social centres o! hooli)anism8 (n the ;G9s,
Catholics and late#communists rebelled a)ainst Cra/i, not because he 4as
pursuin) a neoliberal policy o! patrona)e, but because he tolerated corruption8
Bettino Cra/i had sensed 4hat 4as to come 4ith the a!!irmation o! the
neoliberal doctrine8 (n the ;G9s and ;>9s, as neoliberalism 4rote o!! all the old
re)ulations o! the 4el!are state, the de!ences society had built a)ainst the
a))ressiveness o! capitalists collapsed8 Cra/i understood, 4ith laic cynicism,
that neoliberalism inau)urated a period 4hen the la4s o! violence, ma!ia,
!raud, corruption and simulation 4ould be the only rules o! the )ame8 Catho#
communism, in its a)ony, desperately clun) onto the ethical .uestion8 (nstead
o! opposin) neoliberalism : 4hich destroys society;s de!ences, reduces
4orkers; 4a)es, imposes a culture o! competitiveness and bar)ainin) : the
'e!t opposed corruption, immorality, and ille)ality8 &arado/ically the 'e!t
de!ended the &rotestant ethics that 4ere bein) dissolved in the culture o! lar)e
capital, as the traditional bour)eoisie 4as disappearin) to make room to a
class o! lumpen predators8


Aleatory 3alue in 4eo-Baro!ue "ociety

For a lon) time, the crisis o! the la4 o! value has been corrodin) the
!oundation o! bour)eois society0 the bour)eoisie lost its coherence due to the
GG
development o! post#mechanical technolo)ies, and the )ro4in) autonomy o!
4orkers !rom 4a)e labor8 (n post#industrial economy, socially necessary labor
time is no lon)er the source o! the determination o! value, no lon)er its only
source8 The value o! a commodity is essentially determined by means o!
lan)ua)e, and the re)ime o! value determination o! commodities is one o!
simulation8 The e/plosion o! the ne* economy in the ;>9s 4as the per!ect
e/ample o! the economic po4er o! simulation8 (ma)inary !lo4s o! capital
4ere invested in the processes o! the production o! the ima)inary8 This does
not mean, ho4ever, that it 4as all a blindin) illusion8
1e have entered the re)ime o! the chance !luctuation o! values8 The
mathematical re)ularity o! bookkeepin) has )iven place to the indeterminacy
o! !inancial )ames and advertisin) communication, 4ith its lin)uistic
strate)ies and psychic implications8 The economy has become an essentially
semiotic process and embodies the chance that characterises the processes o!
assi)nment o! meanin)8
'abor has become !ractalized8 1ith the end o! lar)e industrial monopolies,
no4 delocalized in the )lobal peripheries, ne4 4orkers start resemblin)
computer terminals, cells in the process o! circulation o! the commodity#si)n8
As the neat borders o! industrial society !aded out and broke do4n in atomized
4orkplaces, net slaves under4ent t4o parallel processes8 *n the one hand,
their e/istence 4as individualized, both physically and culturally8 Each one
had to !ollo4 her tra<ectory and compete in the market individually8 *n the
other hand, each 4orker e/perienced a situation o! permanent cellular
connection8 Each individual is a cell put in constant productive connection
4ith others by the 1eb, 4hich ensures a deterritorialized, !ractal and !luid
sociality8 The cellular is the ne4 assembly line, deprived o! any carnal
sociality8
%imulation and !ractalization are essentially Baro.ue cate)ories8 (n the shi!t to
postmodernity, the rationalist balance o! industrial architecture )ave 4ay to
the proli!eration o! points o! vie48 (n L0et4 neobarocca JThe Neo'8aro6ue Era
K *mar Calabrese @1>G?A claims that the postmodern style recuperated
aesthetic and discursive models that 4ere e/perimented 4ith in the 1C99s8
Baro.ue 4as essentially a proli!eration o! points o! vie48 1hilst the &rotestant
ri)or produces an aesthetic o! essential and austere ima)es, Baro.ue declares
the divine )eneration o! !orms to be irreducible to human la4s, be they o! the
state, politics, accountin) or architecture8
As +eleuze @1>>BA claims, the Baro.ue is the !old0 the poetics that best
corresponds to the chance character o! !luctuatin) values8 1hen the )rand
narratives o! modernity lose coherence, the la4 o! value is dissolved in an
endless proli!eration o! productivity, in!lation and lan)ua)e, and the in!o#
sphere is e/panded beyond measure8 Mytholo)ies intert4ine in the social
ima)inary8 &roduction and semiosis are increasin)ly one and the same process8
*ut o! this process simultaneously arises a crisis o! economic re!erence @the
G>
relationship bet4een value and necessary labor timeA, and a crisis o! semiotic
re!erence @the denotative relationship bet4een si)n and meanin)A8 ,alue can
no lon)er re!er to labor time, because unlike the labor o! Mar/;s times, the
time o! immaterial labor is not reducible to a socially avera)e norm8 &arallel to
this, the denotative relation o! si)n and meanin) is de!initely suspended in
social communication8 Advertisin), politics and the media speak a declaredly
simulative lan)ua)e8 -obody has any belie! in some kind o! truth o! public
statements8 The value o! the commodity is established on the basis o! a
simulation in a relation that no lon)er !ollo4s any rules8
%ilvio Berlusconi;s behaviour is incomprehensible to the conservative i)ht
and 'e!t, 4hose political reason !ollo4s traditional models8 They see it as
indispensable to respect o!!icial lan)ua)e and cannot ima)ine a conte/t !or
political action outside o! adherence to le)ality8 But the stren)th o!
Berlusconi;s media#populism lies precisely in the systematic violation o! the
taboos linked to political o!!icialdom and le)ality8 1ith their )lum seriousness,
authoritative !i)ures such as *scar 'ui)i %cal!aro and Carlo Aze)lio Ciampi
are the best e/amples o! this miscomprehension o! the ne4 character o! post#
political lan)ua)e championed by Berlusconi8 1hat seems most unbearable
and provocative to the custodians o! severity is the ridiculin) o! political
rhetoric and its sta)nant rituals slyly and systematically operated by
Berlusconi8 But there are reasons to believe that the lar)e ma<ority o! people
4ho constitute the 5public6 o! politics @the electorateA 4ere amused by this
ridiculin) and provocative )esture and in many cases con.uered by it0 they
identi!ied 4ith the sli)htly crazy &remier, the rascal &rime Minister 4ho
resembles them, as at other times they had identi!ied 4ith Mussolini and
Cra/i8
The ma<ority o! the (talian electorate )re4 up as T, audiences at a time 4hen
television became the primary vehicle !or in!ormality, vul)ar and coarse
allusiveness, the lan)ua)e o! ambi)uity and a))ressiveness8 Thus they
spontaneously !ound themselves on the same cultural 4avelen)th as
Berlusconi, 4ith his lan)ua)e, 4ords, and )estures, but also 4ith the
deprecation o! rules in the name o! a spontaneous ener)y that rules can no
lon)er bridle8 The crazy and cheer!ul !i)ure o! "bi oi is irresistible to a
public that is used to renouncin) its individuality in the name o! collective
irresponsibility8
To the plebeian coarseness o! Berlusconi and his perky ban.ueters in
)overnment, the 'e!t responded 4ith prissiness and consternation in the !ace
o! the violation o! the lan)ua)e o! political correctness8 But callin) out
5%candalN6 proved to be a losin) ar)ument a)ainst the policies o! the centre#
ri)ht )overnment8 (n !act, part o! the secret o! Berlusconi;s success in politics
lies precisely in the use o! e/cess8 The e/cessiveness o! the declarations and
actions o! this )overnment 4as a 4inner in the ima)inary o! the masses and in
electoral decisions8 Events that e/ceeded the !rame4ork o! predictability,
>9
tolerability and codi!ied political behaviour acted as a catalyst !or
consternation and indi)nation 4hile creatin) a sa!e passa)e !or )overnment
le)islation, dilapidation o! collective property, abolition o! 4orkers; ri)hts, and
imposition o! discriminatory and racist la4s8 This techni.ue o! e/cess is no4
4ell tested0 you have to talk bi), very bi), in order to then enact 4hat is
essential !or the accumulation o! po4er and the privatization o! social spaces8
A minister 4ould take on the role o! the ham, the crazy one, and propose to
bomb the ships carryin) mi)rants to (talian shores8 2e )enerates scandal, but
also an entertainin) distraction, and soon enou)h another minister, more
moderate and realistic, demands to obtain military control o! the coast, and
then a zealous !unctionary can e/pel Ourdish and %yrian political asylum
seekers 4ithout even lookin) at their re.uests or kno4in) their ri)hts : thus
comes about the possibility o! tramplin) upon the most basic ri)hts o! !orei)n
4orkers8
Berlusconi;s lan)ua)e appears to be suited to the ridiculin) rather than the
denial or restatement o! the truth and the a!!irmation o! ne4 principles8 2is
intention is to unveil the hypocrisy o! political rules8 For Berlusconi, the
meanin) o! 4ords is not that important, so much so that he is used to denyin)
his o4n declarations in ne4spapers the day a!ter makin) them8 Berlusconi has
o!ten pretended to )ive his approval to the 4ords o! the &resident o! the
epublic, even thou)h 4ith all evidence these 4ords blatantly contravened his
o4n actions or the le)islative activities o! his )overnment8 The political 4ord
is devalued, ridiculed, captured in a kind o! three#card monty, in a semantic
labyrinth 4here every 4ord can mean the opposite o! the meanin) attributed
to it in dictionaries8 %candal at the in!ormality, vul)arity and shallo4 lies is not
an e!!ective reaction= on the contrary it stren)thens Berlusconi and his re)ime
because at this level the electorate understands him better than the
representatives o! institutions8
Accordin) to common sense, political lan)ua)e has al4ays concealed reality
and provided hypocritical cover#ups to the arbitrariness and arro)ance o! the
rich and po4er!ul8 Berlusconi parado/ically reveals this hypocrisy8 2e is the
rich and po4er!ul one 4ho sho4s that the la4 is capable o! nothin)= he is the
rich and po4er!ul one 4ho lau)hs at the hypocrisy o! those 4ho pretend that
everyone is e.ual be!ore the la48 1e all kno4 that not everyone is e.ual
be!ore the la4= 4e kno4 !rom e/perience that the 4ealthy and po4er!ul can
a!!ord e/pensive la4yers, impose their interests, and con.uer spaces in po4er
inaccessible to the ma<ority o! the population8 But this is usually hidden
behind the smoke screens o! le)alism and <uridical !ormalism8 Berlusconi
clearly states0 5( do 4hat ( 4ant, and lau)h at the le)alists 4ho 4ant to oppose
their !ormalities to my 4ill86
-o4 that the po4er o! makin) and unmakin) the la4 lies in his hands, he uses
it to sho4 everyone the impotence o! the la48 'ike 2umpty +umpty,
Berlusconi kno4s that 4hat matters is not 4hat 4ords mean, but 4ho o4ns
>1
them8 Meanin) is decided by the master o! 4ords, not the semantic tribunals8
The interpretation o! la4 is decided by its master, not the courts o! la48
The spectators o! politics @the electorateA seem to reco)nize themselves in this
)ame o! the revelation o! the hypocrisy o! the lan)ua)e o! politics, even
thou)h the person revealin) that the 5Emperor has no clothes6 is parado/ically
4earin) the Emperor;s clothes8 &eople lau)h at 4hat the Travicello Oin) says,
but there is complicity in their lau)hter, because the Oin) is denouncin) the
!alsity and hypocrisy o! the 4ords that he himsel! is utterin), 4ith a smile that
says0 52ere ( say it and deny it,6 or 5-o one is a !ool around here86
The borin) opponents o! Berlusconi 4ish to rea!!irm the sacredness o! po4er,
but Berlusconi has already discredited it 4ith his e/ercise o! a po4er that has
no need !or sacredness8 +espite bein) divested o! o!!icial authority, the
Berlusconi )overnment en<oys the authoritativeness o! trans)ression= it
e/ercises its authority in the name o! trans)ression, layin) do4n la4s on every
issue, !rom immi)ration to the ri)ht to 4ork and the <udiciary, imposin)
every4here the lo)ic o! he)emonic interests, reducin) social e/penditure,
shi!tin) 4ealth !rom the 4orkin) classes to the property o4ners8 -one o! the
devastatin) la4s o! this )overnment 4ere stopped by parliamentary opposition
or the protests o! democratic and pri))ish public opinion8


"elf Des#ise

2ave 4e come close to a de!inition o! the re)ime that has )overned (taly since
1>>E7 ( believe so8 This re)ime includes the behaviours o! Fascism @police
brutality, as 4e sa4 in Genoa 3991, the irresponsibility that led Mussolini;s
(taly to the catastrophic 4ar o! 1>E9#EF, the servility that has al4ays
characterized (talian intellectual li!eA8 (t also includes !eatures that are proper
to the ma!ia @the contempt !or public )oods, the toleration o! economic
la4lessnessA8
But it cannot be de!ined as a mere repetition o! the Fascist re)ime, nor as a
ma!ia system8 A))ressive neoliberalism and media#populism are its decisive
!eatures8 (t ob<ectively !unctions as a laboratory !or the cultural and political
!orms crucial to the development o! semiocapital8
The history o! modern (taly ou)ht to be 4ritten takin) the !arcical
proclamations o! isor)imento, Fascism and the democratic republic less
seriously8 A history could be 4ritten startin) !rom the 4ork o! 'orenzo ,alla,
his ele)y o! vileness and hedonism, and -iccolY Machiavelli, 4ith his
a!!irmation o! the incompatibility o! morality and politics8 This history could
be centred around Manzoni;s don Abbondio, ,ittorio Gassmann and Alberto
%ordi, 4ho in The Great #ar embody the popular 4isdom that al4ays re!used
to believe that one;s country is more important than li!e8 And it should take
into account the Mediterranean cult o! !emininity, hedonism and tenderness8
>3
The re!usal o! &rotestant austerity and sel!#sacri!ice is the salt o! the (talian
adventure, the elasticity and intelli)ence o! a people 4ho never believed in the
mother country or the )eneral interest, and because o! this remained
irreducible to the lo)ic o! capitalism that identi!ies the )eneral interest 4ith
pro!it and )ro4th8
This co4ardice lacked the coura)e o! reclaimin) itsel!, and remained a
mar)inal prero)ative o! the lo4er classes, e/cluded !rom history8 *!!icial
lan)ua)e identi!ied 4ith the rhetoric reminiscent o! oman empires, thus
creatin) the conditions, on the one hand, !or the sel!#deprecation that rules
over (talian public discourse and, on the other, the pompous and empty
a!!irmation o! (talian nationalism and the !ascism that is its natural e/pression8
The main thread in the history o! this country and sel!#perception o! the (talian
people is a mi/ture o! unavo4ed co4ardice and sel!#contempt, the source o!
the a))ressiveness that !inds its !ull e/pression in Fascism8 The 'atin cult o!
virility that a))ressively posits itsel! above the tenderness and !emininity o!
Mediterranean culture is both tra)ic and !arcical8
Co4ardice is ambivalent0 in its immediacy it si)nals the hedonist
consciousness o! the supremacy o! pleasure over historical duty8 But this
consciousness does not reconcile 4ith the imperialist and macho mytholo)ies
embodied in the tra)ic !arce o! Fascism8 "nable to accept co4ardice as
tenderness= unable to accept the predominance o! the !eminine in
Mediterranean culture, (talian history is !ull o! !arcical characters 4ho take on
heroic tasks and inevitably cause tra)edies, the ridiculous implications o!
4hich can never be concealed8 The !i)ure o! %alandra, 4ho starts cryin)
durin) the ,ersailles Con)ress because the British 4ould not listen to (talian
demands, !inds its counterpart in the !i)ure o! Mussolini, 4ho 4ants to
vindicate the mutilated victory and e/alts the masculine masses 4ith the
promise o! break#all military adventures, eventually leadin) the country to a
catastrophic 4ar8
By comparin) its present hedonism and subaltern status to a mytholo)ical past
o! imperial superiority, (talian culture revels in sel!#contempt because it
re!uses to accept its !eminine side8 1hen it tried to react to sel!#contempt by
a!!irmin) an improbable virility, it embarked on in!amous and truly paltry
adventures, such as the vile attack on France a!ter it had already been de!eated
by 2itler in the late sprin) o! 1>E9, or in its habit o! runnin) to help the
4inners only to discover that they end up losin) 4ith its help8
There are rare moments 4hen sel!#contempt turns into a positive valorisation
o! tenderness, abandonment and idleness0 these are the only times 4hen (talian
culture produced somethin) ori)inal, 4hen Mediterranean !emininity 4as
placated in a collective en<oyment o! the potentialities matured by the
collective productive intelli)ence8 (n the ;C9s and ;?9s the predominant
movement in society veered to4ards abandonin) all imperialist pretences and
embracin) a <oyous .uality o! li!e, !reed !rom the ur)ency o! economic
>B
productivity8
The movement in (taly can start a)ain !rom a declaration o! absolute
4eakness, abandonment, and retreat8 'et;s 4ithdra4 our intelli)ence !rom the
race o! capitalist )ro4th and national identity, let;s 4ithdra4 our creativity
and our time !rom productive competition8 'et;s inau)urate a period o! passive
sabota)e and de!initively evacuate the ridiculous bo/ that is called (taly8
>E
Cha#ter $. %&haustion and "u'(ectivity

