Capitalism or information society? The fundamental question of the present structure of society
- 20 November 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in European Journal of Social Theory
- Vol. 16 (4) , 413-434
Abstract
Theodor W. Adorno asked in 1968: What is the fundamental question of the present structure of society? Do we live in late capitalism or an industrial society? In today’s society, we can reformulate this question: What is the fundamental question of the present structure of society? Do we live in capitalism or an information society? This article deals with these questions. A typology of information society theories is presented. Radical discontinuous information society theories, sceptical views and continuous information society theories are distinguished. Second, an alternative concept that is grounded in Hegelian philosophy and Marxist political economy is presented. The basic argument is that the emergence of transnational informational capitalism is a transformational sublation, but not a radical one, and that informational capitalism is just one of the forms of capitalism that co-exist today. There is a unity of diversity of capitalism(s).Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Labor in Informational Capitalism and on the InternetThe Information Society, 2010
- New imperialismGlobal Media and Communication, 2010
- A Contribution to the Critique of the Political Economy of Transnational Informational CapitalismRethinking Marxism, 2009
- Information and Communication Technologies and SocietyEuropean Journal of Communication, 2009
- Self‐organization, knowledge and responsibilityKybernetes, 2005
- Critical Theory, Information Society and Surveillance TechnologiesInformation, Communication & Society, 2002
- ‘INFORMATION SOCIETY’ AS THEORY OR IDEOLOGY: A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE IN TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE INFORMATION AGEInformation, Communication & Society, 2000
- Materials for an exploratory theory of the network societyThe British Journal of Sociology, 2000
- Has British Capitalism Changed Since the First World War?The British Journal of Sociology, 1993
- Marxist Class Categories and Income InequalityAmerican Sociological Review, 1977