The meritocratic ethos of the digerati, based on expertise in the dominant force of production, is adverse to—and even annuls—other forms of social classification, specifically those based on the relational position in the mode of production (such as class) or those based on ascription (such as racial, gender, or national identity). Tom Campbell sums up this ethos in reference to the culture of Silicon Valley, saying, “We believe in liberty. We’re comparatively non-prejudicial—in the Valley, it’s what you’ve done, not who you are. It’s what you believe, not who your family is. We believe in the ability of the individual in a country that allows us to be free” (Bronson 2003).
Conclusion: From the Bureaucrat to the Digerati
According to the digital discourse, with the integration of the traditional world of work into network technology, the boundaries between work life and personal life become blurred, and workspace and work time are intermingled with their private, personal counterparts. These novelties allow workers to bring their personal qualities of creativity and deep personal engagement to bear on their work activities and reeroticize the disenchanted world of (industrial) work. They also render the workplace flat, that is, decentralized and dehierarchized, eradicating hierarchies between workers on the one hand and managers and owners on the other. What comes in their place is a regime of meritocracy and professionalism based on one’s passion for, and proficiency in, network technology. These narratives of network work signal a radical break from the narratives of work alienation in the bureaucratized organization. Network technology is situated at the pivotal axis of rendering work—the work process, work relations, and the workplace—more humane and more liberating for the worker.
Network Work
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