Network Society

Network Society. November 25th, 2008 Manuel Castells, a former professor of UC Berkeley until 2003, published in the year 2000 a reversed version of the book The Rise of the Network Society: The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume I: The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. It is one of the first books which treats extensively the question about how modern society changes under the influence of globalization and the information technology. His main argument is that the information technology and in particular the internet is transforming the society. The internet becomes the source of identity. People organize their life around this new medium. Space is no longer a question of distance but of being related to someone through the internet. Social movements and group identities are shorter – in a sense of time – and individuals can participate in different groups and change them more easily. Societies are characterised by the fact of embracing this new technology and developing it further. While in the 20th century basic elements of progress were capitalism and state, in the 21 century progress is mainly made in developing the production of knowledge, information and symbolic communication. Castells calls this the informational capitalism. The financial sector becomes the first global player. An autonomous financial policy is not possible anymore. A main question is in which way modern technology and a society based on reason and justice can be developed. Knowledge is a key factor of in this development. In which way can modern technology and the internet be transformed in a medium of knowledge exchange? Companies use the internet in many ways to enhance their cooperation inside and with other companies. Schools and universities are still behind when it comes to such exchanges. There are still far more part of national identity and national thinking – at least in the fields of humanities. A better understanding of different cultures, traditions and their history is essential to develop a common ground of human civilization. Students should learn about with each other and not only look for communication when it comes to music or movies. What do students in other countries learn? What are their interests? What do they express when it comes to their history? Telling someone about me begins by telling him/her about my life. Isn’t that the same for countries who find their common ground in history? So why don’t we move up and look beyond our horizon? Why should we let our work disappear or present it to teachers and professors instead? Let’s start to get involved, to become an active part of the information society. Let’ share our knowledge and our ideas and look beyond our horizon.

posted by Dr. Andreas Heuer, to access his profile@Students Space, join Students Space.