{"resolved":true,"match_type":"uuid","source_type":"original_book","book_id":"8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a","title":"Media and New Capitalism in the Digital Age The Spirit of Networks","author":null,"edition":null,"publisher":null,"year":null,"isbn":"9781349379743","requested_by":"printed_page","book":{"source_type":"original_book","book_id":"8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a","id":"8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a","uuid":"8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a","title":"Media and New Capitalism in the Digital Age The Spirit of Networks","normalized_title":"mediaandnewcapitalisminthedigitalagethespiritofnetworks","author":null,"edition":null,"publisher":null,"year":null,"isbn":"9781349379743","isbns":["9781349379743","9780230106062"],"parsed":true,"ai_readable":true,"document_type":"book","page_count":258,"navigation_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/ai/book/8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a","title_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/ai/title/Media%20and%20New%20Capitalism%20in%20the%20Digital%20Age%20The%20Spirit%20of%20Networks","fixed_page_url_template":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/ai/book/8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a/page/{printed_page}","path_api_url_template":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/api/ai/book/8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a/page/{printed_page}","read_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/api/ai/read/8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a","page_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/api/ai/books/8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a/page","search_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/api/ai/books/8a3d8546-8fbb-485e-b423-37bc08c3284a/search"},"page":{"printed_page":212,"pdf_page":212,"physical_index":212,"physical_index_base":0,"printed_page_status":"recognized","page_sha256":"606d3bfc54998c1c34b5db351788329da416180998821aeb723839e2ae43c342"},"chapter":"Media and New Capitalism in the Digital Age","content":"The purpose of this book has been to register and interpret this new technologically centered discourse, uncover its ideological and hegemonic dimensions, and tie this new discourse to the emerging social constellation of which it is a part. This concluding chapter offers two discussions. It first answers the empirical question, What is the spirit of networks? by reiterating the main empirical findings of the book. It then answers the theoretical question, What is the sociopolitical meaning of the spirit of networks? by locating this discourse within the transformation from a Fordist to post-Fordist society.\n\nWhat Is the Spirit of Networks?\n\nThe metanarratives of the spirit of networks (flexibility, decentralization, distribution, and so forth) find their particular articulation in the narratives pertaining to the network market, network work, network production, and the network human, which are all anchored in a worldview of network cosmology. The spirit of networks extols the enhanced capacity of markets to be self-regulated and self-governed. Networks are characterized by the ability to foster spontaneous order, an order (rational and benevolent) that emerges from bottom up without any centralized planning, external governance, or oversight. Power in the network is located not with any group or structure; rather it is characterized as distributed power. Its particles can therefore be assembled by individual nodes in the form of smart mobs in order to bring about a desired outcome.\n\nNetwork architecture is conducive to bringing about a new form of rationality based not on the top-down projection of abstract theories or grand-narratives but rather on a swarm intelligence based on the wisdom ofcrowds and the power of the network to render dumb power into rational results. By facilitating new, bottom-up constellations of action based on disparate nodes, networks contribute to individual empowerment by allowing individuals to come together in meaningful action. The spirit of networks, therefore, asserts the greater rationality of networks twice: as means and ends. Not only are networks yielding superior results (more profit and better products), but they also deliver more empowerment and liberation to the individual in the process.\n\nNetworks are in a constant state of chaos. The lack of centralized planning and oversight yields a system that is bent, and in fact thrives, on perpetualflux. Its dynamics are inherently unstable and unpredictable, and its trajectories are nonlinear. This fluctuating movement makes the network more dynamic, allowing for more openings and more opportunities—for business, culture, and so on—to come about. The architecture of networks allows for the frictionless and streamlined flow of substance and interaction between disparate nodes relieved from the hindrance of top-down regulatory obstacles.\n\n212\n\nMedia and New Capitalism in the Digital Age","previous_page":null,"next_page":213}