The Information Society: A Sceptical ViewISBN: 978-0-7456-2685-7
Paperback
208 pages
June 2002, Polity
This is a Print-on-Demand title. It will be printed specifically to fill your order. Please allow an additional 10-15 days delivery time. The book is not returnable.
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In this timely new book, Christopher May surveys some of the most
influential and important writings that declare we are entering a
new information age. It is frequently asserted that this will bring
about a social transformation and that the character of work is
being transformed by the widespread deployment of information and
communication technologies. In a similar manner we are told the
world of politics is changing, with new communities emerging which
will alter the practices of politics in profound and novel ways,
and which will significantly reduce the role of the state and
government. Each of these claims is subjected to a detailed
critique.
Christopher May suggests that while there have clearly been some
major and important changes prompted by the information technology
revolution, these are often changes only in the forms of activity
and not their substance. The information age represents some marked
and important continuities with previous social practices, rather
than the overthrow of all that has gone before. This sceptical view
balances and moderates the often hysterical celebration of the new
information society – a celebration which, the author argues,
often lapses into an apologia for modern capitalism.
The Information Society will be of particular interest to students in sociology, politics, political economy, media and cultural studies and information studies.