Objectivity, Subjectivity, and Intersubjectivity in Economic Geography: Evidence from the Internet and Blogosphere

Abstract

Prevailing attempts to reconcile paradigmatic differences in human and economic geography have tended to occur at the methodological level. Methodological concerns, however, do not adequately address the chasm that divides constructivist and positivist geographers in their understanding of the first-person subject and third-person object. Separability of the first- and third-person positions perpetuates a Cartesian world of subjects and objects. A relational economic geography coordinates subjective and objective relations intersubjectively through the second-person position. This intersubjective approach highlights knowledge construction as an interrelated phenomenon arising from the social interactions and communication of economic agents. Subjects and objects change positions while interacting, so that objective facts and judgment become subjectivized, and subjective experiences also become objectivized. We illustrate the role of interpersonal and reciprocal knowledge construction using the case example of computer vendor Dell, which recently launched a business Weblog to interact directly with its customers. Weblog discourses reveal communicative behavior directed both at seeking objective information and at locating subjective experiences, transforming objects and subjects in the context of socially situated intersubjective relationships.

Los intentos más importantes por conciliar las diferencias paradigmáticas entre la geografía humana y la económica ocurren de preferencia a nivel metodológico. No obstante, el simple interés metodológico no es suficiente para salvar el abismo que separa los geógrafos constructivistas y positivistas sobre su modo de ver sujeto y objeto en primera y tercera persona, respectivamente. La separabilidad de las posiciones de la primera y tercera personas perpetúa un escenario cartesiano de sujetos y objetos. Una geografía económica relacional coordina intersubjetivamente las relaciones subjetivas y objetivas mediante la posición de segunda persona. Tal enfoque intersubjetivo destaca la construcción de conocimiento como un fenómeno interrelacionado que surge de las interacciones sociales y la comunicación de agentes económicos. Los sujetos y objetos cambian de posición mientras interactúan, de tal suerte que los hechos objetivos y el juicio se subjetivizan, y las experiencias subjetivas a su turno se objetivizan. Ilustramos el papel de la construcción de conocimiento interpersonal y recíproco utilizando como ejemplo el caso del vendedor de computadores Dell, que hace poco lanzó una Weblog comercial para interactuar directamente con sus clientes. Los discursos de las Weblogs ponen de manifiesto un comportamiento comunicativo a la vez orientado a buscar información objetiva y a localizar experiencias subjetivas, transformando objetos y sujetos en el contexto de relaciones intersubjetivas socialmente ubicadas.

Key Words:

• Dell
• intersubjectivity
• objectivity
• subjectivity
• Weblog

关键词:

• 戴尔
• 主体间性
• 客观性
• 主观性
• 博客

Palabras clave:

• Dell
• intersubjetividad
• objetividad
• subjetividad
• Weblog

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the thoughtful comments of reviewers and Audrey Kobayashi that led to significant improvements in this article.

Notes

1. This article is not the first to highlight the relevance of intersubjectivity in relational knowledge. In casting structuration theory along ontological lines, Cohen (1989) points out that Giddens to some extent acknowledges intersubjective exchanges in the negotiation of meaning in social practices. Giddens's approach to relationships, for instance, involves the role of interpretative exchanges that give rise to social and structural rules as well as resources in the constitution of social life in locales. Similarly, the role of intersubjectivity in social science research has been recognized by Sayer (1992). For him, the dualistic conception of subjects and objects poses a barrier to the development of knowledge because knowledge and its practice are interrelated rather than separated; however, Sayer also set out to outline a realist rather than an intersubjective approach in the practice of research.

2. Habermas (1996) indicates that communicative freedom also involves obligatory norms where participants are interested in reaching mutual understanding through an intersubjective relationship rather than engaging in social discord.

3. See, for example, the debate among Markusen (1999), Peck (2003), and Hudson (2003).

4. See Silverman (2005).

5. A post represents the basic unit of a blog conversation (de Moor and Efimova 2004).

6. Dell's vice president of engineering, for example, wrote a detailed commentary explaining the cause of its faulty lithium-ion batteries (see direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/category/1022.aspx, last accessed on 15 January 2007).