Fluent Essays

Pls, go through the file named study guide. I have detailed what needs to be done and provided links to the relevant readings which must be used in answering the questions. I am also attaching the slides for the lectures I have referenced which should also be used. Current Social Science Themes and Issues Towards ‘social justice’ SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 22/2 Jan Krouzil PhD August 5, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Characterising ‘social justice’ PART II ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ PART III ‘Social justice’ - a post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? Keywords PART I Characterising ‘social justice’ (1) What does the term ‘social justice’ refer to? society at large can create or promote positions or situations that favour some and do disservice to others concept of ‘social justice’ in the 19th century as criticism against society for allowing or favoring economic differences meant to seek economic equality now taken on the idea of preventing or reducing ‘wrongs’ provoked by machismo, racism, xenophobia and homophobia (among others) at times consists of promoting equality at other times more at recognizing the difference Characterising ‘social justice’ (2) expound a general concept of ‘social justice’ based upon philosophy, social sciences and political theory as a result of cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue faced with very different and even contradictory ways of understanding ‘social justice’ How to understand and approach ‘social justice’? as a movement ‘social justice’ still under development approach as an open and dynamic phenomenon rather than a closed and final concept identify characteristics and explain by way of a key proposition and by posing questions Characterising ‘social justice’ (3) The normative principle – basis for ‘social justice’ upon which standards (moral foundations) develop something is deemed just or unjust if it agrees with or is against such principles what ‘causes’ something to be socially unjust? practice that contradicts the common beliefs formally subscribed to by various groups that all people have equal moral value according to the culture of human rights given that not all share the same beliefs - difficult to find a normative criterion accepted by all members Characterising ‘social justice’ (4) what areas of everyday life involve ‘social justice’? types of institutions or dimensions economy, culture and politics until some decades ago the framework of ‘social justice’ administration (the state-nation) considered the political unit par excellence the state as the fundamental political framework? ‘social justice’ flexible to diverse frameworks or political units Characterising ‘social justice’ (5) fragmented inwardly due to decentralisation processes local or regional or departmental autonomies created improving the empowerment of the populations (efficiency in justice administration) overflowed outwardly through globalisation processes affecting everyday lives of all populations even those that try to shield themselves by taking economic, cultural and/or political measures of protectionism Characterising ‘social justice’ (6) Any viable strategies for solving ‘social justice’ demands? utilising strategies that oscillate between conservative and radical aspects keeping in mind morals, process efficiency and results conservative promote the system of free competition with the free market (free personal actions) will not be any losers given that each one will endeavour to achieve and obtain the maximum benefit radical property and production systems should be restructured prioritising the welfare of the community more than that of the individual common property will ensure the welfare of each of its members Characterising ‘social justice’ (7) intermediate accepts a compromise between free individual choice and the community perspective of society allowing the redistribution of goods and services of the state to some degree Which option is the best? not possible to decide a priori the best and most adequate strategy from normative (to be morally correct) practical points of view (to be efficient in practice) at times a solution could be moral but inefficient or vice versa. at other times can be simultaneously good for both normative reasons and efficient practices practical and normative criteria should be kept in mind according to the specific context and pursuant to the specific society at issue Characterising ‘social justice’ (8) Who should decide how to interpret and to implement ‘social justice’? Key claim the democratic community directly affected by unjust practices different democratic communities (local, national or international) to be recognised as the authors of justice legitimacy of the interpretation and implementation of ‘social justice’ to be granted by the political community through democratic procedures the educator, the ruler, the social activist (or others) as members with specific roles yet none of them has the absolute power to determine what is just Characterising ‘social justice’ (9) Does democracy guarantee ‘social justice’? not infallible – yet can be reviewed and capable of improvement not a single society (within a global scenario) where all of its citizens are on equal terms for participating democratically shortcomings of modern democracy some groups (poor people, women, indigenous people, homosexuals, immigrants, etc.) ‘democratically’ disadvantaged many of the oppressed groups democratically gaining within democracy Characterising ‘social justice’ (10) democracy bears a paradox can expand or annihilate itself vehicle for public power pertaining to the citizens meant to transform any issue including itself to be ever more participatory and socially just – democratic society (local, national or global) should be able to critically reflect upon itself Part II ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (1) Types of claims for ‘social justice’ redistributive claims seek a more just distribution of resources and goods ie claims for redistribution from the North to the South, from the rich to the poor from owners to workers claim in the ‘politics of recognition’ assimilation to majority or dominant cultural norms is no longer the price of equal respect ie claims for the recognition of distinctive perspectives of ethnic, ‘racial,’ and sexual minorities, as well as of gender difference ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (2) Discourse of ‘social justice’ once centered on distribution, now divided between claims for redistribution and claims for recognition two kinds of justice claims dissociated from one another - both practically and intellectually an either/or choice: redistribution or recognition ? class politics or identity politics ? multiculturalism or social equality? Key argument ‘social justice’ requires both redistribution and recognition (Fraser 1996) neither alone is sufficient ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (3) How to integrate into comprehensive framework? theoretically - devise a “bivalent” conception of justice accommodate both defensible claims for social equality and defensible claims for the recognition of difference practically - programmatic political orientation integrate the best of politics of redistribution with the best of politics of recognition Key aspects of contrast different conceptions of injustice ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (4) politics of redistribution focuses on injustices it defines as socioeconomic presumes to be rooted in the economic structure of society exploitation (one’s labor appropriated for the benefit of others) economic marginalization (being confined to undesirable or poorly paid work) deprivation (being denied an adequate material standard of living) politics of recognition targets injustices it understands as cultural presumes to be rooted in social patterns of representation, interpretation, and communication cultural domination (being subjected to patterns of interpretation and communication that are associated with another culture and are alien and/or hostile to one’s own) nonrecognition (being ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (5) different sorts of remedies for injustice politics of redistribution economic restructuring redistributing income reorganizing the division of labor democratizing procedures for investment decisions transforming other basic economic structures politics of recognition cultural or symbolic change upwardly revaluing disrespected identities and the cultural products recognizing and positively valorizing cultural diversity transformation of societal patterns of representation, interpretation ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (6) different conceptions of the collectivities politics of redistribution classes or class-like collectivities defined economically by a distinctive relation to the market or the means of production politics of recognition more like status group than classes defined by the relations of recognition distinguished by the lesser esteem, honor, and prestige relative to other groups different understandings of group differences politics of redistribution treats such differences as unjust differentials not intrinsic, but socially constructed point is to abolish, not to recognize ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (7) politics of recognition group differences are pre-existing, benign cultural variations transformed into a value hierarchy group differences created through a discursive framework of binary oppositions Which of these two politics to embrace? politics of redistribution that seeks to redress economic injustices by abolishing class (and class-like) differential? politics of recognition that seeks to redress cultural injustices precisely by celebrating cultural variations or deconstructing binary oppositions? ‘false antithesis’ (Fraser1996) ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (8) Key questions does ‘social justice’ require the recognition of what is distinctive about individuals or groups over and above the recognition of our common humanity? how can one conceive redistribution and recognition in such a way as to accommodate both the apparent separation of economy and culture and also their interpenetration? Toward a conceptual integration substantive dualism treats redistribution and recognition as pertaining to two different societal domains ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (9) perspectival dualism treats redistribution and recognition as two different analytical perspectives applied to any social domain How to think integratively? by seeking out transformative approaches to redistribution and deconstructive approaches to recognition ‘by looking to integrative approaches that unite redistribution and recognition in the service of participatory parity can requirements of ‘social justice’ for all’ be fulfilled (Fraser 1996) PART III ‘Social justice’ - post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (1) Q: can a case be made about whether ‘social justice’ takes the form of a quasi-religion? A: takes on many of the qualities of a religion makes sense in a postmodern context religious structure that services the same human needs that religions do from within a different paradigm Ideologically motivated moral communities what makes moral communities ‘ideologically motivated’? incorporation of truly, locally, sacrosanct ideas imported from some ideology or faith tradition formed around a (mostly) shared interpretation of ‘right and wrong’ enforced to some degree by social norms, expectations, and punishments ‘Social justice’ - post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (2) Religions as cultural structures facilitate the satisfaction of various interrelated psychological and social (psychosocial) needs needs met by religions address problems faced by human beings in meaning making, control, and social identity and community formation and regulation need to create an attributional framework that explains the world in terms of the ideology intersectional Matrix of Domination (Patricia Hill Collins) seeks to explain how privilege and power form a matrix of domination and oppression which is ultimately rooted in assumptions about identity ‘Social justice’ - post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (3) teleological framework to explain what the point of life is in the context of the operative mythology or ideology telos is in remaking society into a utopia social identity and a need for community framework through which a person can feel good about her/him both in terms of how she sees her/himself and being seen by others community in which that framework makes sense and ‘really exists’ (in a sociocultural sense) to remake communities in line with its operative vision for the world nearly all of its work is focused upon the actions, thoughts, and various usages of language within vaguely defined communities ways of speaking to one another using a distinctive dialect ‘Social justice’ - post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (4) ‘Social Justice’ institutionalized arranged so that it can treat its beliefs as ‘knowledge’ universities as institutions for producing and transmitting ‘knowledge’ other institutions, including primary and secondary education and any portions of media, the corporate world, and politics no claim to ‘knowledge’ possible when epistemological rigor bypassed knowledge has not just to be true but also to be ‘justified’ ‘special revelation’ and morally motivated idea laundering not accepted avenues to justification ‘Social justice’ - post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (5) History of human thought – paradigms pre-modern, modern, post-modern stance on the approach to knowledge production and social organization as Enlightenment thought modern paradigm—Enlightenment thought—is skeptical of faith’s capacity to justify ’knowledge’ claims Enlightenment thought rejects the idea that any ‘knowledge’ is ‘special’ Faith in ‘social justice’ epistemological justification - clear line between faith-based beliefs and ‘knowledge’ ‘Social justice’ - post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (6) post-modern faith not like premodern faith - still faith looks to the assurance of things hoped for on the ‘right side of history’ conviction of things not seen ‘Applied postmodernism’ as a social philosophy axioms treated as articles of faith (Connor Wood) ‘knowledge’ and ‘truth’ largely socially constructed - not objectively discovered what is believed to be ‘true’ in large part a function of social power who wields it, who’s oppressed by it, how it influences which messages are heard power is generally oppressive, self-interested and implicitly zero-sum ‘Social justice’ - post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (7) claims about supposedly objective truth - power plays or strategies for legitimizing particular social arrangements anti-realist component views ‘objectivity’ as practically unobtainable concludes that ‘objective reality’ not knowable at all reality is constructed by and mediated through language those who hold the power can and do structure language - as ‘discourses’ ways of speaking about things—so that their ‘subjective truths’ treated as the ‘objective truth’ an article of faith in the form of ‘relativism’ professes to believe that there is no reason to privilege any one set of culturally mediated truths over any other so the truths of any cultural group may be as valid (‘true’) as those of any other interested in finding ways to forward “other ways of knowing” and the “truths” of oppressed groups believed to be less recognized only because of a power dynamic of oppression ‘Social justice’ - post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (8) ‘Social justice’ - a kind of faith system represents a cultural phenomenon using many of the same means as religion to address the (nearly) universal underlying human psycho-social needs that people established religions to address relies on a distinctly (applied) postmodern mythology fundamentally secular in nature the ‘separation of church and state’ - a committed prevention of institutionalizing religious doctrines and practice in liberal governments not technically a religion - a kind of faith system Current Social Science Themes and Issues Social capital and loneliness SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 21 Jan Krouzil PhD August 3, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Social capital research PART II Types of social capital PART III Criticisms of social capital theory PART IV Loneliness Keywords Part I Social capital research (1) Integration of social capital theory and practice application to various disciplines and numerous subject areas has benefits for a range of economic and sociological outcomes combines a number of ideas including civic tradition, civic involvement and social cohesion How to define ‘social capital’ (SC)? no set and commonly agreed upon definition particular definition adopted by a study depends on the discipline and level of investigation  debate over the appropriateness of the term ‘capital’  Social capital research (2) Considerations when defining social capital does ‘social’ relate to networks (i.e. social relationships) or the disposition to live and cooperate with others (i.e. social norms)? is social capital the property of the individual, the property of the collective, or does it have both individual and collective components? does ‘capital’ represent an economic definition of capital or is it a metaphor? does social capital involve the mobilisation of forms of capital only or does the ‘capital’ in social capital have more metaphoric character representing various tangible and intangible resources, benefits, productivities and savings? Social capital research (3) Caveats to how to define and conceptualise SC there may be no right answers to these questions (Claridge 2019) understanding of ‘capital’ as a metaphor consider SC as having both individual and collective components focus on clarity and consistency of approach ability to explain and justify it be clear about the approach you take on SC definition must match how you conceptualise and operationalise the concept Social capital research (4) What definition of SC to use then? ‘ideally a definition would describe what it is; not what it does, not where it comes from, not why it’s important, not examples, not an incomplete list of constituents (for example using “such as…”), not tied to context, not based on outcomes, not overly abstract or vague to require further definition of composite concepts, and not specific as to overly narrow its scope.’ (Claridge 2019) ‘Is holding a door open for a stranger an example of an outcome of social capital?’ Social capital research (5) Dimensions structural, cognitive, relational social capital conceptual distinctions useful for analytic convenience in practice social capital involves complex interrelations between the three dimensions structural SC refers to the presence of a network of access to people and resources cognitive and relational SC cognitive relates to the subjective interpretations of shared understandings relational includes feelings of trust that are shared by the many actors within the social context (group, organisation, community) Social capital research (6) high levels of SC involve strong connections, high levels of trust and a shared sense of mission understood by the level of interconnectedness, quality and nature of these connections, and extent of common shared vision relates to SC as structural (connections among actors), relational (trust between actors) and cognitive (shared goals and values among actors) dimensions Structural/cognitive/relational distinction structural and relational embeddedness (Granovetter 1992) SC constitutes aspects of social structure and the nature of social relationships Social capital research (7) structural SC tangible and can be readily observed by the existence of network ties (ie who knows who) as well as by roles, rules, precedents, and procedures relational SC intangible since it is what and how people think and feel is ‘cognitive’ since it is a function of people’s cognition cognitive SC described as values, beliefs, attitudes, behaviour and social norms as well as trust, solidarity and reciprocity Social capital research (8) Interrelationships and causality between structural, cognitive, relational  in practice the dimensions are connected and mutually reinforcing  two-way causality resulting in a mutually reinforcing cycle Levels of social capital at what level of society does SC reside? does it reside with the individual like human capital? or is it a property of society more generally? or in fact, is it both the property of individuals and of society? agreement that SC has both an individual and an aggregate component an individual has a degree of control over some aspects of social capital, but little control over other aspects Social capital research (9) Public good, private good, or both? SC has both individual and collective components SC as both a private and public good characteristics of a private good because an individual can invest in their social capital, has some degree of ownership and control, and can derive benefits as exclusive private property also a public good since many aspects of social capital are beyond the control of individuals and affect and benefit larger groups of people, not just those who created it (spill-over effects, positive externality) Social capital research (10) Micro, meso, macro levels of SC identifiable at any level of social grouping, from the individual level to the level of the nation exists at any level where there is identification and belonging, i.e. a social grouping could include identification or belonging to factors such as location, class, race, religion, profession, hobbies, interests, and a range of other factors among these groupings there is potential for overlap and interaction the norms, values, beliefs, shared language and shared understandings embedded in each grouping interact in complex and dynamic ways not just between groupings, when one member interacts with a member of another group, but dynamically as any one member belongs to numerous groupings simultaneously all these different social groupings are too numerous and their interactions too complex to describe, especially when we include their distribution in time and space Social capital research (11) level of interest that is relevant for any given application as either micro (individual), meso (group or organisation) or macro (community or societal) actual reality is not divided into levels analysis at one level is inevitably embedded in the other two one of the main challenges of social capital theory and its research – simplification is required to make sense of the complex social environment but over-simplification can obstruct meaningful findings Individual (micro) level social capital focus is on individuals and the relationships between individuals SC conceptualised as the property of an individual and therefore as a private good  distinction between bonding, bridging, and linking SC Social capital research (12) SC as accessible resources embedded in the social structure or social networks that will bring benefits to their owners number and quality of social ties and the resources those ties have access to resources can be physical (such as a tractor or financial capital) or can be social (such as connections to other people)  preferred level of analysis for many economists since it suits the reductionist paradigm that dominates economics criticized for the over-simplification of the complex social environment Group or organisation (meso) level social capital focus on a target social group as the context for analysis may be an organisation, a stakeholder group, a sporting league, or any other social grouping focus on internal social capital, external social capital, or both internal and external Social capital research (13) internal SC resides in the relationships among the members of the group or organisation external SC exists in the shape of relationships with external actors that may be individuals or other social groups SC conceptualised at the group level as both an individual asset and a collective asset and therefore as both a private and public good Community or societal (macro) level social capital conceptualised as a public good that is the property of the collective rather than the individual  ‘collectively-owned capital’ Social capital research (14) understood to change slowly over time and be strongly rooted in history and culture focus on trust, trustworthiness, civic norms, association membership, and voluntary activities measurement at the societal level tends to be difficult due to the challenge of collecting data from a statistically significant proportion of the population Part II Types of social capital (1) Classifications for social capital (SC) network perspective social structure perspective Network perspective bonding bridging linking bonding SC ties between individuals with a relatively high degree of network closure horizontal ties between individuals within the same social group vertical ties between social groups associated with local communities where many people know many other people in the group (network closure) associated with strong norms, mores and trust which can have both positive and negative manifestations and implications for social exclusion members have access to similar network assets so while providing solidarity Types of social capital (2) bridging SC ties between individuals which cross social divides or between social groups places the actors at structural holes where each is able to tap into the social network resources of each others social group described as vertical ties often operating through formal hierarchical structures associated with reciprocity and ‘thin trust’ may provide access to network resources outside of an individual’s normal circles and as such can provide significant individual (and group) benefits Types of social capital (3) linking SC  as a subset of bridging SC to capture the power dynamics of vertical associations refers to relations between individuals and groups in different social strata in a hierarchy in which power, social status and wealth are accessed by different groups with the inclusion of the linking type bridging SC relates to bonds of connectedness that are formed across diverse horizontal groups Social structure perspective cognitive and structural forms of social capital are commonly connected and mutually reinforcing Types of social capital (4) structural social capital  refers to elements of social structure that create opportunities for the social realisation of productive ends includes established roles and social networks supplemented by rules, procedures and precedents gives structure and stability to social transactions more than norms, structural social capital is built from the historical foundations of culture and institutions within society cognitive social capital  includes shared norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs predisposes people towards mutually beneficial collective action relational social capital based on the characteristics of social relationships between individuals described as including trust and trustworthiness Part III Criticisms of social capital theory (1) Social capital as a metaphor highlights the positive and productive aspects of sociability falls short of being a form of capital can have positive and negative consequences  little agreement about definition, dimensions, measurement, or building criticized for its ambiguity and variability allows the opportunity to improve research practice and the validity or effectiveness of social science projects involving social capital not social, not capital, and not a theory social capital is not ‘social’ perceived as a means to give social issues prominence in analysis and decision making methodological individualism and reductionism restrict social capital to economic rationality on the part of individuals Criticisms of social capital theory (2) tends to be abstracted because many aspects cannot be observed directly ‘trust’ as an aspect of social capital that cannot be observed directly existence of trust could only be inferred from the actions of individuals researchers tend to use ‘indicators’ that can be measured believed to have a causal relationship with the aspects of social capital being measured what is being measured ‘indicates’ the existence of social capital said to be measured by proxies because the proxies ‘stand in’ for the aspects of SC researchers hope to measure by its nature the ‘social’ is highly complex and abstract relates to feelings, beliefs, and perceptions that are largely cognitive and pre-cognitive Part IV Loneliness (1) What is ‘loneliness’ about? distressing experience that occurs when a person’s social relationships are perceived by that person to be less in quantity, and especially in quality, than desired (Hawkley 2018) the experience of loneliness is highly subjective an individual can be alone without feeling lonely and can feel lonely even when with other people. individuals have different set-points for feeling loneliness, and they fluctuate around these set-points depending on the circumstances in their lives prolonged loneliness is associated with depression, poor social support, neuroticism, and introversion loneliness puts people at risk for physical disease and that it may contribute to a shortened life span Loneliness (2) Types according to causes Situational loneliness socio-economic and cultural milieu contributes to situational loneliness various environmental factors like unpleasant experiences discrepancy between the levels of his/her needs and social contacts migration of population, inter personal conflicts, accidents, disasters or emptiness syndrome increased life expectancy and feminization of elderly population as a significant factor in developing situational loneliness in females Loneliness (3) Developmental loneliness an innate desire of intimacy or a need to be related to others essential for our development as human beings a higher level of need for individualism related to knowing and developing our own real self that requires some solitude too optimum development - a balance between the two when a person is not able to balance these needs properly, it results in loss of meaning from their life which in turn leads to emptiness and loneliness personal inadequacies, developmental deficits, significant separations, social marginality, poverty, living arrangements, and physical/psychological disabilities Loneliness (4) Internal loneliness being alone does not necessarily make a person lonely the perception of being alone which makes the person lonely people with low self-esteem and less self-worth are seen to feel lonelier than their counterparts reasons for this type of loneliness are personality factors, locus of control, mental distress, low self-esteem, feeling of guilt or worthlessness, and poor coping strategies with situations Loneliness (5) Perspectives on ‘loneliness’ loneliness as part of human existence has a relatively short history as a subject of psychological investigation (Bowlby) emphasizes the importance of a strong emotional bond between the infant and the caregiver occurs when children with insecure attachment patterns behave in ways that result in their being rejected by their peers those rejections hinder their development of social skills and increase their distrust of other people, thereby fostering ongoing loneliness Loneliness (6) Attachment theory social needs that, if unmet, contribute to feelings of loneliness (Weiss) attachment, social integration, nurturance, reassurance of worth, sense of reliable alliance, and guidance in stressful situations friendships complement but do not substitute for a close, intimate relationship with a partner in staving off loneliness Behavioral approach loneliness can be characterized by personality traits associated with and possibly contributing to harmful patterns of interpersonal interaction correlated with social anxiety, social inhibition (shyness), sadness, hostility, distrust, and low self-esteem difficulty forming and maintaining meaningful relationships less likely to share information about themselves with their peers Loneliness (7) Cognitive approach loneliness is characterized by distinct differences in perceptions and attributions lonely individuals tend to have a pessimistic general outlook than individuals who are not lonely about the people, events, and circumstances in their lives tend to blame themselves for not being able to achieve satisfactory social relationships takes account of the attachment and behavioral perspectives by explaining how failure to meet the need for attachment, social integration, nurturance, and other social needs results in perceived relationship discrepancies experienced as loneliness loneliness is perpetuated by way of a self-fulfilling prophecy in which poor social skills result in unsatisfactory personal relationships that in turn result in negative self-attributions that lead to further social isolation and relationship dissatisfaction Loneliness (8) The dynamics and nature of a celebrity–follower relationship in the domain of social media loneliness is difficult to manipulate in an experimental setting a challenge to researchers attempting to distinguish between the causes and consequences of loneliness lonely individuals are more likely to disengage or withdraw from stressors individuals who are not lonely are more likely to actively cope (e.g., problem solve) and seek tangible and emotional support from others withdrawing from stressful circumstances may be reasonable in certain instances but can lead to an accumulation of stress that becomes increasingly taxing and oppressive increased stress may be at least partially responsible for the risk of mental and physical disease in lonely individuals elevated levels of stress hormones, poor immune functioning, and health-jeopardizing changes in cardiovascular functioning Loneliness (9) Loneliness and social media use social media provide users with the possibility of an easy way to communicate with celebrities in society common practice to follow celebrities through social media celebrity followers’ loneliness is positively related to frequent visits of their favorite celebrity’s social media social-interpersonal motive for following the celebrity enjoyment of learning about personal life stories of the celebrity Loneliness (10) Para-social relationship refers to a fictional, one-sided, and non-reciprocal relationship in which a person thinks she/he knows someone well but in actuality that person does not know the other (Rubin & McHugh 1987) lonely individuals turn to social media to compensate for the lack of social skills and human connections with others in face-to-face settings (Kraut et al 2002, Song et al 2014) celebrity followers’ loneliness is positively related to the usage of their favorite celebrity’s social media social presence as a significant moderator that intensifies favorable para-social relationship perceptions with the celebrity Keywords social capital dimensions structural/cognitive/relational distinction levels of social capital network perspective social structure perspective social capital as a metaphor situational loneliness developmental loneliness internal loneliness perspectives on ‘loneliness’ Disciplinary Approaches to Social Science Econologic I SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 15 Jan Krouzil PhD July 13, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Forms of capital and capital accumulation PART II Capitalism as a social and economic system PART III Why a knowledge of economics matters PART IV What compels ‘the drive for capital’? PART V What is the politics of capitalism about? Keywords PART I Forms of capital and capital accumulation (1) What is ‘capital’ ? (in economics) consists of assets that can enhance ones power to perform economically useful work a stone or an arrow is ‘capital’ for a hunter-gatherer can use it as a hunting instrument, while roads are capital for inhabitants of a city Adam Smith (1723-1790) defines capital as ‘that part of mans stock which he expects to afford him revenue’ capital as distinct from land (or non-renewable resources) in that capital can be increased by human labor Forms of capital and capital accumulation (2) an input in the production function homes and personal autos are not usually defined as capital but as durable goods because they are not used in a production of saleable goods and services in Marxist political economy, capital is money used to buy something only in order to sell it again to realize a profit for Marx capital only exists within the process of the economic circuit (represented by M-C-M’) —wealth that grows out of the process of circulation itself for Marx it formed the basis of the economic system of capitalism in