Riemens, Some Thoughts on the Idea of "Hacker Culture"

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SOME + THOUGHTS ON THE IDEA OF "HACKER CULTURE"
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+ Patrice + Riemens
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"The + Theory of 'Free Software' as the seed of a post-capitalist society only + makes sense where it is understood as the exposure of those very contradictions + of the development of productive forces which are relevant to the process + of emancipation. It does not, however, make sense as a discovery of a + format for their deployment out of which would automatically spring forth + a better society. And it does not make sense either as the first stage + of a process that one ought to follow as if it were a blueprint." + ("Eight Theses on Liberation," Oekonux + mailing list)

As + the new information and communication technologies (ICT) entered our lives + and became increasingly important in our daily activities, so did all + kinds of knowledge, working habits and ways of thinking that were previously + the exclusive domain of "geeks" and computer experts. Even though + the vast majority of ICT users are passive consumers, a modicum of technological + know-how is more and more prevalent among non-professionals, and these + days, artists, intellectuals, and political activists have become fairly + visible as informed and even innovative actors in what has become known + as the public domain in cyberspace.

"Hackers," + also often, but inexactly referred to as "computer pirates" + or other derogatory term, constitute without doubt the first social movement + that was intrinsic to the electronic technology that spawned our networked + society. Hackers, both through their savyness and their actions, have + hit the imagination and have been in the news right from the onset of + the "information age," being either hyped up as bearers of an + independent and autonomous technological mastery, or demonized as potential + "cyber-terrorists" in the process. More recently they have been + hailed in certain "alternative" intellectual and cultural circles + as a countervailing power of sorts against the increasingly oppressive + onslaught of both monopolistic ICT corporations and regulation-obsessed + governments and their experts. Transformed into role-models as effective + resistance fighters against "the system," their garb has been + assumed with various degrees of (de)merit by a plethora of cultural and + political activists associated, closely or loosely, with the "counter-globalization + movement."

Yet, + whereas hackers (if we take a broad definition of the term) have been + pioneering the opening up of electronic channels of communication in the + South, in the North, they initially were held in suspicion by those same + circles. Political militants there hesitated for a long time before embarking + into computers and the new media, which they tended to view as "capitalist" + and hence "politically incorrect." By the mid-nineties, however, + "on-line activism" made rapid progress worldwide as more and + more groups adopted the new technologies as tools of action and information + exchange. The dwindling costs of equipment and communication, the (relative) + ease of use, the reliability and security, and the many options that were + offered by ICT were a boon to activists of all possible denominations. + All this was also a very bad surprise to the people at the helm of corporate + and political power, as they saw a swift, substantial, and many-pronged + breakdown of their stranglehold on communication and information taking + place. For some time, it looked like as if a level playing field between + hitherto dominators and dominated had come within sight.

The + Net, as a result, became not only one of the principal carriers of political + activism, but also one of its major locus and issue. Once they had overcome + their initial shock and surprise, the powers that be were bound to react + forcefully. And they did, beefing up the "protection" of so-called + intellectual property, erecting ever higher walls around expert knowledge + and techniques, and unlashing all-round measures of control and surveillance + on electronic communications. But resistance against this (re)subjugation + of the networks also got organized. Almost by necessity, more and more + activists became conversant with the new technologies, which in the given + circumstances had to be a hands-on learning process. This process saw + activists turning "techies" and "geeks" turning activists + and has resulted in activist circles (political, but also intellectual, + cultural, and artistic) becoming markedly, sometimes completely, ITC-driven. + However, as we will see, this does not ipso facto make them hackers.

But + it was equally within the domain of ICT itself that the exponential expansion + of both range and carrying capacity of the Internet, as well of that of + the related technologies, and all this within an increasingly aggressive + commercial environment made experts think again about the consequences + of these developments and even reconsider their methods, opinion, and + for quite a few of them, their position within the hitherto obtaining + order of things. Rejecting the new enclosures that are being imposed on + the dissemination of knowledge and techniques by commercial and/or state + interests, they are exploring new avenues of developing, spreading, and + also rewarding knowledge-building that are not exploitative and monopolistic + or even solely profit-oriented. Hence the flight taken by various software + programs, utilities and application modalities that have become known + under the generic name of Linux, Free Software, Open Source, and General + Public License (for definitions, see www.gnu.org).

De + prime abord, these developments suggest that given these technological + settings and socio-economic and political circumstances, convergence was + bound to take place between the actors involved, meaning a merger between + hackers and (political, cultural etc) activists since they were spreading + the same message, and operated in parallel ways under similar threats. + Unfortunately, this interpretation is as unwarranted in its optimism as + it is precipitate in its formulation. Following a line of reasoning aptly + called by the Dutch "the wish is the mother of the idea," such + interpretation is based on the assumed relation, not to say equivalence, + between individuals and groups, and between pursuits, motives, and methods + whose affinities and linkages, even when viewed under the designation + of "new social movements," are far from evident. In fact the + alleged congruence is inherently unstable since it is contingent, and + the supposedly common positions between those two groups are often absent + altogether, and sometimes even contradictory. Whereas it would be excessive + to portray hackers and activists in terms of "never shall the twins + met," the idea, asserted by many a political activist and certain + "public intellectuals," to the effect that their coalescence + is both natural and inevitable is equally outlandish. Not only does it + run roughshod of the sensibilities of "authentic" hackers - + and it does so unfortuitously - it also misrepresents reality hence giving + rise to erroneous hypothesizes and unwarranted expectations.

