Bobman Word Work Modernity Outside Source: Modernity as a complex contains at least the following three components: “(1) Power ‘over other human beings, whether states, groups or individuals, according to the level of, the system under consideration. (2) Practical power over nature in terms of the capacity for economic production. (3) Intellectual power over nature in the form of the capacity for prediction and - more generally — of an accurate and compactly expressed understanding” (Elvin 210) My first definition: Modernity is rooted in power over other human beings, over the capacity for economic production, and over prediction. This power is exerted through social institutions. Western modernity assumes stasis, finite space, boundaries, and rules of laws. My previous additions to the above definition: Modernity is motivated by greed and desire. Modernity generates progress that benefits those in power while simultaneously creating an illusion of benefiting society and its members. My newest additions to the above definition: ‘The moderity’s only true concern is keeping the rich wealthy and ensuring that the poor remain on the margin, unable to move up and reclaim any of the wealth that the modernity has stolen from them. \ AN) Ny Vaud Power \Www) A lnc Tu Kay» Outside Source: The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. One way power is exercised is through political or social authority or control, especially that exervised by a government (Oxford) ©" Political power is the possession of control, authority. or influence over others (Webster) My definition: ©) To have power is to have some sort of political or social authority or control. Obtaining this power requires an ability to convince others that you have some sort of contro] over them. Additionally you must be capable of convincing society of this authority to such a great extent and in such a convincing manner that you actually end up gaining the control you originally claimed to have. To successfully obtain power, one must have the necessary treasure and connections, Monopoly Outside Source: ) The exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service (Oxford) ) A commodity controlled by one party (Webster) My definition: © A monopoly is the almost exclusive possession or control of the flow of'a commodity or treasure, I say almost exclusive because in situations where the modernity does not have exclusive control over something of value, it creates rules and laws that appear toBobman help those currently in possession of the flow retain their control, but, in reality, these amendments ensure that the modemity secretly gains some amount of control over the goods. Thus, the modernity seeks to monopolize all treasure in society and either remains the sole party in control of the secret behind-the-scenes puppeteer pulling the strings of a brainwashed entrepreneurial puppet. Hegemony (n) Outside Sources: (” Leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group, over others (Oxford) © The dominance of one group over another, often supported by legitimating norms and ideas. The term hegemony is today often used as shorthand to describe the relatively dominant position of a particular set of ideas and their associated tendency to become commonsensical and intuitive, thereby inhibiting the dissemination or even the articulation of alternative ideas (Britannica) My previous defi © All the underlying assumptions of how you're supposed to function in society. This is where all the power lies. Marginalized peoples or anyone who doesn’t play into the normal societal game is said to lie outside that particular hegemony. Code: Outside Source: (A systematic collection of laws or statutes (Oxford) A set of conventions or moral principles governing behavior in a particular sphere (Oxford) My current definition: ©) A set of goveming behaviors for a given hegemony. Usually its creation is associated with modernity secking to maintain a tight control over the actions of citizens. However, in doing so they “shun” those they label pirates and thus “force” the development of an additional hegemony with a code created by the hegemony’s members and not modemity. Western Code vs. Pirate Code — ‘Western Code: The Western code ensures that while two or more people have different \ intents, needs, and wants, they will cooperate and follow rules of law -doing so ina — | legitimate manner ~ so that they can make better their needs. The assumption is that the | end result will not only benefit those involved, but it will make our (the eitizens) lives better. This ensures that while you and I have different intents, needs, and wants, we will cooperate and follow rules of law so we can better meet our needs, and in this we will Ky both be rewarded : Pirate Code: Written constitutions that specified pirate laws, punishments for breaking | laws, regulated negative extemalities, and created a mechanism for overcoming pirate | fiee-tider problem (problem of individual pirates slacking). These pirate constitutions also were supplementary in