The Society of Society
In: Constellations: an international journal of critical and democratic theory, Band 7, Heft 1, S. 144-148
ISSN: 1351-0487
In: Constellations: an international journal of critical and democratic theory, Band 7, Heft 1, S. 144-148
ISSN: 1351-0487
In: Central European political science review: quarterly of Central European Political Science Association ; CEPSR, Band 22, Heft 86, S. 13-45
ISSN: 1586-4197
World Affairs Online
In: Social research: an international quarterly, Band 68, Heft 4, S. 1011-1030
ISSN: 0037-783X
In: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies
"The International Society – World Society Distinction" published on by Oxford University Press.
The discourse on "the information society" developed until the 70's as one of the prevailing discourse in our society; with promises to link information technology and free market with economic growth and human progress. This eventually became something like the official ideology of the European Union as demonstrated by the famous Lisbon strategy to become "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world" placing "emphasis on the need to adapt constantly to changes in the information society". This discourse about "information society" raised its share of criticism based on technological determinism or the new informational prophecies, Here I think about the works of French authors, like Armand Mattelart, David Forest, Philippe Breton, and so on. This discussion is not intended to review the criticisms, but to go back in time and analyse what can be considered as the first concept of information and society in the wake of the cybernetic movement, in the United States, at the end of the 1940's.Now, briefly, what is cybernetics and how can it claim to be the first discourse about information society?
BASE
In: Peace Education in Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies, S. 59-74
In: German politics: Journal of the Association for the Study of German Politics, Band 12, Heft 3, S. 154-155
ISSN: 0964-4008
In: Sociology of the Sciences Yearbook Ser. v.18
In: Izvestia of Saratov University. New Series. Series: Sociology. Politology, Band 15, Heft 1, S. 29-35
'Society' is one of the most frequently used words in public life; it is also a foundational term in the social sciences. In our own time, however, the idea has never been so much in dispute and so little understood. For some critics, society is simply too consensual for a world of intensive discord. For others, the idea of 'society' is oppressive - the very notion, so some argue, is dismissive of the infinite social differences that shape global realities.In this erudite and original book, two of the world's leading social theorists focus on unravelling the different meanings of society as a way of introducing the reader to contemporary debates in social theory. The authors argue provocatively that all ideas of society can be assigned to one of three analytical categories, or some combination of these - structure, solidarity or creation - and develop a fresh characterization of the nature of the social as a means of understanding global transformations.By integrating abstract problems of social theory with empirical examples and political analysis, On Societyprovides lucid interpretations of classical and contemporary social theory. The book also critiques recent social theories that simply equate the demise of society with globalization, the communications revolution or multiculturalism, and in so doing provides an original insight into today's world.