For the spirit of networks, time and space have collapsed under their own weight. The spirit upholds an ethic of temporality (action over limited duration), simultaneity (multiple actions at the same time), immediacy (undelayed action), fragmentality or nonlinearity (action taking place over nonconsecutive segments of time), and acceleration (same action in less time) as positive new constructs of time. Likewise, regarding space it upholds an ethic of nonspatiality and decentralization.
The network—flat and dehierarchized, comprised of homologous nodes rather than structures—is more participatory, inclusive, and democratic. The spirit of networks upholds an ethic of open source, the paradigmatic enabler that allows individual nodes a stake in the network. The inclusive tendencies of open source and the network in general also make the network inherently populist, empowering the little guys, the underprivileged, marginalized, and off centered. The ad hoc and fleeting assemblages that characterize the network, and the lack of long-term institutional stability makes collaboration between nodes the prime mode of action, replacing competition. At the same time that networks allow collaboration around a project, they also help maintain the distinct identity and practical autonomy of nodes; nodes in the network are not pressured to assimilate into established structures and do not run the risk of losing their autonomy in the process.
The reerotization, or libidinalization, of the productive process projects on the whole human experience as well. Networks resonate with humans true essence and help reconstruct a more authentic human experience. Like networks, humans, too, are informational, multiple, and fragmented. Networks allow for a better commensurability and a deeper interaction between humans and technology. Networks, therefore, facilitate the augmentation of human potentialities and allow humans to be more authentic and uncover their true selves. Hence, through networks and through the integration of humans and technology and the construction of the cyborg, the engagement of humans with the world becomes more meaningful, allowing more degrees of freedom.
Networks free humans from their essentialization: the network proves, vindicates, and augments their nonessentialism. Humans become what humans do (specifically, what they do with network technology), and their pragmatic being becomes a defining axis for who they are. As they are integrated into networks, their selves, identities, and experiences are distributed among multiple nodes—Web sites, servers, applications, and so forth. Being part of the network, humans shift swiftly and easily between multiple tasks: they are flexible and can engage with reality based on only superficial, temporary, and fleeting encounters. The spirit of networks upholds humans as informational: they are coreless (or unessential), comprised of a network of components, which can be disassembled, distributed, and reassembled in order to create a new whole.
Networks as the Techno-political Culture of Post-Fordism
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