A!ter February 1Fth 399B, 4hen millions o! people marched 4orld4ide
a)ainst the 4ar, the peace movement lost its stren)th and so did the )lobal
movement a)ainst the corporations8
The social !orces that mer)ed in the counter#)lobalization movement have
dispersed, the 4orld landscape has been submer)ed by the endless 4ar started
by Bush and Cheney, and despair has taken a central place in the cultural
scene8 For three years a!ter %eattle, -ovember B9th 1>>>, the counter#
)lobalization movement or)anized demonstrations and media#actions all
around the )lobe, but this 4ave o! mobilization never 4ent beyond ethical
declaration= it never became a process o! social autonomy8 +urin) those years
every %aturday a!ternoon the streets 4ere !ull o! people protestin) a)ainst this
and a)ainst that, but on Monday mornin) the same people 4ere sittin) in the
o!!ices and !actories and schools and laboratories, bendin) to the corporate
rule8
A!ter February 1Fth 399B impotence prevailed, ener)y dissolved, and people
4ere !orced to accept the blackmail o! 4ar, competition and precarity8 But the
crucial .uestion is 4hy the social class o! the )eneral intellect, the precarious
co)nitariat and the !orces o! labor in )eneral have not been able to create their
space o! autonomy8 (n order to understand the incapability o! labor !orce to
react to the )ro4in) e/ploitation, 4e have to analyze the e!!ects o! the
recombinant semiocapitalism, and the e!!ects o! the precarization o! labor8
This is 4hat ( 4ant to do in this last part o! the book0 ( 4ant to understand the
social and cultural roots o! the present palsy o! the social or)anism,
overcomin) the bitterness that ori)inates !rom the current humiliation o!
human li!e and intelli)ence8
The task o! a thinker : supposin) that thinkin) has a task : is not to breathe
hope into hearts, but to help in understandin) reality, because only
understandin) may call !orth ne4 possibilities8
A!ter a )eneral analysis o! the precarization o! labor and o! its e!!ects, (;ll
plun)e into the ne4 landscape that has emer)ed !rom the crisis o! the )lobal
economy, and (;ll try to describe the evolution o! capitalism !ollo4in) the
!inancial catastrophe o! %eptember 399G8 Furthermore, (;ll attempt to describe
the relationship bet4een lan)ua)e, a!!ection and sociability in order to look
into the !uture perspective o! sub<ectivation, or lack o! it8 Finally, (;ll e/plore
ne4 theoretical path4ays in the !ield o! the ima)ination o! the !uture8
The e/it !rom the catastrophy that the !inancial crisis has tri))ered, to)ether
4ith the military de!eat o! the 1est in (ra. and A!)hanistan, is not predictable
at the moment8 The ne/t decade 4ill be marked by a )i)antic process o!
redistribution o! po4er and 4ealth8 But it;s impossible to say no4 i! the
neoliberal ideolo)y 4ill !ade, and )ive 4ay to a return o! social solidarity, or i!
the criminal class that has )ro4n up in the shado4 o! neoliberal dere)ulation
>F
4ill insti)ate ethnic and national 4ar, launchin) a planetary )enocide !or the
possession o! decreasin) resources8
%o !ar the second scenario has been prevailin)8 (n the !irst year a!ter the
!inancial collapse o! %eptember 399G the nation states have invested a hu)e
amount o! money in order to rescue the !inancial class that has redircted
monetary resources !rom social needs8 The entire society, especially the ne4
)eneration, has been called upon to pay !or the rescue o! the criminal class8 (!
the 4orkers 4ill not !ind the means to chan)e direction, 4e are headin)
to4ards a )ro4in) destruction o! the material and immaterial structures o!
civilized li!e, and to4ards a barbarization o! the social landscape8


Precarious Future

The concept o! the sub<ect and o! sub<ectivity has been crucial in the
philosophy o! the last !i!ty years, !rom the 2e)elian enaissance o! the 1>C9s,
tied to the sur!acin) o! dissent in the socialist countries and 4ith anti#
consumerist movements in the 4est, to the neo#Mar/ist thou)ht o! the (talian
4orkerist school, to the post#structuralist thou)ht o! +eleuze and Guattari, and
the )enealo)ical 4ork o! Michel Foucault8 (n the 4ord 5sub<ect6 t4o di!!erent
concepts are contained0 one is action, the other is consciousness8 *nly by
)raspin) the inner mediation that connects the concept o! the sub<ect to the
idealistic vision o! 2istory as a process o! realization o! %pirit and %ubstance,
can 4e understand the complicated evolutions o! the sub<ect in modern
philosophy8 5(n my vie4D everythin) turns on )raspin) and e/pressin) the
True, not only as %ubstance, but e.ually as %ub<ect,6 4rites 2e)el @1>??0 G9A
in the 5&re!ace6 to Phenomenolo)y o! &ind8 2e also ar)ues that0 5The livin)
%ubstance is bein) 4hich is in truth %ub<ect, or, 4hat is the same, is in truth
actual only in so !ar as it is the movement o! positin) itsel!, or is the mediation
o! its sel!#otherin) 4ith the sel!86 And !inally0 5The Truth is the 4hole8 But the
4hole is nothin) other than the essence consummatin) itsel! throu)h its
development8 *! the truth it must be said that it is essentially a result, that only
in the end is it 4hat it truly is= and that precisely in this consists its nature, viz8
to be actual, sub<ect, the spontaneous becomin) o! itsel!6 @1>??0 G3A8
Consciousness is implied in the 2e)elian concept o! the sub<ect, because
consciousness is the mediation bet4een the action and its actor8 But here (
4ant to elaborate precisely on the relationship bet4een action and
consciousness, as ( am .uestionin) the conscious character o! social action in
the recombinant a)e8 There!ore, here ( dismiss the concept o! the sub<ect @as it
implies consciousnessA and ( substitute the 4ord 5sub<ect6 4ith the 4ord
5actor68
( speak o! a)ency, o! a collective actor, o! sin)ularity in the Guattarian sense,
and, !inally, ( speak o! 5movement68 Movement is the process o!
>C
recomposition o! society0 the cultural process that makes possible the political
unity o! the di!!erent social actors 4ho are in con!lict in public space8 1hen
the social actors !ind a common )round o! understandin) and act to)ether !or a
common )oal, ( see a movement, the active and conscious side o! the process
o! social trans!ormation, and also o! cultural evolution8 Movement is the
sub<ective @conscious and collectiveA side o! the recomposition o! the livin)
social sphere a)ainst the domination o! the dead @capitalA8
At the end o! the zero zero decade, !or the !irst time in my li!e ( have been
obli)ed to reco)nize that the actor is absent0 you see actions, but you don;t see
an actor8 Actions 4ithout an actor are played in the )round o! social visibility
but they do not create any common )round in the space o! consciousness and
a!!ectivity8 Actions are per!ormed on the theatre o! social production, but the
a)ent o! recombination is not there, in the theatre, but backsta)e, and the
consciousness o! the process does not belon) to the process itsel!8
2uman bein)s per!orm productive actions, but they are not conscious actors o!
4hat they are doin), and seem unable to <oin their !eelin)s and thou)ht in a
common space o! consciousness8 Capitalism has destroyed the conditions o!
recomposition, and society has become un#recomposable8 The non#
composability o! society means that the process o! sub<ectivation cannot take
place8 This is 4hy the !uture has lost its zest, and people have lost all trust in
it, because the !uture no more appears as the ob<ect o! a choice, and o!
collective conscious action, but is a kind o! unavoidable catastrophe that 4e
cannot oppose in any 4ay8
The !uture is the sub<ect o! this book0 ( have tried to rethink 4hat the
ima)ination o! the !uture 4as durin) the century marked by the stru))les o!
labor a)ainst capitalist e/ploitation, and by the creation o! 4ide areas o!
autonomy o! society !rom the capitalist rule8 But !or the remainder o! the book
(;m tryin) to investi)ate the present collapse o! the ima)ination o! the !uture,
!rom the point o! vie4 o! the @apparentlyA impossible re#composition o! social
sub<ectivity8 *! course ( do not 4ant to stop here, ( don;t 4ant to look like the
doomsayer 4ho only sees )loom8 But ( think that 4e have to be able to see
thin)s as they are, i! 4e 4ant to !ind a 4ay beyond the present depressive
reality8
My point o! vie4 has been shaped by t4o centuries o! pro)ressive enli)htened
history0 it is the point o! vie4 o! an epoch and o! a )eneration that has been
al4ays convinced o! bein) the bearer o! the !ul!illment o! the modern promise8
But this means that ( have a problem o! ima)ination as !ar as the past and the
!uture are concerned8 The 4ay ( ima)ine and narrate time is connected to the
4ay history has developed durin) the last t4o centuries8 But the di)ital
mutation, coupled 4ith neoliberal ideolo)y, has completely re!ramed the
perception o! time, and the relationship bet4een human bein)s and their social
environment8 1e can no lon)er think the !lo4 o! collective time in a !rame o!
pro)ressive becomin)8
>?
*! course, ( see very 4ell that the pro)ressive process has came to a halt in the
a)e o! capitalist countero!!ensive and media colonization= but, ( can;t stop
perceivin) this as a temporary halt= ( can;t stop thinkin) that my ener)ies
@political and cultural ener)iesA have to be dedicated entirely to )oin) beyond
and brin)in) back the old pro)ressive rhythm o! history, restorin) the order o!
civilization that ( have considered eternal in the years o! my cultural
!ormation8 This attitude is blindin) and misleadin) me, and it is preventin) me
!rom understandin) 4hat is really )oin) on in the deep structure o! the social
ima)ination8
The pro)ressive perception o! historical time is a pre<udice, and this pre<udice
is puttin) me on the 4ron) path, )ivin) me the !alse impression that
somethin) can be done in order to )o back to the past history o! civilization8
-othin) can be done, on the contrary, because the periodization that ( have in
mind has to be re!ramed8 The pro)ressive ideolo)y 4as based on the idealistic
premise that the history o! mankind is essentially the history o! the pro)ressive
realization o! eason8 -o4 4e are !acin) a reality that has nothin) to do 4ith
the rationalization o! eason, and also has nothin) to do 4ith an evolutionary
pro)ressive vision8 Evolution is not pro)ressive8
The pro)ressive vision is based on the idea that evolution is human#oriented8
Evolution is not human#oriented8 &resent evolution has )one beyond the limits
o! a human#oriented civilization because the limits o! human kno4ability and
controllability have been surpassed8
'et us !ocus on t4o concepts recently introduced into the debate on labor and
sub<ectivation8 The concept o! 5recomposition6 comes !rom the theoretical
laboratory o! (talian Operaismo8 The concept o! 5recombination6 has been
proposed by Arthur Oroker and Michael 1einstein @1>>BA and by the Critical
Art Ensemble @1>>EA in order to de!ine the epistemolo)y o! the ne4
technolo)ies @namely in!ormatics and bio#techA8 ( 4ant to apply these concepts
to the or)anization o! labor in the a)e o! net4orked )lobalization8
( de!ine recombination as the technical !orm o! the labor process in the di)ital
environment, 4hilst the 4ord recomposition means the social and cultural
process enablin) the !ra)ments o! labor to become conscious sub<ectivity8 My
central thesis is the !ollo4in)0 the recombinant !orm o! the labor process has
chan)ed the very !oundation o! the con!lictual nature o! labor, and has
displaced the social landscape in such a 4ay that any social conscious
recomposition seems impossible8
1e can start 4ith the political side o! the problem8 +urin) the last t4o decades
the de!eat o! the le!t around the 4orld has o!ten been e/plained by the
crumblin) o! socialist states, and the subse.uent dissolution o! the communist
parties8 But ( think that the reason !or the social and political de!eat has to be
!ound in the chan)e in labor or)anization, and in the cultural mutation
produced by the media colonization o! the social mind8 The !ra)mentation o!
the political le!t has been a problem, perhaps, durin) the last decades, and the
>G
de!eat o! the le!tist parties in the national elections in Europe has been a
symptom o! this crisis8 But ( think that the basic problem !or the pro)ressive
movement is the cultural inability to start a process o! social recomposition o!
labor8
%ocial composition is the cultural process o! uni!ication o! the social body
throu)h the !usion o! ima)inary and cultural !lo4s8 The concept o!
composition ori)inally comes !rom the !ield o! chemical science, not !rom the
political le/icon8 (n the process o! social composition it is possible to !ind the
material )enesis o! solidarity and lack o! it8 The concept o! composition has
been elaborated in the neo#Mar/ist (talian theoretical landscape o! the 1>C9s
and 1>?9s @Tronti, Bolo)na, -e)riDA, in opposition to the do)matic vision o!
the prevailin) 2e)elian historicism o! the (talian Communist &arty8
(n the parlance o! the (talian 4orkerist school, the root o! the autonomy o! the
4orkin) class, the ability to or)anize a)ainst e/ploitation, is to be !ound in the
!usion o! the cultural components o! the social !abric8 Myth, ideolo)y, media,
advertisin)= these !orces are producin) e!!ects in the composition o! society8
They can produce e!!ects o! recomposition, 4hen the di!!erent se)ments o!
social labor !ind a common )round o! sensibility and o! understandin), and
stand united a)ainst the e/ploiters8 They can produce e!!ects o!
decomposition, 4hen the technolo)ical and ideolo)ical capitalist action
destroys the !eelin) o! !riendship, the institutions o! labor or)anization, and
the sympathy o! society !or itsel!8
+urin) the decades o! the 1>C9s and 1>?9s, 4orld society under4ent a process
o! internal recomposition and this made possible the autonomy o! the 4orkers;
movement !rom the domination o! capital8 Then, a!ter the victory o! Thatcher
and ea)an, capital;s countero!!ensive smashed the or)anized !orce o! labor,
decentralized the !actories, invaded the social brain 4ith corporate media
!lo4s, and !inally reduced the international cycle o! labor to an in!inite ocean
o! micro#!ra)ments o! nervous connection8
The notion o! composition is very close to the Guattarian concept o!
sub<ectivation8 (n his books Guattari says that 4e should not speak o! a
sub<ect, in the old 2e)elo#dialectical 4ay8 The sub<ect is not there !rom the
be)innin), as an ideal !orce, able to !i)ht and to 4in8 There are not sub<ects, in
history, there are 4omen, and men, poor, !rail or)anisms tryin) to escape
misery and death8 There are conscious and sensitive or)anisms e/pressin)
desire and creatin) rhizomes8 The social molecules may !ind a 4ay o!
common understandin) and common sensibility and may act like a sub<ect, i!
they are able to share the same re!rain, as Guattari 4ould say8
&recarity re!ers not only to the dere)ulation o! the labor market and the
!ra)mentation o! 4ork, but also the dissolution o! community8 A continuous
!lo4 o! in!o#labor runs in the )lobal net4ork, and it is the )eneral !actor o!
capital valorization, but this !lo4 is not able to sub<ectivize, to coa)ulate in the
conscious action o! the collective body8 This is 4hy the labor !orce has
>>
apparently become un#recomposable8 %olidarity bet4een the 4orkers o! the
4orld 4as the main basis o! democracy durin) the past century, and the only
)uarantee o! 4orkers; human ri)hts= it no lon)er e/ists, havin) been destroyed
by the ne4 division and !ra)mentation o! recombinant labor8
Mi)rants, precarious 4orkers, co)nitive 4orkers0 they share the same
condition o! 4eakness, in di!!erent de)rees8 But they are unable to !ind a
common )round o! solidarity and stru))le8 This apparent un#recomposability
o! labor is the e!!ect o! the di)italization o! the process o! production, and o!
the subse.uent !ractalization and precarization o! labor8
(n the )lobal di)ital net4ork, labor is trans!ormed in small parcels o! nervous
ener)y picked up by the recombinin) machine8 (n this sense ( 4ould say that it
is !ractalized, and recombined by the techno#!inancial net4ork8 The 4orkers
are deprived o! every individual consistency8 %trictly speakin) the 4orkers no
lon)er e/ist8 Their time e/ists, their time is there, permanently available to
connect, to produce in e/chan)e !or a temporary salary8
Mar/;s prophecy about the 5atom o! time6 is !ul!illed8 (n the process o!
net4orked production 4e no lon)er !ind 4orkin) persons, but abstract, de#
personalized, !ractal atoms o! time available in the -et#sphere8 This is 4hy the
labor !orce has become un#recomposable, unable to reco)nize itsel! as a
community o! sensible and sensitive bein)s 4ho share the same social
interests and the same cultural e/pectations8
(s the recomposition process @that 4e may label a process o! collective
sub<ectivationA still possible in this ne4 condition7 The productive !orce o!
co)nitive labor has been multiplied by the creation o! the recombinant
net4ork8 The 5)eneral intellect6 to 4hich Mar/ re!ers in the Grundrisse is the
ability o! kno4led)e to act as a value producin) !orce8 Thanks to the
introduction o! di)ital machines capital has incorporated the product o! the
)eneral brain in its system o! machines8 But the livin) process o! kno4led)e
still resides in the mind o! the individual scientist and technician8
(n the di)ital net4ork 4e are dealin) 4ith a di!!erent reality0 the livin) brains
o! individuals are absorbed @subsumedA inside the process o! net4ork
production and submitted to a system o! techno#lin)uistic automatisms8
ecombination is the @in!ormational and biopoliticalA techni.ue that
trans!orms the activity o! individual brains in an abstract productive
continuum8 The individual brain can act e!!ectively only throu)h the
recombinant modality0 !unctional recombination o! !ra)ments o! co)nitive
labor scattered in time and space, but !unctionally uni!ied inside the -et8
(nteroperability is the )eneral )oal o! the net4ork, and in order to connect, the
recombinant !ra)ments o! livin) labor time have to become compatible0