more contemporary schools of economics, this form of capital is generally referred to as ‘financial capital’ and is distinguished from ‘capital goods’ Forms of capital and capital accumulation (3) Classical and neo-classical economics regard capital as one of the factors of production, alongside the other factors – land and labor all other inputs to production are called intangibles in classical economics - organization, entrepreneurship, knowledge, goodwill, or management (which some characterize as talent, social capital or instructional capital Marxist economics distinguishes between different forms of capital constant capital (refers to capital goods) variable capital (refers to labor-inputs, where the cost is ‘variable’ based on the amount of wages and salaries are paid throughout the duration of an employees contract/employment, fictitious capital (refers to intangible representations or abstractions of physical capital, such as stocks, bonds and securities (or ‘tradable paper claims to wealth’) Forms of capital and capital accumulation (4) Forms of capital earlier illustrations described capital as physical items such as tools, buildings, and vehicles that are used in the production process since the 1960s economists have focused on broader forms of capital investment in skills and education can be viewed as building up human capital or knowledge capital investments in intellectual property can be viewed as building up intellectual capital these terms lead to certain questions and controversies some political economists treat capital not as a productive entity but solely in financial terms capital values measure the relative power of owners over the broad social processes that bear on profits (Nitzan and Bichler 2009) Forms of capital and capital accumulation (5) Modern types of capital classifications of capital used in various theoretical or applied uses financial capital in the form of capital assets, traded in financial markets its market value is not based on the historical accumulation of money invested but on the perception by the market of its expected revenues and of the risk entailed natural capital inherent in ecologies and increases the supply of human wealth social capital a concept of inter-relationships between human beings having money-like value that motivates actions in a similar fashion to paid compensation Forms of capital and capital accumulation (6) Human development theory describes human capital as being composed of distinct social, imitative and creative elements the basis of triple bottom line accounting and is further developed in ecological economics, welfare economics and the various theories of green economics instructional capital defined in academia as that aspect of teaching and knowledge transfer that is not inherent in individuals or social relationships but transferrable human capital a broad term that includes social, instructional and individual human talent in combination used in technical economics to define ‘balanced growth’ - the goal of improving human capital as much as economic capital Forms of capital and capital accumulation (7) public capital a blanket term to characterize physical capital considered infrastructure  encompasses the aggregate body of all government-owned assets that are used to promote private industry productivity, including highways, railways, airports, water treatment facilities, telecommunications, electric grids, energy utilities, municipal buildings, public hospitals and schools, police, fire protection, courts, etc a problematic term insofar as many of these assets can be either publicly and/or privately owned - Public Private Partnerships (3Ps) ecological capital the worlds stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services called ecosystem services clean water and fertile soil underpin our economy and society and make human life possible Forms of capital and capital accumulation (8) Capital accumulation (also termed the accumulation of capital) the dynamic that motivates the pursuit of profit involving the investment of money or any financial asset with the goal of increasing the initial monetary value of said asset as a financial return in the form of profit, rent, interest, royalties or capital gains   the aim of capital accumulation to create new fixed and working capitals, broaden and modernize the existing ones grow the material basis of social-cultural activities, as well as constituting the necessary resource for reserve and insurance Forms of capital and capital accumulation (9) Capital accumulation as social relation ‘accumulation of capital’ refers in Marxist writings to the reproduction of capitalist social relations (institutions) on a larger scale over time i.e., the expansion of the size of the proletariat and of the wealth owned by the bourgeoisie this interpretation emphasizes that capital ownership predicated on command over labor, as a social relation the growth of capital implies the growth of the working class (a ‘law of accumulation’) Marx refers to the ‘fetishism of capital’ reaching its highest point with interest -bearing capital because now capital seems to grow of its own accord without anybody doing anything the process of capital accumulation forms the basis of capitalism one of the defining characteristics of a capitalist economic system Part II Capitalism as an economic system (1) Capitalism as a social and economic system an economic system based on the private ownership of the ’means of production’ and their operation for profit Characteristics central to capitalism private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system and competitive markets in a capitalist market economy decision-making and investments are determined by every owner of wealth, property or production ability in financial and capital markets whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by competition in goods and services markets Capitalism as an economic system (2) Economists, political economists, sociologists and historians different perspectives in their analyses of capitalism and recognize various forms of it in practice laissez faire or free market capitalism welfare capitalism state capitalism different forms of capitalism feature varying degrees of free markets, public ownership, obstacles to free competition and state-sanctioned social policies the degree of competition in markets, the role of intervention and regulation and the scope of state ownership vary across different models of capitalism the extent to which different markets are free as well as the rules defining private property are matters of politics and policy most existing capitalist economies are mixed economies which combine elements of free markets with state intervention and in some cases economic planning PART III Why a knowledge of economics matters (1) The Economic Problem (Heilbroner 2006) how to organize the process of production and distribution of goods and services? no two societies mobilize their work forces to produce and distribute their products exactly the same way tradition, command, and market as the ‘solutions’ to the ‘problem’ of assuring society’s material continuance (societal provisioning) Tradition the hunting and gathering society of the !Kung – the so-called Bush people of the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa an organization of production and distribution under the guidance of tradition Why a knowledge of economics matters (2) the essential task of training a labor force takes place as part of a process of socialization no need for economics’ in studying the mode of operation nothing in the socialization process that calls for the special expertise of an economist motives and shaping forces that affect production and distribution are intermixed with the cultural or political or technological attributes of those societies (Heilbroner 2006) Command solves the problems of production and distribution by orders ‘from above’ differs from tradition requires an enforcement mechanism – coercion (the actual or threatened use of punishment) that is different from the internalized pressures of socialization Why a knowledge of economics matters (3) what of the economics of command? is there such an economics - a special kind of knowledge? the Soviet planning setup Centrally Planned Economy (CPE) - the blueprint of the central planners call it management than economics’ the mode of organization required to effectuate deliberate changes in the trajectory of society (i.e., war, revolution, provision of welfare) Market the organizing principle of capitalism the relation between the market as a means of organizing production and distribution and capitalism as the larger social order in which the market plays a crucial role Why a knowledge of economics matters (4) ..market society in the grip of subterranean forces that have a life of their own the principle of motion imparted by these forces gives us a special kind of dynamism to which we bestow the title of economics’ (Heilbroner) in its most dramatic form the dynamism has taken the form of waves of invention that have altered not only the productive capabilities of society but its social composition, even its relationship to nature itself 1st_the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th C’s - the cotton mill and the steam engine, mill towns and mass child labor 2nd_revolution -the railway, the steamship, the mass production of steel, and a new form of economic instability - business cycle Why a knowledge of economics matters (5) 3rd-revolution introduced the electrification of life and the beginnings of a society of mass semi-luxury consumption 4th-introduced the automobile that changed the locations of centres of population 5th-has computerized life in our own time change itself has became the norm of daily life - a sense of immanent change the continuous remaking of the social environment as the most noticeable aspect of the markets impact on social provisioning the deeper aspect of this kaleidoscopic changefulness is that it conceals a kind of orderliness, whereby the forces that are unleashed work blindly but not haphazardly Why a knowledge of economics matters (6) there are control mechanisms, feedbacks, and self-generated limitations built into the torrent of market-driven change - evidences of systemic patterns What are these patterns, this orderliness, this trajectory? what are the sources of the relentless, ubiquitous pressure for change that has been capitalisms contribution to history, for worse as well as better? capitalism carries us all along into futures that are unforeseeable, and yet the manner in which those futures will be formed and shaped is far from being utterly unpredictable (Heilbroner 2006) PART IV What compels ‘the drive for capital’? (1) The drive for capital the activity at the heart of the capitalist order - the drive to get ahead, to make money, to accumulate capital (Heilbroner 2006) an integral connection between capital and the system that is built on its name - a connection that is veiled, or even concealed, in the everyday terms of getting ahead’ or making money’ Wealth is not capital what is ‘wealth’? monuments as objects of virtue and embodiments of the communitys spiritual life wealth as a symbol of power and prestige accruing to the personage to whom it belongs What compels ‘the drive for capital’? (2) ..wealth is inextricably associated with inequality the matter of inequality between the owners of the ‘means of production’ and those who work with these means - between capitalists and workers (labor) What distinguishes capital from wealth? capital is wealth insofar as one who possesses capital is a person who enjoys esteem and who wields power in the marketplace capital is wealth whose value does not inhere in its physical characteristics but in its use to create a larger amount of capital What compels ‘the drive for capital’? (3) capital differs from wealth in its intrinsically dynamic character changing its form from commodity into money and then back again in an endless metamorphosis (M->C->M’) makes clear its integral connection with the changing nature of capitalism itself What drives this process? that Marx called the ‘self-expansion of capital’ ‘At this focal point our understanding becomes uncertain’ (Heilbroner 2006) the motive of ‘maximizing’ our satisfactions inadequate to account for the insatiability of the drive to ‘accumulate’ (Marx) a ‘desire of bettering out condition’ by making money (Adam Smith) What compels ‘the drive for capital’? (4) linking the drive to amass wealth with unconscious motives derived from infantile fantasies of omnipotence (Heilbroner 2006) why these fantasies take the form of an expansion of capital A second motive competition - the consequence of each capitalist seeking to expand his scope of operations leads to the collision of capitalist against capitalist ‘One capitalist always kills many’ (Marx) an element of the ‘spirit of war’ What compels ‘the drive for capital’? (5) The emplacement of capital accumulation as the moving force of the new capitalist social order explains why capitalism revolutionizes material and social life the drive for capital is directed at the foundation of society, not at its apex (Heilbroner 2006) the continuous conversion of commodities into money achieved across the broad spectrum of production acts as a powerful force to augment the quantity and change the quality of output What compels ‘the drive for capital’? (6) the accumulation process exerts its immediate impact on the social environment by multiplying the productivity of labor Adam Smith’s ‘pin “manufactory’’’, ‘division of labor’ and specialization nowadays economists emphasize the more innovative aspects of technology as the source of growth – not so much the ‘division of labor’ the introduction of new products or new processes pins with colored heads->’safety’ pins->paper pins->zippers and Velcro The process of ‘creative destruction’ (Schumpeter 1942) a theory of economic innovation and the business cycle remains the central agency of change in all advanced capitalist economies What compels ‘the drive for capital’? (7) The nature of the capitalist order the peculiar dynamics of its never-ending, never-satisfied drive for capital accumulation brings both ‘success’ and ‘failure’ ‘success’ because it is indispensable for material well-being ‘failure’ because it is inseparable from adverse social effects, including instability can the ratio of ‘success’ to ‘failure’ be changed? as long as a drive to accumulate capital constitutes capitalism’s vital principle (‘modus vivendi’) there will not be one without the other Part V What is the politics of capitalism about? (1) Capitalism as a political order the life process of capital expansion has political as well as economic consequences generating inequalities alongside material well-being for Marx, the economics of capitalism arose from the ‘contradictions’ generated by its drive for production and its politics arose from the ‘class struggles stemming from its mode of distribution ‘class relations’ – as the fundamental political issue of capitalism What is the central political issue in capitalism? the relationship between business and government between the economy and the state the separation of governance into two mutually dependent realms What is the politics of capitalism about? (2) The duality of realms ‘the state’ – its institutions of law and order, its apparatus of force, and its ceremonial functions ‘the economy’ –its factories and stores, banks and markets, want ads and employment offices it is the business of the state to govern and that of the economy to produce somewhat ‘smudgy’ boundaries two realms of capitalism establish the framework for its political life motivated by different imperatives What is the politics of capitalism about? (3) Imperatives of the two realms in the ‘private realm’ – the drive for accumulation for the state (the ‘public realm’) – assertion of national identity, national power, patriotism, etc Mutual dependency the realm of capital cannot perform its accumulative task without the complementary support of the state (i.e., physical and educational infrastructure) government is dependent on the healthy condition of the economy for the revenues it needs for its own policy objectives the realm of capital normally holds the upper hand (Heilbroner 2006) What is the politics of capitalism about? (4) the relation between the realms has changed as the technological and institutional texture of capitalism has altered its dynamics The idea of ‘freedom’ in interaction of the two realms is there a linkage between the drive for capital and the enjoyment of freedom? the very pursuit of wealth is, in itself, an expression of an absolutely basic freedom on which all kinds of liberty is founded (Heilbroner 2006) capitalism itself appears to be a social order that is both the embodiment and the expression of freedom itself Heilbroner contends that ‘a social order in which there exists a partitioned-off economic realms is necessary for freedom, and that to date the only such society has been that of capitalism’ (2006) the state of explicit political liberty that we loosely call ‘democracy’ has so far appeared only in nations in which capitalism is the mode of economic organization Keywords capital (in economics) forms of capital modern types of capital human development theory capital accumulation capitalism competition duality of realms mutual dependency political liberty Disciplinary Approaches to Social Science1 Econologic II SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 16 Jan Krouzil PhD July 15, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I How the market works - or not PART II What is ‘creative destruction’ about? PART III Scenarios for the future of capitalism Keywords Part I How the market works - or not (1) Capitalism as ‘the market’ a market system is only a part of capitalism capitalism is a much larger and more complex entity than the market system the social order within which the market exerts its powerful integrative and disintegrative forces The market system the principal means of binding and coordinating the whole markets are not the source of capitalisms energies nor of its distinctive bifurcation of authority (Heilbroner 2006) How the market works - or not (2) markets as the conduits through which the energies of the system flow the mechanism by which the private realm can organize its tasks without the direct intervention of the public realm a market system of some kind will constitute their principal means of coordination whatever form capitalism