constraining officer behavior (Leeson) \ \Bobman Society: Outside Source: © The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community (Oxford) © The community of people living in a particular country or region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations (Oxford) My previous definition: © A group of people who are supposed to act under the same code — whether or not this occurs is another story Citizen (n) Outside Source: ) An inhabitant of a particular town or city (Oxford) My simplified definition from the last paper: ® A law-abiding subject of a society My additions to the above definition: Citizens are those who successfully create the allusion of a blind follower of the modernity. They convince those with power that they are law-abiding subjects of society; -~ __ however, they need not actually be as submissive as they want the elite to believe. / Authentic Citizen vs. Copy Citizen ‘Authentic Citizen: | My previous definition from the last paper: | ‘A subject of society who abides by the rules of the Western code as defined by | ‘modernity. \ My current definition: | A subject of society who convinces the modernity that he/she abides by the rules of the | Western code defined by the modernity. YVordran | Copy Citizen: | My previous definition from the last paper: \ \ Citizens who no longer fit the continuously changing rules of the Wester code as defined by modernity. My current definition: A citizen who is exposed as no longer fitting/following the continuously changing rules of the Western code as defined by modemity. Copy citizen and authentic pirate are synonymous. Capitalism (n) Outside Sources: © An economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state (Oxford) ®) Economic system, dominant in the Western world since the breakup of feudalism, in which most of the means of production are privately owned and production is guided and income distributed largely through the operation of markets. (Britannica) My definition from the previous paper: © An economic system in which the market is greatly operated by private owners instead of by the state. Crisis and conflict may be at the heart of capitalism.Bobman My definition as of now: an economic system in which the market is greatly operated by private owners who either make-up part of the modernity (and thus hold great power) or eventually end up feeding the modernity (sometimes unknowingly because of trickery, and other times deliberately these private owners funne! additional wealth into the pockets of the already rich). Because of the elite’s role in capitalism, crisis and conflict will always remain at the heart of this system. Capitalist (n) A Outside Sourees: ‘ A wealthy person who uses money to invest in trade and industry for profit in accordance with the principles of capitalism (Oxford) My definition from the first paper: ® Someone who tries to accumulate wealth through investing in the market economics’ My definition from the previous paper: © Anyone who seeks treasure in any form! Aka EVERYONE! My definition as of now: Capitalism is rooted in self-interest, thus a capitalist is anyone who seeks treasure of any form. Obtaining treasure requires using the commodities one already possesses to accumulate even more. This occurs on a day-to-day basis. Even the poorest people 0 least one valuable treasure that they constantly implement in their hunt for wealth ~ self, People use their bodies to achieve or obtain valuc ~ even the littlest things we do capital we have in order to gain more treasure, exploiting our own value in the hopes can increase our worth and obtain more wealth. Anyone who has ever wanted somethin in life, whether that something is as simple as nourishment or as complicated as a big mansion overlooking the water, is a capitalist, and everyone has wanted something every single day of their existence. Even as a baby, for example, we wanted someone to feed or >> change us, so we used our cuteness and ability to cry to obtain the desired treasure ~ a full belly and a clean diaper. Literally, everyone in the entire world is a capitalist even if they do not live in a capitalistic society (although | am not sure any society that is not at / least somewhat capitalistic even exists). | ‘The “Best” Capitalist: Best is a relative term. The best capitalist is not perfect, not even close. However, the best capitalist’s methods more effectively allow them to procure treasure than the methods of others. These methods can function in a greater number of situations than the methods of others as demonstrated throughout history and in currently in society. Even in the face of new constantly changing barriers seeking to deter these pirates from their capitalistic goal these capitalists work around the obstacles and ultimately reach their goal more often and quicker than other capitalists faced with similar (or the same) difficulties. The best capitalist is | the best pirate. To he the best pirate-capitalists requires one to be cunning and adaptable in their piracy. Piracy (n) Outside Sources: (The