The core problem o! )ettin) computers to communicate 4ith each other is, by
de!inition, one o! compatibility8 As the net4ork )ro4s bi))er,
incompatibilities must be overcomeD i! an incompatibility emer)es, it
199
produces a tri))er !or chan)e re.uirin) ne4 technical and social ne)otiations8
Generally ho4ever a ne4 protocol or level is introduced that, by operatin)
bet4een or on top o! di!!erent layers, 4ill allo4 them all to coe/ist under a
sin)le common !rame4ork8 @Terranova 399E0 FG#>A

+e#sin)ularization o! livin) thou)ht and activity is mandatory !or access to the
net4ork8 (n the )lobal net4ork there are not 4orkin) persons, but an in!inite
brain#spra4l, an ever#chan)in) mosaic o! !ractal cells o! available nervous
ener)y8 The person is nothin) but the residue : there!ore precarious : o! the
process o! valorization8
From the point o! vie4 o! sub<ectivation, the productive and !unctional
potency o! co)nitive labor, its interoperability, seems to be inversely
proportional to its social and political recomposability8 The collective brain is
!unctionally recombined in the sphere o! the -et8 But at the social and
a!!ective level the social brain appears unable to recompose, to !ind common
strate)ies o! behavior, incapable o! common narration and o! solidarity8
There!ore, the e/pansion o! the productive potency o! the )eneral intellect
coincides 4ith a schizoid !ra)mentation o! the collective brain, incapable o!
recomposin) as conscious sub<ectivity, unable to act in a conscious collective
4ay8
+urin) modernity, the industrial labor !orce 4as composed by persons, bearers
o! individual ability to per!orm tasks, and also bearers o! physical needs, and
political ri)hts, like the ri)ht to unionize, ne)otiate, and strike8 Today, the
labor !orce can be described as a spra4l o! nervous ener)y, o! depersonalized
time available to cellular recombination8 This time has been !ractalized and
compatibilized and so made recombinable8 (n order to inter#operate the
individual mind has to become a cell o! the net4orked mind, a compatible
!ractal0 this implies a technolo)ical mutation but also a psychic mutation o!
the livin) mind8
As Christian Marazzi has e/plained in his books, lan)ua)e and capital ti)hten
their relationship0 lan)ua)e becomes the economic resource, the productive
!orce, and the market8 This is 4hy ( speak o! semiocapital0 the kin)dom o!
si)ns and the kin)dom o! production tend to coincide8
'an)ua)e under)oes a mutation, 4hich is a technolo)ical mutation but also a
psychic one8 (n the human psyche, as Freud says, the access to lan)ua)e has
much to do 4ith a!!ection and primarily 4ith the body o! the mother8 1hat
about the lin)uistic relationship bet4een the mother and child, 4hen the (n!o#
sphere is saturated 4ith in!o#stimuli, and the presence o! the mother becomes
so scarce7 (n "ho* and Tell &achine, published in 1>??, the American
anthropolo)ist ose Goldsen ar)ued that 4e are )ivin) birth to human bein)s
that 4ill learn more 4ords !rom machines than !rom mothers8 (n the !irst
decade o! the ne4 century this )eneration has occupied the sta)e o! social
activity, and is ready to become compatible 4ith the di)ital !lo48
191
For the ne4 )eneration access to lan)ua)e has more and more to do 4ith
inor)anic connection, and less and less to do 4ith the body o! the mother8 (n
her book L0ordine simbolico della madre JThe "ymbolic Order o! the &otherK,
'uisa Muraro @1>>1A discovers the intimate relationship bet4een si)ni!ier and
si)ni!ied, bet4een si)n and meanin), bet4een 4ord and a!!ection8 ( believe in
the meanin) o! the 4ord 54ater6 and ( ackno4led)e the relationship bet4een
the si)ni!ier 54ater6 and the li.uid meanin) because ( trust in my mother8 %he
has certi!ied the relation bet4een si)ni!ier and si)ni!ied8 1hat happens 4hen
the relation is broken, 4hen the access to lan)ua)e is separated !rom the body
and !rom a!!ection, reduced to mere inter#operability bet4een mechanic
se)ments o! an#emotional e/chan)e7 ( say that lan)ua)e is in this 4ay made
precarious, !rail, unable to )rasp the emotional meanin) o! 4ords8 Actually the
)eneration that is no4 enterin) the social sphere seems psycholo)ically !rail
and scarcely !it to link emotion and verbal e/chan)e8 The hu)e multiplication
o! tools !or communication, the di)ital saturation o! the in!o#sphere, has
dramatically reduced the spaces and the times o! bodily interaction bet4een
persons8
'et us think o! the cro4d o! people sittin) in the sub4ay every mornin)8 They
are precarious 4orkers movin) to4ards the industrial and !inancial districts o!
the city, to4ards the places 4here they are 4orkin) in precarious conditions8
Everyone 4ears headphones, everybody looks at their cellular device,
everybody sits alone and silent, never lookin) at the people 4ho sit close,
never speakin) or smilin) or e/chan)in) any kind o! si)nal8 They are travelin)
alone in their lonely relationship 4ith the universal electronic !lo48 Their
co)nitive and a!!ective !ormation has made o! them the per!ect ob<ect o! a
process o! de#sin)ularization8 They have been pre#emptied and trans!ormed
into carriers o! abstract !ractal ability to connect, devoid o! sensitive empathy
so to become smooth, compatible parts o! a system o! interoperability8
Althou)h they su!!er !rom nervous a))ression, and !rom the e/ploitation that
semiocapitalism is imposin) on them, althou)h they su!!er !rom the separation
bet4een !unctional bein) and sensible body and mind, they seem incapable o!
human communication and solidarity= in short, they seem unable to start any
process o! conscious collective sub<ectivation8
The in!o#sphere is the dimension o! intentional si)ns surroundin) the sensible
or)anism8 %ensibility is an inter!ace bet4een or)anism and 4orld, and
particularly 4e may see it as the ability to understand the meanin) o! 4hat
cannot be said throu)h 4ords0 the point o! connection bet4een sensitivity and
lan)ua)e8 %ensibility rather than <ud)ment is the place o! the mental mutation
produced by the in!o#sphere8 Chan)es o! perception are intert4ined 4ith the
technolo)ical architecture surroundin) the perceptive or)anism8 &rior to
modernity, a re)ime o! slo4 transmission characterized the in!o#sphere and
man;s psychic time and e/pectations o! events and si)nals8 The acceleration o!
semiotic transmission and the proli!eration o! sources o! in!ormation
193
trans!ormed the perception o! livin) time8 The in!o#sphere became more rapid
and dense, and sensibility under4ent a process o! increasin) e/posure to the
!lo4 o! in!o#stimuli8 +ue to an intensi!ication o! electronic si)nals, sensibility
4as dra))ed into a verti)o o! simulated stimulation that increased its speed to
panic levels8
The perception o! the other and its body is reshaped, too8 &ressure,
acceleration and automation a!!ect )estural, postural behavior and the 4hole
o! social pro/emics, the disposition and interaction o! bodies in space8 At the
!oundation o! social pro/emics lies a 4ay o! elaboratin), hidin), e/citin) or
repressin) eroticism8 %ocial pro/emics intervene to chan)e the disposition o!
the bodies that meet in the street and are nearby in the o!!ice or at school8
%ocieties e/perience conditions o! varyin) de)rees o! tension and
a))ressiveness also accordin) to ho4 they develop eroticism in the circulation
o! bodies8
Throu)hout the history o! civilization, perception has been molded by
arti!icial re)imes o! ima)es and techni.ues o! representation8 Throu)h di)ital
technolo)y the ima)e be)ins to proli!erate verti)inously and our !aculty o!
ima)ination under)oes vortices o! acceleration8 The ima)e should not be
considered as the brute perception o! empirical data brou)ht to our visual
attention by matter0 it is rather the e!!ect o! a semi#conscious elaboration8 The
technical mode in 4hich 4e receive and elaborate ima)es acts upon the
!ormation o! the ima)inary8 The ima)inary in turn shapes the ima)ination, the
activity 4hereby 4e produce ima)es, and ima)ine 4orlds and thus make them
possible in real li!e8 The repertoire o! ima)es at our disposal limits, e/alts,
ampli!ies or circumscribes the !orms o! li!e and events that, throu)h our
ima)ination, 4e can pro<ect onto the 4orld, put into bein), build and inhabit8
Techno#communicative and psycho#co)nitive mutations are as interdependent
as the or)anism and its ecosystem8 The conscious or)anism is also sensuous= it
is a bundle o! sensitive receptors8 The 4orld 4e inhabit increasin)ly resembles
the outcome o! a pro<ective zappin) 4here 4e combine se.uences o! di!!erent
lin)uistic derivations8 The social unconscious does not easily adapt to this
trans!ormation o! the in!o#sphere, because the social investment o! desire is
structured around the nucleus o! identity, and this nucleus is !leein) and
dissolvin) in all directions8
%uddenly a4oken by the eruption o! semiotic proli!eration, and deprived o!
the !ilters that the critical and disciplinary mind o! modernity once possessed,
the conscious or)anism reacts 4ith panic8 The communicative po4er o! di)ital
technolo)y produces an e/cess o! in!ormation 4ith respect to the time o!
attention socially available8 2o4 is sensibility rede!ined and ho4 does it adapt
to over stimulation7
( think that the e!!ect o! semiocapitalist acceleration and over#e/ploitation o!
nervous ener)ies is e/haustion8 -ervous breakdo4n, psychopatholo)y, panic,
depression, suicidal epidemic8 5A titanic battle is about to be)in, a +ar4inian
19B
stru))le bet4een competin) psychopathies6, says Ballard in "uper'/annes,
the book about the psychic catastrophe o! the virtual class, published in the
year 39998


%&haustion: *e-*eadin) Baudrillard

The concept o! e/haustion entered public discourse in the 1>?9s 4ith the
publication o! Limits to Gro*th, the eport o! the Club o! ome0

"nder the direction o! a team o! systems analysts based at Massachusetts
(nstitute o! Technolo)yD, the report )ave voice to the prevailin) consensus
that Fordist manu!acture had entered a period o! irreversible decline8 But it
also brou)ht somethin) palpably ne4 to the analysis8 (! there 4as a crisis in
the o!!in), it 4as not one that could be measured in conventional economic
terms : a crisis in productivity or economic )ro4th rates : but rather a
4holesale crisis in the realm o! reproduction8 For the Club o! ome 4hat 4as
at stake 4as no less than the continuin) reproduction o! the earth;s biosphere
and hence the !uture o! li!e on earth8 The most visible si)ns o! the impendin)
crisis 4ere there!ore to be !ound in the e/istence o! all kind o! ecolo)ical
dise.uilibria, e/haustion, and breakdo4n, !rom risin) levels o! pollution to
!amine and the increase in e/tinction rates8 @Cooper 399G0 1F#1CA

The eport re!ers to the physical resources, not to the dan)ers o! over#
e/ploitation o! the nervous ener)ies o! the social mind8 But the eport cried
havoc, because !or the !irst time the intrinsic impossibility o! unlimited )ro4th
4as revealed8 (n her remarkable book, Melinda Cooper relates the concept o!
e/haustion to the biolo)ical !ield, and also to the !ield o! mental ener)y8
Cooper 4rites0

T4enty years later, armed 4ith more sophisticated modelin) tools, the same
team came up 4ith a sli)htly more nuanced pro)nosis !or the !uture8 'imits to
)ro4th, they no4 ar)ued, 4ere time#like rather than space#like8 This meant
that 4e mi)ht have already )one beyond the threshold at 4hich an essential
resource such as oil could be sustainably consumed, lon) be!ore 4e 4ould
notice its actual depletion8 (n !act, it 4as hi)hly probable accordin) to the
report;s author, that 4e 4ere already livin) beyond our limit, in a state o!
suspended crisis, innocently 4aitin) !or the !uture to boomeran) back in our
!aces8 Time is in !act the ultimate limit in the 4orld;s model8 @Cooper 399G0
1C#1?A

Time is in the mind8 The essential limit to )ro4th is the mental impossibility
to enhance time @CybertimeA beyond a certain level8 ( think that 4e are here
19E
touchin) upon a crucial point8 The process o! re#composition, o! conscious
and collective sub<ectivation, !inds here a ne4 : parado/ical : 4ay8 Modern
radical thou)ht has al4ays seen the process o! sub<ectivation as an ener)etic
process0 mobilization, social desire and political activism, e/pression,
participation have been the modes o! conscious collective sub<ectivation in the
a)e o! the revolutions8 But in our a)e ener)y is runnin) out, and desire 4hich
has )iven soul to modern social dynamics is absorbed in the black hole o!
virtualization and !inancial )ames, as Mean Baudrillard @1>>BaA ar)ues in his
book "ymbolic Echan)e and +eath, !irst published in 1>?C8 (n this book
Baudrillard analyzes the hyper#realistic sta)e o! capitalism, and the
instauration o! the lo)ic o! simulation8

eality itsel! !ounders in hyperrealism, the meticulous reduplication o! the
real, pre!erably throu)h another, reproductive medium, such as photo)raphy8
From medium to medium, the real is volatilized, becomin) an alle)ory o!
death8 But it is also, in a sense, rein!orced throu)h its o4n destruction8 (t
becomes reality !or its o4n sake, the !etishism o! the lost ob<ect0 no lon)er the
ob<ect o! representation, but the ecstasy o! denial and o! its o4n ritual
e/termination0 the hyperreal8 JDK
The reality principle corresponds to a certain sta)e o! the la4 o! value8 Today
the 4hole system is s4amped by indeterminacy, and every reality is absorbed
by the hyperreality o! the code and simulation8 The principle o! simulation
)overns us no4, rather that the outdated reality principle8 1e !eed on those
!orms 4hose !inalities have disappeared8 -o more ideolo)y, only simulacra8
1e must there!ore reconstruct the entire )enealo)y o! the la4 o! value and its
simulacra in order to )rasp the he)emony and the enchantment o! the current
system8 A structural revolution o! value8 This )enealo)y must cover political
economy, 4here it 4ill appear as a second#order simulacrum, <ust like all
those that stake everythin) on the real0 the real o! production, the real o!
si)ni!ication, 4hether conscious or unconscious8 Capital no lon)er belon)s to
the order o! political economy0 it operates 4ith political economy as its
simulated model8 The entire apparatus o! the commodity la4 o! value is
absorbed and recycled in the lar)er apparatus o! the structural la4 o! value,
this becomin) part o! the third order o! simulacra8 &olitical economy is thus
assured a second li!e, an eternity, 4ithin the con!ines o! an apparatus in 4hich
it has lost all its strict determinacy, but maintains an e!!ective presence as a
system o! re!erence !or simulation8 @Baudrillard 1>>Ba0 3A

