<incom> Virtual Macedonia

[Kristofer Jovkovski]

Funny thing... These last few weeks I was just thinking of sending my
article "Second Life" to the incommunicado mailing list, when the
proposal for Village the Game came up. I don't think that there's going
to be any better moment. 
 
My article represents ambiguous call for virtualization of Macedonia as
a reaction to uncritical adoptation of western political and economical
culture values on the account of indigenous values and culture, at the
same time proposing practical model of the first ever virtual country -
Virtual Macedonia, inspired by latest cyber economy trends, i.e. spawn
of virtual world economy, specifically virtual world of Second Life
(along with it's
spiritual implications). 
 
The concept (here I thank my friends for the support!) was conceived
year and a half ago, before Macedonia was covered by WiFi
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4427960.stm),
but i was doing research and writing for the last 4 months, as the
article is about to be published in Macedonian contemporary arts and
culture magazine ART Republika. Hope you will find it interesting.

 
 
BTW,  
Please checkout more about Macedonia on http://adventures.yahoo.com/ 
    Second Life Second life is just one of dozen virtual worlds.
Residents, projected and embodied in their virtual identity, or avatar,
are exploring and discovering these virtual territories. Interacting
with thousands of avatars, they are sharing a consensual reality of a
virtual world. In the beginning, in 2003, Second life was conceived
unstructured, enabling the residents with development of intellectual
and investigative curiosity. The thing that gives Second Life distinct
flavor among others virtual worlds is the right of residents to own
their creations? Second life is not merely a game, but a platform for
user creation, offering control of every aspect of their virtual
reality, communication, socialization or, simply, experimenting. By now,
Second life has evolved into highly developed community with complex
social and even political structures, staging, as in the material life,
conflicts and criminal, parties, demonstrations, marriages, funerals and
art exhibitions. Virtual world's similarity with the material world
attracted the attention of academics, as a platform for testing of
economic models, socio-political surveys and as well for exploring new
education possibilities.       Second Life founders think of it as a
developing country. Amongst the books they found inspirational, is one
by famous Peruan neo liberal economist, Hernando De Soto. His idea of
successful economic development has clearly defined property rights as a
premise.  Second life's economy is based on innovative creation; trading
with virtual objects for virtual or real money. Linden Lab, company
behind Second life, makes its income by selling and renting virtual
land. Programmers, like real economists, are controlling the amount of
land and money in circulation. Second life residents own most of the
intellectual property, hence, acting as a collective, controlling power.
Economist Edward Castronova, specialized in virtual world sociology and
economy, in one of his studies, claims that eventual class conflicts
could be resolved by creating computer controlled bots, serving as a
socially low class, i.e. permanently poor people. Governing system of
Second life could be described as a creative anarchy with totalitarian
twist. Architects of Second life, i.e., Linden Lab programmers, by
interventions in the programming code, define basic rules of social
behavior, otherwise leaving complete freedom. Freedom   Slavoj Zizek
sees the playfulness of computer games and cyberspace as a rejection of
the finitude of human life. Cyberspace, with its capacity for
externalization of our innermost fantasies, appeals our Dionysian,
theatrical part of nature, as a scene for playing out our fantasies,
thus disclosing our real nature and confronting it. Instead of
fulfilling the darkest scenarios of addicting to virtual reality and
transforming into de subjectivised blinded individuals; sojourn in
cyberspace enables taking playful attitude, but simultaneously gives
distance form such reality.     Yes, freedom of speech and choice, but
as long as it is framed in the system coordinates. Matrix opened new
horizon depicting fantasy about discovering the fantasy and hard reality
core underneath, permeation of the fourth wall, membrane which separates
the theatrical scene from reality. "Real reality" is limiting, in
contradiction with the freedom values promoted by liberal democracy.
Taking in account cathartic effect of the movies, one can easily imagine
that capitalism will reabsorb its substantial contradiction and by
treating openly the virtuality of media reality, public will live
through the experience. Using the same capitalistic defense mechanism,
the message reaches generations that already presentiment the
uncertainty of reality, only to find affirmation of their hunch in the
subversive message of Matrix. The message is, we reached the reality
hardcore and lost the solidity of material world forever? Uncertainty 
Biggest number of the virtual world population are the generation whose
childhood was marked by first global PC and videogame boom, which
strongly echoed throughout mass culture of eighties. Residence in the
video game and cyber space virtuality, for these generations represents
sort of a second reality.  Immersed, but yet distanced they have
integrated the experience of role playing and energy resource economy
(do I have any life/energy left?) Fifteen years ago, generations grown
up on video games, due to their age and specific circumstances, only
switched to alternate reality, while older generations subdued in
cynicism and pessimism, tying with the materiality as their only
support, having their shell of reality broken. Now, imagination and art
are luxury of the bourgeoisie, conveying fantasy which supports their
material world. Perhaps, after all, as one of the greatest Macedonian
painters Dimitar Kondovski said, life is successive erasure of the youth
illusions.  What comes next? Which way now? What would happen if I acted
differently? Burdened and endowed with an higher awareness of possible,
alternative realities, I face Hamlet's uncertainty. Power of mind can
bend Newton's laws, but the sense of labile reality stays. TV Generation
     Media affects our reality. According to the Theory of Cultivation,
massive and long term exposition of a large and heterogeneous public to
centrally produced, mass distributed and repetitive system of stories,
