These Yes Men are the rightful heirs of the Yippies! of the 1960's, people like Abbie Hoffman and pre-sellout Jerry Rubin (Steal This Book). In many ways, partially due to advances in technology, they exceed the wildest dreams and fantasies of the Yippies quest to expose the truth about those in power. While the Yippies ran a pig named Pigassus for President in 1968 and then had a naked woman serve his head on a silver platter at the Republican convention, these guys have no need for such attempted rebrandings from outside; they show those in power going along with the most heinous things imaginable (their argument that the Civil War was a failure to wait for the magic of the marketplace to realize that it was more cost effective to enslave people in their country of origin was priceless, as was the lack of reaction).
It is hard for most to imagine just how amoral those in power politically and economically truely are. Now the Yes Men can make up for our lack of imagination by explicitly and clearly showing us the truth with their pranks. That they can both entertain us and provide us with an invaluable and irreplicable lesson about the world around us at the same time is amazing.
If you are at all interested in politics, economics, social justice, or the environment this is must read and must view material. You should also look for their new movie The Yes Men Save The World out soon on HBO.