%imulation is the ne4 plane o! consistency o! capitalist )ro4th0 !inancial
speculation, !or instance, has displaced the process o! e/ploitation !rom the
sphere o! material production to the sphere o! e/pectations, desire, and
immaterial labor8 The simulation process @CyberspaceA is proli!eratin) 4ithout
limits, irradiatin) si)ns that )o every4here in the attention market8 The brain
19F
is the market, in semiocapitalist hyper#reality8 And the brain is not limitless,
the brain cannot e/pand and accelerate inde!initely8
The process o! collective sub<ectivation @i8e8 social recompositionA implies the
development o! a common lan)ua)e#a!!ection 4hich is essentially happenin)
in the temporal dimension8 The semiocapitalist acceleration o! time has
destroyed the social possibility o! sensitive elaboration o! the semio#!lo48 The
proli!eration o! simulacra in the in!o#sphere has saturated the space o!
attention and ima)ination8 Advertisin) and stimulated hyper#e/pression @5<ust
do it6A, have submitted the ener)ies o! the social psyche to permanent
mobilization8 E/haustion !ollo4s, and e/haustion is the only 4ay o! escape0

-othin), not even the system, can avoid the symbolic obli)ation, and it is in
this trap that the only chance o! a catastrophe !or capital remains8 The system
turns on itsel!, as a scorpion does 4hen encircled by the challen)e o! death8
For it is summoned to ans4er, i! it is not to lose !ace, to 4hat can only be
death8 The system must itsel! commit suicide in response to the multiplied
challen)e o! death and suicide8 %o hosta)es are taken8 *n the symbolic or
sacri!icial plane, !rom 4hich every moral consideration o! the innocence o!
the victims is ruled out the hosta)e is the substitute, the alter#e)o o! the
terrorist, the hosta)e;s death !or the terrorist8 2osta)e and terrorist may
therea!ter become con!used in the same sacri!icial act8 @Baudrillard 1>>Ba0 B?A

(n these impressive pa)es Baudrillard outlines the end o! the modern dialectics
o! revolution a)ainst po4er, o! the labor movement a)ainst capitalist
domination, and predicts the advent o! a ne4 !orm o! action 4hich 4ill be
marked by the sacri!icial )i!t o! death @and sel!#annihilationA8 A!ter the
destruction o! the 1orld Trade Center in the most important terrorist act ever,
Baudrillard 4rote a short te/t titled The "pirit o! Terrorism 4here he )oes
back to his o4n predictions and reco)nizes the emer)ence o! a catastrophic
a)e8 1hen the code becomes the enemy the only strate)y can be catastrophic0

all the counterphobic ravin)s about e/orcizin) evil0 it is because it is there,
every4here, like an obscure ob<ect o! desire8 1ithout this deep#seated
complicity, the event 4ould not have had the resonance it has, and in their
symbolic strate)y the terrorists doubtless kno4 that they can count on this
unavo4able complicity8 @Baudrillard 399B0 CA

This )oes much !urther than hatred !or the dominant )lobal po4er by the
disinherited and the e/ploited, those 4ho !ell on the 4ron) side o! )lobal
order8 This mali)nant desire is in the very heart o! those 4ho share this order;s
bene!its8 An aller)y to all de!initive order, to all de!initive po4er is happily
universal, and the t4o to4ers o! the 1orld Trade Center embodied per!ectly,
in their very double#ness @literally t4in#nessA, this de!initive order0
19C

-o need, then, !or a death drive or a destructive instinct, or even !or perverse,
unintended e!!ects8 ,ery lo)ically : ine/orably : the increase in the po4er
hei)htens the 4ill to destroy it8 And it 4as party to its o4n destruction8 1hen
the t4o to4ers collapsed, you had the impression that they 4ere respondin) to
the suicide o! the suicide#planes 4ith their o4n suicides8 (t has been said that
5Even God cannot declare 4ar on 2imsel!86 1ell, 2e can8 The 1est, in
position o! God @divine omnipotence and absolute moral le)itimacyA, has
become suicidal, and declared 4ar on itsel!8 @Baudrillard 399B0 C#?A

(n Baudrillard;s catastrophic vision ( see a ne4 4ay o! thinkin) sub<ectivity0 a
reversal o! the ener)etic sub<ectivation that animates the revolutionary theories
o! the 39th century, and the openin) o! an implosive theory o! subversion,
based on depression and e/haustion8
(n the activist vie4 e/haustion is seen as the inability o! the social body to
escape the vicious destiny that capitalism has prepared0 deactivation o! the
social ener)ies that once upon a time animated democracy and political
stru))le8 But e/haustion could also become the be)innin) o! a slo4 movement
to4ards a 54u 4ei6 civilization, based on the 4ithdra4al, and !ru)al
e/pectations o! li!e and consumption8 adicalism could abandon the mode o!
activism, and adopt the mode o! passivity8 A radical passivity 4ould de!initely
threaten the ethos o! relentless productivity that neoliberal politics has
imposed8
The mother o! all the bubbles, the 4ork bubble, 4ould !inally de!late8 1e have
been 4orkin) too much durin) the last three or !our centuries, and
outra)eously too much durin) the last thirty years8 The current depression
could be the be)innin) o! a massive abandonment o! competition, consumerist
drive, and o! dependence on 4ork8 Actually, i! 4e think o! the )eopolitical
stru))le o! the !irst decade : the stru))le bet4een 1estern domination and
<ihadist (slam : 4e reco)nize that the most po4er!ul 4eapon has been suicide8
>L11 is the most impressive act o! this suicidal 4ar, but thousands o! people
have killed themselves in order to destroy American military he)emony8 And
they 4on, !orcin) the 4estern 4orld into the bunker o! paranoid security, and
de!eatin) the hyper#technolo)ical armies o! the 1est both in (ra., and in
A!)hanistan8
The suicidal implosion has not been con!ined to the (slamists8 %uicide has
became a !orm o! political action every4here8 A)ainst neoliberal politics,
(ndian !armers have killed themselves8 A)ainst e/ploitation hundreds o!
4orkers and employees have killed themselves in the French !actories o!
&eu)eot, and in the o!!ices o! France Telecom8 (n (taly, 4hen the 399>
recession destroyed one million <obs, many 4orkers, haunted by the !ear o!
unemployment, climbed on the roo!s o! the !actories, threatenin) to kill
themselves8 (s it possible to divert this implosive trend !rom the direction o!
19?
death, murder, and suicide, to4ards a ne4 kind o! autonomy, social creativity
and o! li!e7
( think that it is possible only i! 4e start !rom e/haustion, i! 4e emphasize the
creative side o! 4ithdra4al8 The e/chan)e bet4een li!e and money could be
deserted, and e/haustion could )ive 4ay to a hu)e 4ave o! 4ithdra4al !rom
the sphere o! economic e/chan)e8 A ne4 re!rain could emer)e in that moment,
and 4ipe out the la4 o! economic )ro4th8 The sel!#or)anization o! the )eneral
intellect could abandon the la4 o! accumulation and )ro4th, and start a ne4
concatenation, 4here collective intelli)ence is only sub<ected to the common
)ood8


4ecronomy

The )lobal recession started o!!icially in %eptember 399G and lasted o!!icially
until the summer o! 399>8 %ince the summer o! 399> the o!!icial truth in the
media, in political statements, in economic talk 4as0 recovery8 The stock
e/chan)e be)an to rise a)ain and the banks started a)ain payin) hu)e bonuses
to their mana)ers and so on8
Mean4hile, unemployment 4as e/plodin) every4here, salaries 4ere !allin),
4el!are 4as curtailed, >9 million more are e/pected to <oin the army o!
poverty in the ne/t year8 (s this recovery7 *ur conditional re!le/ @in!luenced
by the Oeynesian kno4led)e that recovery is the recovery o! the 5real
economy6A ans4ered0 no, this is not recovery, capitalism cannot recover only
by !inancial means8
But 4e should re!rame our vision8 Finance is no lon)er a mere tool o!
capitalist )ro4th8 The !inancialization o! capitalism has made !inance the very
)round o! accumulation, as Christian Marazzi @3919A has e/plained in recent
4orks such as The (iolence o! Financial /apitalism8
(n the sphere o! semiocapitalism, !inancial si)ns are not only si)ni!iers
pointin) to some re!erents8 The distinction bet4een si)n and re!erent is over8
The si)n is the thin), the product, the process8 The 5real6 economy and
!inancial e/pectations are no lon)er distinct spheres8 (n the past, 4hen riches
4ere created in the sphere o! industrial production, 4hen !inance 4as only a
tool !or the mobilization o! capital to invest in the !ield o! material production,
recovery could not be limited to the !inancial sphere8 (t took also employment
and demand8 (ndustrial capitalism could not )ro4 i! society did not )ro48
-o4adays 4e must accept the idea that !inancial capitalism can recover and
thrive 4ithout social recovery8 %ocial li!e has become residual, redundant,
irrelevant8
The !inancial cycle is bleedin) the social environment dry0 suckin) ener)ies,
resources, and the !uture8 And )ivin) nothin) back8 ecovery o! the !inancial
process o! valorization o! capital is totally separated !rom the cycle o! material
19G
production and social demand8 Financial capitalism has obtained autonomy
!rom social li!e8
'et;s consider the political side o! the same problem0 once upon a time 4hen
society 4as su!!erin) the blo4s o! recession, 4orkers reacted 4ith strikes,
stru))le and political or)anization, and !orced state intervention in order to
increase demand8 (ndustrial )ro4th needed mass consumption and social
stability8 1hat is impressive in the on)oin) crisis, on the contrary, is the
4idespread passivity o! the 4orkers, their inability to unionize8 The political
trend in Europe is the meltdo4n o! le!tist parties and the labor movement8 (n
the "%, *bama is daily attacked by racist and populist mobs, but no
pro)ressive social movement is emer)in)8 183 million people have had their
mort)a)es !oreclosed upon and lost their houses !ollo4in) the sub#prime
s4indle, but no or)anized reaction has sur!aced8 &eople su!!er and cry alone8
(n the old time o! industrial capitalism, the 4orkin) class could !i)ht a)ainst a
tar)et that 4as precisely identi!ied0 the boss, the entrepreneur 4ho 4as the
o4ner o! material thin)s like the !actory, and o! the product o! his laborers8
-o4adays the boss has vanished8 2e is !ra)mented into billions o! !inancial
se)ments, and disseminated into millions o! !inancial a)ents scattered all
around the 4orld8 The 4orkers themselves are part o! recombinant !inancial
capital8 They are e/pectin) !uture revenues !rom their pension !und
investments8 They o4n stock options in the enterprise e/ploitin) their labor8
They are hooked up, like a !ly in a spider 4eb, and i! they move, they )et
stran)led, but i! they don;t move, the spider 4ill suck their li!e !rom them8
%ociety may rot, !all apart, a)onize8 (t is not )oin) to a!!ect the political and
economic stability o! capitalism8 1hat is called economic recovery is a ne4
round o! social devastation8
%o the recession is over, capitalism is recoverin)8 -onetheless, unemployment
is risin) and misery is spreadin)8 This means that !inancial capitalism is
autonomous !rom society8 Capitalism doesn;t need 4orkers0 it <ust needs
cellular !ractals o! labor, underpaid, precarious, de#personalised8 Fra)ments o!
impersonal nervous ener)y, recombined by the net4ork8 The crisis is )oin) to
push !or4ard technolo)ical chan)e, and the substitution o! human labor 4ith
machines8 The employment rate is not )oin) to rise in the !uture, and
productivity 4ill increase8 A shrinkin) number o! 4orkers 4ill be !orced to
produce more and more, and to 4ork overtime8
The real bubble is the 4ork bubble8 1e have been 4orkin) too much=
4e are still 4orkin) too much8 The human race does not need more )oods, it
needs a redistribution o! e/istin) )oods, an intelli)ent application o!
technolo)y and a 4orld4ide cut in the li!etime dedicated to labor8 %ocial
ener)ies have to be !reed !rom labor dependence, and returned to the !ield o!
social a!!ection, education, and therapy8
1e should take seriously the concept o! autonomy8 (n the present condition
autonomy means e/odus !rom the domain o! economic la40 Out'onomy,
19>
abandonment o! the !ield o! economic e/chan)e, sel!#or)anization o!
kno4led)e and o! production in a sphere o! social li!e 4hich is no lon)er
dependent on economic culture and e/pectations : barter, !ree e/chan)e o!
time and o! competence, !ood sel! reliance, occupation o! territories in the
cities, or)anization o! sel!#de!ense8
The !antastic collapse that has shaken the )lobal economy since %eptember
399G has opened a ne4 phase in the history o! the 4orld8 A!ter some months
o! amazement and con!usion, media, political institutions and economists have
started to repeat the sel!#reassurin) mantra0 recovery is comin) soon8 ( do not
kno4 4hat 4ill happen ne/t, but ( think that the 4ord recovery means very
little in the current situation8 1hat is sure, in my opinion, is that the 4orkers
4ill not recover i! neoliberal ideolo)y is not abandoned, and i! the myth o!
)ro4th is not substituted 4ith a ne4 kind o! narration8 "nemployment is
risin) every4here and salaries are !allin)8 And the hu)e debt accumulated !or
the rescue o! the banks is 4ei)hin) upon the !uture o! society8
More than ever, economic rationality is at odds 4ith social rationality8
Economic science is not part o! the solution to the crisis0 it is the source o! the
problem8 *n Muly 1Gth 399> the headline o! The Economist read0 51hat 4ent
4ron) 4ith economics76 The te/t is an attempt to do4nplay the crisis o! the
Economics pro!ession, and o! economic kno4led)e8 For neoliberal economists
the central do)ma o! )ro4th, pro!it and competition cannot be .uestioned,
because it is identi!ied 4ith the per!ect mathematical rationality o! the market8
And belie! in the intrinsic rationality o! the market is crucial in the economic
theolo)y o! neoliberalism8
But the reduction o! social li!e to the rational e/chan)e o! economic values is
an obsession that has nothin) to do 4ith science8 (t;s a political strate)y aimed
to identi!y humans as calculatin) machines, aimed to shape behavior and
perception in such a 4ay that money becomes the only motivation o! social
action8 But it is not accurate as a description o! social dynamics, and the
con!licts, patholo)ies, and irrationality o! human relationships8 ather, it is an
attempt at creatin) the anthropolo)ical brand o! homo calculans that Foucault
@399GA has described in his seminar o! 1>?>LG9, published 4ith the title The
8irth o! 8iopolitics8
This attempt to identi!y human bein)s 4ith calculatin) devices has produced
cultural devastation, and has !inally been sho4ed to have been based upon
!la4ed assumptions8 2uman bein)s do calculate, but their calculation is not
per!ectly rational, because the value o! )oods is not determined by ob<ective
reasons, and because decisions are in!luenced by 4hat Oeynes named animal
spirits8 51e 4ill never really understand important economic events unless 4e
con!ront the !act that their causes are lar)ely mental in nature,6 say Akerlo!
and %hiller @399>0 1A in their book Animal "pirits, echoin) Oeynes;s
assumption that the rationality o! the market is not per!ect in itsel!8 Akerlo!
and %hiller are avo4in) the crisis o! neoliberal thou)ht, but their criti.ue is
119
not radical enou)h, and does not touch the le)itimacy o! the economic
episteme8
Animal "pirits is the title o! an other book, by Matteo &as.uinelli @399GA8
&as.uinelli;s book deals 4ith bodies and di)its, and parasites, and )oes much
deeper in its understandin) o! the roots o! the crisis than its eponymous
publication0 5Co)nitive capitalism emer)es in the !orm o! a parasite0 it
sub<ects social kno4led)e and inhibits its emancipatory potential6 @&as.uinelli
399G0 >BA8 5Beyond the computer screen, precarious 4orkers and !reelancers
e/perience ho4 Free 'abor and competition are increasin)ly devourin) their
everyday li!e6 @&as.uinelli 399G0 1FA8
&as.uinelli )oes to the core o! the problem0 the virtualization o! social
production has acted as the proli!eration o! a parasite, destroyin) the
prere.uisites o! livin) relationships, absorbin) and neutralizin) the livin)
ener)ies o! co)nitive 4orkers8 The economic recession is not only the e!!ect o!
!inancial craziness, but also the e!!ect o! the de#vitalization o! the social !ield8
This is 4hy the collapse o! the economic system is also the collapse o!
economic epistemolo)y that has )uided the direction o! politics in the last t4o
centuries8
Economics cannot understand the depth o! the crisis, because belo4 the crisis
o! !inancial e/chan)e there is the crisis o! symbolic e/chan)e8 ( mean the
psychotic boom o! panic, depression, and suicide, the )eneral decline o! desire
and social empathy8 The .uestion that rises !rom the collapse is so radical that
the ans4er cannot be !ound in the economic conceptual !rame4ork8
Furthermore, one must ask i! economics really is a science7 (! the 4ord
5science6 means the creation o! concepts !or the understandin) and
description o! an ob<ect, economics is not a science8 (ts ob<ect does not e/ist8
The economic ob<ect @scarcity, salaried labor, and pro!itA is not an ob<ect that
e/ists be!ore and outside the per!ormative action o! the economic episteme8
&roduction, consumption, and daily li!e become part o! the economic
discourse 4hen labor is detached and opposed to human activity, 4hen it !alls
under the domination o! capitalist rule8
The economic ob<ect does not pre#e/ist conceptual activity, and economic
description is in !act a normative action8 (n this sense Economics is a
techni.ue, a process o! semiotization o! the 4orld, and also a mytholo)y, a
narration8 Economics is a su))estion and a cate)orical imperative0

