On Data, Media, and the Deconstruction of the Administrative State

I shall start with some belated and limited conclusions.11 focus principally on the United States Kingdom. Obviously, many of developments explore are global ones, albeit course local contingent variations. Resurgent forms authoritarian nationalism, for example, currently key to governing regimes in countries as diverse Brazil, China, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Russia, Turkey. Right-wing nationalist-populist movements spread too Italy, electoral victory Lega Five Stars Movement; France, strength Marine Le Pen's following; Germany rise AFD; Austria Freedom Party. In elections Kingdom 2016, an unstable bloc militant liberals neo-fascists fashioned new media data practices smash existing political norms institutions order restructure reality, ‘deconstruct administrative state’, further hollow out democracy de-regulate capital.22 Stephen K. Bannon, Conservative Political Action Committee, 22 February 2017. (See, Philip Zuker Robert Costa, ‘Bannon Vows a daily fight ‘deconstruction state’,’ Washington Post, 23rd 2017.) Definitions follow shortly, but orientation, word ‘liberal’ here is not used common mistaken modern US parlance ‘progressive,’ rather reference liberal praxis emerging from eighteenth century limit state action enlarge sphere market. explicate place elaboration economy first half twentieth Cinema Wealth Nations: Media, Capital, Liberal World System, Berkeley, 2018. For material defining ‘liberal,’ see pp. 38-45. return fascism. Ongoing press, parliamentary, congressional, legal investigations both sides Atlantic broadly reveal that actors re-worked recently established ‘surveillance capitalism’ marry produced by people their interactions social Internet ‘psychographic messaging’ designed influence thoughts actions.33 E.g. ‘Disinformation “Fake News” Interim Report,’ UK Parliament, Commons Select Digital, Culture, Media Sport 29th July 2018, accessed August 6th https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcumeds/363/36302.htm; Electoral Commission, UK, ‘Report Investigation respect Leave.EU Group Limited,’ 11th May 9th, House Commons, “fake news”: Final Eight Report Session 2017-19, HC1791, 18th 2019, March https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcumeds/1791/179102.htm; ‘Democracy under threat: risks solutions era disinformation monopoly: Standing Committee access information, privacy, ethics,’ 42nd Canada, December June 25th https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/ETHI/Reports/RP10242267/ethirp17/ethirp17-e.pdf; David Smith, ‘Mark Zuckerberg vows election meddling marathon Senate grilling,’ The Guardian, April 2018; Carole Cadwalladr, ‘The great British Brexit robbery: how our was hijacked,’ 7th 2017; ‘Follow data,’ 14th Hannes Grassegger Mikael Krogerus, turned world upside down,’ Motherboard, January 28th ‘Putin's chef, troll farm St Petersburg – plot hijack democracy,’ Observer On emergence surveillance capitalism monetize extracted people's interaction Internet, particular, Soshana Zuboff, ‘Big other: prospects information civilization,’ Journal Information Technology, 30 (2015), pp.75-89; John Bellamy Foster W. McChesney, ‘Surveillance capitalism: monopoly-finance capital, military industrial complex, digital age,’ Monthly review, Vol. 66, Issue 03, July-August 2014. Commercial procedures such those integral business model entities like credit-rating agency Experian (1996) multinational search corporations Google (1999) Facebook (2004) were supplemented governmental mass PRISM programme 2007 part expansion ‘exceptional’ ongoing ‘War Terror’.44 claims its database has 300 million individuals 126 households company can segment into 71 ‘personality types.’ ‘Experian Audience Lookbook,’ Tactical Tech, Personal Data: Persuasion. Inside Influence Industry, available here: https://cdn.ttc.io/s/tacticaltech.org/Personal-Data-Political-Persuasion-How-it-works.pdf, last October 2019. role played agencies generating about people, establishing economic personhood, Josh Lauer, Creditworthy: A History Consumer Surveillance Financial Identity America, New York, insight broker industry, O.H. Gandy, personal information,’ Janet Wasko, Graham Murdoch, H. Sousa eds., Handbook Economy Communication, Malden, MA, 2014, pp.436-457. exceptional expanded after 9/11 see, Giorgio Agamben, State Exception, trans. Kevin Attell, Chicago, 2005, 32-36. code name program which National Security Agency collected communications routed through companies Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, more. See Glen Greenwald, No Place Hide: Edward Snowden, NSA, State, London, 2015. early 2000s, hybrid governmental/commercial consulting began meshing what one close centre this history Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) called ‘influence operations’.55 SCL Group, https://sclgroup.cc/home, 16th deployed data/media complex referendum campaigns across world, including Australia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Thailand, elsewhere.66 p.78. Cambridge Analytica, much news grew built harvested sells (and public sets censuses, credit reports, insurance data, so on) construct psychological profiles populations develop near-personalized propaganda system using screen attitudes conduct.77 ‘“I made Steve Bannon's warfare tool”: meet war whistelblower,’ Observer, Matthew Rosenberg, Nicholas Confessore ‘How Trump consultants exploited millions,’ York Times, 17th Ryan Watts, Izzy ‘Cambridge Analytica: How scandal unfolded,’ 10th Isobel Thompson, Analytica going global,’ Vanity Fair, 26th Both Britain leave European Union (EU) broke laws spending collusion amass use it deploy shape voting populations.88 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcumeds/363/36302.htm. Vote Leave campaign services small Canadian-based analysis firm known Aggregate IQ (AIQ). AIQ worked extremely closely SCL. data: does document link billionaire?’, EU, then, analytics firms ties para-military operations organisation Cadwalladr Mark Townsend, ‘Revealed: bound Leave's controversial Analytica,’ 24th now effectively government received largest ever fine breaking safeguard spend money dark ads.99 Jessica Elgot, ‘Vote fined reported police Commission,’ Pegg, drops appeal against offences,’ March, Many these ads targeted directly newsfeeds behavioural warned illegal migration Kingdom, number them straightforwardly lied asserting Turkey large Islamic populations) joining Union. revelations show, too, Russian fostered beginning around 2013 try or simply virally confusion via strategies propagating ‘disinformation’ have long been significant KGB controlling secret service cyber component ‘information warfare’ foster interests.1010 ‘Russian targeting infrastructure during 2016 election: summary initial findings recommendations,’ Intelligence, 8th 9th https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/publications/russia-inquiry; Luke Harding, Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, Russia Helped Donald Win, Michael Connell Sarah Vogler, ‘Russia's Approach Cyber War,’ CNA Center Naval Analyses, Analysis Solutions, 2017, https://www.cna.org/CNA_files/PDF/DOP-2016-U-014231-1Rev.pdf. (Here weakening NATO EU alliances rolling back globalization, project frequently found cause fascism.)1111 Anton Shekhovtsov, Western Far Right, Al Jazeera, Death Right,’ broadcast December, Currently, government, formed campaign, refusing release report funding Party interference.1212 Dan Sabbagh ‘PM accused cover-up over politics,’ 4th November Broadly, sobering conclusions demonstrate operations’ enabled collection form psychographic messaging viral distortion operationalized transform reality. Any genealogy intersecting threads revolution present, must excavate radicalization liberalism sprawling well-capitalized efforts systematically 1970s. Key radical libertarian reduction authority (or supra entity) regulate sustain architecture democracy, exceed rightfully protector property rights.1313 neo-liberals shared goals, libertarians something classical laissez faire liberalism. But former, tied together intertwined financialization governed international International Monetary Fund latter focussed deconstruction re-articulation rights. neo-liberalism