LAVERISIUS'S+RESEARCH+PAPER

   Part I The Concept of Homelessness  ‘Homelessness’ will be the term used to describe “propertyless individuals”—or those simply without land—but more specifically, the term will be used to account for those individuals who make no financial transactions within Secondlife. The point of this essay is not simply to validate how pervasive a theme homelessness might be in the virtual-world but to consider the many consequences that result from it not being a discernable feature. ‘Homelessness’ might be viewed as a rather bold term at first reckoning, but, in a broad sense, it epitomizes the restrictive nature of Secondlife which can be inextricably linked to the restrictive nature being brought to bear in reality: for in one instance it retains quite well how some members of society are forced to maintain themselves within excessively restrictive environments while simultaneously having to function outside of the profit-loop; in another sense, homelessness protracts the idea of there being a tremendous burden placed upon those individuals who do not actually //own// anything. So in reduced form, homelessness, we can say, requires individuals to adjust themselves to living within societies that are highly repressive and where opportunities are extremely limited to the bettering of their conditions—they are made to conduct themselves within what Lessig calls a “permission culture.”  How exactly neoliberals have gained legitimacy in promoting restrictive environments is a point of interest that will also have to be explored in some detail in the following pages; but to state briefly, now, that their ability to conceal anything negative has been a key factor in garnering enormous support for readjusting, or rather reducing, the modalities of constraint. Also, by giving credibility to the idea of homelessness, an opportunity arises to confront a larger issue that ties Secondlife in with reality (or vice versa) and allows portions of the material covered in class to be incorporated into this essay. The larger issue concerns how a newly modeled conception of property, torn from its traditional context, has become instead of a safety-net once used to secure an individual from illegitimate infringement to becoming a tool for a qualified few (owners) to extend control over the multitude.  The clear assertion of anything negative being subjected from view, in reality, is encapsulated in Klein’s work—who after studious effort exposed nearly 600 pages on what is occurring behind the scenes—and is expressed more eloquently by Lessig who explained in near anguish how he was unable to convince even our Supreme Court of the worsening conditions that stem from the new exertion being granted to property. In respect to this new vision of property, Secondlife may serve as model to show how restrictive reality might become if people do not gain a keener insight into the harm that stems from such a blind allegiance. And it is thus that Secondlife may, in a very real sense, serve as an indicator of where democracy is heading: for it embodies, in the most naked form, Freidman’s ideology of unfettered capitalism which depends on the full-fledged private takeover of government agency-work that inevitably leaves those of the public sphere to disperse and seek refuge under the private sphere.  The concept of ‘homelessness’ embodies how laws are being composed and enforced, granting owners an authority to which they themselves have magnified to such a degree that they now wield considerable authority to subject the public to their wills—that is, in telling individuals what they can and can’t do. And for this reason, in the matter of assessing the restrictive nature that has resulted in ‘homelessness’ from owners newly acquired power, I have decided to articulate some major points of Foucault’s analysis of jurisprudence to show how it has become the nature of law to control and direct those individuals being reviewed for a crime committed, yet it is how owners, under the neoliberal agenda, have been able to take the idea of law out of the context of applying preventive measures to control specific individuals to imposing them on the population as a whole.  Part II

Due to the brevity of this essay, I feel it proper to introduce to you how the whole notion of homelessness came about and how it translated into the larger issues that were being discussed in class at the time. Conclusively, simple observations had led me to imbibe a sense of displacement which slowly—but eventually—ballooned into realizing how deeply restrained I was in participating fully in the virtual-world. Yet the full weight of restriction was not at all noticeable at first. In fact, many competing factors—or more alluring features, such as creating custom avatars and having the ability to fly and teleport, etc—had distracted me from seeing the true nature of the world. 

