23.3.05
The Border
Nevertheless, the hype of the Internet is essentially based on the promise that the worldwide dissemination of new technologies might remove all barriers between people. Many critics have unmasked this rhetoric as an escape from real existing capitalism or as promotional campaign for neoliberal barbarism. However, there is a more dangerous mistake made in the popular regard for the net as an 'alternative' territory to the 'real world,' or as a place, where free and unfettered communication might become a reality. In this view, borders become something you cannot see or touch, and the net and the various networks became an arena for 'new' border policies.
But is there still a chance to take the promise of the net seriously and turn these misunderstandings to productivity? If so, how can we claim for all what is permitted to only the very few with the resources to travel and settle freely? Free access for all -- in REAL LIFE -- is our goal: open borders and freedom of movement for everybody. These are not questions of charity or compassion, but a matter of course and concern for all. This is no longer a naive dream but a reality for everyone: globalization is not optional, its effects not for 'those other people.' These developments determine very directly the range and freedom of everyone's everyday practices.
Obviously, there is much more to do than praying and praising the new technologies or providing illusions about keeping them free from state control. Conceptually and practically, networks became battlefields for a regime in which life and its components are objects and targets, or, alternatively, as vehicles for autonomy, singularity, and the free flow of ideas, activities, and, most of all, for people as such. This latter vision involves new and unknown fields and possibilities, and with that, political, ethical, and esthetic challenges.The Border http://www.contrast.org/borders/