generates cumulative effect of cultivation. Television is centralized
medium, distinguished by one way communication. Continual exposure to TV
generates distorted reality, to which consumer inclines more that to
objective reality. Prevailing TV content affects attitude, especially
children's, due to their underdeveloped critical filter. TV bombs and
occupies senses, blunting critical judgment, simultaneously biasing
consumer reality to controlled course. Virtual worlds and Internet are
interactive media with characterized by decentralized communication.
Virtual world cultivation effect is also affected mostly by its content.
 Sojourn in the distorted medium reality accumulates awareness for
missed opportunities in the objective reality. This awareness manifests
itself in excess of energy, with revolutionary potential. According to
Zizek, present revolutionary interventions, relives not only failed
revolutionary attempts from the past, but also failures to act out of
solidarity and respond to the call for empathy of those in the
surrounding reality who suffer. Violence and aggression dispose defense
mechanism from the awareness of failed attempts for social
interventions. In the same context, nostalgia represents yearning for
the alternative reality of possible past and missed opportunities,
yearning which generates excess of energy. Zizek sees "what if"
dimension in the core of Marxist revolutions. Utopian dimension of
universal emancipation, which, according to him, is excess, is not
rejected or diminished but transposed into projection of idealized
virtual state. NSK      In Slovenia in 1984 Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK)
art collective was formed, with retro - avant-garde as its artistic
procedure, based on the premise that past trauma associated with the
totalitarian regime, affecting simultaneously the present and future,
can be healed only by returning to the initial conflicts. NSK revives
the trauma of avant-garde movements by over identifying with it in the
stage of their assimilation in the systems of totalitarian states. If
two greatest totalitarian systems assimilated ideas and energies of
avant-garde movements, in the same time destroying them, assimilation
like that makes avant-garde art a tool of the totalitarian systems for
creating and shaping social reality. NSK takes over the tool and symbols
of political and religious power for the needs of art. NSK states" All
art is subject of political manipulation, except one that speaks the
same language of manipulation".The use of totalitarian rituals and
iconography for the needs of art, triggers, subconscious return and
reliving of the trauma associated with the political regime. According
to NSK, most important and also most traumatic part of the avant-garde
movements is operation and creation in a collective. While the problem
of organizing communication and enabling coexistence of various
autonomous individuals in a community, from the aspect of modern state
is seen as problem of collectivizing and socializing the individual,
avant-garde movements tried to solve the problem of individualizing the
collective by developing social organisms in which individual's
characteristics, needs and values not being able to integrate in systems
of formal states, could freely develop and define. NSK defines its
collectivism in the frames of autonomous state. The collective proclaims
in 1991 state of NSK as a state of mind.     Virtual Macedonia         
Macedonia is spiritual country of profound people, having its culture
originating from the deep tradition. However, by implanting extremely
materialistic culture and values that even the most developed
capitalistic countries are revising and varying. Radical virtualization
of reality would turn us back to our own natural needs. That would be
the final, strongest slap in our own face, as radical immersion into the
cyberspace would produce the opposite effect, in the same time, along
the immersion path would make us integrate, instead to enforce, the
democratic and open values of the medium, process which would finally
lead to reconciliation between the spiritual (i.e. cyberspace) and
material worldIt is essential to make space for the young people to
create their individual and collective reality. Imagine computer
simulation of a state, taking Second Life as example. Macedonian
government would accredit Virtual Macedonia as a legal state extension
in the cyberspace and would give rise to virtual institutions and legal
rights to the citizens, thus recognizing the first virtual sovereign
state act that would make precedence in the international politics and
instant popularity. Promotion the first virtual state would incite
knowledge and information revolution, changing the face of Macedonia.
Everybody willing to embody themselves with a virtual identity, or
Avatar, would have rights and possibility to create, own and trade
virtual objects, thus empowering himself.  Virtual Macedonia would be
introduced to the older Macedonians in a nostalgic manner that would
evoke ideological enthusiasm from their youth. Young people would, of
course, be riding enthusiastic energy wave of even greater
intensity.Virtualization of reality would help us relive traumatic
politization and transformation of everyday life. Experiences from the
virtual reality would affect our real reality. We could help ourselves,
and maybe most important, by taking more proactive part in creation of
their own reality, young people could break the karma of cynicism and
pessimism of elders. Virtual Macedonia could be practical model of
virtual state with its own territorial sovereignty, functional economy
and community rights and regulations, opened to the world. Virtual world
designed for creativity and driven by creativity.   Virtual territories
as dynamic systems unite and combine technology, economy, politics,
culture and education, can realistically mirror reality and help fixing
the shortcomings of life. Virtual Macedonia could be realization of the
prophetic words of the greatest Macedonian revolutionary Goce Delcev
from the end of the IX century "I see the world as a field for cultural
competition amongst nations", especially in the context of present and
future development of technology, having that the virtual territories
are yet to be conquered. In the end we substitute our own objective
reality with a projection in the virtual for better reality behind us. I
wouldn't want to think that all these years we denigrated ourselves for
nothing. In a way, we sacrifice our own freedom for collective freedom.
As long as needed.  Kristofer Jovkovski           04.06.2006  P.S.