Is capitalism dead? The primacy of information: vectorialism. A reading with McKenzie Wark

Abstract

This article studies McKenzie Wark's reflections on the death of capitalism and the emergence of new social classes. The commitment to “vulgar” Marxism implies the rejection of the academic theoretical dogmas that have developed certain orthodox readings of Marx. In the struggle against capitalism, taking Abensour's terms, we will analyze irenism (utopian) and catastrophism (dystopian), avoiding thinking of the relationship between machine and labor in a metaphorical or abstract way. We will then dwell on the current importance of information, which gives rise to two new social classes (vectorialist and hacker), according to Wark. Recovering Marx, we will reflect on the death of capitalism and the possible emergence of a new system, vectorialism. Finally, we will propose some ways of liberation, always minority, such as drift or potlach in the field of lyricism and situationism.