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Things became much clearer, however, when I realized how the entire framework of Secondlife was centered on and around ownership and that it functioned entirely off an exchangeable currency. I soon learned that every little thing and object had an owner. This was a rather quick discovery, perhaps. But it was out of this simple discovery that I realized that there was little room for personal opportunity and personal decision. I found that being penniless produced a whole network of restrictions that, when taken together, had left me in an inflexible and permanent state: meaning, I could not create a life beyond what the owners allowed. And this fact alone resonates loudly what Lessig was drawing out in his argument: that owners have gained the ability to determine what individuals can and can’t do; thus how they have come to control the actions of individuals. An extract from my journal might be more insightful: <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'High Tower Text','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">Continuing on, I, without offering myself up to wage-slavery, had nothing to do other than walk-around; I //imbibed the sense of being homeless//! With nothing left to do but explore, I made the best of it and began to observe my physical surroundings. Beginning to see the restrictive nature of the world, I could not believe how rapidly negative things began to stand out. On one particular instance, I entered into a tropical landscape, with towering trees and multifarious plants, with pathways that cut up between them. I tried to pick up what appeared to be a meteoric rock or what in real life would probably be a rock that had been pushed up from underneath the mantle. I could not remove it from the ground, nor could I zoom in any closer on the object; and, all the more, I was stuck in a standing position so I could not get any closer to the object without totally stepping over it. Beyond merely describing the one and only modality of constraint—the owner's architecture—the striking thing about it was that the rock—or whatever it was—was actually owned! Hence, I soon learned that everything was owned; even if it were a useless item (having absolutely no value whatsoever)! Lessig had taken great concern, in reality, toward ownership of things of which no longer had any profit-value.

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Instead of looking at freedom—since the very word itself is only valuable in connection with the governing system—I started looking at the cornerstone of human ability, freewill—which implies the full liberty of doing whatever one wishes to do. By adjusting perspective, I had realized beyond the mere freedoms granted to me, which merely allowed me to function, that, in accordance to freewill, I could not better my condition. And no clearer evidence could have come than from noticing the mere fact that I could not steal. Well beyond the moral biases that circle around criminality, having the ability to act ‘willfully’ against a system or having the capability to ‘willfully’ brake the laws of a system, produces the most solid evidence of freewill. And since freedom necessarily ties itself to a system (meaning that the freedoms we have are granted by the systems that are made to govern us) and that freedom does not condone nor allow criminal activity, we must be careful when using the word freedom, and focus more on what the system does to freewill. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Beyond the semantics, crime ties into wider theme of this essay because it, again, validates freewill; but more convincingly it is a tool to ascertain the nature of freedom, which can be used to confirm the limited opportunity and the limited options that members of society have and evidences the clear limits in which they must function. So if we had to summarize all this, we could say that: our ‘freedoms’ in Secondlife are few and that our ‘freewill’ in Secondlife is nonexistent—since what we //will// to do is not even attemptable. Regardless of the differences between freedom and freewill, the injury done to both goes unnoticed because they are //intentionally// concealed from view—they are ‘blind-spots in the system.’ These "blind-spots" are concealed behind statistics (Berry), collusion (Klein), ideology of whatever sort (Durden), and likewise behind distorted views of history and a plethora of convenient facts that are only valid so long as the ideas that orchestrate them are sustained (Dewey).

Poverty is one such blind-spot. Ignorance toward Property is another. Homelessness is the result. To extract another part of my journal illuminates this point: <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'High Tower Text','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">What had grabbed my attention almost immediately was how second-life, a world modeled off reality, was to the contrary, a world without Poverty; and how this false perception did not in any way reflect my own particular situation. For behind the mask that conceals my own identity, behind the newish looking clothes that go without a speck of lint or dirt—never in need of a good wash—I am, behind that polished look, //penniless.// I am //absolutely// and //unequivocally broke//. Yet no one is able to discern this. The utter truth that, I would actually be trudging around naked and barefoot had the system not provided me with those luxuries is a truth that is kept hidden. So not only is the utopian illusion upheld but //anything negative remains invisible//.

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">[ADDING PICTURES SHORTLY] We can pick any picture above to review, none reflect poverty (Klien), illness or health (Barry) injury or harm (Lessig).

