THE EXPLOIT: A Theory of Networks by Alexander R. Galloway and Eugene Thacker, University of Minnesota Press.

Alexander R. Galloway and Eugene Thacker challenge the widespread assumption that networks are inherently egalitarian. Instead, they contend that there exist new modes of control entirely native to networks, modes that are at once highly centralized and dispersed, corporate and subversive. In this provocative book, they argue that a whole new topology must be invented to resist and reshape the network form.

“The Exploit is that rare thing: a book with a clear grasp of how networks operate that also understands the political implications of this emerging form of power. It cuts through the nonsense about how free and democratic networks supposedly are, and it offers a rich analysis of how network protocols create a new kind of control. Essential reading for all theorists, artists, activists, techheads, and hackers of the Net.” McKenzie Wark, author of A Hacker Manifesto

208 pages | 2007
ISBN 978-0-8166-5043-9 | hardcover | $57.00
ISBN 978-0-8166-5044-6 | paperback | $18.95
Electronic Mediations Series, volume 21