Money makes thin)s happen8 (t is the source o! action in the 4orld and
perhaps the only po4er 4e invest in8 'i!e seems to depend on it8 Everythin)
4ithin us 4ould like to say that it does not, that this cannot be8 But the
Almi)hty +ollar has taken command8 The more it is denied the more it sho4s
itsel! as Almi)hty8 &erhaps in every other respect, in every other value,
bankruptcy has been declared, )ivin) money the po4er o! some sacred deity,
demandin) to be reco)nized8 Economics no lon)er persuades money to
111
behave8 -umbers cannot make the beast lie do4n and be .uiet or sit up and do
tricks8 At best, economics is a neurosis o! money, a symptom contrived to hold
the beast in abeyanceD8 Thus economics shares the lan)ua)e o!
psychopatholo)y : in!lation, depression, lo4s and hi)hs, slumps and peaks,
investments and losses8 @%ordello 1>GBA

From the a)e o! the enclosures in En)land the economic process has been a
process o! production o! scarcity @scarci!icationA8 The enclosures 4ere
intended to scarci!y the land, and the basic means o! survival, so that people
4ho so !ar had been able to cultivate !ood !or their !amily 4ere !orced to
become proletarians, then salaried industrial 4orkers8 Capitalism is based on
the arti!icial creation o! need, and economic science is essentially a techni.ue
o! scarci!ication o! time, li!e and !ood8 (nside the condition o! scarcity human
bein)s are sub<ected to e/ploitation and to the domain o! pro!it#oriented
activity8 A!ter scarci!yin) the land @enclosuresA capitalism has scarci!ied time
itsel!, !orcin) people 4ho don;t have property other than their o4n li!e and
body, to lend their li!e#time to capital8 -o4 the capitalist obsession !or )ro4th
is makin) scarce both 4ater and air8
Economic science is not the science o! prediction0 it is the techni.ue o!
producin), implementin), and pushin) scarcity and need8 This is 4hy Mar/
did not speak o! economy, but o! political economy8 The techni.ue o!
economic scarci!ication is based on a mytholo)y, a narration that identi!ies
richness as property and ac.uisition, and sub<u)ates the possibility o! livin) to
the lendin) o! time and to the trans!ormation o! human activity into salaried
4ork8
(n recent decades, technolo)ical chan)e has slo4ly eroded the very
!oundations o! economic science8 %hi!tin) !rom the sphere o! production o!
material ob<ects to the semiocapitalist production o! immaterial )oods, the
Economic concepts are losin) their !oundation and le)itimacy8 The basic
cate)ories o! Economics are becomin) totally arti!icial8
The theoretical <usti!ication o! private property, as you read in the 4ritin)s o!
Mohn 'ocke, is based on the need o! e/clusive consumption8 An apple must be
privatized, i! you 4ant to avoid the dan)er that someone else eats your apple8
But 4hat happens 4hen )oods are immaterial, in!initely replicable 4ithout
cost7 Thanks to di)italization and immaterialization o! the production process,
the economic nomos o! private property loses its )round, its raison d;etre, and
it can be imposed only by !orce8 Furthermore, the very !oundation o! salary,
the relationship bet4een time needed !or production and value o! the product,
is vanishin)8 The immaterialization and co)nitivization o! production makes it
almost impossible to .uanti!y the avera)e time needed to produce value8 Time
and value become incommensurable, and violence becomes the only la4 able
to determine price and salary8
The neoliberal school, 4hich has opened the 4ay to the 4orld4ide
113
dere)ulation o! social production, has !ostered the mytholo)y o! rational
e/pectations in economic e/chan)e, and has touted the idea o! a sel!#
re)ulation o! the market, !irst o! all the labor#market8 But sel!#re)ulation is a
lie8 (n order to increase e/ploitation, and to destroy social 4el!are, )lobal
capitalism has used political institutions like the (nternational Monetary Fund
and the 1orld Trade *r)anization, not to mention the military en!orcement o!
the political decisions o! these institutions8 Far !rom bein) sel!#re)ulated, the
market is militarily re)ulated8
The mytholo)y o! !ree individuals loyally competin) on the base o! per!ect
kno4led)e o! the market is a lie, too8 eal human bein)s are not per!ect
rational calculatin) machines8 And the myth o! rational e/pectations has
!inally crashed a!ter the e/plosion o! the real estate mort)a)e bubble8 The
theory o! rational e/pectation is crucial in neoliberal thou)ht0 the economic
a)ents are supposed to be !ree to choose in a per!ectly rational 4ay the best
deal in sellin) and buyin)8 The !raud perpetrated by the investment a)encies
has destroyed the lives o! millions o! Americans, and has e/posed the
theoretical s4indle8
Economic e/chan)e cannot be described as a rational )ame, because irrational
!actors play a crucial role in social li!e in )eneral8 Trickery, misleadin)
in!ormation, and psychic manipulation are not e/ceptions, but the pro!essional
tools o! advertisers, !inancial a)ents, and economic consultants8
The idea that social relationships can be described in mathematical terms has
the !orce o! myth, but it is not science, and it has nothin) to do 4ith natural
la48 -ot4ithstandin) the !ailure o! the theory, neoliberal politics are still in
control o! the )lobal machine, because the criminal class that has seized po4er
has no intention o! steppin) do4n, and because the social brain is unable to
recompose and !ind the 4ay o! sel!#or)anization8 ( read in the Ne* <ork Times
on %eptember Cth 399>0

A!ter the mort)a)e business imploded last year, 1all %treet investment banks
be)an searchin) !or another bi) idea to make money8 They think they may
have !ound one8 The bankers plan to buy 5li!e settlements,6 li!e insurance
policies that ill and elderly people sell !or cash, dependin) on the li!e
e/pectancy o! the insured person8 Then they plan to 5securitize6 these policies,
in 1all %treet <ar)on, by packa)in) hundreds o! thousands to)ether into bonds8
They 4ill then resell those bonds to investors, like bi) pension !unds, 4ho 4ill
receive the payouts 4hen people 4ith the insurance die8 The earlier the
policyholder dies, the bi))er the return, thou)h i! people live lon)er than
e/pected investors could )et poor returns or even lose money8

(ma)ine that ( buy an insurance policy on my li!e @somethin) ( 4ould
absolutely not doA8 My insurer o! course 4ill 4ish me a lon) li!e, so (;ll pay
the !ee !or a lon) time, 4hile he should pay lots o! money to my !amily i! (
11B
die8 But some enli)htened !inance )uru has the brilliant idea o! insurin) the
insurer8 2e buys the risk, and he invests on the hope that ( die soon8 Hou don;t
need the ima)ination o! &hilip O8 +ick to )uess the !ollo4 up o! the story0
!inancial a)ents 4ill be motivated to kill me overni)ht8
The talk o! recovery is based on necronomy, the economy o! death8 (t;s not
ne4, as capitalism has al4ays pro!ited !rom 4ars, slau)hters and )enocides8
But no4 the e.uation becomes une.uivocal8 +eath is the promise, death is the
investment and the hope8 +eath is the best !uture that capitalism may secure8
The lo)ic o! speculation is di!!erent !rom the lo)ic o! spectacle that 4as
dominant in late#modern times8 %pectacle is the mirrorization o! li!e, the
trans!er o! li!e in the mirror o! spectacular accumulation8 %peculation is the
sub<u)ation o! the !uture to its !inancial mirror, the substitution o! present li!e
4ith !uture money that 4ill never come, because death 4ill come be!ore8
The lesson that 4e must learn !rom the !irst year o! the )lobal recession is sad0
neoliberal !olly is not )oin) a4ay, the !inancial plun)ers 4ill not stop their
speculation, and corporations 4ill not stop their e/ploitation, and the political
class, lar)ely controlled by the corporate lobbies, is un4illin) or unable to
protect society !rom the !inal assault8
(n 1>>C M8 G8 Ballard @1>>C0 1GGA 4rote0 5the most per!ect crime o! all : 4hen
the victims are either 4illin), or aren;t a4are that they are victims68
+emocracy seems unable to stop the criminal class that has seized control o!
the economy, because the decisions are no lon)er made in the sphere o!
political opinion, but in the inaccessible sphere o! economic automatism8 The
economy has been declared the basic standard o! decision, and the economists
have systematically identi!ied Economy 4ith the capitalist obsession o!
)ro4th8 -o room !or political choice has been le!t, as the corporate principles
have been embedded in the technical !abric o! lan)ua)e and ima)ination8


