From ‘Post-Industrial’ to ‘Network Society’ and Beyond: The Political Conjunctures and Current Crisis of Information Society Theory

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 information 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 understanding the role of the state vis-a-vis the development of new information and communication technologies, 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 neoliberally restructured version of "information society" that is associated with the rise of flexibility, individuality and a new culture of innovation. We argue that these changing discourses on the information society have served a definite hegemonic function for political elites, offering useful ideals and conceptions for forming politics and political compromises in different historical conjunctures. We conclude the article by looking at how the on-going global economic crisis and neoliberalism's weakening hegemonic potential and turn to austerity and authoritarian solutions challenges existing information society theories. The Origins of "Information Society"Discourses concerning "information society" have had a major influence on sociological thinking and also policy-making in the previous four decades. In this article we will analyse such discourses from a critical perspective, that is, by examining the ways in which the notion of "information society" has been formulated in different times, in response to changes in the political-ideological conjunctures of advanced capitalist countries. We will begin the article by looking at the emergence of "information society" as a key concept. This will be followed by a more detailed consideration and critique of the work of two important information society theorists, Daniel Bell and Manuel Castells. Their works have served hegemonic functions for political elites across the capitalist world, providing them with ideals and conceptions for forming politics and political compromises in recent decades. Yet, in the last part of the article we will discuss how the on-going global economic crisis and the concomitant weakening of neoliberalism has challenged the effectiveness "information society" as a tool for creating and maintaining global capitalist hegemony.The notion that "information" or "knowledge" somehow dominates societies has a real foundation in the needs of developing capitalism regarding the organisation of large-scale production and exploitation of labour, the efficient movement of raw materials and goods by transportation, and the collection of information regarding market successes and failures, all of which are dictated by the imperatives of capitalist ec...

Manuel Castells’ theory of information society as media theory

“…It will not be an over exaggeration to state that the discourse of information society lost its momentum -it went out of intellectual fashion as well as political agenda and gave its place to the visions of the creative and / or smart society. although the critics, who looked at the theories of the information society suspiciously as ideological constructs, created for political decisions, rather than instruments for understanding the social reality we lived and still live in (ampuja & Koivisto 2014;Garnham & Fuchs 2014) may now appear right, these theories should not be thrown out into the dump of history, as the things which are of no theoretical interest anymore. they are worth studying not only as a chapter of intellectual history, as an example of a particular zeitgeist which dominated the last years of the second millennium, but also meta-theoretically, as a recent ambitious theoretical attempt to explain the sum total of changes which took place in last decades.…”

“…thus, the present research focuses on one of Castells' intellectual forerunners -namely, Marshall McLuhan -and particularly on the influence of media theory on his theory of informational / network society -which is much less explored compared to the research of Castells' position in contemporary social theory (Webster 2006;Steinbicker 2001;ampuja & Koivisto 2014). not all Castells scholars envisage a direct continuity between the two thinkers.…”

Smileys Without Borders. A Critique of Transboundary Interaction Between Politicians, Journalists and PR Practitioners on Social Media

“…intermingling across professional fields with ease and treating digital space as a single common market, generates high flexibility scores. This is indicative of strong communicative entrepreneurship (see Ampuja and Koivisto 2014): the ability to be dynamic, vital, and creative all the time.…”

Political View of Informationalism: Social Media and Netocracy

“…In the same way, Castells embraces the informationalism approach, which focuses on information production and information processing, and which takes the place of industrial society. According to Castells, power is in the hands of those who program information and communication networks, control and connect them to other networks (Ampuja and Kovisto, 2014).…”

“…In this study, referring to the use of information as a means to create and sustain capitalist power in the information society, with a critical point of view and with the help of approaches to informationalism (Ampuja and Kovisto, 2014). It is also emphasized that there are answers to questions about the concept of netocracy that emerged as a new dimension of democracy and how and by whom democracy is applied in this new digital environment as well.…”