is, course, well-known, befitting centrality capitalist between coup Chile 1973 financial crash 2008. (For useful guides, Harvey, Brief Neoliberalism, Oxford, 2007, Daniel Stedman Jones, Masters Universe: Hayek, Friedman, Birth Neoliberal Politics, Princeton, 2012, among others.) less visible merits attention given growing importance post-neo-liberal appeared emerge 2016. Useful materials be Jennifer Burns, Goddess Market: Ayn Rand American 2009, particular pp.256-66; Sara Diamond, Roads Dominion: Right-Wing Movements Power States, 1995, pp.123-127; two brilliant essential books: Nancy MacLean, Democracy Chains: Deep Radical Right's Stealth Plan Jane Mayer, Dark Money: Secretive Billionaires Trying Buy Control US, Over time, disparate group billionaire network capital re-shape ‘think tanks,’ front groups, academic positions departments (notably Law Economics), fellowships, foundations, policy support radical-right-leaning politicians, practices.1414 Money; McClean, Chains; Jason Stahl, Right Moves: Think Tank Culture since 1945, Chapel Hill, 96-133. funded 5,000 scholars, more than 24 centers, contributed hundreds millions dollars teaching free-market ideology at nearly four-year colleges. 354-78. McClean shows clearly private ‘educational’ programs flourished same time donor networks working defund education. Chains, pp.63-70, 218-219. It concerted effort sphere. Cato Institute described ‘protecting government’.1515 Dwight R. Lee, Calculus Consent Constitution Capitalism,’ 7 (Fall 1987), p.332, cited p.81. project, agendas expedited when ideological workers think tanks, educational populate cable 1980s particularly 1984 Cable Act again 1996 Telecommunications stripped away regulations cross medial ownership corporate conglomeration dawn commercial age.1616 history, Holt, Empires Entertainment: Industries Politics Deregulation, 1980-1996, Brunswick, N.J., 2011; Eileen Meehan, ‘A Legacy Neoliberalism: Patterns Conglomeration,’ Jyotsna Kapur Keith B. Wagner Neoliberalism Global Cinema: Marxist Critique, 2013. (Fox, 1996, empire NewsCorp step fragmentation mediascape ultimately down idea ‘news’ differing epistemological communities.) Overall, subsumed within broad rubric logic deregulation, ‘problem’ ‘solution,’ diverged notably structural crisis neo-liberal 2008–9 subsequent bailout banks.1717 Ronald Reagan's inaugural address, 1981: ‘In present crisis, solution problem; problem.’ Reagan, Inaugural Address, 20th 1981, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=43130, September 13th Kotz, ‘End Era? Crisis Restructuring Left Review, 113 (Sept.-Oct., 2018). Billionaire petrochemical oligarch Charles Koch, declared ‘over-reach’ protect finance architectures, combined Barack Obama's 2009 introduce health insurance, meant America ‘faced greatest loss liberty prosperity’ 1930s.1818 p.6. Koch criticised Milton Friedman because they sought ‘to make work efficiently true should tearing root’. Brian Doherty, Radicals Capitalism, pp.442-3. Koch's opposition globalisation attenuated shaped formation ‘Tea Party’ 2010, largely (though mostly secretly) espousing welfare matters care taxation.1919 Lee Fang, Machine: Field Guide 2013, pp.83-124; pp.165-197, 240-67. practice ‘astroturfing,’ whereby sponsorship messages hidden appear organic.2020 throughout) elite top-down direction groups who had roll regulation, bears stating Tea also bottom-up revolt elites became central revolutions perspective, Theda Skocpol Vanessa Williamson, Remaking Republican Conservatism, 2012. Here relentless assault government. Astroturfing broader manufacture control sustains interests blocs capital. year, decision Supreme Court media, money, speech, rendered Citizens vs. Federal Elections Commission defined equivalent triggered void limitations elections.2121 Election 130 S. Ct. 876, 558 U.S. 310, 175 L. Ed. 2d 753 (2010). determined independent expenditures do give appearance reality corruption. below discussion. case, SpeechNow.org v. FEC, lower court relied strike contribution limits Committees (PACs) engaged did contribute candidates. (SpeechNow.org 599 F.3d 686 (D.C. Cir., 2010), cert. denied sub nom