"in)ularity Insurrection

Activism has )enerally conceived the process o! sub<ectivation in terms o!
resistance8 (n his book dedicated to Foucault, Gilles +eleuze speaks about
sub<ectivity, and identi!ies processes o! sub<ectivation and resistance0 5(s not
li!e this capacity to resist !orce76 @+eleuze 1>GG0 ??A8 ( think that it is time to
ask0 4hat i! society can no more resist the destroyin) e!!ects o! unbounded
capitalism7 1hat i! society can no more resist the devastatin) po4er o!
!inancial accumulation7 The identi!ication o! the sub<ect 4ith resistance is
dan)erous in a certain sense8 +eleuze himsel! has 4ritten that 4hen 4e escape
4e are not only escapin), but also lookin) !or a ne4 4eapon8
1e have to disentan)le autonomy !rom resistance8 And i! 4e 4ant to do it 4e
have to disentan)le desire !rom ener)y8 The prevailin) !ocus o! modern
capitalism has been ener)y, the ability to produce, to compete, to dominate8 A
11E
sort o! Ener)olatria has dominated the cultural scene o! the 1est since Faust
to the Futurists8 The ever )ro4in) availability o! ener)y has been its do)ma8
-o4 4e kno4 that ener)y is not boundless8 (n the social psyche o! the 1est,
ener)y is !adin) a4ay8 ( think that 4e should re!rame the concept and the
practice o! autonomy !rom this point o! vie48 The social body has become
unable to rea!!irm its ri)hts a)ainst the 4ild assertiveness o! capital, because
the pursuit o! ri)hts can never be dissociated !rom the e/ercise o! !orce8
1hen 4orkers 4ere stron) in the 1>C9s and ;?9s they did not restrict
themselves to askin) !or their ri)hts, to peace!ul demonstrations o! their 4ill8
They acted in solidarity, re!usin) to 4ork, redistributin) 4ealth, sharin)
thin)s, services and spaces8 Capitalists, on their side, do not merely ask or
demonstrate, they do not simply declare their 4ish, they enact i!8 They make
thin)s happen, they invest, disinvest, displace, they destroy and they build8
*nly !orce makes autonomy possible in the relation bet4een capital and
society8 But 4hat is !orce7 1hat is !orce no4adays7
The identi!ication o! desire 4ith ener)y has produced the identi!ication o!
!orce 4ith violence that turned out so badly !or the (talian movement in the
1>?9s and ;G9s8 1e have to distin)uish ener)y and desire8 Ener)y is !allin),
desire has to be saved nevertheless8 %imilarly, 4e have to distin)uish !orce
!rom violence8 Fi)htin) po4er 4ith violence is suicidal or useless, no4adays8
2o4 can 4e think o! activists )oin) a)ainst pro!essional or)anizations o!
killers in the mold o! Black4ater, 2aliburton, secret services, ma!ias7
*nly suicide has proved to be e!!icient in the stru))le a)ainst po4er8 And
actually suicide has become decisive in the history o! our time8 The dark side
o! the multitude meets here the loneliness o! death8 Activist culture should
avoid the dan)er o! becomin) a culture o! resentment8 Ackno4led)in) the
irreversibility o! the catastrophic trends that capitalism has inscribed in the
history o! society does not mean to renounce it8 *n the contrary, 4e have
today a ne4 cultural task0 to live the inevitable 4ith a rela/ed soul8 To call
!orth a bi) 4ave o! 4ithdra4al, o! massive dissociation, o! desertion !rom the
scene o! the economy, o! non#participation in the !ake sho4 o! politics8 The
crucial !ocus o! social trans!ormation is creative sin)ularity8 The e/istence o!
sin)ularities is not to be conceived as a personal 4ay to salvation, they may
become a conta)ious !orce8
5Hes 4e can6, the headline o! the campai)n o! Barack *bama, the three 4ords
that mobilized the hope and political ener)ies o! the American people in 399G,
have a disturbin) echo <ust one year a!ter the victory o! the democratic
candidate8 These 4ords sound like an e/orcism much more than like a
promise8 5Hes 4e can6 may be read as a lapse in the Freudian sense, a si)n
comin) !rom the collective subconscious, a diversion !rom the hidden intuition
that 4e can no more8 The mantra o! Barack *bama has )athered the ener)ies
o! the best part o! the American people, and collected the best o! the American
cultural le)acy8
11F
But 4hat about the results7 %o !ar *bama has been unable to deal 4ith the
)lobal environmental threats, the e!!ects o! the )eopolitical disaster produced
by Cheney#Bush, the e!!ects o! the po4er!ul lobbies imposin) the interest o!
the corporations @!or instance, o! the private health insurersA8 1hen 4e think
o! the ecolo)ical catastrophe, o! )eopolitical threats, o! economic collapse
provoked by the !inancial politics o! neoliberalism, it;s hard to dispel the
!eelin) that irreversible trends are already at 4ork inside the 4orld machine8
&olitical 4ill seems paralyzed in the !ace o! the economic po4er o! the
criminal class8
The a)e o! modern social civilization seems on the brink o! dissolution, and it
is hard to ima)ine ho4 society 4ill be able to react8 Modern civilization 4as
based on the conver)ence and inte)ration o! the capitalist e/ploitation o! labor
!orce and the political re)ulation o! social con!lict8 The re)ulator %tate, the
heir o! Enli)htenment and %ocialism has been the )uarantor o! human ri)hts
and the ne)otiator o! social balance8 1hen, at the end o! a !erocious class#
stru))le bet4een 4ork and capital : but also inside the capitalist class itsel! :
the !inancial class has seized po4er by destroyin) the le)al re)ulation and
trans!ormin) the social composition, the entire edi!ice o! modern civilization
has be)un to crumble8
%ocial +ar4inist ideolo)y has le)itimized the violent imposition o! the la4 o!
the stron)est, and the very !oundations o! democracy have been reduced to
rubble8 This accelerated destruction o! tolerance, culture and human !eelin)s
has )iven an unprecedented impulse to the process o! accumulation and has
increased the velocity and the e/tent o! economic )ro4th throu)hout the last
t4o decades o! the 39th century8 But all this has also created the premises o! a
4ar a)ainst human society that is under4ay in the ne4 century8
The 4ar a)ainst society is 4a)ed at t4o di!!erent levels0 at the economic level
it is kno4n under the name o! privatization, and it is based on the idea that
every !ra)ment and every cell o! the biolo)ical, a!!ective lin)uistic spheres
have to be turned into pro!it machines8 The e!!ect o! this privatization is the
impoverishment o! daily li!e, the loss o! sensibility in the !ields o! se/,
communication, and human relationships, and also the increasin) ine.uality
bet4een hyper#rich minority and a ma<ority o! dispossessed8 At the social
level this 4ar is 4a)ed in terms o! criminalization and in#securization o! the
territory and o! economic li!e8 (n lar)e areas o! the planet, that are )ro4in)
and )ro4in) in e/tent, production and e/chan)e have become the )round o!
violent con!rontation bet4een military )roups and criminal or)anization8
%lavery, blackmail, e/tortion, murder are inte)ral parts o! the le/icon o!
Economy8
%cattered insurrections 4ill take place in the comin) years, but 4e should not
e/pect much !rom them8 They;ll be unable to touch the real centers o! po4er
because o! the militarization o! metropolitan space, and they 4ill not be able
to )ain much in terms o! material 4ealth or political po4er8 As the lon) 4ave
11C
o! counter#)lobalization moral protests could not destroy neoliberal po4er, so
the insurrections 4ill not !ind a solution, not unless a ne4 consciousness and a
ne4 sensibility sur!aces and spreads, chan)in) everyday li!e, and creatin)
Non#Temporary Autonomous $ones rooted in the culture and consciousness o!
the )lobal net4ork8
Full employment is over8 The 4orld does not need so much labor and so much
e/ploitation8 A radical reduction o! labor#time is necessary8 Basic income has
to be a!!irmed as a ri)ht to li!e independent o! employment and dis<oined !rom
the lendin) o! labor#time8 Competence, kno4led)e, and skills have to be
separated !rom the economic conte/t o! e/chan)e value, and rethou)ht in
terms o! !ree social activity8
1e should not look at the current recession only !rom an economic point o!
vie48 1e must see it essentially as an anthropolo)ical turnin) point that is
)oin) to chan)e the distribution o! 4orld resources and 4orld po4er8 Europe
is doomed to lose its economic privile)e, as F99 years o! colonialism are
endin)8 The debt that 1estern people have accumulated is not only economic
but also moral0 the debt o! oppression, violence and )enocide has to be paid
no4, and it;s not )oin) to be easy8 A lar)e part o! the European population is
not prepared to accept the redistribution o! 4ealth that the recession 4ill
impose8 Europe, stormed by 4aves o! mi)ration, is )oin) to !ace a )ro4in)
racist threat8 Ethnic 4ar 4ill be di!!icult to avoid8 (n the "%, the victory o!
Barack *bama marks the be)innin) o! the end o! the 1estern domination that
4as the premise o! the modern capitalist system8 A 4ave o! non#identitarian
indi)enous enaissance is risin), especially in 'atin America8
The privatization o! basic needs @housin), transportation, !oodA and social
services is based on the cultural identi!ication o! 4ealth and 4ellbein) 4ith
the amount o! private property o4ned8 (n the anthropolo)y o! modern
capitalism, 4ellbein) has been e.uated 4ith ac.uisition, never 4ith
en<oyment8 (n the course o! the social turmoil 4e are )oin) to live throu)h in
the comin) years, the identi!ication o! 4ellbein) 4ith property has to be
.uestioned8 (t;s a political task, but above all it is a cultural task, and a
psychotherapeutic one too8
1hen it comes to semiotic products private property becomes irrelevant, and
in !act it is more and more di!!icult to en!orce it8 The campai)ns a)ainst piracy
are parado/ical because the real pirates are the corporations that are
desperately tryin) to privatize the product o! the collective intelli)ence, and
arti!icially tryin) to impose a ta/ on the community o! producers8 The
products o! collective intelli)ence are immanently common because
kno4led)e can neither be !ra)mented nor privately o4ned8 A ne4 brand o!
communism 4as already sprin)in) !rom the technolo)ical trans!ormations o!
di)ital net4orks, 4hen the collapse o! the !inancial markets and neoliberal
ideolo)y e/posed the !railty o! the !oundations o! hyper#capitalism8 -o4 4e
can predict a ne4 4ave o! trans!ormation !rom the current collapse o! )ro4th
11?
and debt, and o! private consumption as 4ellbein)8 Because o! these three
!orces : commonality o! kno4led)e, ideolo)ical crisis o! private o4nership,
mandatory communalisation o! need : a ne4 horizon is visible and a ne4
landscape is )oin) to sur!ace8 Communism is comin) back8
The old !ace o! communism, based on the 1ill and voluntarism o! an avant#
)arde, and on the paranoid e/pectations o! a ne4 totality 4as de!eated at the
end o! the 39th century and 4ill not be resurrected8 A totally ne4 brand o!
communism is )oin) to sur!ace as a !orm o! necessity, the inevitable outcome
o! the stormy collapse o! the capitalist system8 The communism o! capital is a
barbarian necessity8 1e must put !reedom in this necessity, 4e need to make
o! this necessity a conscious or)anised choice8
Communism is back, but 4e should name it in a di!!erent 4ay because
historical memory identi!ied this particular !orm o! social or)anization 4ith
the political tyranny o! a reli)ion8 The historical communism o! the 39th
century 4as based on the idea o! the primacy o! totality over sin)ularity8 But
the dialectical !rame4ork that de!ined the communist movement o! the 39th
century has been completely abandoned and nobody 4ill resurrect it8
The 2e)elian ascendance played a ma<or role in the !ormation o! that kind o!
reli)ious belie! that 4as labeled 5historicism68 The Au!hebun) @abolition o!
the real in !avor o! the realization o! the (deaA is the paranoid back)round o!
the 4hole conceptualization o! communism8 (nside that dialectical !rame4ork,
communism 4as vie4ed as an all encompassin) totality e/pected to abolish
and !ollo4 the capitalist all encompassin) totality8 The sub<ect @the 4ill and
action o! the 4orkin) classA 4as vie4ed as the instrument !or the abolition o!
the old and the instauration o! the ne48
The industrial 4orkin) class, bein) e/ternal to the production o! concepts,
could only identi!y 4ith the mytholo)y o! abolition and totalization, but the
)eneral intellect cannot do that8 The )eneral intellect does not need an
e/pressive sub<ect, such as 4as the 'eninist &arty in the 39th century8 The
political e/pression o! the )eneral intellect is at one 4ith its action o!
kno4in), creatin), and producin) si)ns8 1e have abandoned the )round o!
dialectics in !avour o! the plural )rounds o! the dynamic o! sin)ularization and
the multilayered co#evolution o! sin)ularities8 Capitalism is over, but it is not
)oin) to disappear8 The creation o! -on#Temporary Autonomous $ones is not
)oin) to )ive birth to any totalization8 1e are not )oin) to 4itness a cathartic
event o! revolution, 4e;ll not see the sudden breakdo4n o! state po4er8 (n the
!ollo4in) years 4e;ll 4itness a sort o! revolution 4ithout a sub<ect8 (n order to
sub<ectivate this revolution 4e have to proli!erate sin)ularities8 This, in my
humble opinion, is our cultural and political task8
A!ter abandonin) the !ield o! the dialectics o! abolition and totalization, 4e
are no4 tryin) to build a theory o! the dynamics o! recombination and
sin)ularization, a concept that is clearly dra4n !rom the 4orks o! FIli/
Guattari, particularly !rom his last book, /haosmosis8 By the 4ord sin)ularity
11G
( mean the e/pression o! a never seen be!ore concatenation8 The actor o! this
e/pression can be an individual, a collective but also an event8 1e call it
sin)ularity i! this actor recombines the multiple !lo4s traversin) its !ield o!
e/istence !ollo4in) a principle that is not repetitive and re!errin) to any pre#
e/istin) !orm o! sub<ected sub<ectivity8 By the 4orld sin)ularity, ( mean an
a)ency that does not !ollo4 any rule o! con!ormity and repetition, and is not
!ramed in any historical necessity8 %in)ularity is a process that is not
necessary, because it is notimplied in the conse.uentiality o! history neither
lo)ically nor materially8 (t is the emer)in) o! a sel!#creative process8
ather than a s4i!t chan)e in the social landscape, 4e should e/pect the slo4
sur!acin) o! ne4 trends0 communities abandonin) the !ield the crumblin)
rulin) economies, more and more individuals )ivin) up their search !or a <ob
and creatin) their o4n net4orks o! services8
The dismantlin) o! industry is unstoppable !or the simple reason that social
li!e does not need industrial labor anymore8 The myth o! )ro4th is )oin) to be
abandoned and people 4ill look !or ne4 modes o! 4ealth distribution8
%in)ular communities 4ill trans!orm the very perception o! 4ellbein) and
4ealth in the sense o! !ru)ality and !reedom8 The cultural revolution that 4e
need in this transition leads !rom the perception o! 4ealth as the private
o4nership o! a )ro4in) amount o! )oods that 4e cannot en<oy because 4e are
too busy purchasin) the money needed !or ac.uisition, to the perception o!
4ealth as the en<oyment o! an essential amount o! thin)s that 4e can share
4ith other people8
The de#privatization o! services and )oods 4ill be made possible by this much
needed cultural revolution8 This 4ill not happen in a planned and uni!ormed
4ay, this 4ill rather be the e!!ect o! the 4ithdra4al o! sin)ular individuals and
communities, and the result o! the creation o! an economy o! shared use o!
common )oods and services and the liberation o! time !or culture, pleasure
and a!!ection8 1hile this process e/pands at the mar)ins o! society, the
criminal class 4ill han) on to its po4er and en!orce more and more repressive
le)islation, the ma<ority o! people 4ill be increasin)ly a))ressive and
desperate8 Ethnic civil 4ar 4ill spread all over Europe, 4reckin) the very
!abric o! civil li!e8
The proli!eration o! sin)ularities @the 4ithdra4al and buildin) o! -on#
Temporary Autonomous $onesA 4ill be a paci!ic process, but the con!ormist
ma<ority 4ill react violently, and this is already happenin)8 The con!ormist
ma<ority is !ri)htened by the !leein) a4ay o! intelli)ent ener)y and
simultaneously is attackin) the e/pression o! intelli)ent activity8 The situation
can be described as a !i)ht bet4een the mass i)norance produced by media#
totalitarianism and the shared intelli)ence o! the )eneral intellect8
1e cannot predict 4hat the outcome o! this process 4ill be8 *ur task is to
e/tend and protect the !ield o! autonomy, and to avoid as much as possible any
violent contact 4ith the !ield o! a))ressive mass i)norance8 This strate)y o!
11>
non#con!rontational 4ithdra4al 4ill not al4ays succeed8 %ometimes
con!rontation 4ill be made inevitable by racism and !ascism8 (t is impossible
to predict 4hat has to be done in the case o! un4anted con!lict8 -on#violent
reaction is obviously the best choice, but it 4ill not al4ays be possible8 The
identi!ication o! 4ellbein) 4ith private property is so deeply rooted that a
barbarization o! the human environment cannot be completely ruled out8 But
the task o! the )eneral intellect is e/actly this0 !leein) !rom paranoia, creatin)
zones o! human resistance, e/perimentin) autonomous !orms o! production
based on hi)h#tech#lo4#ener)y production : 4hilst avoidin) con!rontation
4ith the criminal class and the con!ormist population8
&olitics and therapy 4ill be one and the same activity in the comin) time8
&eople 4ill !eel hopeless and depressed and panickin), because they are
unable to deal 4ith the post#)ro4th economy, and because they 4ill miss the
dissolvin) modern identity8 *ur cultural task 4ill be attendin) to those people
and takin) care o! their insanity, sho4in) them the 4ay o! a happy adaptation
at hand8 *ur task 4ill be the creation o! social zones o! human resistance that
act like zones o! therapeutic conta)ion8 The process o! autonomization has not
to be seen as Au!hebun), but as therapy8 (n this sense it is not totalizin) and
intended to destroy and abolish the past8 'ike psychoanalytic therapy it is
rather to be considered as an unendin) process8


