| This work proposes a Marxist interpretation of the so-called information revolution. It argues that, contrary to the widely-held belief that Marxism is obsolete in a world of computers, telecommunications, and genetic engineering, the advent and deployment of such high technologies can only be adequately understood in terms of the conflict between capital and labour Marx described.After reviewing the claims of contemporary theorists of the information revolution, we examine Marxist replies to such ideas, showing how these have developed in a variety of directions. Our own position derives from the tradition of autonomist Marxism, which emphasizes the persistence and scope of contestation between labour and capital. We propose a historical account of high-technology innovation which locates it within a cycle of struggles, and then proceed around the circuit of capital, analyzing the conflicts that attend the introduction of information technologies in the spheres of production, consumption, social and ecological reproduction, and cyberspatial circulation. The scope of our study, so far limited to advanced capitalist societies, then expands as it goes on to examine how these conflicts play out in the context of globalization.We next examine debates between Marxist and postmodern theorists as arguments about the cultural conditions of high-technology capitalism, and propose a concept of postmodern class struggle. Our penultimate chapter suggests how computers and other information technologies might play a part in the constitution of a post-capitalist commonwealth. We conclude with a discussion of recent analysis that revives and reexamines Marx's category of "general intellect," and apply this to a consideration of the role of universities and academics in high-technology capitalism.Our underlying contention is that new information technologies--and in particular technologies of communication--must be understood both as instruments of capitalist domination, and also, simultaneously, as potential resources of anti-capitalist struggle. |
