The iron cage of the information society

Abstract

This paper offers an analysis and critique of recent thought about the ‘information society’. It identifies two phases of futurism, the first a technological enthusiasm that characterised the early 1980s, the second, in the 1990s, which emphasises the transformative capacity of information itself.

The second phase is examined at some length, focusing on the concepts of ‘symbolic analysts’ and ‘informational labour’ in the writing especially of Robert Reich and Manuel Castells. In current theory, information has been promoted to centre stage of economic affairs. A new intellectual agenda has been created, centring on features such as globalisation, the spread of networks, flexibility, and the crucial role of educated labour. Three key aspects are identified: the death of communism and the triumph of capitalism, the re‐emergence of meritocratic ideas, and the depiction of new class structures based on information. These are queried by empirical analysis of stratification trends and evidence from social history. Finally, it is argued that informational developments perpetuate processes of rationalisation and control, extending them in ways which might be seen in terms of ‘New Enclosures’.

Keywords:

• Information
• Castells
• symbolic analysts
• informational labour
• rationalisation