5hen 0ld Peo#le Fall in /ove

(n the !ilm /loud Nine @#olke ; is the ori)inal German titleA, Andreas +resen
sta)es a simple love story0 (n)e is married to 1erner, but she meets Oarl, and
!alls in love 4ith him8 %he decides to leave her husband and )oes to live 4ith
her lover8 *ne ni)ht, 4hile she is sleepin) in the arms o! her beloved Oarl,
(n)e receives a phone call0 1erner has killed himsel!8
1ell, so 4hat7 (t;s a love story, as (;ve said8 ( !or)ot to note somethin)
important0 (n)e and 1erner and Oarl are a)ed bet4een ?9 and G9 years8 (
think that +resen has made a beauti!ul movie8 The love o! old people is a
sub<ect that literature and cinema, 4ith very !e4 e/ceptions, have not
recounted, a sub<ect 4e kno4 very little about, !or the .uite simple reason that
old people have never e/isted8 "ntil some decades a)o persons a)ed more
than C9 years 4ere such a small minority that they 4ere lonely and rare8
%ometimes surrounded by an aura o! respect and veneration, but more o!ten
re<ected and pushed to the mar)ins o! society, and al4ays alone, deprived o!
means !or survival, unable to become a community8 The e/tension o! avera)e
li!e e/pectation has been coupled so !ar 4ith some re4ard !or previous
contributions to the )ro4th o! society0 the ri)ht to retirement money8 (n the
comin) years in Europe one third o! the population 4ill <oins the ranks o! old
a)e8 (t is the )eneration that 4as born a!ter the 4ar, 4hen the !ul!illment o! the
139
modern promise o! peace, democracy, and 4ell bein) 4as apparently at hand8
Five hundred years o! brutal capitalist e/pansion 4ere supposedly alleviated
by the political !orce o! the or)anized 4orkers8 The )eneration born in the
years !rom 1>EF to 1>?F carried in its cultural back)round the e/pectations o!
!reedom and peace and <ustice, as i! they 4ere universal values8 *! course they
are not, because universal values do not e/ist, they are the idealistic translation
o! cultural e/pectations produced by social relationships8
+urin) the three decades o! triumphant neoliberalism the capitalist
countero!!ensive has destroyed the very conditions o! the possibility o!
!reedom and <ustice, imposin) the brutal la4 o! competition in the dere)ulated
labor market, and sub<u)atin) social li!e to the unbounded domination o!
pro!it8 The )enerations that are no4 comin) to the labor market 4ho )re4 up
durin) the years o! the capitalist countero!!ensive do not possess the memory
o! the past social civilization, nor the political !orce, to de!end their e/istence
!rom the predatory economy8
1hat about old people, no47 1e kno4 very little about )ro4in) old, and 4e
kno4 nothin) about old people;s emotions and their abilities o! social
or)anization, o! solidarity, and o! political !orce8 1e don;t kno4 because 4e
have not e/perienced it8 But no4 that e/perience is be)innin)8 The a)e o!
senilization is here, and Europe is the place 4here this e/perience 4ill !irst
develop8 +enatalization has started in the territory o! old Europe because the
post#4ar )eneration has not proli!erated 4ith the same intensity o! previous
)enerations8 This trend is spreadin) all over the 4orld !or many reasons0
di!!usion o! the contraceptive pill, cult o! individual realization, conscious
re!usal o! maternity, hi)h costs o! reproduction in the urban environment, but
in Europe it is already yieldin) its !ruits, and 4e can speak o! an advanced
state o! senility8
2ere ( don;t 4ant to speak o! the economic e!!ects o! senilization, nor o! the
dilemmas o! a society 4here more and more people reach the a)e o!
retirement 4hile less and less people are in the a)e o! producin)8 *n this point
( 4ant to say only this0 the assertion that it is necessary to !orce the seniors to
postpone their retirement is purely a neoliberal trick aimed to prolon) the time
o! labor and to trap youn) people in a condition o! unemployment and
precarity8
1hat is interestin) here !or me is the cultural e!!ect o! social senility in the
lon) run8 The senilization o! Europe is contemporary to a process o! massive
mi)ration that the policy o! containment @%chen)enA 4ill not be able to stop8
The mi)ration is part o! a push o! the poor 4ho are demandin) a redistribution
o! the 4ealth that has been concentrated in Europe durin) the F99 years o!
colonialism8 This is 4hy 4e have to see the senilization o! Europe as a !acet o!
a phenomenon o! the rede!inition o! the planetary economic balance8
(n the ne/t decade Europe 4ill be !orced to make a choice8 The choice is
bet4een t4o possibilities0 one is a redistribution o! 4ealth and resources that
131
implies the openin) o! European borders to the cro4ds comin) !rom A!rica
and Asia, a do4nsizin) o! 1estern consumption and the adoption o! li!estyles
headin) to4ards the 5"nGro4th6 o! production and consumption8 The other is
the intensi!ication o! an inter#ethnic civil 4ar 4hose !irst si)ns are already
visible in the European territory8 The success o! the /enophobic parties at the
elections o! Mune 399> is one o! those si)ns8 The ma<ority o! European people
are desperately de!endin) the privile)e accumulated over centuries o!
colonialism, but this privile)e has been deterioratin) since the !all o!
colonialist empires in the past century, and is no4 !allin) apart in the )lobal
recession8 The Mune 399> elections display a European sadness, 4hich is the
inability to deal 4ith senility, and 4ith the psycho#ener)etic decay o! the
social or)anism8 The result o! the polls is not the e!!ect o! political 4ill, but
rather the symptom o! a senile dementia that is e/pandin) !ast8
+urin) the a)e o! modernity a very delicate balance 4as created bet4een the
in!o#sphere and reason8 The political 4ill could act rationally because that
balance )ave the historical actors the possibility o! kno4in) a relatively
narro4 ran)e o! in!ormation and there!ore o! decidin) on it8 But the
acceleration o! semiotic emissions and the thickenin) o! the in!o#sphere has
produced in the lon) run an e!!ect o! overload, and there!ore o! an/iety and
panic8 At the same time Europe has )ro4n so old8 (t is a demo)raphic
problem, !irst o! all, but it is not only demo)raphic8 Europe is a country o! old
people )ropin) desperately at their lives, not !rom love, but only because o!
property8 A country o! old people needin) youn) nurses comin) !rom the
&hilippines, Moldavia and Morocco, old idiots terrorized by despisin) the
a)ility o! those youn) people, 4ho have su!!ered so much in their li!e !or our
!ault that they do not !ear any more su!!erin), and don;t care about the
punishment o! European la48 %enile dementia @loss o! memory, irrational !ear
o! 4hat is unkno4nA is spreadin) in every )enerational stratum o! European
society, mentally !rail and socially tired8 Houn) voters 4ho vote !or ri)htist
nationalist parties are no less obtuse than the !ri)htened elderly, no less unable
to think and to !ind a 4ay out their con!ormism8
2o4 4ill it end7 (t;s easy to predict8 *ld Europeans are 4ell armed and they
4ill kill8 &o)rom, mass violence, inter#ethnic civil 4ar8 This the !uture o!
Europe8 1e should !ind a 4ay to translate in non#reli)ious terms the concept
that Christians e/press 4ith the 4ord 5resi)nation86 1hat is to be done 4hen
nothin) can be done, 4hen too much hate has accumulated in the collective
karma7 2o4 can 4e continue bein) happy and !ree 4hen 4e understand that a
4ar machine is hidden in every niche7 This is the .uestion that ( am
addressin) to mysel!, to my !riends and to my )eneration, the )eneration born
a!ter the last 4ar !ou)ht by youn) people, be!ore senility took hold o! us,
makin) possible a paci!ic 4isdom, or pushin) to4ards the abyss o! a))ressive
dementia8
The )eneration that )re4 up in the decades o! post#4ar hope is today !acin) a
133
hu)e cultural task, no less important than the task 4e 4ere able to carry out in
1>CG8 -o4 4e should be able to create the conditions !or European society to
start consciously a process o! "nGro4th, and to repay the immense debt that
1estern society has accumulated durin) the !ive hundred years o! colonialism8
The current recession is a conse.uence o! the !inancial debt that the 1est
@especially the "%A has taken on durin) the last decades8 But beside this there
is a debt that is much more heavy and cannot be in any 4ay repaid8 (t is the
symbolic debt that comes !rom the )enocide o! the native populations o!
America, and !rom the deportation and enslavement o! millions o! human
bein)s !rom A!rica and Asia8
The senile )eneration o! Europe may become the sub<ect o! a cultural
revolution aimed to prepare 1estern society !or a lon)#lastin) a)reement on
the redistribution o! 4ealth and resources8 %uch a cultural revolution should
start 4ith a criti.ue o! the ener)etic <uvenilism permeatin) modern culture8
The ideolo)y o! unbounded )ro4th, and the cult o! a))ressive competition,
are the !oundations o! capitalist development= they also nourished the
romantic and nationalist ideolo)ies that have a))ressively mobilized 1estern
society in late#modern times8
A senile culture aspirin) to "nGro4th and the reduction o! the consumerist
push, on the activation o! solidarity and o! sharin) seems today : ( must
concede : a very unlikely possibility8 The elections have sho4n that the
European population is determined to de!end its privile)e 4ith all the means at
hand8 But this stance cannot brin) anythin) )ood 4ith it, and is already
brin)in) a lot o! evil8 An inter#ethnic civil 4ar is hidin) in daily li!e, and 4e
are )oin) to see it e/plode 4ith unima)inable violence8 Houn) people
accustomed to very hard livin) conditions are surroundin) the !ortress8 They
are bearin) the unconscious memory o! centuries o! e/ploitation and
humiliation, and they are also bearin) the conscious e/pectation o! those
thin)s that advertisin) and )lobal ideolo)y have promised to them8
+urin) the past decades Europe 4as lookin) like the continent o! peace and
social <ustice, no4 it is sinkin) in a 4ave o! sadness and cynicism8 Houn)
people seem unable to chan)e social conditions, and are 4anderin) in a
labyrinth o! a society 4ithout solidarity and rela/ation8 The senile population
could be the bearer o! a ne4 hope, i! they are able to !ace the inevitable 4ith a
rela/ed soul8 They could discover somethin) that humankind has never
kno4n0 the love o! the a)ed, the sensuous slo4ness o! those 4ho do not
e/pect any more )ood !rom li!e e/cept 4isdom, the 4isdom o! those 4ho
have seen much, !or)otten nothin), but look at everythin) as i! !or the !irst
time8


6a##y %nd

13B
(n recent times ( have o!ten been invited to lecture about the sub<ects that (
have been dealin) 4ith in this book8 The audience is )enerally composed o!
social activists, radical thinkers, and artists8 Althou)h the discussions that
!ollo4 my talks are )enerally lively and the participation intense, at the end o!
the meetin)s ( !eel sometimes a sense o! bitterness in my audience, and ( share
this sense o! malaise, and easily )uess the reason o! it0 my ar)ument does not
have a happy end8
Actually, ( do not have a happy end !or my !abulation8 ( do not see in the
!oreseeable !uture any discernable sub<ectivation, resurrection o!
consciousness, or emancipatory !orm8 And ( do not like to cheat at this )ame, (
do not like the empty 4ords o! sel!#reassurance, and the rhetoric o! the
multitude8 %o ( pre!er to tell the truth, at least, the limited truth as ( see it0 there
is no 4ay out, social civilization is over, the neoliberal precarization o! labor
and the mediadictatorship have destroyed the cultural antibodies that in the
past made resistance possible8 As !ar as ( kno48
But 4hat ( kno4 is only 4hat ( can see !rom my limited point o! observation,
o! course8 +urin) the 39th century the moral revolt a)ainst e/ploitation 4as
based on the realistic prospect o! the autonomy o! society !rom the cultural
and economic domination o! capitalist rule8 This prospect 4as based on a
realistic approach to the analysis o! the actual condition8
Then somethin) chan)ed0 durin) the last decades ( have 4itnessed the
mutation induced by the capitalist economy, and ( have come to think that this
mutation is irreversible0 it has not only a!!ected the social sphere, but also the
semiotic, biolo)ical and psychic sphere8
There!ore my kno4led)e and my understandin) diso4n the possibility o! an
alternative, o! an escape !rom the hell emer)in) as the le)acy o! thirty years o!
un!ettered capitalist rule8
The dissociation o! capitalism and modernity is accomplished0 capitalist rule
is )ettin) rid o! modern civilization8 2umanism, Enli)htenment, %ocialism,
the cultural re)ulators o! modern democracy, have been s4ept a4ay by the
cultural dere)ulation that is implied in the capitalist !inal assault8 &rivatization
o! every livin) space and activity, competition and economic brutality in the
social sphere, have deeply a!!ected the sel!#perception o! the social body8 (n
my kno4led)e and my understandin) this process seems no4 inevitable and
irreversible, because it has not only destroyed the structures o! social
civilization that modernity created, but also it has <eopardized the a!!ective
!abric o! the social environment, and the cultural e/pectations o! the ne4
)eneration8
This is 4hat ( see, 4hat ( think, and this is 4hat ( say, so ( understand the
dissatis!action o! the activists 4ho )ather to attend my lectures8 They seem to
ask0 5%o, 4hy resist7 1hat is the point o! radical thou)ht, 4hat;s the point o!
criti.ue and intellectual en)a)ement, i! you think that no conscious collective
sub<ectivation is possible, and no 4ay is le!t !or hi<ackin) the criminal train o!
13E
capitalism76
(n these !inal pa)es ( 4ant to ans4er this .uestion8
(n 1>>3 FIli/ Guattari published his last book, /haosmosis8 (t is about
schizoanalysis, and also about the political and environmental landscape that
4as )ettin) more and more catastrophic in those !inal years o! the century8
2ere is the problem Guattari sets himsel! in this book0

Amon) the !o)s and miasmas 4hich obscure our !in de mill5naire- the
.uestion o! sub<ectivity is no4 returnin) as a leitmotiv8 (t is not a natural )iven
any more than air or 4ater8 2o4 do 4e produce it, capture it, enrich it, and
permanently reinvent it in a 4ay that renders it compatible 4ith "niverses o!
mutant value7 2o4 do 4e 4ork !or its liberation, that is, !or its
resin)ularization7 @Guattari 1>>F0 1BFA

Guattari is 4onderin) here about the possibility o! a process o! liberation,
de!inin) liberation as 5resin)ularisation68 2e also speaks o! !o)s and miasmas8
A!ter the illusion o! peace that !ollo4ed the crash o! the soviet empire, a
chaotic 4ar e/ploded in the &ersian Gul!8 The Cold 1ar )eopolitical order 4as
over, and the ne4 con!lict 4as a symptom o! a )eneral chaos in 4orld
relations8
(n 1>>3 in order to make some decisions about the )lobal environment a
summit o! the leadin) nations o! the 4orld 4as called in io de Maneiro8 *n
that occasion Geor)e Bush senior in!ormed the 4orld that the American li!e
style 4as non#ne)otiable, and the Americans re!used to talk about the
environmental catastrophe8 The io de Maneiro summit 4as a !ailure, and it
opened the 4ay to the present environmental chaos8
FIli/ Guattari died some months a!ter the io de Maneiro summit, and he 4as
conscious o! the e/treme dan)ers o! the 4orld situation8 (n the last years o! his
li!e he e/perienced the double black hole o! internal and e/ternal chaos8 1e
can never distin)uish the personal side and the social and planetary side, in the
black hole that psychiatrists call depression8 &eoples, races, mobs are al4ays
there in the mental landscape o! the schizo#consciousness @and
unconsciousnessA8
This is my startin) point about chaos0 the 1orld#Chaos that Guattari talks
about in his last book is not only depression, !o) and miasma8 Chaos is much
more than this8 (t;s also the in!inity o! colors, dazzlin) li)hts, hyperspeed
intuitions, and breathtakin) emotions8
Chaos is a t4o!old 4ord0 in their last book, #hat 7s Philosophy9 Guattari and
+eleuze say that Chaos is both a !riend and a !oe8 (t is both an enemy and an
ally0 5(t is as i! the stru))le a)ainst chaos does not take place 4ithout an
a!!inity 4ith the enemy6 @+eleuze and Guattari 1>>E0 39BA8
Chaos is an enemy, but it can also become a !riend, because chaos is the door
o! creation8 1e are 4alkin) in darkness, but 4e are able to create concepts that
13F
enli)hten the surroundin)s8
Friendship is one o! the key4ords o! this last book by +eleuze and Guattari8
Friendship means sharin) a re!rain, a semiotic set that allo4s us to see the
same vision, and helps to create a 4orld out o! chaos8
Chaos is not in the 4orld, reality does not kno4 chaos and order8 Chaos is in
the relationship bet4een the speed o! our brain and the chan)in) speed o!
reality8 Chaos is a comple/ity 4hich is too dense, too thick, too intense, too
speedy, too !ast, too much !or our brain to decipher8 1e speak o! chaos 4hen
our speed o! psychic elaboration is over4helmed by the speed and the
comple/ity o! the 4orld8
Chaos chaotizes, and disentan)les any consistency into in!inite pieces8 But the
task o! philosophy is the creation o! planes o! consistency 4ithout losin) the
in!inity out o! 4hich thou)ht arises8
The chaos 4e are dealin) 4ith has both a mental and a physical e/istence, not
the physical e/istence o! the 4orld, but the physical e/istence o! the or)anism
@as a conscious and sensitive entityA8 The physical e/istence o! the body is the
space 4here chaos arises and takes place8 (n this space o! unhappiness, and
mental disorder, o! panic, depression and loneliness the pro<ected order o! the
4orld collapses8
Chaos is a too comple/ an environment to be decoded by the available
e/planatory )rills, it is an environment in 4hich semiotic !lo4s and emotional
!lo4s are circulatin) too !ast !or our mind to be able to elaborate8
The elaboration o! chaos is made possible by the emer)ence o! a semio)enetic
machine that Guattari calls a re!rain8 This is chaosmosis, the emer)ence o! a
!orm0 creative morpho)enesis8
The morpho)enetic process has lon) been described in deterministic terms by
modern epistemolo)y0 -e4ton and Galileo !ounded physics on the idea that a
uni!yin) lan)ua)e : the lan)ua)e o! Mathematics : !rames the 4hole o!
creation8 The !inal )oal o! theoretical and scienti!ic 4ork 4as the
understandin) o! la4s 4hich describe the determinist )eneration o! any
natural process8 Biolo)y and bio)enetics have developed in the same
deterministic !rame0 this science describe biolo)ical morpho)enesis in terms
o! a deterministic relation bet4een the code and the or)anism8 Follo4in) the
discovery o! +-A in the 1>F9s the body has been conceived o! as
development and realization o! the code, implied order accountin) !or the
un!oldin) o! li!e8
This vision o! nature 4ent alon) 4ith the social episteme o! the 1>th and 39th
centuries, 4hich 4as based on a deterministic relationship bet4een economic
!actors and social e!!ects8 The epistemolo)ical !rame4ork based on
determinism has been !ertile in the modern a)e, as !ar as the mechanical
paradi)m has been use!ul to understand a 4orld that 4as based on industrial
production and mechanical technolo)ies8 But the acceleration that electronic
technolo)ies have impressed on production and kno4led)e has opened a ne4
13C
dimension that cannot be described in deterministic terms8 +eterminism !ails
to understand the !uzzy hyper#comple/ or)anization o! the net4ork o!
co)nitive labor0 the relation bet4een labor time and value is dissolved, and the
very idea o! determination !ades8
The uncertainty principle, !irst asserted by 2eisenber) in the !ield o!
microphysics, !rames the ne4 social consciousness8
Must as in microphysics you cannot determine the moment and the speed o! a
particle, because the presence o! the observer alters the picture, so too in
sociolo)y you cannot determine the relation bet4een the present and the
!uture, because the sub<ective !actor is too comple/ to be understood and
described8
The predictive po4er o! kno4led)e is at stake, in the present passa)e8 The
comple/ity o! the )lobal mind is beyond the understandin) o! the situated
mind o! an individual, a )roup, a party or a state8
Mar/ism has lon) been understood as a !orm o! predictive science8 Bein) able
to analyze the relationship bet4een di!!erent social actors @bour)eoisie and
4orkin) classA, bein) able to predict the dynamics o! the economic crises
@overproduction, !all o! the pro!it rate, breakdo4n o! the capitalist economyA,
the scholastic vision o! Mar/ism claimed to predict also the outcome o! the
story0 the !inal victory o! communism, the abolition o! classes and the
realization o! reason8 (n the o!!icial version o! +ialectical Materialism @+iamat
A, inherited !rom 2e)el and re!ormulated by En)els the relationship bet4een
the present condition and the !uture 4as e/plained in terms o! a deterministic
reduction8 The !uture 4as intended as the deployment o! a tendency inscribed
in the present8 epetition prevailed, and di!!erence i)nored8 The !aith in a
pro)ressive !uture 4as based on this deterministic reduction, and evaporated
as soon as that conceptual !rame4ork 4as abandoned8
The event is not predictable because it is not the development o! 4hat 4e
presently kno48 The event is a creative )esture creatin) a ne4 re!rain8
%o, ( ans4er the .uestion0 4hy resist, 4hy persist in seekin) autonomy !rom
po4er7 1here is the hope7 The hope is in the limits o! my kno4led)e and
understandin)8 My kno4led)e and understandin) do not sho4 the possibility
o! any development o! the present catastrophe in a)reement 4ith social
4ellbein)8 But the catastrophe is e/actly @in the etymolo)y o! kata and
stropheinA the point 4here a ne4 landscape is )oin) to be revealed8
( do not see that landscape because my kno4led)e and my understandin) are
limited, and the limits o! my lan)ua)e are the limits o! my 4orld8 My
kno4led)e and understandin) are missin) the event, the sin)ularity8 %o ( must
act 5as i!68 As i! the !orces o! labor and kno4led)e may overcome the !orces
o! )reed and o! proprietary obsession8 As i! the co)nitive 4orkers may
overcome the !ractalization o! their li!e and intelli)ence, and )ive birth to a
process o! the sel!#or)anization o! collective kno4led)e8 ( must resist simply
because ( cannot kno4 4hat 4ill happen a!ter the !uture, and ( must preserve
13?
the consciousness and sensibility o! social solidarity, o! human empathy, o!
)ratuitous activity, o! !reedom, e.uality and !raternity8 Must in case, ri)ht7 Must
because 4e don;t kno4 4hat is )oin) to happenin) ne/t, in the empty space
that comes a!ter the !uture o! modernity8 ( must resist because this is the only
4ay to be in peace 4ith my sel!8 (n the name o! sel!#love, 4e must resist8 And
sel!#love is the basic ethical rule that an anarchist prizes8
The present i)norance has to be seen as the space o! a possibility8 1e have to
start !rom the i)norance o! the )eneral intellect8 The !orce o! the collective
intelli)ence is boundless8 Theoretically8 But it lacks any consciousness o!
itsel!8 (ntelli)ence 4ithout sel!#consciousness8
( am talkin) o! the sel!#consciousness o! the )eneral intellect, millions and
millions o! people 4orld4ide producin) the in!o#!lo4 that makes the planet )o
around8 Creatin) a !orm o! sel!#consciousness o! the )eneral intellect is the
political task o! the !uture8 And it is not only political, but philosophical,
epistemolo)ical, and in the end therapeutic8
&oetry and therapy @thera#poetryA 4ill be the !orces leadin) to the creation o! a
co)nitarian sel!#consciousness0 not a political party, not the or)anization o!
interests, but the reactivation o! the co)nitarian sensibility8
The i)norance o! the )eneral intellect is the startin) point, a!ter the !uture8
1hy are the co)nitariat 4eak, and disunited, and unable to assert their ri)ht as
laborers, and their kno4led)e as researchers7 Because they live in a
dimidiated !orm, because their brain is detached !rom their body, because their
communication communicates less and less, more and more !reezin) sensitive
li!e8 The ne4 space o! activism is here, in the connection o! poetry, therapy,
and paradi)matic creation8