practice of attacking and robbing ships at sea or the unauthorized use/reproduction of another's work (Oxford)Bobman, © Any robbery or other violent action, for private ends and without authorization by public authority, committed on the seas or in the air outside the normal jurisdiction of any state (Britannica) © An unlawful depredation at sea involving the use or threat of violence possibly, but not necessarily, involving robbery. It is a type of organized crime. (Murphy) © any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers ofa private ship or a private aircraft {UNCLOS) My definition from the first paper: Entrepreneurial acts involving acts labeled as illicit or illegal under the Western code of modernity, carried out on the high seas for private ends My definition from the previous paper: (© Entrepreneurial actions involving acts labeled as illicit or illegal under the Western ~ > code of modernity, carried out in any setting. | My definition as of now: © Entrepreneurial actions involving acts that have beenVare soon to be labeled as illicit or | > illegal under the Western code of modernity, carried out in any setting to further a capitalistic goal. For an act to be distinguished as illicit/illegal, it must do at least one of | the following: (1) fail to benefit those with power or (2) shorten the gap between the wealthy and non-wealthy members of society. _| Pirate (n) Outside Sources: © 4 person who attacks and robs ships at sea (Oxford) © Naked, opportunistic capitalists (Clarke Speed) © According to Murphy, pirates are greedy criminals, willing not only to economically damage society, but also to physically hurt individuals to accumulate treasure. Murphy would likely agree with the following statement: Long John Silver is an authentic pirate, but intellectual pirates are just copies. Pirates violate legally sanctioned intellectual property in the commercial sphere through acts such as reprinting and redistributing materials (as discussed by Johns) My definition from the first paper: ‘A resourceful entrepreneur who has a similar approach to obtaining treasures as that expected by law-abiding citizens of society. Pirates are fortunate opportunistic capitalists My previous additions to the above definition Pirates transgress codes, attacking establishments by subjecting the code to violence ~ whether it be physical, economic, or solely violence in the form of radical thinking all pirates use some form of violence. Authentic Pirate vs. Secret Pirate Authentic Pirate: An authentic pirate is anyone who plays the game of capitalism in a manner deemed unacceptable by modernity on the basis that it is harmful to (or at least «does not benefit) the big corporations and monopolies that feed the powerful rich. A pirate will subject the code of society to violence - more often than not, the common form of violence used by all authentic pirates occurs in the form of radical thinking. Historically an authentic pirate is any agent with capacity who operates against the codesBobman ofthe center, All authentic pirates are equivalent to copy citizens, which too can be equated with authentic citizens. ‘A Few Examples of Authen es: tic intellectual/printing pirate: This is probably the most commonly existing authentic pirate nowadays. Intellectual pirates are involved in the reproduction and redistribution of a commodity of any medium — cither physical materials such as books or an online file such as music. Because this can often be done away from the public eye, intellectual piracy is more likely to go uncaught/undetected than sea-based piracy. According to Johns, intellectual piracy “simply reflects the rise of intellectual property” (Johns 6). = authentic sea-faring pirate: often when people hear the term pirates they think of guns, boats and treasure-chests full of gold, like ean be seen in Pirates of the Caribbean. These pirates are what I would call sea-faring pirates — that is pirates ‘who sail the seas as they hunt for treasure. Often these pirates incorporate strategic physical violence (see below), but do not use malicious nor sadistic physical violence (see below) despite the association with these forms of physical violence that is often depicted in movies and in some books (ex: Small Boats, Weak States, Dirty Money). Long John Silver is a perfect example of a true authentic sea-faring pirate. Secret Pirate: The elite that make up the modernity and have set the guidelines for the western hegemony. The elite are pirates of the less-fortunate’s treasure, ensuring that the | _/ elite not only retain their wealth and power, but increase their own capital while lowering | | that of society. Ultimately, this keeps the rich wealthy and powerful, while ensuring that | others cannot reach and maintain elite status. These secret pirates fail to receive the | “pirate label” because they are the ones who create and assign the labels and thus they obviously do not label themselves as pirates (that would hurt their elite status!) \ Violence = Outside Sources: \ Behavior involving physical