may take in the 21st C Metaphor of the ‘invisible hand’ Adam Smith’s metaphor for the market system economists tell us that markets introduce micro-order into a society by micro-order they mean the equivalent of an invisible hand that leads men to achieve social ends that were no part of their conscious intent their explanation begins, as did Smiths, from the assumption that a maximizing mind-set is a given of human nature acquisitiveness drives the market system evidenced by the seemingly insatiable appetite with which individuals endeavor to increase their personal capital How the market works - or not (3) Demand and supply patterns of market action 1st pattern - individuals follow whatever feasible path best promotes their economic interest seek out the best-paying jobs for which they are suited, readily leaving one employer, and on occasion even one occupation or region for another if it pays better market system allocates labor to those tasks that society wants filled a market system cannot exist if there are barriers that prevent this self -motivated channelling of labor power i.e., in a society of slaves, serfs, or centrally allocated labor the market is linked to a ‘Society of Perfect Liberty’ How the market works - or not (4) 2nd pattern - affects the same channelling of effort with respect to the use that employers make of their capital also in pursuit of self-interest they will increase the production of those goods and services for which demand is greatest and profits highest and reduce production where demand and profits are low as with labor, demand acts as a kind of magnet for supply, assuring a match (‘equilibrium’) between the two neoclassical economic theory (microeconomics) ‘law of supply and demand’ model of ‘perfect competition’, MC=MR (Pareto optimality), model of ‘imperfect competition’ (i.e., monopoly) How the market works - or not (5) 3rd pattern – the conflict that affects the activity on each side of the market as competition develops among both suppliers and demanders in the labor market workers vie with one another to secure the better paying jobs in the market for products employers vie for shares of the publics purchasing power the effect in all cases is to force prices of every kind, incl. wages and rates of profit, to the prevailing social level (‘equilibrium’) the market system becomes its own ‘self-correcting’ agency against the exactions of greed and the inequities of exploitation How the market works - or not (6) Market failure markets do not always behave in this orderly and invisible fashion markets may work in disorderly and attention-attracting ways for ex., 1930s Great Depression, or the 2007-2008 financial crisis why markets sometimes work and sometimes do not? Externalities all acts of production have some ‘externalized’ effects a market-related effect called an externality the pollution of the steel mills (..higher laundry bills and health costs of people living nearby) How the market works - or not (7) costs are external in that, unlike the internal costs of the labor and raw materials that are paid by the mills, pollution costs are foisted on individuals who are external to the production process itself steel producers have no incentive to cut down on pollution, insofar as they do not pay the laundry or health bills, to which it gives rise the market mechanism does not accurately serve one of the purposes that it purports to fulfill - namely, presenting society with an accurate assessment of the relative costs of producing things a source of friction between the private and public realms private costs and social costs need for government intervention to rescue the drive for accumulation from suffering its own consequences How the market works - or not (8) Private goods and public goods markets influence on the ‘culture of capitalism’ the ethos of every man for himself reflects the market mentality the tendency to think of production only in terms of saleable ‘private goods’ distorts our view of the economy by rendering invisible public goods’ such as education, public health, or infrastructure Commercialization implies an extension of the market into areas from which we feel its values ought to be excluded i.e., the devolution of the virtue of physical excellence into commercial sport How the market works - or not (9) Commodification refers to extensions of the realm of the market into ‘ everyday life the saving in labor time and the enhancement of personal capabilities entrusting the preparation of food, the care of our homes, the grooming of our bodies to commodities bought in the supermarket rather than to our private and personal skills, ingenuity, and labor imposes costs that in their aggregate may greatly diminish or even outweigh these benefits we become ‘captives’ of the economy and consumption is taken to be a measure of life itself How the market works - or not (10) So, what could be put in its place? no problem to discover the deep-seated, perhaps unremovable problems of a capitalist order not so easy to describe the structure of a society that will avoid these problems What 21st C capitalism might be like? (to be continued in PART III) PART II What is ‘creative destruction’ about? (1) Theory of ‘creative destruction’ the term coined by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1942 Schumpeter declared that ‘this process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism’ the ‘process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one’ (1942) the deliberate dismantling of established processes in order to make way for improved methods of production How ‘creative destruction’ works ‘creative destruction’ theory treats economics as an organic and dynamic process What is ‘creative destruction’ about ? (2) different perspectives on whether this idea yields positive or negative results the process inevitably results in ‘winners and losers’ entrepreneurs and workers in new technologies create ‘disequilibrium’ and highlight new profit opportunities producers and workers committed to the older technology will be left stranded to Schumpeter, economic development is the natural result of forces internal to the market and is created by the opportunity to seek profit Netflix is one of the modern examples of creative destruction, having overthrown disc rental and traditional media industries—now being known as the ‘Netflix effect’ and being ‘Netflixed’  What is ‘creative destruction’ about ? (3) Examples of ‘creative destruction’ the Internet as one all-encompassing example of creative destruction where the losers are not only retail clerks and their employers but bank tellers, secretaries, and travel agents the mobile Internet adds many more losers, from taxi cab drivers to mapmakers computers facilitating tasks once performed by people are phasing out opportunities in lower-skilled positions, sales, retail, manufacturing and financial analysis positions, etc What is ‘creative destruction’ about ? (4) The bottom line ‘creative destruction’ as a necessary component of doing business as long as we live in a capitalist society, competition and innovation will force businesses to progress to develop a better product or service will hurt those who remain stagnant and will reward those who are able to plan and adapt around these transformations the landscape of business is bound to change - how it evolves will be an intriguing course to behold  PART III Scenarios for the future of capitalism (1) Alternative scenarios – analysis and vision Heilbroner argues that one cannot foresee the prospects with the clarity and scientific certitude that the word ‘prediction’ conveys, yet can imagine its development ‘scenario’ conveys the feeling of something more complex than a prediction ‘an attempt to describe processes partly driven by necessity and partly by volition, partly open to analytic understanding, partly grasped by intuition and conviction’ (Heilbroner 2006) usefulness of ‘scenarios’ - their capacity to illuminate the interplay of analysis and vision in thinking about the future Scenarios for the future of capitalism (2) Adam Smith’s scenario envisaged a ‘Society of Perfect Liberty’ whose most striking characteristic was a general increase in well-being for everyone his scenario anticipated a time when such a society would accumulate ‘(the) full complement of riches at which point accumulation would stop and growth with it his social vision leads him to expect the moral decay of the laboring class to which it will passively submit as probably the least sanguine as to (capitalisms) eventual outcome analysis points to capitalism’s eventual decline; vision to its earlier decay Scenarios for the future of capitalism (3) Karl Marx’s scenario is optimistic not about capitalism but about the social order to which it will give birth Marx’s analysis traces the consequences of an acquisitive drive in a competitive environment capitalism’s trajectory is continually interrupted by periods of crisis and restructuring Marxs vision of the working class as the agency of its own future liberation - not the passive victim of the existing order for Marx the scenario presents a directional (dialectical’) process in which capitalism disappears before the advent of its successor - socialism Scenarios for the future of capitalism (4) John Maynard Keynes’s scenario analytically pessimistic because his understanding of the workings of the market led him to conclude that a market-driven society could settle into a position of lasting underemployment Keynes vision - one of a balanced polity as well as a balanced economy, a view he described as moderately conservative an analytical pessimist; a visionary optimist Joseph Schumpeters scenario at once an analytical optimist and a visionary pessimist Scenarios for the future of capitalism (5) Can capitalism survive?’ - No, I do not think it can’ (1942) Schumpeter introduces a dynamic element into the accumulation process – perennial gale of creative destruction as entrepreneurs create and exploit previously non-existing fields for expansion technological possibilities are uncharted seas’ why does Schumpeter expect the demise of capitalism? his answer lies in sociology, not economics; in vision, not analysis perceives the culture of capitalism as corrosive of values Capitalism, he writes, creates a rational frame of mind which, having destroyed the moral authority of so many other institutions, in the end turns against its own’ the end comes as the entrepreneurs who embody the elan of the system lose their enthusiasm and settle down for a secure existence as socialist managers will this bourgeois, managerial socialism work? Of course it will’ - there is every reason to believe that the morale and self-understanding of socialism may be higher than that of capitalism Scenarios for the future of capitalism 6) Lessons Heilbroner draws from the scenarios all of them perceive capitalism as a social order whose historical direction is foreseeable their common perception is testimony to the properties of a society energized by a universal acquisitive drive mainly constrained by the contest of each against all (Heilbroner 2006) analysis must begin from a pre-analytic base - preconceptions inform all social judgments they are the reason that every scenario contains autobiographical elements with their freight of known and unknown biases scenarios are conservative or liberal, reactionary or radical - because they are filled with hopes and fears, as well as with objective and internally coherent workings-out of interacting elements Scenarios for the future of capitalism (7) ‘What of the future?’ Heilbroner asks why all of the scenarios perceive capitalism as self-destructive? difficulty of successfully maintaining capitalist macro- and micro-order raising doubts regarding capitalism’s political and moral validity Difficulty for maintaining economic order – the indeterminacy of the outlook for investment and for technology the unequal distribution of incomes the volatility of credit the tendency towards monopoly overregulation the technological displacement of labor and impetus towards cartelization Scenarios for the future of capitalism (8) the inflationary tendencies of a successful economy and the depressive tendencies of an unsuccessful one the inherent instability of an economic system whose energies are unevenly generated and whose self-regulatory mechanism is itself volatile Capitalisms uniqueness in history continuously self-generated change – whereby this very dynamism that is the systems chief enemy capitalism as a system will sooner or later give rise to unmanageable problems and will have to make way for a successor (Heilbroner 2006) Scenarios for the future of capitalism (9) Possibilities for 21st C capitalism the problems of capitalist disorder arise from the workings of the system the difficulties attending to the drive for capital the attributes of the market mechanism itself the interdependencies of its two realms the problems must be addressed by the assertion of political will the under-desired dynamics of the economic sphere must be contained, redressed, or redirected by the only agency capable of asserting a counterforce to that of the economic sphere - the government (Heilbroner 206) Scenarios for the future of capitalism (10) Government interventions into markets (‘government failure’) often ineffective, sometimes counterproductive. government is part of the problem, not of the solution (Heilbroner 2006) the issue of excessive government power perception that the reach of the public sphere within capitalism has greatly expanded at the expense of the private the public expenditure within GNPs governments regulatory powers yet the problems that threaten capitalism arise from the private sector, not the public Scenarios for the future of capitalism (11) The prospects for 21st C capitalism a spectrum of capitalisms will depend on the success with which different ‘national capitalisms’ can marshal and apply the forces of government to deal with those of their economies a description of the capitalisms most likely to succeed can be characterized by a high degree of political pragmatism a low index of ideological fervor a well-developed civil service a tradition of public cohesion all successful capitalisms will find ways to assure labor of security of employment and income management of the right to restructure tasks for efficiencys sake government of its legitimate role as a coordinator of national growth Scenarios for the future of capitalism (12) What could lie beyond capitalism? a society whose mode of cooperation is neither custom and tradition, nor centralized command, nor subservience to market pressures and incentives its integrating principle would be participation the engagement of all its citizens in the mutual determination of every phase of their economic lives through discussion and voting (‘deliberative democracy’) Participatory economics in Heilbroner’s vision where shared decision-making by discussion and vote (‘deliberative democracy’) displaces decision-making by self-interest alone or by persons privileged by wealth or position to make unilateral determinations assumes that social and economic quality replaces social and economic inequality as the widely endorsed norm of the society Scenarios for the future of capitalism (13) Could such a social order work? Heilbroner concedes that since we are socialized into a quite different mode of life, such scenario seems hopelessly naive, utopian, against human nature ‘Do I .. think it will be the direction of things during the 21st? I do not.’ (Heilbroner 2006) participatory economics will not become the social order in the 21st C no matter what yet, he argues, at least the goals and the general social conception of such a post-capitalist order might enter our consciousness the ideas and ideals of a participatory society will help to have another social destination in our imaginations (Heilbroner 2006) Keywords acquisitiveness ‘invisible hand’ patterns of market action market failure externality commercialization commodification ‘creative destruction’ alternative scenarios participatory economics SECTION IV Current Social Themes and Issues Migration and diaspora SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 20 Jan Krouzil PhD July 29, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Definitions, forms and patterns PART II Causes and consequences PART III Migration governance PART IV State-diaspora relations PART V Diaspora governance Keywords MRA3_Final Report_review Part I Definitions, forms and patterns (1) Global migration refers to the movement of people from one place to another with the intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily at a new location (geographic region) the movement is often over long distances and from one country to another internal migration also possible people may migrate as individuals, in family units or in large groups Major forms of migration invasion, conquest, colonization and immigration (Caves 2004) Definitions, forms and patterns (2) Forced displacement and refugee displaced person a person who moves from their home due to forced displacement (such as a natural disaster or civil disturbance) may be described as a displaced person or, if remaining in the home country, an internally displaced person an estimated 67.2 million forced migrants globally - 25.9 million refugees displaced from their countries (by the end of 2018) 41.3 million internally displaced persons displaced within their countries for different reasons (IOMs World Migration Report 2020) refugee a person seeking refuge in another country can, if the reason for leaving the home country is political, religious, or another form of persecution, make a formal application to that country where refuge is sought and is then described as an asylum seeker if this application is successful this persons legal status becomes that of a refugee Definitions, forms and patterns (3) the distinction between involuntary (fleeing political conflict or natural disaster) and voluntary migration (economic or labor migration) is difficult to make and partially subjective the motivators for migration are often correlated Migration governance associated with State sovereignty States retain the power of deciding on the entry and stay of non-nationals because migration directly affects some of the defining elements of a State (1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, Article 1) bilateral and multilateral arrangements as features of migration governance global arrangements in the form of international treaties in which States have reached