Let me start of by saying up front that I am apparently a political opposite to the points of view raised in this book.. I really tried to read this with an open mind, but the writing is so dry and stilted that I simply couldn’t get in to the philosophies being presented.. It felt like reading Decline and Fall.. Only without the love and craftsmanship.. At least when you finish reading Decline and Fall you feel a sense of accomplishment.. After reading A Hacker Manifesto I felt robbed of my time..
Mackenzie Wark’s A Hacker Manifesto tries to present the hacker as the driving force, and real power of civilization.. He declares the hacker, whether he is a scientist, artist, or programmer, as the only true creator.. Everyone else is either a user or used.. With the hacker falling somewhere in the middle bridging the gap between classes..
The whole time I was reading this book I kept waiting for a revelation.. Something new.. But it just doesn’t happen.. A Hacker Manifesto reads like Marxism 2.0.. It’s the same old idea wrapped in modern trends and job classes.. It subtly paints the capitalist class as the oppressive users of the labor classes and portrays the hacker class as the salvation for everyone.. It’s too black and white, too obvious, of a philosophy to be of any real use for anyone that has even a basic understanding of Marxism and Communism.. And the whole time I was reading it I got this subtle feeling that the author was really writing a “look at me, I’m smart” book.. I’m sure that others will disagree, but I just see nothing groundbreaking in this book.. If you want to good book on Communism, go to some original sources and read Trotsky or Lenin.. If nothing else they are a better read..
A little background before we start.. I am a partner at ForTheWeb.com, but I also own my own design studio (no website - gasp) and do jewelry / CAD design over at Images Jewelers..
I came back from lunch today to my office at Images to see some mail sitting on my desk.. It’s addressed to our PO Box in San Jose for ForTheWeb.. My office at Images is in Elkhart, Indiana.. Now I have to ask you, why would a mailman in Elkhart, IN., know to deliver a letter addressed to ForTheWeb in San Jose, CA.?? And when he made that delivery, didn’t he think it was a bit strange that it didn’t even have my name on it, just ForTheWeb??
I’ve had neighbor’s mail misdelivered, I’ve had mail totally unrelated to me misdelivered.. But what are the odds that a misdelivery in Indiana would find the one person here that would know where the mail “should” have gone??
I think I need a new tin foil hat.. This one doesn’t seem to be working any more..
