Communications and Media

The idea of counter-culture has always been to challenge the conventional norms, structure and principles existent within the dominant culture. Here, it presents new opportunities and challenges to the status quo and provides new directions for individuals, groups, and organizations to advocate the creation of new meaning in addressing reality. Seeing this, the article by Hardt and Negri offer new directions in analyzing the Internet not only as an instrument used to further capitalist policies but also a necessary requirement for the formulation of new public sphere.

Relating the analysis of Hardt and Negri to the value of commonwealth as the continued pursuit of capitalism for their own individual gains. Here, it presents itself in new faces and ideals that have shaped the development of todays 21st century environment.  Though this may seem to be the case, the ideas employed by Marx continues to be the same - that oppression among different classes continues to exist and thus revolution and radical ideals must be pursued (Hardt and Negri, 2009).

Similarly, the working class also changed to multitudes which highlights the growth of new classes and identities as society began to develop. As Anderson (2009) points out,  the authors prefer the multitude, which includes workers of all kinds, naturally, but also gathers the mighty forces of identity politics black and Hispanic activists, radical feminists, queer transgressives and others purportedly harmed by global capitalism (p.1). Here, the idea of commonwealth corresponds to the notion of eliminating private property for all and equating them as the solutions for the growing disparities between the working class and corporations who continue to exploit these resources altogether. To achieve this, the corrupt must be eliminated and disrupt the current status quo.

Relating the idea of commonwealth to the Internet as a public sphere for multitudes, it can be argued that Hardt and Negri can assert that this increasing preference and trend can be used to further the exploitive means of capitalists and corporations to gain more profit. With the convergence of communication and technology, it has facilitated a sporadic spread of ideals that does not further shows inequality and supporting those who have the means to learn and acquire information. Such direction then reinforces better means of expanding elements for new processes that alienates the multitudes.

Similarly, it also shows the ability to further prejudice and discrimination among other groups and identities. By opening up another avenue for people to interact, commonwealth also argues that it hinders the ability of defining specific parameters related to establishing order and related standards. As Hardt and Negri (2009) provides, capital too functions as an impersonal form of domination that imposes laws of its own, economic laws that structure social life and make the hierarchies and subordinations seem natural and necessary (p. 7). Such analogy then illustrates the ability of the Internet to become a new source of culture where oppression and continued inequality can be addressed.

In the end, the ideas proviedd by Hardt and Negri relating to commonwealth adhere to an example of highlighting counter-culture and how it challenges the conventions and norms surrounding the prevalent culture. By looking into this book in detail, careful analysis can be seen on how such principles both serve to address the ills of the current status quo and what elements constitute the Internet either as an agent of culture or counter-culture. These then bring about harnessing greater means of applying analysis and correlation of its impact to society and individuals in responding to reality.