Keating 131 553 (2010).) PACs could point accept unlimited undisclosed contributions. most recent definition highest land will describe outcome momentarily often forgotten extraordinarily film Hillary: Movie, derail Clinton's bid become Democratic presidential nominee 2008 right-wing/libertarian pressure oligarchs. Much rematerialized media. planned show television, contravened law create level playing field candidates limiting amount democratic days leading up election. distortions wealth democracy. though, Justices voided restrictions produce persuasive violated First Amendment rights corporations. Regulating regulating proposed, regulation thus stopped allow speech flourish. extraordinary decision, activist ‘neoliberal jurisprudence’, predicated long-standing ideas ‘free’ market radicalized libertarian-financed 1970s ‘freedom’ re-imagined pursuit ends valences attach popular sovereignty democracy.2222 Timothy Kuhner, ‘Citizens Jurisprudence: Resurgence Economic Theory,’ Virginia Social Policy Law, 18: 3, 2011. reasoning logics destruction ideals Wendy Brown, Undoing Demos: Neoliberalism's Revolution, intensification process post-2016, ‘Neoliberalism's Frankenstein: Authoritarian Twenty-First Century ‘Democracies,’ Critical 1, No. By constraint freedom, ‘rights’ right free re-deployed powerful organisations unregulated accumulate over-ride democracy.2323 redeployment discourse enable legitimised violence ‘rights-based violence’ (in particular) rights, Jodi Melamed, Represent Destroy: Rationalizing Violence Racial Minneapolis, Proliferation Rights-Based Capitalist Pedagogies Collective Action,’ Quarterly, 70, 2 (June fundamentally transformed law, enabling realities. minor ‘documentary’ massive ‘dark’ untraceable 2010 turn position culminated election.2424 226-239. Roughly $144 spent versus 1 billion 594% increase. Hansen, Rocca, Brittany Leigh Ortiz, Effects Citizen Corporate Spending 2012 Presidential Election,’ 77, (February 2015), p.535. bankrolled enormous sums Mercer earned computerised high-frequency algorithmic trading interregnum 2016.2525 ‘Robert Mercer: big waging mainstream media,’ Joshua Green, Devil's Bargain: Trump, Storming Presidency, 119-36. Capital (which Justice's theorized speech) put frictionless movement untrammelled annoyances taxation, reimagined majoritarian coercion minority liberty. Curiously, means unwatchable Hillary, Movie (arguably) probably made. connected ways nationalism neo-fascism break-up Soviet end anti-communist rhetoric conservatism 1919), millennium, still failure (as saw it) globalization. ethno-nationalist neo-fascist culture opposed immigration, multicultural societies (neo)liberal globalization civilizational hierarchy mixed newer currents fascist thinking ‘traditionalism’ threatened destroyed liberalism, egalitarianism, democracy.2626 Foster, ‘Neofascism White House,’ 58: 7; Geoff Eley, ‘Fascism then now,’ Socialist Register, 52. multiculturalism,’ Destroy. ‘traditionalist’ Sedgwick, Against Modern World: Traditionalism Intellectual Twentieth Century, 2005. As well known, inchoate modernity, traditions outwards, encompassing unresponsive globalizing damaging ‘western civilization’ underpinning outpouring racism violent misogyny exploded years media.2727 Angela Nagle, Kill All Normies: Online Wars 4Chan Tumblr Alt-Right, Winchester, Neiwert, Alt-America: Rise Age Marti Gurri, Revolt Public Authority Millennium, San Francisco, message boards 2003 aggregation sparked ‘irreverent’ obscene communication exemplified meme, gleefully conventions civility regulated expression overt misogyny.2828 Normies. Adrienne Massanari, ‘#Gamergate Fappening: Reddit's algorithm, governance, toxic technocultures,’ & Society, 19:3, Opposition immigration migrant refugee was, praxis.2929 Indeed, emphasises, ‘inseparable desire maintain white racial class dominance’ genealogical lines descent stretching founding constitutional protections slave holding resistance desegregation schools 1950s. p.8. Oligarchs members far-right nativist Birch following footsteps father member. pp.37-9. political, economic, contexts resurgence fascism heterogenous.3030 reminder Russi