Trick E-Business: Malcontents in the Matrix

Abstract

This chapter explores the phenomenon of hacktivism in the context of globalization debates and the evolving nature of new social movements. It explores the historical trend by which capitalism has become increasingly more immaterial in its appearance but powerful in its effects. Using examples of specific hacktivist groups, hacktivism is shown to be an inventive response to this trend and represents an imaginative re-appropriation of the Web for spider-like anti-capitalist protest. The paper concludes with a summary of the hacktivist philosophy that seeks to reassert the origins of the marketplace as an agora for the people rather than just big business. Hacktivism is shown to represent a rationale diametrically opposed to e-commerce.