Contenido
En la década de 1970, Castells desempeñó un papel principal en el desarrollo de una sociología urbana marxista. Enfatizó el papel de los movimientos sociales en la conflictiva transformación del paisaje urbano. Introdujo el concepto de «consumo colectivo» (transporte público, vivienda pública, etc…) como marco de un amplio abanico de luchas sociales, trasladadas del campo económico al político por la intervención del Estado. Abandonando las rigideces del marxismo a principios de los años 80, empezó a concentrarse en el papel de las nuevas tecnologías en la reestructuración de la economía. En 1989 introdujo el concepto de «espacio de los flujos")», los componentes materiales e inmateriales de las redes globales de información mediante los cuales la economía se coordinaba de una forma creciente, en tiempo real, a través de las distancias.
En la década de los 90, combinó ambas líneas de su investigación en un voluminoso estudio, La era de la información, que se publicó como una trilogía entre 1996 y 1998. En respuesta a la crítica acogida de dicho trabajo en un largo número de multitudinarios seminarios celebrados en universidades de todo el mundo, se publicó una segunda edición de la obra en el año 2000.
El análisis de Castells se desarrolla a lo largo de tres dimensiones básicas: producción "Producción (economía)"), poder y experiencia. Con ello pone énfasis en que la organización de la economía, del Estado y sus instituciones, las formas de significación en sus vidas que crean las personas mediante la acción colectiva, son fuentes irreductibles de dinámicas sociales. Han de ser entendidas en sus propios términos, así como en relación con las demás. Al aplicar dicho análisis al desarrollo de Internet, Castells enfatiza los papeles del Estado (en lo militar y académico), movimientos sociales (hackers y activistas sociales) y empresas en el moldeado de la infraestructura en relación con sus (conflictivas) agendas.
Globalization and the information age
Over the last thirty years he has carried out research relating economic evolution and political, social and cultural transformations within the framework of a comprehensive information theory. The results of his work are collected in the trilogy The Information Age, translated into several languages, as well as a succession of subsequent investigations and publications.
In the words of Manuel Castells, The Information Age is our age:.
The sociologist establishes an analytical distinction between notions of "information society" and "informational society", with similar implications for the information/informational economy. The term information society highlights the role of the latter in society. But he maintains that information, understood as the communication of knowledge, has always been fundamental for any society, including medieval Europe, which was culturally organized and to a certain extent unified around scholasticism, that is, an intellectual framework.
In contrast, the term informational denotes the attribute of a specific form of social organization in which the generation, processing and transmission of information become the fundamental sources of productivity and power, thanks to the new technological conditions that emerge over the centuries. Castells' terminology tries to establish a parallel with the distinction between industry and industrial. An industrial society (as a common notion in the sociological tradition) is not only a society in which there is industry, but one in which the social and technological forms of industrial organization permeate all spheres of activity, starting with the dominant ones and reaching the objects and habits of everyday life. Castells' use of the terms informational society and informational economy attempts to more precisely characterize the current transformations, beyond the mere observation that information and knowledge are fundamental for our current societies. To determine the real content of “information society” observation and analysis must be used.[8].
Understanding the modes of technological development as the mechanisms through which work acts on matter to generate a product, each mode of development is defined according to the element that is essential to promote productivity in the production process. Thus, in the agrarian development mode, the source of the increase in surplus is the result of the quantitative increase in labor and natural resources (especially arable land) in the production process, as well as the natural endowment of these resources. In the industrial mode of production, the main source of productivity is the introduction of new energy sources and their availability to be used in production and circulation processes.[8].
In the new mode of information development, the source of productivity lies in the technology of knowledge generation, information processing and symbol communication. Without a doubt, knowledge and information are decisive elements in all modes of development, since the production process is always based on a certain degree of knowledge and information processing. However, what is specific to the mode of information development is the action of knowledge on itself as the main source of productivity. In the new mode of informational development, the source of productivity lies in knowledge technology, information processing and the communication of symbols.[8].
The information society and the welfare state
Together with Pekka Himanen, Castells has published a case analysis of his theories in the book "The information society and the welfare state." The case of Finland is presented as a successful example of insertion into a globalized world hand in hand with the development of the information society, maintaining the social contract between the state and society with its population and a fairly homogeneous distribution of those benefits. Thus, they demonstrate how, unlike the United States, the globalization of its economy does not translate into social inequality that is reflected in the increase in the marginality of the individuals most unprotected by the state. In the Finnish metamorphosis, the following are demonstrated as key elements: the Finnish citizen identity reinforced by informationalism, the ability of the state to combine the development of that identity through the promotion of the information society and its synergies with the private and public sectors as well as between the latter. In a world of global flows of health, power and images, the search for collective or individual identity, assigned or constructed, becomes the fundamental source of social meaning, he writes. As a consequence of the current prevalence of information technology, a gap is opening up in the world between a globally connected techno-elite and community identities, entrenched locally. Castells highlights the importance of the modern localization process along with globalization. Castells envisions a century in which identities will be absorbed into the network, or excluded from it, as has been done with some indigenous tribes on reservations. These will be, he maintains, the cultural battles of the century.[9].
Informationalism and network society
Informationalism is a technological paradigm. It concerns technology, not social organization or institutions. Informationalism provides the basis for a certain type of social structure called a network society. Without informationalism, the network society could not exist, but this new social structure is not a product of informationalism, but of a broader pattern of social evolution.[10].