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Informationalism and the network society 21their origins, they interacted extensively in their development. Thus, theculture of personal freedom that originated in the university-based socialmovements inhabited the minds of the innovators who designed the actualshape of the technology revolution. Thus the personal computer was contemplated,in direct contradiction to the programmed trajectory of the corporateindustry. And the tradition of proprietary invention was challenged, by assertingthe right to diffuse, at no cost, the protocols at the source of the Internet orthe software programs that constituted the bulk of applications of the newcomputing world. The university tradition of sharing discovery and communicatingwith peers was relied upon, in the hope of seeing invention improvedby the collective work of the network, in sharp contrast to the world of corporationsand government bureaucracies that had made secrecy and intellectualproperty rights the source of their power and wealth.One had to be imbued with the ideals and values of the cultural movementsof the 1960s and 1970s, oriented toward free expression, personal autonomy,and challenge to the establishment, in order to imagine the set of inventionsthat constituted the information technology revolution. Microsoft was, ofcourse, the exception to the rule, and this is reflected in the animosity that stillarises among the cutting-edge innovators of the information age. So, whilemost of the processes of technological innovation, and informationalism, originatedindependently of the corporate world (except for the invention of thetransistor, which was, in fact, rapidly diffused into the public domain by BellLabs), the shape and content of technology was culturally influenced by thesocial movements of the time. Not that the inventors were social activists (theywere not, they were too busy inventing), but they breathed the same air of individualfreedom and personal autonomy that was sustaining the movement, andwas sustained by the movement (Levy, 2001).On the other hand, when business engaged in its own restructuring process,it took advantage of the extraordinary range of technologies that were availablefrom the new revolution, thus stepping up the process of technologicalchange, and hugely expanding the range of its applications. Thus, the decisionto go global in a big way, while being facilitated by government policies ofderegulation, liberalization, and privatization, would not have been possiblewithout computer networking, telecommunications, and information technology-basedtransportation systems. The network enterprise became the mostproductive and efficient form of doing business, replacing the Fordist organizationof industrialism (see below). While it is true that the internal decentralizationof companies and networks of firms began earlier, based on the fax,telephone, and electronic exchange systems, the full networking of companies,the digitalization of manufacturing, the networked computerization of servicesand office work, could only take place, from the 1980s onwards, on the basisof the new information and communication technologies.
22 Manuel CastellsIn sum, the culture of freedom was decisive in inducing network technologieswhich, in turn, were the essential infrastructure for business to operate itsrestructuring in terms of globalization, decentralization, and networking. Onlythen could the knowledge-based economy function at is full potential becausedata, minds, bodies, and material production could be related globally andlocally, in real time, in a continuous interactive network.From the restructuring of business emerged the global, networked economy.From its success, and the simultaneous demise of statism, a new modelof informational capitalism was constituted. From the opposition to its social,cultural, and political consequences emerged new forms of social movement.From the globalization and networking of both business and social movementsarose the crisis of the nation-state of the industrial era. In sum, from the interactionbetween three originally independent processes (the crisis of industrialism,the rise of freedom-oriented social movements, and the revolution ininformation and communication technologies) there emerged a new form ofsocial organization, the network society.THE NETWORK SOCIETY: STRUCTURE, DIMENSIONS,DYNAMICSA Global SocietyDigital networks are global, as they know no boundaries in their capacity toreconfigure themselves. So, a social structure whose infrastructure is based ondigital networks is by definition global. Thus, the network society is a globalsociety. However, this does not mean that people everywhere are included inthese networks. In fact, for the time being, most are not. But everybody isaffected by the processes that take place in the global networks of this dominantsocial structure. This is because the core activities that shape and controlhuman life in every corner of the planet are organized in these globalnetworks: financial markets; transnational production, management, and thedistribution of goods and services; highly skilled labor; science and technology;communication media, culture, art, sports; international institutionsmanaging the global economy and intergovernmental relations; religion; thecriminal economy; and the transnational NGOs that assert the rights andvalues of a new, global civil society (Castells, 2000a, b; Held and McGrew,1999; Volkmer, 1999; Stiglitz, 2002; Juris, 2004).However, the network society diffuses selectively throughout the planet,working on the pre-existing sites, organizations, and institutions that still makeup most of the material environment of people’s lives. The social structure isglobal, but most human experience is local, both in territorial and cultural
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22 Manuel CastellsIn sum, the culture of freedom was decisive in inducing network technologieswhich, in turn, were the essential infrastructure for business to operate itsrestructuring in terms of globalization, decentralization, and networking. Onlythen could the knowled<strong>ge</strong>-based economy function at is full potential becausedata, minds, bodies, and material production could be related globally andlocally, in real time, in a continuous interactive network.From the restructuring of business emer<strong>ge</strong>d the global, networked economy.From its success, and the simultaneous demise of statism, a new modelof informational capitalism was constituted. From the opposition to its social,cultural, and political consequences emer<strong>ge</strong>d new forms of social movement.From the globalization and networking of both business and social movementsarose the crisis of the nation-state of the industrial era. In sum, from the interactionbetween three originally independent processes (the crisis of industrialism,the rise of freedom-oriented social movements, and the revolution ininformation and communication technologies) there emer<strong>ge</strong>d a new form ofsocial organization, the network society.THE NETWORK SOCIETY: STRUCTURE, DIMENSIONS,DYNAMICSA Global SocietyDigital networks are global, as they know no boundaries in their capacity toreconfigure themselves. So, a social structure whose infrastructure is based ondigital networks is by definition global. Thus, the network society is a globalsociety. However, this does not mean that people everywhere are included inthese networks. In fact, for the time being, most are not. But everybody isaffected by the processes that take place in the global networks of this dominantsocial structure. This is because the core activities that shape and controlhuman life in every corner of the planet are organized in these globalnetworks: financial markets; transnational production, mana<strong>ge</strong>ment, and thedistribution of goods and services; highly skilled labor; science and technology;communication media, culture, art, sports; international institutionsmanaging the global economy and intergovernmental relations; religion; thecriminal economy; and the transnational NGOs that assert the rights andvalues of a new, global civil society (Castells, 2000a, b; Held and McGrew,1999; Volkmer, 1999; Stiglitz, 2002; Juris, 2004).However, the network society diffuses selectively throughout the planet,working on the pre-existing sites, organizations, and institutions that still makeup most of the material environment of people’s lives. The social structure isglobal, but most human experience is local, both in territorial and cultural
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