In this chapter, Castells explains how the Information Age is evolving into a network society with new means of power, production and experience.
Castells begins the chapter talking about a change from traditional capitalism to one he coins "informational capitalism". With this new form, Castells sees changes ahead for the way class relationships occur and they way in which production and labor will be carried out.
He speaks of generic labor (limited skill base) vs self-programmable labor (educated/limitless potential) Unlike the self-programmable laborers, the generic laborers can be easily replaced with machines, hence the reason they are usually the first to go.
Along with labor/production being transformed, so to is capital. Castells has three levels to explain how capital works under "the network enterprise". First level relates to "the holders of property rights"; shareholders, families, and the entrepreneurs. Castells mentions the latter as being key to the future of informational capitalism. The second level, "managerial class" is basically the ones in charge of the capital when the holders of the property are absent. Lastly, "global financial markets" are where the business goes down. Thanks to technology, informationalism brings about the "annihilation of space and time by electronic means." In other words, capital is always in motion and new ventures always being sought after. Institutions around the world are jumping on the global financial networks to boost revenue and seek out potential earnings.
Next, class relationships are discussed with regards to the social stratification theory. The new system will cause the top and bottoms of the social classes to greatly expand creating greater "polarization" among them. Basically, those who are less educated and cannot hold their own will lose their "safety net." Castells also mentions "social exclusion" and how life crises lead the person/worker on a "downward spiral of social exclusion, toward what I have called the "black holes of informational capitalism," which is difficult to escape." Going along with this idea, a Marxist way of looking at these new class relationships is looked at..and I think it is safe to say we all know his deal. I kind of got the whole survival of the fittest notion when reading this chapter.
Castells brings a good point; politics has become a theater and it's the media's job to spread the power. (I believe) the bottom of p.320 helps relate this point quite clearly. "Cultural battles are the power battles of the Information Age. They are primarily fought in and by the media, but the media are not the power-holders. Power, as the capacity to impose behavior, lies in the networks of information exchange and symbol manipulation, which relate social actors, institutions, and cultural movements, through icons, spokespersons, and intellectual amplifiers." After reading this, I could not help but think of Fox News and CNN.
Moving on, Castells talks of how an end to patriarchalism and the emergence of an egalitarian family structure will mean the dawn of a new system/society. "Rebuilding families under egalitarian forms is the necessary foundation for rebuilding society from the bottom up." I read that a couple of times because I think it makes a great deal of sense. Down the road this would mean the end of gender roles/norms, as they would not make any sense in a society where men and women are looked at as exact equals.
The new network society Castells speaks of exists in a "real virtuality." From what I gathered on this part, it seems as though culture/the way things are done, is being, like everything else, transformed. "This virtuality is our reality because it is within the framework of these timeless, placeless, symbolic systems that we construct the categories, and evoke the images, that shape behavior, induce politics, nurture dreams, and trigger nightmares." Interactions between others occur on an individual "self" and "net" basis now.
In order for the network society to work, a new form of politics based on changing culture attitudes must arise. "Culture as the source of power, and power as the source of capital, underlie the new social hierarchy of the Information Age."
2 comments:
Before Castells began his research with the Information Age, and "informational capitalism," he was a key member for the development of a Marxist Urban Sociology, in the 1970's. I think this prepped him for his work and ideals about production, power and experience. During this time, he introduced a concept of "collective consumption" and emphasized the role that social movement has on the urban landscape. I think the writer did a good job of laying out Castells mentioning of class relationships compared to his three levels of capital success under the "network enterprise." I think Castells breakdown of class relationships is a good way to classify the rankings of people how they, and how they are perceived. Castells mentions social exclusion as the de-linking between people as people, and people as consumers or workers. It is a kind of survival of the fittest idea when Castells mentions the comparative data that shows most people work for pay, even in the poorest or neighborhoods, cities, or countries. The safety net point that the writer brought up is a good one, but the writer didn't mention the next point Castells made of "downsizing" the middle because the safety net is gone, which is something that MADE the strength of advanced capital societies during the industrial era.
The next point of the media circus surrounding politics and the theater of the spreading of power that it has become is a good one. Castells mentions on pg. 320 the notion of US versus them which, I think is this chapter is all about, in the fact that the leaders who are most credible are the ones that are going to be favored according to Castells. Castell has a somewhat synthetic way of merging empirical research that happens to exist already is evident in his combining of urban sociology, organization studies, internet studies, social movements, sociology of culture, and political economy transition. I think the writer does a good job of summing this up by saying the culture and way things are done, like everything else is being transformed, and it truly is a new society for all parties involved. Our society is now largely an egalitarian one that allows everyone to succeed if they realize the ideals mentioned above, and work hard. In the end, this is an information age, the writer concludes with a quote with underlying factors to the new social hierarchy. With a new culture, new attitudes must arise.
I believe that the blogger did a great job on hitting all of the key points throughout the chapter. Through talking about labor production, calls relationships and power in politics it helped to focus on specific points throughout the chapter of which to focus on.
I found it very interesting when Castells differentiated between generic labor and self-programmable labor during the transformations between the relationships of production. We always talk about how one day we are all going to be replaced by machines, and here Castells talks about how maybe not all of us but those select few. The main difference is how those with an education or access to obtaining a higher education, can learn new skills, and reformulate the old ones in order to suffice a better means of production. However, when it comes to the generic workers they do not show any ability to expand their skills and develop new ways to perform. When performing the same task day after day, Castells says it is easy to be placed by a machine.
Throughout talking about social exclusion and class relationships Castells discusses the “de-linking between people as people and people as workers/consumers.” It goes into talking about generic jobs again, and how it continues to go throughout a variety of different jobs, putting people in and out of work. It reminds me of how things are happening today. In the auto-industry jobs are constantly being replaced with robots, that can get the job done faster and probably more accurate. It is a sufficient way for companies to expand without having to pay employment salaries and worrying about injuries on the job site. However, what are this skill workers suppose to then do after their jobs are replaced. With their generic work they do not hold the skills to go into another line of work.
Post a Comment