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80.05. Blueprint

CONGRATULATIONS! You found a page you weren't supposed to see!

Feel free to poke around, though :)

Introduction

This ultimate project intends to weave together the key works from the PowerMyth Index in a 7-part narrative. There are three overarching goals:

  1. Outline its theoretical framework through case studies and comparative historical analysis;
  2. Demonstrate how Power manifests differently in Cyberspace; and
  3. Contribute original research on social inequity through a study of digital platform governance.

Above all, hopefully it strikes the perfect balance between academic rigor and good storytelling!!!

Delivery

There are advantages to telling this story in order, but it will not be developed or initially released that way. Instead, there will be a phased rollout through multiple media.

Readers can expect the PowerMyth Index to still be continuously updated with raw information as normal. Though it lacks a cohesive narrative, there are advantages to the nonlinear exploration and real-time access to research as it occurs!!

Each of the parts will also be produced as standalone videos, published on YouTube (or some other platform if I can find one). The visual format lowers the barrier of entry and allows for archive material to be shown. Since parts all feature different frames and subjects, hopefully this format also caters well to diverse algorithms.

Finally, once everything is complete, it will be published as a novel.

The tentative timeline is below:

Structure

Generally, each of the parts follow a similar path. First, readers are introduced to a well-known historical figure and the context in which they lived. Those stories serve as frames to dissect whatever primary element of the theoretical framework is being explored in that part. The next portion translates that information to its corresponding manifestation in Cyberspace. Finally, each part concludes with a discussion of findings that also highlights contradictions and hints at topics to be explored later.

00-1. Power-Renaissance

500 years apart from each other, 81.09. Cosimo de' Medici and 81.43. Elon Musk were likely the richest men in the world for their respective eras. Yet for all of their wealth and indirect politicking, the methods in which both men expressed their influence couldn't be more different. Where Medici was a patron of the arts and built libraries, Musk puts cars in space and posts on his social media platform. Together, they help illuminate the forever-evolving and often-misunderstood construct of 10. Power.

This section introduces 14. Power Capacitors, or the economic, social, informational, cultural, and symbolic capital that serve as potential for mechanisms of Power. While economic capital can (mostly) be measured, how can that be compared to the reliance of the papacy and monarchs on the Medici Bank, or of global communications infrastructure on SpaceX's Starlink? Both had a number of avenues that enabled their influence. This section also introduces 13. Realm Enforcers, both culture and institutions, as the primary targets of their actions.

Lastly, this section introduces the 28.01. Knowledge Mythoscape and the relationship both men had to the very nature of truth. We will first turn to Musk's AI-generated "collection of all knowledge" on Grokipedia and consider how the "right" information is produced and disseminated. This will parallel Medici yet again as we move to his patronage of Marsilio Ficino's translations of lost Neoplatonic and Hermetic texts... which gives us an awesome excuse to dive into 61.00. Heterodoxy throughout the ages and its relationship to the academy and other "legitimate" institutions. Lots of recurring topics have their seeds planted at the end here!!!

Part 1 Summary

Aesthetic: Italian Renaissance vs. Cyberpunk
Concepts: 10. Power; 13. Realm Enforcers; 14. Power Capacitors
Theorists: 81.01. Michel Foucault; 81.04. Pierre Bourdieu; 81.02. Clarissa Hayward; Wouter Hanegraaff
Characters: 81.09. Cosimo de' Medici; 81.43. Elon Musk

00-2. Dominant-Truth

For some in the New Left, the prevalence of the youth 61.01. Countercultures in the 1960s and 70s were a sign of the imminent destruction of the technocracy that perpetuates inequity and domination. It appeared to be a whole generation that rejected the infallible expertise of authorities hiding behind science and policy. A generation of free-thinkers that decried the hypocrisies of American institutions and collectively forged new norms and values. However, the goals of those in the counterculture were diverse and sometimes even contradictory. Take 81.13. Stewart Brand, for instance, the Whole Earth Catalog icon who carved his image idealizing a sort of libertarian self-sufficiency. Elsewhere, counterculturalists were criticized for appropriating symbols from marginalized groups or often taking the easy exit back to mainstream society. Does this mean the leftist hopes for salvation were simply unfounded...?

