A definition and criticism of cybercommunism Tere Vadén and Juha Suoranta Abstract When Zizek (2002b) defines his idea of cybercommunism using an adapta- tion of the Leninistformula 'Socialism —free access to internet + the power of the Soviets', he omits the crucial part about electricity. The cybercommunist idea that the information society is more 'spectral' and 'malleable' than mere the previous 'crudely' economical societies conceals the question of what types of communities it favours. The political economy of cybercommunism also demands an analysis of the material conditions of cyber-freedom that can be conceptualised, for instance, in terms of levels of decreasing alienation. Cybercommunism and capitalism f we accept the notion of égaliberté (the demand for equality- freedom that transcends any existing order) proposed by the French philosopher Etienne Balibar in the context of digital technology, it can be claimed that digital information has tremendous revolutionary potential. As noted by US president Ronald Reagan as long ago as 1989 (quoted in Kalathil & Boas, 2003), 'Technology will make it increasingly difficult for the state to control the information its people receive. ... The Goliath of totalitarianism will be brought down by the David of the microchip'. Anything that can be presented as digital code can be copied with very little cost and no loss to the original. Once the necessary infrastructure is in place, digital information is not a scarce resource. Consequently, the cornucopian digital sphere supposedly transcends the physical limitations of traditional economies. 159