Nonetheless, by property and ownership rights being extended and exaggerated, and by everything being absorbed, owned, and retained by a solid few, the great many might find themselves in a situation very similar to what the term homelessness describes in this essay. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Part III <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Research and Analysis <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">To give primacy to the idea of ‘homelessness’ being a pervasive theme of Secondlife I have had to be rather constructive in collecting data adequate enough to prove or disprove this very proposition. There was no question that it in fact existed, however, because it was a reflection of my own peculiar situation; and, hence, I knew that if I were of this position, then there would have to be others. The question thus became, “how many others?” and “how could I prove there were others?” <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">When I searched for methods to evaluate homelessness in Secondlife, I had found only one suitable way to give evidence of its existence on a grand-scale, and that was to view individual (avatar) profiles which tell if the member has an inactive or active account. If an account was inactive it evidenced that no transactions have been made on Secondlife—since the American money is necessary to transfer into Linden dollars in order for any purchase or transaction to take place. I selected a random sample of 50 avatars to review for account-status. Assuming that the sample is an adequate representation, the results can extend outward to account for the population at large so long as the percentages are kept equal in proportion to the number being considered. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">To be as broad as I could in my evaluation, I selected ten different “Regions” to select individuals from. To ensure no biases were given to those whom I would select, I decided to check the first profiles of those I came across after immediately entering each region. I was content to choose five avatars from each, but that proved undoable due to population densities being extremely low in most instances. So, I entered each region and wherever populations were too low to account for five avatars I went to a new region and made up for the number lacking. The conclusion thus accounts for fourteen regions rather than the ten I originally decided upon. Below are the results of my sampling, they are in groups that account for the additional regions brought in, and the number next to the regions name indicates the number of avatars sampled. Below the list is a summary of the number of avatars that were found without “payment info on file.” <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Ocean Sunrise Region 1 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Azurae Region 4 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Big Ben 3 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Fantasy Land 3 1 __<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Boure Palace 1 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> __9 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Grass Region 5 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Rac City 5 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">The Pimp Shack 5 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Italian Life Region 5 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> __<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Dance Island Region 5 __ 8 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">SL New England Village—Mystic 5 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Asimov Park Region 4 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Mystique Island 1 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> __<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Glass Earth Region 5 __ <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin">7 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> 9 + 8+ 7 = 24 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">After taking the sample, the number of those who had “no payment info on file” and those who had “resident payment info on file” were unbelievably close. The sample produced a near deadlock. Twenty-four had no info on file while Twenty-six have. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">Looking at the number of those without “payment info on file” we can begin to ground some solidified arguments. The most relevant, I believe, can be based upon an evaluation of the practical function of the society. To be more precise, we can simply ask: “Can the society as a whole function in such an environment?” Fortunately in the virtual-world citizens do not have to make a living nor eat, so the conclusion will be positive since nothing is a challenge to an individual’s survival. But when we apply this question to reality, the vision that comes to mind is catastrophic. First and foremost it is important to acknowledge Lessig’s argument (which is an historical-walk-through of ownership rights) and agree that the course of action being taken in reality is being done for the purposes of bringing about such preventive measures as those seen in Secondlife, we may then—and only then—begin to consider the question, in regards to reality. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">The intimate connection to be made is to realize how hindering and dysfunctional our society could become if we continue to exaggerate the concept of property. Secondlife, if the sample I have taken is accurately representational, leaves half the society in a position to survive. So we are left to fathom the idea of roughly half a population suffering from “homelessness,”—those being left to suffice in an environment unsuitable to there well being. Evaluating the catastrophes of half a population being left to survive outside the profit-loop, are to be left for the reader alone to consider; for if I were to make a projection it would be nothing more than a mere assumption left open for scrutiny. But what becomes clear, from the sample taken, is that the sustainability and function of society is actually being threatened by property ownership rather than being secured by it. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">There are many parallels between Secondlife and reality, which the other members of my research team will be pointing out with their own emphasis. My interest and offering, however, has been, thus far, to point out the exaggerated power of owners and to relate that with an individual’s ability to function. My next focus is how ownership rights have led to a change in the application of law, which has ultimately worked to transform the architecture and coalesce the modalities of constraint. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">Part IV <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">“//The most careful ask to-day: “How is man to be maintained?”// //<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">Zarathustra however asketh, as the first and only one: How is // //<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">man to be surpassed? //<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">”     –Neitchze