Part 2 will explore how individuals, born into worlds with existing sets of meaning, are shaped by life differently. Landmark subcultural studies on the experiences of both Philadelphia Blacks and juvenile delinquents will help define 11. Realms of Freedom (what is good, rational, or possible). Those with Realms outside the mainstream, either by explicit rejection or through self-definition, clarify what the 12. Dominant Realm (or in some sense, the "technocracy") in society even is. Ultimately, these struggles are solid examples of cultural 15. Boundary Negotiation playing out, where actors attempt to expand or contract the Dominant Realm. As we will see, however, the Dominant Realm has a wide range of methods to passively maintain its shape and exclude others.

A proper introduction of 70. Cyberspace rounds out this section. Brand, who then shifted his sights to the emerging world of computers, forged an international network called 76.04. The WELL. This community, infused with countercultural ethos, defined Cyberculture as we know it today. One such member, 81.39. John Perry Barlow, would crystallize the concept of Cyberspace as more than an extension of the outside world; instead, it operated with entirely novel social norms, systems, and opportunities that traditional forms of government had no authority over. As this section wraps up, we are left questioning the impending cultural and economic contradictions of a rapidly growing industry. How can the countercultural need for authenticity compete with the rationalization of technology? What happens when a culture becomes dominated by the very outside world they swore to protest?

Part 2 Summary

Aesthetic: Flower Power vs. Cassette Futurism
Concepts: 11. Realms of Freedom; 12. Dominant Realm; 15. Boundary Negotiation
Theorists: 81.16. J. Milton Yinger; 81.05. Stuart Hall; 81.22. Antonio Gramsci; 81.23. Herbert Marcuse; 81.24. W.E.B. DuBois; Fred Turner
Characters: 81.13. Stewart Brand; 81.39. John Perry Barlow

00-3. Myth-Time

Could there possibly be a word scarier than Communism? At the height of the Red Scare in the 1950s, this affiliation could easily derail someone's entire career. The thing is, Congressional hearings didn't necessarily focus on tangible pieces of evidence that individuals were affiliated - instead, they were looking for a monster of their own creation. As with other 20. Myths like it, Communism had taken on the role of 21.00. The Villain in the story, where entire groups of people are demonized as the supposed protagonists take them down. But these are rarely new; they are repackaged for new audiences and new purposes. The Red Scare is hardly different than how the Orthodox Christian Church treated the supposed heresies of 61.02. Gnosticism nearly two thousand years earlier. The eerily similar tactics also have eerily similar effects: reinforcing the Dominant Realm.

It is possible to condemn the actions of these anti-Communist crusaders without falling into the same trap of blanket demonization. After all, these individuals were shaped by 25. Mythoscapes that made their actions appear rational, a necessary duty even. There was plenty of variation among them, too. In fact, one of these crusaders was even arguably a countercultural figure: 81.26. Barry Goldwater, U.S. Senator from Arizona and arguably the chief mind behind the conservative 27.03. Political Mythoscape as we know it today. In the thick of Part 3, we will analyze his influential book Conscience of a Conservative to further understand how we all exist in different realities constructed largely by Myth. And, perhaps more importantly, how some weaponize these unstated assumptions through 31.00. Appropriation. The Wild West as 23.00. The Setting in Arizona and the wealthy Senator Goldwater wearing cowboy hats during his campaigns are not unrelated. Perhaps it also wasn't a coincidence how frequently the early Internet would invoke 23.03. The Frontier.

