自由的末日寓言：峇里島的數位遊牧

Abstract

本研究探討一群來自歐美國家、自稱數位遊牧（digital nomads）的青年遠距工作者如何透過網路與通訊科技（ICTs）在印尼峇里島實踐新型態的「自由」，以及隱身在這種「自由」背後的風險與後果。全球北方－南方跨域移動所創造出來的額外消費力，許諾了遊牧者在東南亞優渥的生活，但這幅寰宇主義（cosmopolitanism）式的理想藍圖卻也危機四伏。綜合線下與線上的田野工作成果，我將（一）以生存體制（regimes of living）為方法考察數位遊牧仰賴的特定技術與政治條件；（二）從規模化（scalability）和品牌化（branding）的角度呈現遊牧者在兩個峇里城鎮打造的共同工作空間；（三）分析共同工作空間中的遊牧者如何以新自由主義的邏輯理解「社群」，而「社群」又如何培養樂觀卻脆弱的企業家自我；（四）描述2020年上半年新型冠狀病毒（COVID-19）疫情期間，峇里的遊牧社群分崩離析的經過，並指出這場災難之所以難以挽回，可能與遊牧者認識世界的方式有密切的關聯。

Digital nomad (DN), a new type of transnational expatriate working remotely in the Global South via information and communication technologies, has become a significant trend among Euro-American youths. Based on my offline fieldwork in Bali, Indonesia, and online participant observations, I attempt to (1) reveal the regimes of living of DN, namely, the technological, political and ethical conditions that enable their pursuit of cosmopolitan freedom in Bali; (2) illustrate their daily life in co-working spaces in two Balinese towns ethnographically, and indicate the potential risk behind this seemingly scalable project; (3) analyze the cultural logic of DN communities through the making of neoliberal self; (4) discuss how the account of Covid-19 led to the sorrowful aftermath of DN communities in Bali, which, I suggest, has its roots in DN's “Western” ideology.