agreement on the application of human rights and the related responsibilities of States in specific areas Definitions, forms and patterns (4) Migration patterns structural - South-South and North-North migration (Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016) statistical estimates of worldwide migration patterns (Oiarzabal and Reips 2012) internal migration can also take place within a country seasonal human migration mainly related to agriculture and to tourism to urban places shifts of population into cities (urbanisation) out of cities (sub-urbanisation) studies of worldwide migration patterns limit their scope to international migration almost half of these migrants are women one of the most significant migrant-pattern changes in the last half century (UNFPA 2013) women migrate alone or with their family members and community Definitions, forms and patterns (5) Destination and origin top ten immigration destinations (IOM 2019) United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, France, Canada, Australia, Italy top countries of origin (IOM 2019) India, Mexico, China, Russian Federation, Syrian Arab Republic, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Afghanistan, Indonesia Growth of international labor migration an important, yet underappreciated, aspect of globalization (Helms and Leblang 2019) Definitions, forms and patterns (6) Global migration flows in 1970 just 78 million people or about 2.1\% of the global population lived outside their country of birth by 1990, that number had nearly doubled to more than 150 million people, or about 2.8\% of the global population (United Nations Population Division, 2012) the growth in global migration shows no signs of slowing down nearly 250 million people living outside their country of birth as of 2015 despite the growth of populist political parties and restrictionist movements in key destination countries 34\% of all global migrants live in industrialized countries (with the United States and Germany leading the way 38\% of all global migration occurs between developing countries (World Bank, 2016) Part II Causes and consequences (1) International migration multifaceted process with distinct stages and decision points an initial decision to leave one’s country of birth may be made by the individual or the family unit may reflect a desire to reconnect with friends and family a need to diversify the family’s access to financial capital a demand to increase wages a belief that conditions abroad will provide social and/or political benefits not available in the homeland Causes and consequences (2) Standard explanations of destination choice physical costs associated with moving moving shorter distances is often less expensive than moving to a destination far away social, political, familial, and cultural dimensions as part of the transaction cost associated with migrating Arrival in a host country does not mean that an émigré’s relationship with their homeland is over migrant networks an engine of global economic integration expatriates help expand trade and investment flows they transmit skills and knowledge back to their homelands they remit financial and human capital home countries develop a range of policies that enable them to ‘harness’ their ‘diasporas’ Causes and consequences (3) Labor migration theories multiple causes impel migrants to move to another country globalization has increased the demand for workers in order to sustain national economies one category of economic migrants - generally from impoverished developing countries - migrates to obtain sufficient income for survival such migrants often send some of their income home to family members in the form of economic remittances an economic staple in a number of developing countries (de Parle 2007) people may also move or are forced to move as a result of conflict of human-rights violations, of violence, or to escape persecution Causes and consequences (4) people may move to gain access to opportunities and services or to escape extreme weather this type of movement, usually from rural to urban areas, may class as internal migration sociology-cultural and ego-historical factors play a major role in North Africa emigrating to Europe counts as a sign of social prestige many countries were former colonies many have relatives who live legally in the (former) colonial metro pole, and who often provide important help for immigrants arriving in that metro pole relatives may help with job research and with accommodation geographical proximity of Africa to Europe and the long historical ties between Northern and Southern Mediterranean countries also prompt many to migrate (Fanack 2005) Causes and consequences (5) whether a person takes the decision to move to another country depends on the relative skill premier of the source and host countries positive selection when the host country shows a higher skill premium than the source country negative selection occurs when the source country displays a lower skill premium the relative skill premia defines migrants selectivity (Baten and Stolz 2012) Neoclassical economic theory main reason for labor migration is wage difference between two geographic locations wage differences are linked to geographic labor demand and supply areas with a shortage of labor but an excess of capital have a high relative wage while areas with a high labor supply and a lack of capital have a low relative wage labor tends to flow from low-wage areas to high-wage areas best used to describe transnational migration not confined by international immigration laws and similar governmental regulations (Jennissen 2007) Causes and consequences (6) Dual labor market theory migration is mainly caused by pull factors in more developed countries assumes that the labor markets in these developed countries consist of two segments the primary market requires high-skilled labor the secondary market labor-intensive requiring low-skilled workers assumes that migration from less developed countries into more developed countries is a result of a pull created by a need for labor in the developed countries in their secondary market migrant workers are needed to fill the lowest rung of the labor market because the native laborers do not want to do these jobs as they present a lack of mobility this creates a need for migrant workers the initial shortage in available labor pushes wages up, making migration even more enticing (Jennissen 2007) Causes and consequences (7) Relative deprivation theory awareness of the income difference between neighbors or other households in the migrant-sending community as an important factor in migration. the incentive to migrate is higher in areas that have a high level of economic inequality in the short run, remittances may increase inequality, but in the long run, they may actually decrease it stages of migration for workers they invest in human capital formation and then they try to capitalize on their investments successful migrants may use their new capital to provide for better schooling for their children and better homes for their families successful high-skilled emigrants may serve as an example for neighbors and potential migrants who hope to achieve that level of success (Jennissen 2007) Causes and consequences (8) World systems theory looks at migration from a global perspective interaction between different societies can be an important factor in social change within societies trade with one country which causes economic decline in another may create incentive to migrate to a country with a more vibrant economy even after decolonization, the economic dependence of former colonies still remains on mother countries this view of international trade is controversial some argue that free trade can actually reduce migration between developing and developed countries can be argued that the developed countries import labor-intensive goods, which causes an increase in employment of unskilled workers in the less developed countries, decreasing the outflow of migrant workers export of capital-intensive goods from rich countries to poor countries also equalizes income and employment conditions, thus also slowing migration Causes and consequences (9) Sociology of immigration attention to how immigration affects, and is affected by, matters of race and ethnicity, as well as social structure main sociological perspectives symbolic interactionism aims to understand migration via face-to-face interactions on a micro-level social conflict theory examines migration through the prism of competition for power and resources structural functionalism (based on the ideas of Émile Durkheim) examines the role of migration in fulfilling certain functions such as the decrease of despair and aimlessness and the consolidation of social networks Causes and consequences (10) perspectives on processes of security (Faist 2006), citizenship (Shachar et al eds 2017), and international relations (Brettell and Hollifield 2014) the political importance of diasporas questions of diaspora activism (Bauböck 2006) state-diaspora relations (Délano and Gamlen 2014) out-of-country voting processes (Lafleur 2014) states soft power strategies (Tsourapas 2018) Albert Hirschmans framework on ‘voice’ vs. ‘exit’ - how emigration affects the politics within countries of origin (Hirschman January 1993) Causes and consequences (11) Lees laws factors causing migrations (Everett 1966) ‘push’ factors - things that are unfavourable about the area that one lives in not enough jobs, few opportunities, Inadequate conditions, desertification, famine or drought, political fear or persecution, slavery or forced labor, poor medical care, loss of wealth, natural disasters, death threats, desire for more political or religious freedom, pollution, poor housing, landlord/tenant issues, bullying, mentality, discrimination, poor chances of marrying, war, radiation, disease ‘pull’ factors are things that attract one to another area job opportunities, better living conditions, the feeling of having more political or religious freedom, enjoyment, education, better medical care, attractive climates, security, family links, industry, better chances of marrying Part III Migration governance and diaspora (1) International migration and displacement transnational issues concerning origin and destination States as well as States through which migrants may travel (often referred to as ‘transit’ States) or in which they are hosted following displacement across national borders majority of migration governance remains with individual States policies and regulations on migration typically made at the national level (McAuliffe and Goossens 2018) State sovereignty States retain the power of deciding on the entry and stay of non-nationals migration directly affects some of the defining elements of a State (The 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, Article 1) Migration governance and diaspora (2) The Global Compact for Migration not legally binding adopted by consensus in December 2018 at a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) conference by a vote among the Member States of 152 to 5 (with 12 abstentions) (IOM. 2018. Chapter 11) Realm of state–diaspora relations when and why states engage their diasporas – and why their practices converge or diverge? multiple factors at various levels and stages (Délano and Gamlen 2015) Migration governance and diaspora (3) Internal factors States’ positions are constantly changing, depending on the characteristics of the diaspora (including its economic and political importance) the nature of the origin-country regime (including its perceptions of emigration the citizenship laws and state capacities (such as consular infrastructures and budgets) External factors the nature of the destination state and the way it accommodates immigrants and relates to their origin states the role of relevant international organisations and norms Migration governance and diaspora (4) Comparing state–diaspora relations focus less on the uniqueness of specific country policies but on the commonalities and contrasts among them Key questions what historical, geographic, ideological, political or economic factors explain the variations and patterns in diaspora policy design, implementation and timing? what are the effects of these policies both on the home state and the host state and on the populations that they target? how are these diaspora policies transforming the nation-state and the international system as a whole? Migration governance and diaspora (5) qualitative comparisons based on ethnographic methods vital to understanding how different actors matter in the design and implementation of diaspora policies quantitative comparisons necessary to measure and evaluate the drivers of diaspora policies and their effects important to triangulate available sources and methods mixed-method and multi-disciplinary studies Migration governance and diaspora (6) The role of origin states in shaping (even in creating) diasporas’ home- and host-country ties how and why does the state matter in shaping these relations and what motivates the states, institutions and elites carrying out the policies? does the momentum come from states themselves, from diasporas, or from other actors such as international organisations? how do diasporas react to state influence? Research priorities comparing the roles of both origin and destination contexts in shaping state–diaspora relations Migration governance and diaspora (7) comparing the experiences of migrants with non-migrants evaluating and comparing costs and benefits to migrants and non-migrants to provide perspective the scale and the success of state investments in diaspora policies comparing the experiences of groups included and excluded in official conceptions of diasporas what do these patterns of inclusion and exclusion say about the wider legitimacy of these forums and discourses about diaspora engagement? Theorising state–diaspora relations debates about de-territorialisation and re-territorialisation in order to theorise the spatialities of power involved in state–diaspora relations governmentality theory as an approach to frame the decentralised, marketized approach to global migration governance that engaging diasporas represents Part IV State-diaspora relations (1) Etymology of ‘diaspora’ refers to populations that originate from the same place but disperse to different locations (Murray 2014) such as members of an ethnic or religious group the word ‘diaspora’ comes from the ancient Greek dia speiro, meaning ‘to sow over’ the concept of ‘diaspora’ refers to the Greeks in the Hellenic world and to the Jews after the fall of Jerusalem in the early 6th century BCE with reference to the African diaspora in the 1950s and 1960s and extended further in the following decades no set definition today as the modern meaning has evolved over time State-diaspora relations (2) As a social and cultural phenomenon sense of displacement - the population so described finds itself for whatever reason separated from its national territory a hope or a desire to return to their homeland at some point if the ‘homeland’ still exists in any meaningful sense a loss of nostalgia for a single home as people seek to ‘re-root’ in a series of meaningful implacements diasporic cultural development often assumes a different course from that of the population in the original place of settlement over time remotely separated communities tend to vary in culture, traditions, language and other factors vestiges of cultural affiliation in a diaspora can be found in community resistance to language change and in maintenance of traditional religious practice State-diaspora relations (3) How to distinguish diasporas from migrant communities? six ‘rules’ (Safran 1991) maintain a myth or collective memory of their homeland regard their ancestral homeland as their true home to which they will eventually return being committed to the restoration or maintenance of that homeland relate personally or vicariously to the homeland to a point where it shapes their identity Diaspora populations on the Internet web-based news portals and forum sites dedicated to specific diaspora communities often organized on the basis of an origin characteristic and a current location characteristic mobile applications such as Chinas WeChat create de facto online diaspora communities when used outside of their home markets. large companies from the emerging countries are looking at leveraging diaspora communities to enter the more mature market State-diaspora relations (4) Kinds of diaspora based on its causes - such as imperialism, trade or labor migrations by the kind of social coherence within the diaspora community and its ties to the ancestral lands Characteristics political ties with their homeland thoughts of return relationships with other communities in the diaspora lack of full integration into the host countries ties to the country of their historical affiliation and influence the policies of the country where they are located Part IV Diaspora governance (1) spatialities of power intersecting with processes of identification and belonging in relations between states and diasporas links between transnational governmentalities and processes of constructing migrant identity and citizenship citizenship as a lived experience and not just a legal institution spaces and contexts in which multiple citizenship is practiced and enacted beyond the formal granting of dual citizenship or external voting debates about defining ‘diasporas’ the term ‘diaspora’ adopted by policy makers in municipal, provincial and national governments, as well as think tanks, NGOs and international organisations the meaning of the word ‘diaspora’ is shifting and stretching Diaspora governance (2) Further research rather than seeking definitional consensus research should interrogate how and why the term is used by political actors and to what effect? where do working definitions used by state actors originate? how have these definitions travelled and changed over time? what do spatial and temporal differences in diaspora definitions reveal about the actors that use them, about their diaspora policies the groups included and excluded by these policies the consequences for everyone involved role of international norms what kinds of development are being pursued what kinds of diaspora policy ‘best practices’ are being promoted Diaspora governance (3) work on the short- and long-term impacts of diaspora engagement policies short- and medium-term effects of state-driven policies their contribution to integration