Manuel Castells and the Concept of the Network Society: An Interpretative Approach to Identity and Power in the Information Age

Abstract

The contribution of Manuel Castells’ Information Age reaches beyond building the concept of a network society, to dismantle the reality of information and communication technology. Indicating a new paradigm, it establishes research to understand post-industrial/contemporary society. For Castells, technology became a policy, which left it ruled foremost by the logic of domination, and therefore it became possible to break free from its grip only with the technology itself. This paper examines the concepts of network society, knowledge society and information society and explains the context of the development of these concepts as formulated by Castells.