webwork 4
They Rule,
by Josh On (United States), 2001-2004
White screen: an icon of an executive swivel chair spinning in mid-air over the words "THEY RULE"
Next screen, the minimalist corporate decor continues: a single stack of tidy words in the top-right corner of a white screen, a sense of veiled power, sub-cutaneous machinations, antiseptic potency concealing carnal corruption. "They Rule aims to provide a glimpse of some of the relationships of the US ruling class. It takes as its focus the boards of some of the most powerful U.S. companies, which share many of the same directors." The design's symmetry with corporate aesthetics brings to the mind the old adage: "we become what we oppose". In this case, it is a clever judicious assimilation of the conventions of corporate design clarity that contributes to the success of "They Rule".
In 2002, the first version of They Rule received the Golden Nica award for 'Net Excellence' at Prix Ars Electronica and exhibited at the Whitney Biennial. More recently, Josh On (They Rule creator), a committed socialist activist, continues to work in affiliation with Future Farmers.
As Josh On writes "please just see They Rule as a launch pad for investigations and not the definitive representation of reality." He also says: "An understanding of this system can not be gleaned from looking at the inter-personal relations of this class [the wealthy] alone, but rather how they stand in relation to other classes in society."
From a technical perspective, the restricted focus of They Rule exclusively on economic wealth is comprehensible and part of its strength. But as a tangent to this exclusively political analysis, I would love to see a site that incorporates a visualization GUI (similar to They Rule) with a comprehensive dataset that embraces complexity and include apparently disparate data. For example: is there a mathematical pattern between adrenal gland sizes and venture markets? Interrelations occur naturally at every strata of human society and organic ecosystems. Inequity is (or seems to be) universal. The human tendency to attribute a nefarious ego-impulse to this innate ecological reality makes it imperative to recognize that They Rule is a tool : a slick, deftly-programmed intelligent futuristic tool for advanced-activist enquiry.1
Intriguing usage #1: do a SEARCH from within They Rule on any director and check their donations history at opensecrets.org. One of the Walmart brothers seem to have a predictable penchant for supporting the "Committee for the Preservation of Capitalism". Bill Gates predictably gives money to Republicans, etc...Nepotism permeates the intricate structure of wealth.
Usage #2: flip through some of the MAPS. Money is its own ecosystem and these powerful (mostly) men in their expensive suits represent the enzymes deep within the textured gut of supply-demand economics. As ruthless as a troop of warrior ants, they devour and absorb. Their thickened laughter hurling over us like cigar smoke. They Rule documents their incestuous competitive carnality.
They Rule is one of those rare sites where the content material is actually so interesting it matches the design. If only the economic realities it depicts were as transparent and intuitive as its navigational structure, this would be a more benevolent world. The ease and transparency of the design layout, combined with an intriguing subject make They Rule an exquisitely idiosyncratic icon of activist web-design. Visit it today before They Outlaw It.
Notes
1 : See Josh On's commentary on this subject. 
David 'jhave' Johnston
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