in the host state the longer term as with all forms of transnationalism whether the current expansion in state–diaspora relations is leading to durable changes, what is new about them Keywords forced displacement refugee migration governance migration patterns State sovereignty migration theories economic remittance neoclassical economic theory sociology of immigration State-diaspora relations Disciplinary Approaches to Social Science Politology SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 17 Jan Krouzil PhD July 20, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Political ontology PART II Politology of ethics PART III Methodological issues PART IV Political schools of thought Keywords Part I Political ontology (1) What is political ontology about? ontology – the study (or science) of being two related senses of the term the nature of ‘being’ itself—what is it to exist? whether (and, if so, why) there exists something rather than nothing whether (and, if so, why) there exists one logically contingent actual world the (specific) set of assumptions made about the nature, essence, and characteristics (in short, the reality) of an object or set of objects of analytical inquiry What is the nature of the social and political reality to be investigated? what exists that we might acquire knowledge of? ontic/ontological Political ontology (2) for ‘ontological atomists’ - no appeal in political explanation to social interactions, processes or structures convinced in Hobbesian terms that ‘basic human needs, capacities and motivations arise in each individual without regard to any specific feature of social groups or social interactions’ (Fay 1996) for ‘ontological structuralists’ - the appeal to human needs and capacities is ruled inadmissible in the court of political analysis those convinced of a separation of appearance and reality—such that we cannot trust our senses to reveal to us that which is real as distinct from that which merely presents itself to us as if it were real political analysis is likely to be a rather more complex and methodologically exacting process than for those prepared to accept that reality presents itself to us in a direct and unmediated fashion Political ontology (3) Questions of political ontology what is the polity made of? what are its constituents and how do they hang together? what kinds of general principles govern its functioning, and its change? what is the nature of political causation? what drives political actors and what mental capacities do they possess? do individual preferences and social institutions exist, and in what sense? are (any of) these things historically and culturally invariant universals, or are they relative to context? Political ontology (4) Analytical agenda for political ontology no political analysis can proceed in the absence of assumptions about political ontology the relationship between structure and agency, context, and conduct the extent of the causal and/or constitutive role of ideas in the determination of political outcomes the extent to which social and political systems exhibit organic qualities or are reducible in all characteristics to the sum of their constituent units/parts the (dualistic or dialectical) relationship between mind and body Political ontology (5) whether we like it or not, and whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, we make ontological assumptions—in Wendt’s terms, we ‘do’ ontology. assumptions profoundly shape our approach to political analysis and cannot simply be justified by appeal to an evidential base … so, why is it important? ontological assumptions - the subject of the political analyst’s attentions for their epistemological and methodological consequences Epistemology defined as the study (or science) of knowledge refers ‘to the claims or assumptions made about the ways in which it is possible to gain knowledge of reality’ (Blaikie1993) Political ontology (6) if the ontologist asks ‘what exists to be known?’ then the epistemologist asks ‘what are the conditions of acquiring knowledge of that which exists? epistemology concerns itself with such issues as the degree of certainty we might legitimately claim for the conclusions we are tempted to draw from our analyses the extent to which specific knowledge claims might be generalized beyond the immediate context in which our observations were made how we might adjudicate and defend a preference between contending political explanations epistemological assumptions as ontologically loaded whether knowledge is transferable between different settings for political analysis and hence whether we can legitimately generalize between “cases” (an epistemological consideration) depends on (prior) assumptions about the ontological specificity of such settings Political ontology (7) the implications of ontological choices are not confined to epistemology; they are also methodological Methodology relates to the choice of analytical strategy and research design which underpins substantive research methodology establishes the principles which might guide the choice of method should not be confused with the methods and techniques of research themselves the means by which we reflect upon the methods appropriate to realize fully our potential to acquire knowledge of that which exists Political ontology (8) Ontology, epistemology, and methodology closely related, yet irreducible ontology relates to the nature of the social and political world epistemology to what we can know about it methodology to how we might go about acquiring that knowledge their relationship is also directional ontology logically precedes epistemology which logically precedes methodology cannot know what we are capable of knowing (epistemology) until such time as we have settled on (a set of assumptions about) the nature of the context in which that knowledge must be acquired (ontology) cannot decide upon an appropriate set of strategies for interrogating political processes (methodology) until we have settled upon the limits of our capacity to acquire knowledge of such processes (epistemology) and the nature of such processes themselves (ontology) Political ontology (9) Illusory conception of impartiality as disinterested and dispassionate observers of an external (political) reality existing independently of our conceptions of it we are, at best, partisan participant observers there is no neutral vantagepoint from which the political can be viewed objectively the ideas we fashion of the political context we inhabit influence our actions and the unfolding dynamics of that political context Political ontology (10) Status of Ontological Claims questions of ontology - the structure–agency and material–ideational relationships in political science issue of structure and agency claims as to the relative significance of structural and agential factors are founded on ontological assumptions as to the nature of a social and political reality to insist that such claims can be resolved by appeal to the evidence is to conflate the empirical and the ontological any given and agreed set of empirical observations can be accounted for in more or less agential, more or less structural terms Political ontology (11) if the relative significance of structural and agential, ideational, and material factors cannot be established empirically, then we must seek to avoid all claims which suggest that it might Ontological Disputes in Political Analysis questions of the relationship between individuals and social collectivities and between structure and agency question of the relationship between the material and the ideational Individual–Group Relationship can collective actors (states, political parties, social movements, classes, and so forth) realistically, or just usefully, be said to exist? Political ontology (12) if so, is their character or nature reducible to the aggregation of the constituent units (generally individual actors) from which they are forged? are such entities (if that is what they are) appropriate subjects of political analysis Two mutually exclusive positions – ‘individualism’ and ‘holism’ ontological individualism - the doctrine that ‘social groups are nothing over and above the individuals who are their members’ (Gilbert 1989) associated with ‘everyday collectivity concepts’ (states, classes, parties, and other groups) ‘are analysable without remainder in terms of concepts other than collectivity concepts, in particular, in terms of the concept of an individual person, his [sic] goals, beliefs and so on’ (Gilbert 1989) Political ontology (13) holism – the doctrine that ‘social groups exist in their own right’ (Fay 1989) less a belief in the organic nature of social and political reality than the dogmatic assertion that the task of social and political analysts is exclusively to document the (causal) role of social, i.e. holistic, phenomena, processes, and dynamics (Ryan 1970) ‘rational choice theory’ as defence of methodological individualism claim that ‘the elementary unit of social life is the individual human action’ (Elster 1989) ‘to explain social institutions and social change is to show how they arise as the result of the action and interaction of individuals’ (Elster 1989) Political ontology (14) contemporary rational choice theorists seem prepared to accept the ontological irrealism of rational choice assumptions rational choice institutionalists move from an absolute towards a ‘bounded’ (context dependent) conception of rationality if the stylized rational actor’s utility- and/or preference-function is a product of her context, role, or systemic function (as in much contemporary rational choice institutionalism), then to explain her behavior or to predict the consequences of her behavior in terms of such a utility/preference-function is no longer to subscribe to a methodological individualism Political ontology (15) Position between antagonistic extremes adopted by a growing number of political analysts a social whole is ‘not merely the sum of its parts’ there are ‘holistic properties’ of such social wholes these ‘can sensibly be said to belong to the whole and not to any of the parts’ dismantle the whole and we are left with the parts and ‘some mysterious property which formerly held the whole thing together’ (Ryan 1970) Part II Politology of ethics (1) Politology begins with the question ‘what ought to be a persons relationship to society?’ seeks the application of ethical concepts to the social sphere and deals with the variety of forms of government and social existence that people could live in provides a standard by which to analyze and judge existing institutions and relationships generates visions of the ‘good social life’ - of what ought to be the ruling set of values and institutions that combine men and women together distinguished from political science Political science deals with existing states of affairs seeks a positive analysis of social affairs for example, constitutional issues, voting behavior, the balance of power, the effect of judicial review, and so forth Politology of Ethics (2) Ethical foundations political thought has its beginnings in ethics questions such as what kind of life is the good life for human beings since people are by nature sociable – the question is ‘what kind of life is proper for a person amongst people?’ ethical utilitarians claim that the good is characterized by seeking (that is, attempting to bring about) ‘the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number’ in the political realm they support the erection of those institutions whose purpose is to secure the greatest happiness for the greatest number Politology of ethics (3) ethical deontologists claim that the highest good is served by our application of duties (to the right or to others) and acknowledge the justification of those institutions that best serve the employment of duties a stance that merges with human rights theorists’ emphasis on the role of rights (to or from actions and/or things) ethical relativists advocate a plurality of institutions (within a nation or around the world) ethical objectivists condemn those seen as lacking a universally morally proper purpose (for example, those that support certain inalienable rights) Politology of ethics (4) Ethics in political thought - theorizing about the nature of reality how we know things how we do things how we interact with others status of the individual - the ethical ‘person’ Schools of thought those who deem the individual person as sacrosanct ethically and thus politically those who consider the individual to be a member of a group and for whom the group takes on a sacred status Part III Methodological issues (1) Key question - should the group or the individual be the political unit of analysis? the language used by the opposing thinkers to describe the political primacy of their entity (that is, individual or group) alters throughout history depending on other competing or complementing concepts today the division is best characterized by the ‘rights of the individual’ versus the ‘rights of the group’ other terms include: the dignity of the individual; the duties and obligations owing to the group; the autonomy or self-determination of the group or individual these in turn resolve into particular and applied issues concerning the role of cultural, racial, religious, and sexual orientations Methodological issues (2) Debate between communitarians and liberals debate the middle ground of rights and obligations as they stretch between groups and individuals political thought deals with social institutions since people are sociable both seek to examine and evaluate the social-ethical realms of selfhood, friendship, family, property, exchange, money (that is, indirect exchange), community, tribe, race, association, and the state (and its various branches) – and accordingly the individual’s relationship with each Methodological issues (3) Metaphysical division on the appropriate unit of study methodological individualists seek to explain social actions and behavior in terms of individual action – and politically are known as individualists claim that a society (or culture, people, nation) is no more than the sum of its living members methodological holists seek to explain behavior by considering the nature of the group argue that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts in the political realm is translated into the state being greater than the citizenry, or the race, folk, or people being greater than the individual politically, holism translates into the general theory known as ‘collectivism’ all collectivist theories deny or lessen the value and authority of the individual in relation to the higher status accorded a collective entity Methodological issues (4) theological-political thought denies any primacy to the individual or to the group in favor of the supreme status of the divine realm also split between individualist and holist conceptions of the individual (or of the soul) Role of reason in social affairs political rationalism emphasizes the employment of reason in social affairs - individuals ought to submit to the logic and universality of reason rather than to their own subjective or cultural preconceptions rationalists argue that reason unifies humanity politically and hence is a conducive vehicle to peace Methodological issues (5) irrationalists downplay the efficacy of reason in our human affairs or more particularly in our social affairs range of alternatives are put forward in reason’s stead: emotions; cultural, religious, or class expectations; atavistic symbols; or mystical forms of intuition or knowledge criticize rationalists for ignoring the subtle wisdom of intellectual and social heritage that lies beneath contemporary society or which is deemed necessary for the reasoning mind politically, they consider the demands of reason to be ‘rationalizations’ of a particular culture (usually the criticism is leveled against the West) rather than demands that are universal or universalizable claiming that political solutions that appear rational to one group cannot necessarily be translated as solutions for another group translates into conservativism, a philosophical stance that is skeptical of rationalist designs (say to overthrow all political institutions so as to begin ‘afresh’ according to some utopian blueprint) and which emphasizes the continuity of wisdom – as contained in institutions and the language of politics – over the generations and in specific localities Part III Political ideologies (1) Key questions any (implied) connections to ethics? does the ideology emphasize the primacy of reason in social affairs? or does it underplay the role of reason in political affairs in favor of the forces of history, heritage, emotional or tribal predispositions? Liberalism classical_ pro-individualist theory of people and government reform_a pro-statist or a ‘social democratic’ conception Political ideologies (2) Conservatism downplays the unifying or omniscient implications of liberalism and its unifying rationalism accords institutions or modes of behavior that have weathered the centuries a greater respect than liberals politically cautious in tampering with forms of political behavior and institutions skeptical of whole scale reforms err on the side of tradition, but not for tradition’s sake, but from a skeptical view of our human ability to redesign whole ranges of social values that have evolved over and adapted to many generations Political ideologies (3) Socialism the public ownership and control of the means of production either because central ownership is deemed more efficient and/or more moral capitalism (free-market conservativism or liberalism) as morally and politically flawed socialists of the Marxist persuasion argue that socialism is the final historical era that supplants capitalism before proper communism emerges (a ‘historicist’ conception) Political ideologies (4) Environmentalism does not concern itself with the rights of people or of society, but of the rights of the planet and other species considers our place on earth to be of secondary importance to that of the natural world calls to stop pillaging the earth’s resources by either prohibiting further exploitation or at least slowing its rate - sustainable resource management in its ‘weaker’ forms - claims that human beings are custodians of nature, to whom we must show respect and have even ethical and political obligations obligations akin to those some theological positions hold of people to their God and to the natural world implies that humans are accorded an equal ethical