The war of the worlds

Modernist engineering is commonly seen as serving the corporate whim, but today the corporation is in the service of empire. What is this empire idea all about? More than mere metaphysical musings, the notion of empire was powerfully portrayed in a book by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri called Empire (2000) which created quite a stir a few years ago. If we are indeed in the throes of empire, the question becomes what to do about it. Hardt and Negri have written a more recent book called Multitude (2004) which suggests alternatives. The organized, disenfranchised, politicized groups of the world can form a loose affiliation (the multitude) which takes issue with the excesses of empire and promotes the common good. Focal engineers can be part of that multitude.