The Network Society - University of Massachusetts Amherst

Afterword 429
After completing his monumental reference work entitled “The
Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture,” Professor Castells,
together with Professor Pekka Himanen, who likewise has honoured
us with his contribution to this volume, conducted a study of the
Finnish model for transition to the information society and the network
society.
In addition to the rigor that characterizes this project, it also had
the merit of revealing, in very expressive terms, that, similar to what
happened before with the development of the industrial society,
progress towards the information society and towards successful integration
into the global economy can be made through different histories
and cultures, following distinct institutional combinations and
achieving equally varied forms of social organization.
In clear contrast to the paradigmatic information society models
associated with Silicon Valley and Singapore, the Finnish case presents,
amongst other peculiarities, models that result from the presence
of a strong Welfare State in social life and the affirmation, no less pronounced,
of an own culture, language and identity. Benefiting from
high levels of social cohesion, a fully negotiated labour relations regulation
system, strong incentives for training and research in the information
technologies field and sustained State intervention in creating
the infrastructural conditions for the diversification and expansion of
its economy, Finland is a good example of how a country with limited
resources can, in the short period of only two decades, overcome difficult
economic crises and join the ranks of the most competitive information
societies.
In the reflection to be made on the opportunities within Portugal’s
reach in this field, there are certain traits of Portuguese society that
simply cannot be ignored.
The most worrying of all has, in my opinion, to do with the low
levels of schooling and literacy of the Portuguese population. In thirty
years of democracy, we have made important progress towards establishing
basic education for all and the number of young people achieving
access to higher education is in no way comparable with what the
Portuguese could expect during the dictatorship. However, the failure
rates in school and drop-out figures continue at high levels, placing
Portugal in a particularly unfavourable position in international com-