foree intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something (Oxford) Intense, turbulent, or furious and often destructive action or force (Webster) ©) An unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power, as against rights or laws (Dictonary.com) My definition from the previous paper: Force or power used with the intent of change. It may be just or unjust depending on the situation and the scale of change that the action hopes to cause varies greatly Forms of Violence: Social Upheaval vs. Economie vs. Physical Social Upheaval Violence: Subjecting a code to radical thinking leads to change through social unrest resulting from the questioning of modemity. Thus upheaving what is already established is a form of violence. All piracy incorporates this form of violence. Note: social upheaval may incorporate physical andlor economic violence, but it does not require either of these be involved.Bobman Economie Violence: Damage on the economy often done through stealing from the rich and the big corporations. Online piracy involves economic violence (instead of physical), Truly, most forms of piracy involve economic violence because all forms involve accumulating treasure of sorts (if the treasure sought holds value to someone other than those seeking it, it likely is a form of economic violence). Physical Violence: I personally would define physical violence as the intentional use of physical force that may lead to harm, injury, or even death. Physical violence does not imply malicious intents and sometimes it is considered necessary depending on the given situation. While this is commonly associated with sea-bound pirates, they do not perform violent acts unnecessarily just for the sake of harming others as Murphy believes, — Forms of Physical Violence: Two main forms of physical violence occur for what I would consider evil purposes (malicious and sadistic physical violence), while the other key form occurs as a means of accomplishing a goal only when some sort of physical action is deeme: necessary (strategic physical violence) Malicious Physical Violence: Malicious physical violence is physical force with the/sole (or at least central) intention of inflicting pain on someone. It is cruelty for the sake being cruel. While this may end up assisting one in reaching a goal, itis not done with the purpose of accomplishing anything besides inflicting pain on another and thus does niot require the inflictor to benefit from the encounter. Sadistic Physical Violence: Sadistic physical violence is very similar to malicious physical violence; however, there is an added “bonus” for the inflictor —a sense of pleasure or joy that comes out of secing another physically harmed, injured, or even This twisted form of violence requires a certain mindset as most people (I hope) do not get pleasure out of others pain and suffering. Thus, this is likely the least common form of physical violence that occurs in society. Strategic Physical Violence: Strategic physical violence is physical violence used as a| last resort, on used when deemed necessary to successfully reclaim capital. There are evil intentions behind this physical violence and violent actions are minimalized as muc! 4s possible in these encounters, Because of this lack of cruelty, one could actually argue strategic physical violence is truly the only “good” or “moral” form of physical violence since, in some cases, the successful procurement of treasure can benefit the greater society (or at least a larger, less well-ofT portion of society than it had been benefiting). And if this strategic physical violence is used to take from elite and monopolies, than the piracy helps recirculate some of the stolen capital to those who the elite sought to further, marginalize, Even in cases where the pirates keep all the treasure for themselves and do not redistribute to those outside their crew/group, this still allows for some recirculation because these pirates are among the common people wronged by modemity. ‘Treasures (n) Outside Sources: (YA quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects (Oxford) My definition from the first paper: plotBobman, Something of value to you personally. It varies from person to person, remaining dependent on your individual value system on which you have decided in some manner, Value is produced by the evaluation of something and it is expected you would do anything to protect something of great value to you. The world contains an infinite number of treasures! Commodity Outside Source: a useful or valuable thing, such as water or time (Oxford) ®) an economic good (Webster) © something useful or valued (Webster) My previous definition: something useful or valuable ~ aka something that one considers treasure! There are many (maybe even an infinite number) of different commodities. Items of monetary value, information, and knowledge are all examples of commodities. The value of a commodity varies with time and the person you ask. Lio, ow | Bown ehete TM Lows mee org ant Ne Welty — ey/t i 4 Te Nye heey