{"product_id":"the-empire-of-mind-1","title":"The Empire of Mind","description":"\u003cp\u003e Where many critics see the Internet as an instrument of corporate hegemony, Michael Strangelove sees something else: an alternative space inhabited by communities dedicated to anarchic freedom, culture jamming, alternative journalism, and resistance to authoritarian forms of consumer capitalism and globalization. In \u003ci\u003eThe Empire of Mind\u003c\/i\u003e, \"Dr. Strangelove,\" the scholar \u003ci\u003eCanadian Business\u003c\/i\u003e referred to as the \"acknowledged dean of Internet entrepreneurs\" and \u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e called \"the Canadian guru of Internet advertising,\" presents the compelling argument that the Internet and new digital communication technology actually undermine the power of capital, producing an alternative symbolic economy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStrangelove contends that the Internet breaks with the capitalist logic of commodification and that, while television produces a passive consumer audience, Internet audiences are more active, creative, and subversive. Writers, activists, and artists on the Internet undermine commercial media and its management of consumer behaviour, a behaviour that is challenged by the Web's tendency toward the disintegration of intellectual property rights. Case studies describe the invention of new meaning given to cultural and consumer icons like Barbie and McDonald's and explore how novel modes of online news production alter the representation of the world as it is produced by the mainstream, corporate press.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the course of exploring new media, \u003ci\u003eThe Empire of Mind\u003c\/i\u003e also makes apparent that digital piracy will not be eliminated. The Internet community effectively converts private property into public, thereby presenting serious obstacles for the management of consumer behaviour and significantly eroding brand value. Much to the dismay of the corporate sector, online communities are disinterested in the ethics of private property. In fact, the entire philosophical framework on which capitalism is based is threatened by these alternative means of cultural production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"By Michael Strangelove","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56219059388796,"sku":null,"price":37.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0251\/4980\/0541\/files\/9781442659445.jpg?v=1768195612","url":"https:\/\/combined-academic.myshopify.com\/products\/the-empire-of-mind-1","provider":"Combined Academic Publishers - Mare Nostrum Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}