Agency of "Anonymous": Possibility of "multitude" in digital space

Abstract

One of the most popular concepts in contemporary political philosophy is that of “multitude”, which means the joint exercise of power by a great number of individuals, connected among themselves only by their singularities. This article is made up of two parts. In the frst, I present a genealogical interpretation of the concept of “multitude” in contemporary political philosophy, which treats “multitude” as a type of embodiment of power in a “society of control” coming after a “disciplinary society”. The contemporary internet-movement of “Anonymous” most sharply embodies this type of functioning of power dispersed between singular individuals. A juxtaposition of “Anonymous” as a movement functioning in digital space and “multitude” as a political concept is treated in the second part of this article.