This article examines the history of neoliberal enclosures in the oscillating electrical and magnetic fields that surround us, the electromagnetic Commons. The relationship between the neoliberal phase of capitalism and the expansion of such new frontiers for privatization remains undertheorized. In “Spectral Frequencies,” the author contends that neoliberal appropriations of the electromagnetic spectrum have generated recurring apparitions for their proponents. These institutional anxieties about the expanding use-values in the spectrum that defy regulation demonstrate the contingency and instability of electromagnetic enclosures, features that make them susceptible to forms of targeted resistance.

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