Untitled - socium.ge

Informationalism and the network society 7is an empirical and theoretical error, as I will elaborate in the conclusion to thischapter. But let me advance the argument.The reason, very simply, is that, as far as we can trust the historical record,all known societies are based on information and knowledge as the source ofpower, wealth, and meaning (Mokyr, 1990; Mazlish, 1993). Information hasnot much value per se without the knowledge to recombine it for a purpose.And knowledge is, of course, relative to each culture and society. So, knowledgeof metallurgy or the technology of sailing or Roman law were the essentialmeans of information and knowledge on which military power,administrative efficiency, the control of resources, and, ultimately, wealth andthe rules for its distribution were based. So, if information and knowledge arethe key factors for power and wealth in all societies, it is misleading toconceptualize our society as such, even if, for the practical reason of makingcommunication easier, I gave in to the fashion of the times in my labels bycharacterizing our historical period as the “information age.” What we actuallymean, and what I always meant, is that our society is characterized by thepower embedded in information technology, at the heart of an entirely newtechnological paradigm, which I called informationalism. Yet printing is alsoa most important information technology, and it has been around for quite awhile, particularly in China. And we do not usually consider the post-printingsocieties as information societies.So, what is actually new, both technologically and socially, is a society builtaround microelectronics-based information technologies. To which I addbiological technologies based on genetic engineering, as they also refer to thedecoding and recoding of the information of living matter. Furthermore, informationtechnologies can be more properly labeled as communication technologies,since information that is not communicated ceases to be relevant.The early emphasis on information technology, semantically separated fromcommunication, reflected, in fact, the logic of stand-alone electronic devicesand computers. This is outdated, at least since the deployment of the Arpanet,more than three decades ago. It is also a reflection of the division of the worldof communication technology between computers, telecommunications, andthe broadcast media. Again, this is a distinction that has a relative justificationin the business and institutions that organize each domain, but is senseless intechnological terms. Thus, what is specific to our world is the extension andaugmentation of the body and mind of human subjects in networks of interactionpowered by microelectronics-based, software-operated, communicationtechnologies. These technologies are increasingly diffused throughout theentire realm of human activity by growing miniaturization. They are convergingwith new genetic engineering technologies able to reprogram the communicationnetworks of living matter. It is on this basis that a new social structureis expanding as the foundation of our society: the network society.