[iDC] Class and the Internet, New Capitalism, and (True New) Socialism for the 21st Century

Thu Jun 25 16:36:16 UTC 2009

Thanks all, once again, for a fascinating discussion.

And ... not to go off point here .... just to tangentially follow  
Jesse's/Sean's thread as it may prove to be a salient factor for  
consideration.  How does one define the pursuit of the ( illusionary )  
American dream  + the permutations thereof into the globalopolis   
during this time frame of the early 21st century and the  
concretization of a technocracy ?  And during an era where "ownership"  
is a moving target, shifting at the rate of a nano-second- where  
corporate structural displacement serves as one base mechanism of our  
collective foundation - not to mention consciousness ?

Chris

On Jun 25, 2009, at 8:39 AM, Jesse Drew wrote:

> The lack of a self-identifying working class has vexed labor activists
> in the US for many decades, and countless theories have arisen to
> explain this phenomenon.  There is no doubt that it has also been part
> of a conscious strategy pursued by US manufacturers and businesses.
> One extremely simple yet effective tactic was the widespread adoption
> of so-called "flex-time" in the 1970s/1980s that gave workers the
> option to arrive at work at different times but within a limited
> window and all but eliminated punching into the time clock.  This
> seemingly progressive reform gives the illusion of individual agency
> and served to atomize the workforce.  Standing with your co-workers
> hundreds strong in a time card line is vastly different than everyone
> sneaking into work one by one.  The internet and computer-based work
> greatly accentuates the illusion that there is no "class" of workers,
> just individuals pursuing the American dream.
>
> Jesse
>
>
> On Jun 24, 2009, at 8:52 PM, Sean Cubitt wrote:
>
>> I read some stat in the dim past to the effect that 90% (or some
>> equally
>> compelling number) of US citizens identify themselves aa middle  
>> class.
>>
>> This wd suggest that class consciousness has also been colonised as a
>> hegemonic regime.
>>
>> On the other hand, more explicitly class-conscious models can be
>> divisive.
>> Debate raged in Socialist Worker circles in the 1980s (following the
>> establishment of the Party, as opposed to the looser group that
>> existed
>> before) as to whether teachers and civil servants were working-
>> class. Those
>> coming in from the 'workerist' perspective saw them as culturally
>> different.
>> Those form the class-analysis perspective (Christian's 'objective')
>> saw them
>> as lacking control over their means of production. Two
>> interpretations: a)
>> keeping class solidarity (cultural, 'subjective') maintains the
>> coherence of
>> a revolutionary / radical program b) excluding potential allies who
>> share
>> the same objective conditions weakens the same program numerically.
>>
>> In the case of internet, what exactly are the means of production?
>> In the
>> case of computers, 'control' need not imply ownership. In the case of
>> networks, ditto (regarding distinctions between bandwidth providers,
>> ISPs,
>> regulatory bodies etc). Here ownership is always elsewhere (as in the
>> protected zone sof  proprietary software), and control meticulously
>> displaced. Ergo there is an objective class structure.
>>
>> The production of a class consciousness is precluded by the
>> atomisation and
>> individuation of terminals. The language issue also raises itse;f:  
>> and
>> suggests that classic class analysis is premised on something very
>> like a
>> national base, with solidarity at inter-national level- unlike our
>> current
>> translocal condition. Ergo the networkers of the world constitute a
>> class
>> without a consciousness.
>>
>> (Against my own argument: perhaps in a knowledge economy we also shd
>> include knowledge as means of production. The objective analysis
>> becomes
>> difficult, and opens up on the perspective of 'general intellect' as
>> an
>> organising principle in addition to traditional class analysis)
>>
>> I really shd be marking . . .
>>
>> Sean
>>
>>
>>
>> On 25/06/09 11:20 AM, "Christian Fuchs" <christian.fuchs at sbg.ac.at>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Brian brought up an interesting question:
>>>
>>>> Is it possible to conceive a class as Marx did,
>>>> without a notion of a potential class consciousness?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Is it important
>>>> in your theory to understand the audience as, at least
>>>> potentially, a class with a consciousness, a class for
>>>> itself? If so, how would you -- or do you -- see such
>>>> consciousness developing and expressing itself?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> I think you can conceive class in subjective terms based on class
>>> consciousness and in objective terms based on the position in the
>>> relations of production. In Hegelian Marxism, this distinction is
>>> based
>>> in the distinction between being-in-itself, being-for-itself,
>>> being-in-and-for-itself. Marx distinguished between class-in-itself
>>> and
>>> class-for-itself.
>>>
>>> For me, the fundamental aspect is the class-in-itself that exists
>>> even
>>> if there is no class consciousness. The important political
>>> question is
>>> how a class-in-itself becomes a class-in-and-for-itself. People like
>>> Ulrich Beck have a purely subjective, idealistic notion of class,
>>> which
>>> allows them to argue that a lack of class consciousness means that  
>>> we
>>> live in a post-class-age, a risk society that is not a class  
>>> society,
>>> etc. I think class is more important than ever, becaue the objective
>>> class differences are so huge. My analysis is that objectively
>>> (concerning the means of production) we are as close to communism as
>>> never before, the means of production have a highly socialized and
>>> co-operative character - the Internet is characteristic of it -, but
>>> subjectively (concening class consciousness and ideology) we are so
>>> far
>>> from communism as never before. This is a highly paradox situation.
>>> The
>>> question therefore is how a class-in-itself can become a
>>> class-in-and-for-itself. This can only be the result of a politcal
>>> process, and there is no automatic transition to this state, it can
>>> only
>>> be self-organized by human subjects. It is a question of political
>>> strategy and of class struggle, to which there are no pre-given or
>>> pre-defined answers. So the question boils down to: What are the
>>> perspectives for class struggles today? And in respect to media:
>>> Which
>>> role can ICTs besides their dominative character have
>>> constructively in
>>> class struggles?
>>>
>>> It is hard to generalize asusmptions about the class consciousness  
>>> of
>>> Internet users from theory - here empirical research is also needed
>>> in
>>> order to identify potentials. For me it is rather hard to see and
>>> identify radical class consciousness on the Internet, so I think
>>> these
>>> are more objective potentials than subjective ones, which is to say
>>> that
>>> there are more co-operative potentials in technology than critical
>>> consciousness on the Internet. There are huge potentials for human
>>> development, but they are not-yet realized, today they remain  
>>> largely
>>> unrealized. Many question are opening up here that cannot be  
>>> answered
>>> easily...
>>>
>>> Best, Christian
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> best, Brian
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>>
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>
> Jesse Drew, Ph.D.
> Director, Technocultural Studies
> University of California at Davis
> Art Building, Room 316
> One Shields Avenue
> Davis, CA 95616
>
> 530-752-9674
> jdrew at ucdavis.edu
>
>
>
>
>

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