Is Socialism Relevant in the “Networked Information Age”? A Critical Assessment of The Wealth of Networks (original) (raw)
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1 Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler is one of the most respected contemporary spokespersons for what we are all now quite rehearsed at calling the "Internet Revolution." He is widely recognized for his analysis and advocacy of knowledge-based peer production "protocols" most commonly associated with the Internet. 1 Benkler's most recent book, The Wealth of Networks, 2 is his most accessible and ambitious statement in support of the "social sharing" practices that define what he calls the "networked information economy." In the first paragraph, Benkler makes the book's central point utterly clear.
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Abstract: This article critically discusses the intellectual and conceptual shifts that have occurred in information society theories (and also policies) in the previous four decades. We will examine the topic by focusing on the work of Daniel Bell and Manuel Castells, arguably two of the most important infor-mation society theorists. A key element in the academic shift from “post-industrial ” (Bell) thinking to the discourse on “network society ” (Castells) is that it has brought forward a different way of under-standing the role of the state vis-a-vis the development of new information and communication tech-nologies, as well as a new assessment of the role of the state in the economy and society at large. Against the Keynesian undertones of Bell’s ideas, Castells ’ network society theory represents a ne-oliberally restructured version of “information society ” that is associated with the rise of flexibility, indi-viduality and a new culture of innovation. We argue that these chan...
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Situating Manuel Castells's three-volume work, The Information Age, within a broad tradition of classical social theory that has sought to come to terms with the emergence of new forms of social, economic and cultural life, critical consideration is given to a series of concerns, including questions of analytic perspective and in particular the relevance of the work of Marx; the concept of the network society; the movement from production to consumption as the primary medium through which individuals are engaged within contemporary society; and issues of identity and community. In contrast to Castells's identification of an ethical foundation or spirit of informationalism, it is argued that an aesthetics of consumption is central to modern society in its informational capitalist phase and that as society has become more exposed to the consequences of informationalism and the associated globalization of capital, the prospect of living in an ethically responsible manner has di...
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Since 1994 when the first browsers made their appearance the internet became the ‚new medium' par excellence. As is always the case with new media, there was an intense discussion about the future usage and effects of the new technology. One of the central arguments of this discussion was that the new medium might solve the problems of capitalism-Bill Gates coined the phrase ‚frictionless capitalism'. In the first part of my paper some of these discourses are analyzed. These discourses, often publicly uttered by conservative and liberal politicians, try to construct the internet as commercial medium solving problems of late capitalism. But already the dotcom-crash 2001 hinted at problems with that construction. In the second part there is a discussion of a special interpretation of Marx' theory of capitalist crisis. It is arguedalso with recourse to Norbert Wiener-that the internet is part of the third industrial revolution which might lead to a very deep and even terminal crisis of capitalism. Instead of solving the problems of capitalism the internet might deepen them. We are witnessing since 2008 a chain of ever increasing symptoms of a deep crisis. By using Marx' approach some of the important effects of the new medium can be described far more accurately than does the unreflected euphoria of Gates and others.