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">The //idea of// property is what has led individuals to blindly accept the leading worldview: meaning they do not simply absorb it, they conform to it; and they do so regardless of the injuries they incur personally and regardless of how it serves to undermine individual capability in general. By falling to the //idea//, individuals have thus granted legitimacy to the actions being taken by the leading class (granting what Gramsci called “spontaneous consensus”) and thereby willfully relent to the architecture required to uphold the newly inflated concept. Strict measures of enforcement are henceforth necessary to ensure that the idea is defended and allowed to mature; which, of course, depends on a tremendous amount of supervision, constraint, and punishment. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">It is here that the Foucauldian analysis of jurisprudence becomes relevant. Yet I must pause briefly to make an important comment, and that is the revelation of homelessness is important for two reasons: The first was to show how Secondlife maintains the appearance of it being an ostensibly favorable system to the society-as-a-whole and has maintained its utopian appearance precisely by concealing the inequality in opportunity behind equality of conditions. The second reason, which follows directly from the first, is that exploitation and any harsh consequences that stem from readjusting the modalities of constraint have been repeatedly and intentionally hidden. It is for these very reasons I wished to ground the concept of “homelessness.” Klein and Lessig both give myriad examples of what is going on out-of-sight, homelessness being a concealed consequent goes to show how it all is being kept out-of-mind. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">Just as homelessness is concealed in Secondlife, so, too, are the harshening and restrictive conditions being covered up in reality. In both worlds, a innumerable but extensive portion of their populations are being made to conform to the will of owners; and, in a more sincere sense, they are being drawn into a position of dependency. Hence, without prudence being given to the idea of property to balance its effects, the cornerstone of the liberal doctrine, which is to exalt the idea of individuals being free from the will of others, is being undermined entirely. It is thus that Homelessness expounds how the power of ownership has transformed the focus of law—and not how the law, in its traditional setting, has intensified and given way to the newly, radicalized idea of property. All of this has led me to ponder how property and ownership rights have changed the focus of law, which Lessig lays out for us to examine. But I thought further into the subject wondering how the idea of property and ownership has expanded the boundaries of Law itself, not just the boundaries of the laws. And this is why Foucault must be brought into this essay. By attempting to explain the extended jurisdiction that this newly bolstered idea of property has allowed is the most important detail that the concept of homelessness exerts. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">To begin, Foucault expresses that the establishment of law and its institutions are somewhat illusionary insomuch as the arrangement of authority and the dispersal of power resides in a number of acting agents that rest outside of the legitimated institution itself (in his instance it was the Judiciary), yet as such, these outside agents (to Foucault, it was psychiatrist, probation officers, and the like) are overshadowed by the ruling misconception of power being held by one prominent authority. To equate this first point to Secondlife, we falsely assume that the legitimate authority is Linden Labs, and thus ignore the incredible amount of power owners have gained in directing and controlling our behavior, as well as the behavior of the system itself. All of this harkens back to how it is the discretionary decisions of the owners that come to determine our conditions. Secondlife and government have become vehicles for owners to subjugate the masses. Secondlife brings to life the concept of ‘//Economism,//’ which Gramsci used to summarize how economic or technological circumstances do not produce change in themselves. Rather, ‘//they simply create a terrain more favorable to the dissemination of certain modes of thought, and certain ways of posing and resolving questions involving the entire subsequent development of national life.’”// (extracted from //Genetically Modified Diplomacy//, Andree) <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">On another note, Foucault gave studious detail on how the law has weaned from judging criminal acts in a self-standing manner (that is, to judge just the crime itself), to focusing, in the modern-age, on punishing the criminal-nature of the individuals themselves. In this regard, the Individual became the primary focus. The result of all this being that law had taken up the task of correcting the individual, to prevent one from reverting back to crime. All of which had been accomplished by making Law a science, one that was to compile knowledge on how to master the “political technology of the body.” In simpler terms, law was made to focus on controlling and directing the soul. This was accomplished by evoking ‘preventive measures’ intended to restrain an individual from recidivism—probation and random drug test are two examples. For this reason we must keep in mind that ‘preventive measures’ are a form of punishment. In this way, Foucault, after reviewing discipline and surveillance, was able to reveal to