status as that of other living species – as a primus inter pares Political ideologies (5) its ‘stronger’ form condemns the very existence of humanity as the perennial destroyer of all that is good people are the source of unending ‘evils’ committed against the world applied issues include pollution, vivisection, hunting, the domestication of animals, the eating of meat, and the desecration of the landscape ethical intrinsicism – the theory that all species possess an intrinsic/innate value independent of any other entity’s relationship to them criticisms against this argument asking what the moral relationship between a predator and its victim is or ought to be does the mouse have a right not to be caught by the cat and is the cat a murderer for killing the mouse? Political ideologies (6) Post-modernism claims that situations considered political in nature can not be adequately discussed in traditional realist and liberal approaches argues that there are no fixed categories, stable sets of values, or common sense meanings to be understood in their scholarly exploration people resist realist concepts of power they see as repressive in order to maintain a claim on their own identity claims the aspects of power resisted is that which forces individuals to take a single (‘autonomous’) identity or to be subject to a particular interpretation meaning and interpretation is always uncertain; arbitrary in fact Political ideologies (7) deconstructionism attempts to reveal the ambiguity of texts especially Western texts, how the texts themselves can be seen as sites of conflict within a given culture or worldview attempts to uncover evidence of ancient cultural biases, conflicts, lies, tyrannies, and power structures such as the tensions and ambiguity between peace and war, lord and subject, male and female seek to achieve their vision for the West by dismantling the present socio-political-economic system replacing the foundational ideas of individual liberty and the rule of law based on God’s moral order with postmodern politics -- the concepts of identity politics and social justice Keywords ontological assumptions ontological individualism ontological holism ethical foundations methodological individualists methodological holists irrationalists conservatism environmentalism deconstructionism L m J a b c a A R R 1 A A K C L P S S 1 c t a p S i p a i s L a j 0 The Social Science Journal 56 (2019) 21–29 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect The Social Science Journal j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / s o s c i j oneliness and the use of social media to follow celebrities: A oderating role of social presence ihyun Kim a,∗, Jinyoung Kim b, Hocheol Yang c Nicholson School of Communication and Media, University of Central Florida, P.O. Box 161344, Orlando, FL 32816, USA College of Communications, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA r t i c l e i n f o rticle history: eceived 5 December 2017 eceived in revised form 8 December 2018 ccepted 20 December 2018 vailable online 22 January 2019 a b s t r a c t Because social media provide users with the possibility of an easy way to communicate with celebrities in society, it has become a more common practice to follow celebrities through social media. However, there exists few studies that examine how people’s individual char- acteristics are related to their celebrity-following behavior. In this regard, the current study examines whether celebrity followers’ loneliness is associated with the following behavior of their favorite celebrity. Data were collected through an online survey (N = 210). Primary findings suggest that celebrity followers’ loneliness is positively related to frequent visits eywords: elebrity oneliness arasocial relationship ocial media ocial presence of their favorite celebrity’s social media, greater social-interpersonal motive for following the celebrity, and greater enjoyment of learning about personal life stories of the celebrity. Social presence is found to be a significant moderator that can intensify more favorable parasocial relationship perceptions with the celebrity. © 2019 Western Social Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. . Introduction Social media have been increasingly used among elebrity followers who want to know more about celebri- ies because users do not have to obtain permission to ccess the celebrities’ social media profiles to review their ictures and videos (Bond, 2016; Marwick & Boyd, 2011; tever & Lawson, 2013). Before the advent of social media, nformation about celebrities has been delivered to the ublic mostly through mass media such as television, radio, nd newspapers. That is, individuals who had a strong nterest in or admiration for celebrities could only receive uch celebrity-related information from mass media (Click, ee, & Holladay, 2013). However, as newer media, such s social media, offer users a more open and direct way ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Kim), [email protected] (J. Kim), [email protected] (H. Yang). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2018.12.007 362-3319/© 2019 Western Social Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. of communication with others, celebrities started sharing their life stories openly with their followers through social media (Brau, 2013). Hence, any individuals who wish to know about their favorite celebrities can easily find a way to connect them in a mediated platform. The extant research notes that individual differences are important to consider in the understanding of people’s media use (Oliver & Krakowiak, 2009); particularly, per- sonal characteristics are related to social media use (e.g., Ross et al., 2009). Then, a question that naturally follows in the context of the current investigation is that if there is any particular individual characteristic among followers that may play a role in consuming celebrity’s social media. Research findings on parasocial relationships in traditional media imply that one’s feeling of loneliness is particularly related to media use. Specifically, lonely individuals are found to rely on media (Rubin & Perse, 1987) and consume a heavy amount (e.g., Rubin, Perse, & Powell, 1985) to meet their interpersonal needs. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2018.12.007 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03623319 http://www.elsevier.com/locate/soscij http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1016/j.soscij.2018.12.007&domain=pdf mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2018.12.007 cience J 22 J. Kim et al. / The Social S Although the context is not about celebrity’s social media, an increasing body of literature has reported the same phenomenon in the overall use of social media. Specifically, lonely individuals have been reported to turn to social media to compensate for the lack of social skills and human connections with others in face-to-face set- tings (e.g., Kraut et al., 2002; Song et al., 2014). As the meta-analysis (Song et al., 2014) found, individuals who expressed higher levels of loneliness and lower social sup- port tend to use social media more often compared to those who felt less loneliness and received greater social support. A celebrity–follower relationship can be thought of as another important human connection, which would reveal similar traits and patterns of the relationship. That is, celebrity followers’ loneliness might be related to their usage of celebrities’ social media to a greater extent. However, there is little evidence that can support this con- jecture. Further, it is unclear what motives are related to lonely individuals’ following behaviors and how they feel about their experiences as they learn more about the celebrity. Considering the growing use of social media among celebrities and their influence on followers and society (e.g., Jin & Phua, 2014; Marwick & Boyd, 2011), it is worth examining the dynamics and nature of a celebrity–follower relationship in the domain of social media. In this regard, the current study examines how celebrity followers’ lone- liness is related to their use of and experiences with their favorite celebrity’s social media. Research indicates that the theoretical notion of social presence plays a crucial role for facilitating positive experiences in a mediated environ- ment (Biocca, Harms, & Burgoon, 2003). Thus, the current study also examines how social presence plays a role in the understanding of celebrity followers’ relationship percep- tions toward their favorite celebrity on social media. 2. Loneliness and social media use 2.1. Lonely individuals’ social media usage The extant research has documented two models that explain people’s behaviors and uses of the Internet: the social enhancement model and the social compensation model. The social enhancement model explains that indi- viduals who perceive their offline social networks as well developed tend to go online to further amplify their social resources and extend their social networks (Kraut et al., 2002). In particular, the model posits that extroverted and outgoing individuals are motivated to go online to enhance their social resources and networks (Ross et al., 2009; Valkenburg, Schouten, & Peter, 2005). Another model, which is more relevant to the cur- rent study’s context, is the social compensation model. The model holds the idea that individuals who lack social connections offline tend to go online to compensate for what they lack in an offline life (Kraut et al., 2002). That is, the model supports the claim that introverted, socially anxious, and shy individuals are more likely to use the Internet because they can substitute online networks for lack of offline social networks (e.g., Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2003; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). Specifically, ournal 56 (2019) 21–29 lonely individuals are found to use social media more heav- ily compared to those who feel less lonely (e.g., Rauch, Strobel, Bella, Odachowski, & Bloom, 2014). Through a meta-analysis, Song et al. (2014) found a causal relation- ship indicating that loneliness leads to more Facebook use. That is, lonely people tend to use social media because it provides them with more opportunities to interact with others, which might be lacking in the offline life. Thanks to social media, people can easily learn about celebrities’ professional and/or personal life stories and create some type of perceived relationships with them. In a popular sense, celebrity has a meaning of ‘a famous per- son’, but fundamentally, they are also normal people living their ordinary life with more popularity than others (Dyer, 2007). In that sense, mediated interpersonal relationships between people and celebrities (media personae) are sim- ilar to typical face-to-face social relationships (Rubin & Perse, 1987). Research indicates that many celebrities use social media as a means of communicating with their followers (e.g., Jin & Phua, 2014). By acknowledging the popularity of social media use between celebrities and followers, the cur- rent study examines how celebrity followers’ loneliness is related to the following behavior of their favorite celebrity’s social media. In particular, based on the social compensa- tion model and the existing empirical evidence (e.g., Kraut et al., 2002; Song et al., 2014), the current study predicts that celebrity followers’ loneliness is positively related to the usage of their favorite celebrity’s social media. Taken together, the following hypothesis is proposed. H1. Celebrity followers’ loneliness is positively related to the usage of their favorite celebrity’s social media. 2.2. Loneliness and motives for social media use Uses and gratifications theory (U&G) argues that indi- viduals are an active audience, emphasizing the active role of a media consumer in their use and choice of media (Rubin, 2009; Katz, Haas, & Gurevitch, 1973). In particular, the U&G theory highlights that media users have willpower to resist what media propagates and they autonomously choose a particular medium to gratify their own needs. That is, individuals are highly motivated and proactively select a specific medium to satisfy their physical, social, or psychosocial needs (Katz et al., 1973; Rubin, 2009). To further understand the core element of U&G theory that audience is active and media use is goal-oriented (e.g., Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974), Blumler (1979) explains the notion of being active in various ways such as utility, intentionality, and selectivity. Utility refers to the idea that media has many different uses for people and people put media to those uses. Intentionality is concerned with the idea that media consumption can be directed by people’s motivations. Selectivity refers to the idea that people use media based on their existing interests. The core element of the theory provides the framework for the understanding of why people consume social media. Raacke and Bonds-Raacke (2008) examined why users are attracted to social media and found that the most salient motives are to stay in touch with their existing friends, to cience J p a t i f a W R A 1 a i o r m o r s a t r l a 2 r c c d I s i h b a i o F u m n l p f s a s s s m o s a R ( t J. Kim et al. / The Social S ost or view pictures, and to make new friends online. In nother research, Park, Kee, and Valenzuela (2009) found hat social media help users socialize with others and seek nformation about social issues. Generally, studies have ound that information and social-interpersonal motives re primary reasons for social media use (e.g., Krämer, inter, Benninghoff, & Gallus, 2015; Raacke & Bonds- aacke, 2008; Schubert & Seyffert, 2017). On social media, a variety of stories are being shared. ccording to social penetration theory (Altman & Taylor, 973), individuals “voluntarily and intentionally reveal bout themselves to others, including their thoughts, feel- ngs, and experiences” (Tang & Wang, 2012, p. 245). This act f self-disclosure varies in terms of topic and the degree of evelation about each topic (Altman & Taylor, 1973). Thus, edia users learn about a variety of aspects of social media wners because self-disclosure appears in diverse forms evealing a variety of topics such as profession (i.e., profes- ional self-disclosure) and personal life including families nd friends (i.e., personal self-disclosure). The same phenomenon seems to appear in the con- ext of celebrity’s social media. With regard to motives, esearch has demonstrated that primary motives for fol- owing celebrity’s social media are related to interpersonal nd information seeking motives (e.g., Schubert & Seyffert, 017). With regard to self-disclosed stories on social media, esearch has addressed different types of stories that elebrities share on their social media; professional (e.g., oncert, new TV shows) and personal events (e.g., birth- ay party, family reunion) (e.g., Stever & Lawson, 2013). n this regard, it is questionable if celebrity followers’ per- onal characteristics such as loneliness would play a role n their following behavior. However, the extant research as not clearly addressed this. Indirectly, part of these questions might be answered y the perspective of the social compensation model. As ddressed earlier, the social compensation model posits the dea that people who lack social resources offline tend to go nline to compensate for what they lack (Kraut et al., 2002). rom this perspective, it is presumable that lonely individ- als’ following behavior of their favorite celebrity’s social edia are motivated with gratifying social-interpersonal eeds rather than information needs. Similarly, lonely fol- owers may enjoy learning about their favorite celebrity’s ersonal life stories rather than professional life stories to ulfill social feelings they may lack in the follower’s life. Thus far, little has addressed this issue in the celebrity’s ocial media context. In this regard, the current research ims to fill this gap and advance the understanding of ocial media research in the celebrity–follower relation- hip. Specifically, based on the extant research, the current tudy focuses on two particular motives (information otive and social-interpersonal motive) and enjoyment f learning about celebrity’s professional and personal life tories. Taken together, the following research questions re being sought. Q1a–b: How is celebrity followers’ loneliness related to a) information motive and (b) social-interpersonal motive o follow their favorite celebrity’s social media? ournal 56 (2019) 21–29 23 RQ2a–b: How is celebrity followers’ loneliness related to enjoyment of learning about their favorite celebrity’s (a) professional and (b) personal life stories shared on social media? 