"Hacker + culture," a concept one often encounters these days among networked + activists, purports to represent this playful confluence between tech + wizardry and the moral high ground. Hence, "Open Source" is + fast becoming an omnibus framework and a near-universal tool-kit to tackle + very diverse social issues, such as artistic production, law, epistemology, + education, and a few others, which are but remotely - if at all - related + to the field of software research and development, and the social environments + from which it originates. There is little wrong in itself to this - imitation + being the best of compliments - but for the fact that it tends to obscure + a sticky problem. Between hackers and activists often looms a wide gap + in approach and attitude that is just too critical to be easily papered + away. And it is precisely this fundamental difference that is usually + being hushed up by the evangelists of what I call the "hackers-activists + bhai-bhai" gospel - phrased after the celebrated slogan mouthed by + Chinese and Indian Ministers in 1953: "Hindi-Chini Bhai-Bhai" + ("India and China are Brothers") … nine years later, both countries + were at war. A good, if a contrario, example of a really occurring non-equivalence + between political activists applying ICT and hackers is provided by that + spurious hybrid known as "hacktivism." "Hacktivism" + was originally coined by the Boston-based hackers "Cult of the Dead + Cow" (www.cultdeadcow.com), whose tag-line read "We put the + hack in activism." It was all about using ICT skills to thwart attacks + on liberties by powerful institutions. The group later had to defend itself + of guilt by association with respect to recent manifestations of "hacktivism" + as Distributed Denial of Services (DoDS) attacks.

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

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

This + being said, the points of convergence between the activities of hackers + and those of (political) activists are many, and they increase by the + day. It is becoming more and more evident that both groups face the same + threats, and the same adversaries. As expert technological knowledge - + especially of ITC - that sits outside the formally structured (and shielded) + domains of corporate or political power gets evermore vilified in the + shape of "(cyber)-terrorist" fantasies, paranoia, and finally, + repression, while at the same time this very expertise is increasingly + being mastered and put to use by the enemies of the neo-liberal "One + Idea System," stronger, if circumstantial, links are being welded + between hackers and activists. And these linkages are likely to deepen + and endure in the same measure as the hostility and risks both groups + are likely to encounter augment, it is worthwhile to analyze what unites + as well as what separates them.

"Hacktivist" + activities (and I am mostly referring here to the handywork of three groups, + Electronic Disturbance Theater, Electrohippies and RTMark), well advertised + by their authors, but also gleefully reported in the mainstream media, + are illustrative of the gap that parts activists from hackers. The former + usually view "hacktivism," which exploits the innumerable glitches + and weaknesses of ICT systems to destabilize the electronic communication + supports of "enemy organs" (government agencies, big corporations, + international financial institutions, "fascist" groups, etc.), + as a spectacular form of resistance and sabotage. The latter (generally) + take a much dimmer view, considering these activities as ineffective and + futile, and moreover, in most cases, technically inept as well. Such activities + (or antics) endanger the integrity of the network which hackers consider + to be theirs also. "Denial of Service" attacks, irrespective + of aims and targets, amount in their eyes to attacks on the freedom of + expression, which they seem to respect in a much more principled manner + than most political activists.

The + truth is, that by abetting "hacktivism," activists implicitly + admit that the net has become a mere corporate carrier, to which they + have only a subordinate, almost clandestine, access, as opposed to be + stakeholders in, and thus sharing responsibility for it. This constitutes + their fundamental divergence with hackers, and it is not easily remediable.

Political + activists are also, almost by definition, inclined to seek maximum media + exposure for their ideas and actions. Their activities, therefore, tend + to be public in all the acceptations of the term. The range of issues + that are covered by their ideals, and the variety of means and methods + to achieve the same make they need some form of organization, which is + often complex, because of and not despite the fact they strive for distribution + and horizontality. The result is that even in the most alternative of + circles, an apparatus and leaders appear, whose very informality obscures + rather than prevent hierarchies from arising. This does not suit well + the practice and the ethics of hackers, which Pekka Himanen has described + as "monastic" (www.hackersethic.org). The habitus may be monastic, + the behavior of hackers may however, perhaps be more suitably paralleled + with the "Slashta," the Polish gentry. There too, we see a desire + between equals, that is equals recognized as such beforehand, and hence + also elitist. Political activists on the other hand are much more opportunistic + when it comes to alliances and associations they engage in.

So + does the idea of "hacker culture" represent an effective way + to describe and define certain current modes of political activism, especially + when those do have a large ICT component? In many instances where the + term is being used, to the point of having become one of the "buzz-word + du jour," I do not believe so. In many cases, it is the romantic + appeal of what is perceived as hacker power and prowess that leads to + a superficial adoption of the "hacker attitude" moniker by the + cultural and political activists, but not of its underlying methods and + values. That does not mean that there exists an absolute incompatibility + between those two groups, and there are fortunately cases suggesting the + existence of a continuum - such as the Indymedia tech community's pairing + of expertise to a "serve the people" type of operation (tech.indymedia.org, + www.anarchogeek.com). But it should caution against a facile (and trendy) + assumption of an equivalence, and maybe against the confusion-inducing + use of the term "hacker culture" itself.

+ This article first + appeared in French in Multitudes, + Vol 2, No 8, March-April 2002, and in (an expanded) English translation + in Cryptome + on June 3, 2002.
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