his readers how our democratic societies have come to reflect prisons. (terms are directly pulled from //Discipline and Punishment//, Foucault) <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">Secondlife, I wish to show, has not only embodied this recent model of lawful jurisdiction (that is, one intended to pass judgment on the individual), but has extended it to allow ‘preventive measures’ to be cast over society-as-a-whole. The weighing emphasis on property has thus worked to extend the power of law well beyond its recent threshold, which was under Foucault’s evaluation was restricted to an individual. So, the focus of law has gone from inflicting preventive measures on a particular individual to inflicting them on the whole of society. The deemed necessity to uphold property ownership has allowed ‘preventive measures’ to be pre-introduced and pre-inflicted on the population as whole, with no crime having to occur before action is taken. It is important, however, to notice that such preventive measures were not imposed because the population-as-a-whole was deemed criminal. Rather because every individual in society still retained a capacity to become a criminal. And regardless of whether or not one would actually wind up doing something criminal, it is the mere notion that a crime being possible to commit, in itself, that has led to such preventive measures to be emplaced. The newly radicalized idea of property is what has allowed it. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">By exposing the idea of ‘Homelessness’ and validating its existence, it exemplifies the restrictive environments we are obliged to function in. And our abilities to compete have been greatly diminished because ‘preventive measures’ have been looked upon as actions that benefit rather than punish. Neoliberals, by adjusting the concept of property to promote their agenda, have succeeded in making owners the acting agents (those outside of the legitimated institution) of determining what is lawful and what is not—or to use Lessig’s argument, which he arrived at from a different form of analysis, and, thus, required slightly different wording, that owners can tell us “what we can and can’t do.” <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">Conclusively, Homelessness is a real factor; it is hidden factor, it is a consequence of property! Homelessness reveals how personal decision, creativity, freewill, and even freedom itself, is being stripped by a very concept that traditionally worked to solidify these things. Homelessness is not just applicable to Secondlife; individuals’ lacking the capacity to better their conditions is something that is taking hold in reality as well. It is a direct symptom of the neoliberal agenda. The injury remains hidden behind the //idea;// and until people reassess the concept of property itself, there it will remain. The inability of countries and individuals to compete does not stem from different problems—just one. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">Homelessness likewise draws attention to how the neoliberal ideology has taken hold and has been imposed on every world, be it virtual or real; how nations, homeland or foreign, are being made to kneel to this radical conception. They have extended the contours of law to encompass society-as-a-whole—something of which I have made clear in this essay—and made individuals relinquish the little control they have over their own destinies to handful of private men who have no interest in assuring theirs will be heeded to. Corporatism will undoubtedly define this moment of history, and it is unlikely that near future will break the hold they now possess over society. I actually expect the situation to get much worse. These huge conglomerates and multinationals will, I believe, become what I call ‘floating governments.’ This is something I only wish to point-out, not discuss. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">Wendell Berry, in his first chapters, gives us a glimpse of how important property is outside of the mere importance we give to it in connection with the individual. He explores what property means to society as a whole. He urges a recommitment to the land, not out of a pure nostalgia, in an excited hope of reintroducing a Jeffersonian America, but more rather to give a possible remedy, and to possibly reverse the dependency that capitalism has created: a Jeffersonian America would just be the result. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'">I have learned a great deal from Lessig and Klein, and likewise from Dewey and the authors of //Break Through//, but nothing was more invocative than the novel: //Fight Club//! Beyond the identical radicalism that Durden and Freidman shared, outside of the mere story which showed a movement stirring out of control to a point where it gave way to motives of its own, the parable—the story behind the story—was important. It was a story of our own minds being divided into characters who were brought to life: each representing a portion. The narrator was the part of our minds that people become acquainted with; Marla was our conscience and Tyler represented the portion of our brains that allows us to think abstractly. //Fight Club// allowed each of these portions to play out and to show the result. The point of the novel was to convey how we must return to reality. It amplifies how ideas must be kept in their proper context, that to carry them beyond a notion suitable to reality can be disastrous. Homelessness is proof. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Microsoft Himalaya'; mso-themecolor: text1">

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