As Cyberspace became more mainstream, its surrounding Myths were overwhelmingly designed by those who were building it (read: those who were trying to make a profit). The last piece of this section introduces 81.52. Marc Andreessen and the public image he developed with Mosaic and Netscape, particularly as it relates to scrappy startup culture. We will explore how tech companies leveraged the countercultural ethos in their advertising even as their actions became more exploitative of consumers. In practice, 73.01. Appropriation_C becomes the foundational Power Weapon in Cyberspace when so much of our "outside world" social norms don't easily translate to the virtual world... and our existing assumptions open the door for tech companies to seamlessly repurpose them. We will consider a selection of World Mythoscapes, 28.01. Knowledge, 28.03. Connection, and 28.04. Celebrity, to explore this concept in detail. And, when more restrictive norms are forged in Cyberspace, what does that mean when they translate back to the outside world...?

Part 3 Summary

Aesthetic: 50s Suburbia vs. Frutiger Aero
Concepts: 20. Myths; 25. Mythoscapes; 31.00. Appropriation
Theorists: 81.31. Jean-François Lyotard; 81.11. Jean Baudrillard; 81.38. Theodor Adorno; 81.28. Max Horkheimer; 81.04. Pierre Bourdieu; Elane Pagels
Characters: 81.26. Barry Goldwater; 81.52. Marc Andreessen

00-4. Law-Space

81.27. Martin Luther King Jr. built his image as a man of peace and unity, yet he did not have kind words for the seemingly amiable Senator Goldwater. Perhaps this is because Goldwater had perfected a ruthless strategy to disparage Civil Rights: more or less saying, "I think there should be equal rights, this just isn't the way to do it!" His argument provides its user with reasonable doubt by suggesting they are merely operating within the framework of existing institutions rather than being opposed to the idea itself. However, this fails to recognize the Power embedded within institutions, which means protection of the institution is inherently oppositional to those it oppresses. The focus of Part 4 is ultimately on the relationship between institutions and Power, and we open with the efforts surrounding the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a way to understand 40. Power Conduits. Each entity that acts as an avenue for Power's mechanisms has unique advantages and disadvantages, and a Boundary Negotiation as significant as this would require a comprehensive approach. Where Dr. King's efforts largely used 43. Religion and 44. Media, parallel strategies from 81.12. Lyndon B. Johnson went through 41. Government.

Of course, any book about appropriation and freedom would be incomplete without the inclusion of 81.25. Milton Friedman. A successor to Goldwater's ideology, both directly and spiritually, Friedman championed economic policies through the 1970s and 80s that countered the federal spending of the Great Society. With his own masterful actions across media, government, and 42. Academia, his vision of neoliberalism became the norm for decades to come. Conduits can be used for 30. Power Weapons, too, which Friedman knew well. Here, we evaluate how welfare retrenchment and privatization showcase a number of Weapons, such as 34. Normalization, 35. Concentration, and 36. Deprivation. Is the common adage espoused by Friedman and other libertarians, that limited government is the route to personal freedom, really true?

Well! That question sends us to the climax of the book and the primary research contribution from my dissertation. Cyberspace still remains largely unregulated by the government, but that does not mean it lacks entities that shape the boundaries of what is or is not possible. As Cyberspace's self-governed communities became increasingly governed by tech empires, what changed in the process? Through a Discourse Analysis of 1990s Usenet forums compared to Reddit posts today, we will see how the rules of 74.01. Digital Platforms affect how we interact with one another. When so much of everyday communication occurs on Cyberspace, what does it mean for society when its infrastructure is built for the interests of corporations?

Part 4 Summary

Aesthetic: Brutalism vs. Early Cyber
Concepts: 30. Power Weapons; 40. Power Conduits; 74.01. Digital Platforms
Theorists: 81.10. Manuel Castells; 81.01. Michel Foucault; 81.33. C. Wright Mills
Characters: 81.25. Milton Friedman; 81.27. Martin Luther King Jr.; 81.12. Lyndon B. Johnson;

00-5. Art-Shmups

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00-6. Tools-Revival

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00-7. Freedom-Future

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