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

IF 2.3 1区社会学 Q2 SOCIOLOGY

European Journal of Social Theory Pub Date : 2022-05-30 DOI:10.1177/13684310221099695

A. Duff

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

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.

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卡斯特与贝尔:信息时代两位伟大理论家的比较

丹尼尔·贝尔（1919–2011）和曼努埃尔·卡斯特尔斯（1942–）是信息时代的伟大理论家。这篇文章对他们的著作进行了详细、最新的比较分析。它从他们的方法论开始，确定了他们后马克思主义框架中的许多共性。然后对他们理论的实质进行了研究，结果表明，他们都从信息技术革命、资本主义结构调整和文化创新作用这三种力量的相互作用的角度合理地解释了当代社会现实。他们的叙述有很大的相似之处（康德的解释、社会分层），但也有显著的差异（科学的作用、第四世界、文化的规范内容）。适当地结合起来，贝尔和卡斯特尔斯的思想在很大程度上有助于提供一个有说服力的全球信息社会社会社会学理论。然而，文章的结论是，需要做大量的进一步工作，以澄清这三个因素之间的确切关系及其在解释最近社会变化所需的方程中的相对权重。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

European Journal of Social Theory SOCIOLOGY-

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

4.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： An internationally respected journal with a wide-reaching conception of social theory, the European Journal of Social Theory brings together social theorists and theoretically-minded social scientists with the objective of making social theory relevant to the challenges facing the social sciences in the 21st century. The European Journal of Social Theory aims to be a worldwide forum of social thought. The Journal welcomes articles on all aspects of the social, covering the whole range of contemporary debates in social theory. Reflecting some of the commonalities in European intellectual life, contributors might discuss the theoretical contexts of issues such as the nation state, democracy, citizenship, risk; identity, social divisions, violence, gender and knowledge.