Privacy Fundamentalism: An Essay on Social Responsibility

No abstract available

The Fellowship of the Net

The article revisits the tradition of religious socialism as a potential resource for the information age. It begins with a detailed exposition and defence of the ideas of network society theorist Manuel Castells. However, the article questions Castells’ reliance on contemporary social movements as a response to what he calls the bipolar opposition between the net and the self. Arguing for a more universal and ontological solution, it seeks to mobilise the nineteenth-century Christian socialism of Maurice, Ludlow and Kingsley, specifically their powerful doctrine of mere brotherhood. Updated as the fellowship of the net, the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind under the fatherhood of God turns into an attractive and plausible twenty-first century ideal

Rating the revolution: Silicon Valley in normative perspective

Silicon Valley, California – home of Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and so on – is widely regarded as the epicentre of the information revolution. However, it is not just a technical or economic phenomenon; it has also made a social revolution. The article evaluates Silicon Valley from a normative perspective, seeking toidentify its real societal impact, negative as well as positive. A select review of significant literature is followed by exposition of primary data, based on in situ face-to-face interviews with Valley occupants; these range from the chief technology officer of a global brand to a homeless, unemployed Vietnam War veteran.The article organises its findings under three headings: the nature of information revolution; iCapitalism as a new technoeconomic synthesis; and the normative crisis of the information society. It concludes with a warning about ongoing attempts to clone Silicon Valley around the world

Castells versus Bell: A comparison of two grand theorists of the information age

Daniel Bell (1919–2011) and Manuel Castells (1942–) are the grand theorists of the information age. The article provides a detailed, up-to-date, comparative analysis of their writings. It begins with their methodologies, identifying numerous commonalities in their post-Marxian frameworks. The substance of their theories is then examined, where it is shown that both plausibly explain contemporary social reality in terms of the interplay of three forces: the information technology revolution, the restructuring of capitalism and the innovational role of culture. There are found to be major similarities in their accounts (the Kantian interpretation, social stratification) but also significant divergences (role of science, the fourth world, the normative content of culture). Suitably combined, Bell’s and Castells’s thought goes a long way towards delivering a persuasive sociological theory of the global information society. However, the article concludes by suggesting that extensive further work is needed to clarify the precise relationships between the three factors and their relative weightings in the equations required to explain recent social change

Cyber-Green: idealism in the information age

PurposeThis paper retrieves relevant aspects of the work of idealist thinker T.H. Green in order to improve comprehension of, and policy responses to, various dilemmas facing contemporary ‘information societies’.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is an exercise in interdisciplinary conceptual research, seeking a new synthesis that draws upon a range of ethical, metaphysical, empirical and policy texts and ideas. It is an application of moral and political principles to post-industrial problems, part of an ongoing international effort to develop viable normative approaches to the emergent information society. The background research included in situ study of archival papers.FindingsGreen’s version of idealism illuminates current, technologically-induced shifts in our understandings of important categories such as self, substance and space. The paper finds that Green’s doctrine of the common good, his alternative to the (still prevalent) school of utilitarian welfarism, combined with his famously ‘positive’ theory of the state, is highly relevant as a normative template for applied philosophy and policy. The article demonstrates its applicability to three vital contemporary issues: freedom of information, intellectual property and personal privacy. It concludes that Green’s work provides exceptional resources for an original, anti-technocratic, theory of the information society as good society. Practical implicationsIt is hoped that, as part of the wider rediscovery of the work of Green and other idealists, the paper will have some impact on public policy.Originality/valueThe paper contains a new scholarly interpretation of Green’s theories of the common good and of the state. In addition, it is believed to be the first major attempt to apply idealism to the information society and its problem

Privacy Fundamentalism: An Essay on Social Responsibility

No abstract available

On Political Epunditry

The article develops the concept of ePunditry, a putative new lens through which to view the work of political blogging and associated digital modes. It starts by describing three conceptual frameworks which appear highly relevant: the information society thesis, the idea of the fifth estate and its relationship with the fourth, and the Habermasian ideal of deliberative democracy. The empirical content of the inquiry comprises interviews with twenty-seven political bloggers, ranging from celebrated figures such as Guido Fawkes and Iain Dale to lesser-known, arguably heroic practitioners working as far afield as Lebanon and Trinidad. The article evaluates their responses, where possible mapping these onto the conceptual frameworks, for example by showing their contribution to an activist form of democratic politics. It is concluded that ePunditry represents a useful new construct for journalism studies

Ethical ePunditry? The role of expertise in online opinion-making

The use of blogs to communicate ideas, opinions and knowledge has grown over the past two decades. Social media platforms have facilitated the rise of hybridised forms of written, verbal and visual communication and opinion-making, output which we designate as ‘ePunditry’. The connectivity of Web 2.0 technologies has meant that anyone with access to the internet can now write and speak publicly about a subject that interests them, whether or not they are regarded as an expert in their area. However, with anyone being able to declare their opinion on the topic of their choice, can this form of public knowledge be considered ethical? This article reflects on the production and ethical dimensions of ePunditry across four distinct subject domains: parenting, science, sport and fashion. Using data from 15 interviews with ePundits, it explores the paradigm shift surrounding expert knowledge in the internet age, examining the multifaceted ways in which expertise is now communicated

Towards a just and fair Internet: applying Rawls’ principles of justice to Internet regulation

I suggest that the social justice issues raised by Internet regulation be exposed and examined by using a methodology adapted from that described by John Rawls in A Theory of Justice. Rawls’ theory uses the hypothetical scenario of people deliberating about the justice of social institutions from the ‘original position’ as a method of removing bias in decision-making about justice. The original position imposes a ‘veil of ignorance’ that hides the particular circumstances of individuals from them so that they will not be influenced by self-interest. I adapt Rawls’ methodology by introducing an abstract description of information technology to those deliberating about justice from within the original position. This abstract description focuses on information devices that users can use to access information (and which may record information about them as well) and information networks that information devices use to communicate. The abstractness of this description prevents the particular characteristics of the Internet and the computing devices in use from influencing the decisions about the just use and regulation of information technology and networks. From this abstract position, the principles of justice that the participants accept for the rest of society will also apply to the computing devices people use to communicate, and to Internet regulatio