After Futurism

*ne hundred years a)o Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published the &ani!esto
that introduced the century that believed in the !uture8 The 1>9> &ani!esto,
that you can !ind in the !irst pa)es o! this book, e/pounds the becomin)
machine o! the collective or)anism o! mankind8 This becomin)#machine has
reached its !inale 4ith the concatenations o! the )lobal 1eb and it has no4
been overturned by the crisis o! the !inancial system !ounded on the
!uturization o! the economy, debt and economic promise8 The promise is over8
The era o! post#!uture has be)un8


Manifesto of Post-Futurism

18 1e 4ant to sin) o! the dan)er o! love, the daily creation o! a s4eet ener)y
that is never dispersed8
13G
38 The essential elements o! our poetry 4ill be irony, tenderness and rebellion8
B8 (deolo)y and advertisin) have e/alted the permanent mobilisation o! the
productive and nervous ener)ies o! humankind to4ards pro!it and 4ar8 1e
4ant to e/alt tenderness, sleep and ecstasy, the !ru)ality o! needs and the
pleasure o! the senses8
E8 1e declare that the splendor o! the 4orld has been enriched by a ne4
beauty0 the beauty o! autonomy8 Each to her o4n rhythm= nobody must be
constrained to march on a uni!orm pace8 Cars have lost their allure o! rarity
and above all they can no lon)er per!orm the task they 4ere conceived !or0
speed has slo4ed do4n8 Cars are immobile like stupid slumberin) tortoises in
the city tra!!ic8 *nly slo4ness is !ast8
F8 1e 4ant to sin) o! the men and the 4omen 4ho caress one another to kno4
one another and the 4orld better8
C8 The poet must e/pend hersel! 4ith 4armth and prodi)ality to increase the
po4er o! collective intelli)ence and reduce the time o! 4a)e labor8
?8 Beauty e/ists only in autonomy8 -o 4ork that !ails to e/press the
intelli)ence o! the possible can be a masterpiece8 &oetry is a brid)e cast over
the abyss o! nothin)ness to allo4 the sharin) o! di!!erent ima)inations and to
!ree sin)ularities8
G8 1e are on the e/treme promontory o! the centuries888 1e must look behind
to remember the abyss o! violence and horror that military a))ressiveness and
nationalist i)norance is capable o! con<urin) up at any moment in time8 1e
have lived in the sta)nant time o! reli)ion !or too lon)8 *mnipresent and
eternal speed is already behind us, in the (nternet, so 4e can !or)et its
syncopated rhymes and !ind our sin)ular rhythm8
>8 1e 4ant to ridicule the idiots 4ho spread the discourse o! 4ar0 the !anatics
o! competition, the !anatics o! the bearded )ods 4ho incite massacres, the
!anatics terrorised by the disarmin) !emininity blossomin) in all o! us8
198 1e demand that art turns into a li!e#chan)in) !orce8 1e seek to abolish the
separation bet4een poetry and mass communication, to reclaim the po4er o!
media !rom the merchants and return it to the poets and the sa)es8
118 1e 4ill sin) o! the )reat cro4ds 4ho can !inally !ree themselves !rom the
slavery o! 4a)e labor and throu)h solidarity revolt a)ainst e/ploitation8 1e
4ill sin) o! the in!inite 4eb o! kno4led)e and invention, the immaterial
technolo)y that !rees us !rom physical hardship8 1e 4ill sin) o! the rebellious
co)nitariat 4ho is in touch 4ith her o4n body8 1e 4ill sin) to the in!inity o!
the present and abandon the illusion o! a !uture8

13>
Bi'lio)ra#hy

Akerlo!, G8 A8 and %hiller, 8 M8 @399>A Animal "pirits$ @o* @uman Psycholo)y +rives the
Economy- and #hy 7t &atters !or Global /apitalism, &rinceton "niversity &ress8

Badiou, A8 @399GA The &eanin) o! "arkozy, trans8 +8 Fernbach, 'ondon0 ,erso8

Ballard, M8 G8 @1>>CA /ocaine Ni)hts, 'ondon0 2arperCollins8

Ballard, M8 G8 @3999A "uper'/annes, -e4 Hork0 &icador8

Baudrillard, M8 @1>>BaA "ymbolic Echan)e and +eath- 'ondon0 %a)e8

Baudrillard, M8 @1>>BbA The Transparency o! Evil$ Essays on Etreme Phenomena, trans8 M8


Baudrillard, M8 @399BA The %pirit o! Terrorism, trans8 C8 Turner, 'ondon0 ,erso8

Benasaya), M8 and %chmidt, G8 @399?A Les passions tristes, &aris0 Editions 'a +Icouverte8

Benedict and M8 %8 Baddeley, 'ondon0 ,erso Books8

Berardi, F8 @399GA F5li Guattari$ Thou)ht- Friendship and (isionary /arto)raphy, trans8
G8 Mecchia and C8 M8 %tivale, -e4 Hork0 &al)rave8

Berardi, F8 @399>A The "oul at #ork$ From Alienation to Autonomy, trans8 F8 Cadel and G8
Mecchia, 'os An)eles0 %emiote/t@eA8

Boccioni, "8, Balla, G8, CarrP, C8, %everini, G8 and ussolo, '8 @1>?9A 5Futurist &aintin)0
Technical Mani!esto,6 in Futurist &ani!estos, ed8 "8 Apollonio, trans8 8 Brain, -e4 Hork0
,ikin)8

Calabrese, *8 @1>G?A L0et4 neobarocca, Bari0 'aterza8

Carrol, '8 @1>?1A Throu)h the Lookin)'Glass, 'ondon0 -onesuch &ress8

CarrRre +;Encausse, 28 @1>>GA Lenin, &aris0 Fayard8

Cooper, M8 @399GA Li!e as "urplus$ 8iotechnolo)y and /apitalism in the Neoliberal Era,
1ashin)ton0 "niversity o! 1ashin)ton &ress8

Critical Art Ensemble @1>>BA Electronic +isturbance, -e4 Hork0 %emiote/t@eA8

+avis, M8 @1>>9A /ity o! Auartz$ Ecavatin) the Future in Los An)eles, -e4 Hork0
,inta)e8

+avis, M8 @399BA +ead /ities and Other Tales, -e4 Hork0 The -e4 &ress8

+eleuze, G8 @1>GGA Foucault, trans8 %8 2and, Minneapolis0 "niversity o! Minnesota &ress8

1B9
+eleuze, G8 @1>>9A The Lo)ic o! "ense, ed8 C8 ,8 Boundas, trans8 M8 'ester 4ith C8 %tivale-
-e4 Hork0 Columbia8

+eleuze, G8 @1>>BA The Fold$ Leibniz and the 8aro6ue, trans8 T8 Conley, Minneapolis0
"niversity o! Minnesota &ress8

+eleuze, G8 and Guattari, F8 @1>>EA #hat is Philosophy9, trans8 28 Tomlinson and G8
Burchell, -e4 Hork0 Columbia "niversity &ress8

+ick, &8 O8 @1>C>A 1bik, -e4 Hork0 The American 'ibrary8

+rucker, &8 @1>G>A The Ne* .ealities, -e4 Hork0 2arper and o48

Echeverria, B8 @399CA (uelta de si)lo, Me/ico +F0 Ediciones Era8

Ehrenber), A8 @1>>GA La !ati)ue d0Btre soi$ d5pression et soci5t5, &aris0 Editions *dile
Macob8

Formenti, C8 @3999A 7ncantati dalla .ete, Cortina8

Formenti, C8 @3993A &ercanti di !uturo Einaudi8

Formenti, C8 @399GA /ybersoviet, Cortina8

Foucault, M8 @399GA The 8irth o! 8iopolitics$ Lectures at the /ollD)e de France ?;EF'?;E;,
trans8 G8 Burchell, -e4 Hork0 &al)rave8

Franzen, M8 @3991A The /orrections, -e4 Hork0 Farrar, %traus and Girou/8

Geor)escu#oe)en, -8 @1>?FA 5Ener)y and Economic Myths,6 "outhern Economic Gournal
E1@BA0 BE?#G18

Gibson, 18 @1>GEA Neuromancer, -e4 Hork0 Ace8

Gibson, 18 @399BA Pattern .eco)nition, -e4 Hork0 &utnam &ublishin)8

Goldsen, 8 O8 @1>??A "ho* and Tell &achine$ @o* American Television #orks and #orks
<ou over, -e4 Hork0 +oubleday8

Goodman, A8 @n8d8A 5Climate +iscord0 From 2openha)en to -openha)en6, Truthdi),
4448truthdi)8comLreportLitemLclimateZdiscordZ!romZhopenha)enZtoZnopen)a)enZ399>13
33 @posted 33 +ecember 399>A8

Gorz, A8 @1>GGA &5tamorphoses du travail$ AuBte du sens- criti6ue de la raison
5conomi6ue, &aris0 GalilIe8

Gruzinski, %8 @1>>9A La )uerre des ima)es$ +e /ristophe /olomb 4 8lade .unner, &aris0
Fayard8

Guattari, F8 @1>>FA /haosmosis$ An Ethico'Aesthetic Paradi)m, trans8 &8 Bains and M8
1B1
&e!anis, %ydney0 &o4er &ublications8

2e)el, G8 18 F8 @1>??A Phenomenolo)y o! &ind, trans8 M8 B8 Baillie, Atlantic 2i)hlands0
2umanities &ress8

Oelly, O8 @1>>EA Out o! /ontrol$ The Ne* 8iolo)y o! &achines- "ocial "ystems- and the
Economic #orld, eadin), Mass80 Addison#1esley8

Ohlebnikov, ,8 @1>G?A /ollected #orks, vol8 1, trans8 &8 %chmidt, Cambrid)e, MA0 2arvard
"niversity &ress8

Oristeva, M8 @1>>3A 8lack "un$ +epression and &elancholia, trans8 '8 %8 oudiez, -e4
Hork0 Columbia "niversity &ress8

Oroker, A8 and 1einstein, M8 A8 @1>>BA +ata Trash$ The Theory o! the (irtual /lass, -e4
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'ama Ana)arika Govinda @1>C9A Foundations o! Tibetan &ysticism, 'ondon0 1eiser
Books8

'Ivy, &8 @1>>1A L0id5o)raphie dynami6ue, &aris0 'a +Icouverte8

'ovink, G8 @3993A +ark Fiber, Cambrid)e, Mass80 M(T &ress8

'yotard, M8:F8 @1>GEA The Postmodern /ondition$ A .eport on ,no*led)e, trans8 G8
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Marazzi, C8 @3919A The (iolence o! Financial /apitalism, trans8 O8 'ebedeva, 'os An)eles0
%emiotete/t@eA8

Marinetti, F8 T8 @399EA 5To the acin) Car6, in 8 &ayne ed8, trans8 8 &ayne, A "election o!
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Mar/, O8 @1>?BA Grundrisse$ Foundations o! the /riti6ue o! Political Economy H.ou)h
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1B3
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&arism, 'ondon0 &luto8


11F

J1K &ani!esto o! Futurism, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

18 1e 4ant to sin) the love o! dan)er, the habit o! ener)y and rashness8
38 The essential elements o! our poetry 4ill be coura)e, audacity and revolt8
B8 'iterature has up to no4 ma)ni!ied pensive immobility, ecstasy and slumber8 1e 4ant to
e/alt movements o! a))ression, !everish sleeplessness, the double march, the perilous leap,
the slap and the blo4 4ith the !ist8
E8 1e declare that the splendor o! the 4orld has been enriched by a ne4 beauty0 the beauty
o! speed8 A racin) automobile 4ith its bonnet adorned 4ith )reat tubes like serpents 4ith
e/plosive breath 888 a roarin) motor car 4hich seems to run on machine#)un !ire, is more
beauti!ul than the ,ictory o! %amothrace8
F8 1e 4ant to sin) the man at the 4heel, the ideal a/is o! 4hich crosses the earth, itsel!
hurled alon) its orbit8
C8 The poet must spend himsel! 4ith 4armth, )lamour and prodi)ality to increase the
enthusiastic !ervor o! the primordial elements8
?8 Beauty e/ists only in stru))le8 There is no masterpiece that has not an a))ressive
character8 &oetry must be a violent assault on the !orces o! the unkno4n, to !orce them to
bo4 be!ore man8
G8 1e are on the e/treme promontory o! the centuriesN 1hat is the use o! lookin) behind at
the moment 4hen 4e must open the mysterious shutters o! the impossible7 Time and %pace
died yesterday8 1e are already livin) in the absolute, since 4e have already created eternal,
omnipresent speed8
1BB
>8 1e 4ant to )lori!y 4ar : the only cure !or the 4orld : militarism, patriotism, the
destructive )esture o! the anarchists, the beauti!ul ideas 4hich kill, and contempt !or
4oman8
198 1e 4ant to demolish museums and libraries, !i)ht morality, !eminism and all
opportunist and utilitarian co4ardice8
118 1e 4ill sin) o! the )reat cro4ds a)itated by 4ork, pleasure and revolt= the multi#
colored and polyphonic sur! o! revolutions in modern capitals0 the nocturnal vibration o!
the arsenals and the 4orkshops beneath their violent electric moons0 the )luttonous rail4ay
stations devourin) smokin) serpents= !actories suspended !rom the clouds by the thread o!
their smoke= brid)es 4ith the leap o! )ymnasts !lun) across the diabolic cutlery o! sunny
rivers0 adventurous steamers sni!!in) the horizon= )reat#breasted locomotives, pu!!in) on
the rails like enormous steel horses 4ith lon) tubes !or bridle, and the )lidin) !li)ht o!
aeroplanes 4hose propeller sounds like the !lappin) o! a !la) and the applause o!
enthusiastic cro4ds8
1BE