3. Social presence In a mediated environment, people engage in social interactions with diverse groups of interaction partners such as people they have preexisting relationships with (e.g., friends, family) and people they interact with in a mediated environment only (e.g., celebrities, computer game partners in cyber space). Whether the interaction is one-way (e.g., reading a post on social media) or two-way (e.g., exchanging messages on social media), people might experience a certain degree of social connections to others in this mediated environment. Although their interaction partners are not physically around or present in the same space, people might feel as if they were socially around. This type of experiences can be understood as a feeling of social presence. Social presence is part of presence experiences (Lee, 2004). Although the universal definition of social presence has not been agreed upon, it is generally understood as a feeling of socially and psychologically being connected to the other social actor without realizing the existence of the medium (Biocca et al., 2003; Lee, 2004). Acknowledging the importance of social presence for effective experiences in a mediated environment (e.g., Biocca et al., 2003), the notion has received much attention from scholars in diverse contexts (e.g., Lee, 2013; Kim, Merrill, & Song, 2018a; Kim, Song, & Lee, 2018b; Kim, Song, & Luo, 2016; Song et al., 2014; Song, Kim, & Park, 2018; Spence, Westerman, Edwards, & Edwards, 2014; Westernan, Spence, & Lin, 2015). Considering that the core nature of social presence is in line with the feeling of social connection to oth- ers in a mediated environment, the notion is particularly important for lonely individuals online. As argued ear- lier, the social compensation model indicates that lonely people go online to compensate for the lack of compan- ionship in their offline life (Kraut et al., 2002). Supporting this argument, empirical research has documented posi- tive associations between loneliness and social media use (e.g., Caplan, 2007; Lee, Jung, Kim, & Kim, 2006; Morahan- Martin & Schumacher, 2003; Shapira, Goldsmith, Keck, Khosla, & McElroy, 2000). However, an important ques- tion is whether the use of social media would help lonely individuals develop positive relationship perceptions with others connected online. Although there has been extensive research in this area, the findings are not consistent about the effects of media consumption on lonely individuals. For example, some research indicates that lonely individuals tend to use the Internet heavily, but this heavy consumption tends to cause detrimental effects such as PIU (Problematic Internet Use) (Caplan, 2007; Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2003). Somewhat differently, other research indicates that the effects of lonely individuals’ social media use are not always cience J 24 J. Kim et al. / The Social S harmful; it can be either positive or negative depending on media use patterns and experiences (Frison & Eggermont, 2016). The extant research indicates that social presence is an important factor that could enhance benefits of going online (e.g., Kehrwald, 2008; Kim, Kwon, & Cho, 2011; Kim et al., 2016). For example, Kehrwald (2008) discovered that when people have familiar interaction partners in a mediated environment, which could create more comfort- able atmosphere, they can “overcome feelings of loneliness or isolation” (p. 98) and create socially safe space. Fur- ther, Kim et al. (2018b) found that lonely individuals enjoy media experiences when they feel strong social presence of others, which indicates that social presence can facilitate lonely individuals’ media experiences. Pertaining to the celebrity–follower relationship con- text, the study particularly focuses on parasocial rela- tionship as an important media experience. Parasocial relationship refers to a fictional, one-sided, and non- reciprocal relationship in which a person thinks she/he knows someone well, but in actuality, that person does not know the other (Rubin & McHugh, 1987). This type of relationships often appears in the dynamics of celebrity–follower relationships (e.g., Rubin et al., 1985; Stever & Lawson, 2013). Extant research has attempted to examine how loneli- ness is related to parasocial relationships, but findings have been somewhat perplexing. Traditional media research has reported that loneliness is positively related to media con- sumption (e.g., Rubin et al., 1985; Rubin & Perse, 1987), but loneliness has not been found to be significantly related to parasocial relationships (e.g., Ashe & McCutcheon, 2001; Canary & Spitzberg, 1993; Rubin et al., 1985). These findings imply that lonely individuals’ media consumption does not guarantee that they will develop positive parasocial relationship perceptions. In other words, the relationship between loneliness and parasocial relationship might be moderated by other factors. In all, research informs that social media use could produce either positive or negative outcomes (Frison & Eggermont, 2016), and social presence would play a role in negating the harmful effects of going online for lonely media users and maximizing potential benefits of going online (Kim et al., 2018b). In this regard, the current study predicts that social presence would play a role as a moderator, such that when lonely people feel stronger social presence they would have more positive paraso- cial relationship perceptions. Taken together, the following hypothesis is proposed. H2. The relationship between loneliness and parasocial relationship is moderated by social presence. 4. Method 4.1. Participants Participants were recruited from undergraduate com- munication courses at a large public Midwestern university in the United States. A total of 344 participants initially responded to the survey. Among those individuals, 210 ournal 56 (2019) 21–29 participants who reported that they follow their favorite celebrities on social media were eligible for this study, while others were screened out. Among the 210 partici- pants, there were more females (n = 149: 71.3\%) than males (n = 60: 28.7\%), and one individual (0.5\%) did not identify biological sex. The average age was 19.20 years (SD = 1.873). A majority of the participants were Caucasian (n = 166: 79\%) followed by Asian (n = 17: 8.1\%), African American (n = 7: 3.3\%), Hispanic or Latino (n = 5: 2.4\%), and other ethnic groups (n = 15: 7.1\%). 4.2. Procedure An online survey was conducted with a university- licensed survey tool (www.qualtrics.com). Followed by the university’s IRB approval, a primary researcher received permission for student recruitment from a course director. Then, a recruiting email with a link to the online survey was sent to potential participants via the university email account. Once participants opened the survey, they were asked to read and sign off the informed consent form before starting the survey. At the start of the survey, participants were asked if they follow their favorite celebrity on any social media accounts of the celebrity. Eligible participants were led to complete the entire survey questionnaire. Those who were not eli- gible for the current study were led to a different survey questionnaire, which is not related to the current investi- gation. Eligible participants were asked to think of one par- ticular celebrity that they are following on social media and provide the celebrity’s name and primary occupa- tion. These questions were asked to prime participants to focus on this particular celebrity. Then, participants were asked to answer the rest of the survey questions based on this particular celebrity. Participation was voluntary, and all participants received course credit. Confidentiality and anonymity were guaranteed. 4.3. Measures The survey questionnaire included a set of items mea- suring key variables for the study. Loneliness ( ̨ = 0.83) was measured with six items selected from the UCLA loneli- ness scale (e.g., “I lack companionship,” “I feel isolated from others,” “I feel left out”) (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980). Responses were obtained on a 4-point Likert-type scale (1: Never, 4: Often). Enjoyment assessed celebrity followers’ enjoyment of learning about their favorite celebrity’s life stories shared on social media. As addressed earlier, two types of enjoyment were measured: enjoyment of learning about professional life stories and enjoyment of learning about personal life stories. First, participants were given with a list of examples that included different types of celerity’s life stories shared on social media to help them under- stand the distinction between the two types. For example, professional life stories refer to social media postings that include work schedules (e.g., concert, show); while per- sonal life stories refer to social media postings that include friends, family, hobbies, and other personal life-related http://www.qualtrics.com J. Kim et al. / The Social Science Journal 56 (2019) 21–29 25 Table 1 Correlation. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Social media consumption 1 2 Loneliness 0.07 3 Usage of their favorite celebrity’s social media 0.22** 0.21** 4 Information motive 0.25*** 0.11 0.35** 5 Social-interpersonal motive 0.16* 0.23** 0.44*** 0.49*** 6 Celebrity’s professional life stories 0.17* 0.14 0.26*** 0.62*** 0.29*** 7 Personal life stories of the celebrity 0.30*** 0.16* 0.28*** 0.56*** 0.26*** 0.75*** * 0. * *** *** 0. N e m o l s w r 2 w D f i m l o S t b M C s L i m t m p A u i & “ i p w W i s p o a m 8 Social presence 0.10 −0.18 9 Parasocial relationship perception 0.28** 0.14* ote: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. vents. Then, participants were asked to indicate how uch they enjoy learning about these stories of celebrities n social media. Enjoyment of learning about professional ife stories ( ̨ = 0.94) and enjoyment of learning about per- onal life stories of the celebrity ( ̨ = 0.83) were measured ith seven items, respectively, adopted from previous esearch (Tamborini, Bowman, Eden, Grizzard, & Organ, 010) (e.g., “enjoyable,” “fun,” “entertaining”). Responses ere obtained on a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = Strongly isagree, 7 = Strongly Agree). Next, as addressed earlier, two types of motives for ollowing the celebrity’s social media were assessed: nformational and social-interpersonal. Information seeking otive ( ̨ = 0.86) was assessed with four items (e.g., “I fol- ow this celebrity on social media because I get information n what this celebrity is doing that I can’t get elsewhere”). ocial-interpersonal motive ( ̨ = 0.80) was measured with wo items (e.g., “I follow this celebrity on social media ecause I can respond to what this celebrity has to say”). easures were slightly modified from Frederick, Lim, lavio, and Walsh (2012) for a better fit to the current tudy’s context. Responses were obtained on a 7-point ikert-type scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 7 = Strongly Agree). Parasocial relationship ( ̨ = 0.80) was assessed with five tems selected from Rubin et al. (1985) (e.g., “This celebrity akes me feel comfortable, as if I am with friends,” “I feel hat this celebrity is like my friend”). All of the responses for otives and parasocial relationship were obtained on a 7- oint Likert-type scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 7 = Strongly gree). Social presence ( ̨ = 0.85) was measured with eight items sing a semantic differential scale adopted from exist- ng research (Lombard & Ditton, 2000; Short, Williams, Christie, 1976) (e.g., I feel that this celebrity is unsociable–sociable,” “. . . unemotional–emotional,” “. . . mpersonal–personal”). Responses were obtained on a 7- oint semantic differential scale. Usage of the favorite celebrity’s social media ( ̨ = 0.93) as measured with eight items adopted from Rosen, haling, Carrier, Cheever, and Rokkum (2013). Example tems included such as “checking my favorite celebrity’s ocial media,” “commenting on postings, status updates, or hotos on the celebrity’s social media”. Usage of follower’s wn social media ( ̨ = 0.89) was also measured with items dopted from Rosen et al. (2013) (e.g., “checking my social edia,” “commenting on postings, status updates, or pho- 03 0.19 0.09 0.35 0.28 39*** 0.55*** 0.43*** 0.51*** 0.51*** 0.29*** 1 tos on my social media”). Responses were obtained on a 10-point Likert type scale (1 = Never, 10 = All the time). 5. Results When examining the relationship between celebrity fol- lowers’ loneliness and their experiences about the favorite celebrity’s social media, an important aspect that should be taken into consideration is that celebrity followers’ usage of the celebrity’s social media is not extension of that of their own social media. In other words, some people may argue that when people are consuming their own social media, they may have a high chance to click on celebrity’s social media because a posting about a celebrity appears or someone is talking about the celebrity on social media. To avoid any potential issue, the current study controlled for followers’ usage of their own social media. Before testing the hypotheses, a correlation analysis was conducted. See Table 1. To test H1, RQa–b, and RQ2a–b, a series of regression tests were conducted. Usage of followers’ social media (control variable) was entered in the first step, and loneli- ness was entered in the second step. Findings are presented based on the results from the second step, which controls for usage of followers’ social media. H1 predicted that loneliness is related to the usage of the favorite celebrity’s social media. A regression test found that there is a positive relationship [�R2 = 0.04, F(2, 196) = 9.10, ̌ = 0.21, p < 0.01]. Thus, H1 was supported. RQ1a–b … TWENTY-FIRST -� CENTURY �- CAPITALISM The Massey Lectures Series The Massey Lectures are co-sponsored by Massey College, in the University of Toronto, and CBC Radio. The series was created in honour of the Right Honourable Vincent Massey, former governor gen­ eral of Canada, and was inaugurated in 1961 to enable distinguished authorities to communicate the results of original study or research on important subjects of contemporary interest. This book comprises the 1992 Massey Lectures, Twenty-first Century Capitalism, which were broadcast in November 1992 as part of CBC Radios Ideas series. The executive producer of the series was Bernie Lucht. TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM Robert Heilbron er Anansi Copyright© 1992 by Robert Heilbroner All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. First published in 1992 by House of Anansi Press Limited 1800 Steeles Avenue West Concord, Ontario L4K2P3 Third printing October 1993 CBC logo used by permission Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Heilbroner, Robert L. Twenty-first century capitalism (CBC Massey Lectures Series; 1992) ISBN 0-88784-5347 1. Capitalism. Forecasts. 2. Twenty-first century - I. Title IL Series. HB501.E44 1992 330.122 C92-095480-4 Cover design: Brant Cowie/ ArtPlus Limited Typesetting: Tony Gordon Ltd. Printed and bound in Canada House of Anansi Press gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Recreation, Ontario Arts Council, and Ontario Publishing Centre in the development of writing and publishing in Canada. For Sammy, when he gets a little older Contents Acknowledgements lX I Capitalism from a Distance 1 II The Drive for Capital 23 III The Politics of Capitalism 47 IV The Market System 71 V Scenarios for the Future 93 Notes 119 Acknowledgements THESE PAGES WERE WRITTEN as part of the Massey Lectures that I was privileged to give in the fall of 1992. I wish to express my appreciation for the op­ portunity extended to me by the Canadian Broad­ casting Corporation and Massey College. I should like as well to acknowledge the extraordinarily use­ ful and supportive criticisms of my dear friend Peter L. Bernstein and my much-esteemed colleague Wil­ liam Milberg. I CAPITALISM FROM A DISTANCE His tory teaches nothing, but only punishes for not learning its les s ons . - Vladimir Kliuchesky I CAPITALISM IS THE NAME of the economic system that dominates the world today. The central question of these pages is to ask whether we can also expect it to dominate the world during the century ahead, which sounds as if I were about to make predictions on a grandiose scale. But to the relief or disappoint­ ment of my readers, I must make clear that such is not my intention. In the 1970s I once had occasion to discuss the ability of economists to foresee large­ scale events during the twenty-odd preceding years - events such as the advent of the multina­ tional corporation, the rise of Japan as a major eco­ nomic power, and the emergence of inflation as a chronic problem of all industrial nations. Not a sin­ gle one of these world-shaking developments had been foretold. 1 More recently, there have been a number of equally important world-scale happen­ ings, such as the decline in productivity suffered by all the Western powers in the early 1970s, or the striking loss of global economic leadership of the United States. How presciently were these develop­ ments anticipated by the great research institutions that carry on their continuous radar sweep of 4 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM trends? The answer is that none foresaw them. Fi­ nally, there is perhaps the largest economic turning point of modern history- the collapse of the Soviet economy. I do not know of a single economic orga­ nization, including those privy to all the secrets of government intelligence services, that expected the debacle. So I will not be so foolish as to attempt to do that which has foiled so many - namely, to predict the future of the social order in which we live. How, then, can I speak to the theme of twenty-first century capitalism? My answer is that I shall be considering the prospects for capitalism from what might be called a perspective of future-related understand­ ing. As we will see, this is very different from the perspective of prediction. Suppose, for example, that we looked down at the spectrum of todays capitalisms from this new and as yet unexplained vantage point. We would immediately see some­ thing that would probably never enter our minds if we were interested in forecasting which countries would be leaders and which laggards in 2025. It is the remarkable fact that although Japanese, Swedes, Americans, Canadians, or for that matter, French, Germans, English, and Italians, do not have the same habits or customs, do not agree about many political means or ends, and largely lack a common sense of humour or even of civic duty, they can nonetheless carry on an extremely important, demanding, and complex task with surprising unanimity of under­ standing and purpose: they can do business to­ gether. That is, they can transact exchanges in the marketplace, negotiate around the bargaining table, Capitalism from a Distance 5 or engage in boardroom conferences as persons who see at least one aspect of life in much the same way. That aspect concerns the manner in which economic life is organized. Thus, looking at capitalism from this unaccus­ tomed perspective, puts into our hands a way of peering into the future that we would not have if we approached the problem from the viewpoint of one country, even one that we know very well. The difference is that we become aware of capitalism as a system with a basic orientation discoverable in all its individual national embodiments. Only by be­ coming aware of this orientation can we hope to discover whether there is a logic at work behind the movement of things - a logic that enables us to think about twenty-first century capitalism in terms that will be relevant whether we are citizens of Canada, the United States, Sweden, or Japan. The predictions we all make, like the hopes and fears we all entertain, will not necessarily be any more accu­ rate for being based on such an understanding, but they are much less likely to be wrong or misguided in the sense that they have overlooked the require­ ments of all capitalist systems, and therefore of any of them. Thus an attempt to rise above capitalism should help us think about what twenty-first century eco­ nomic society might become, while still remaining capitalist; and it will help us think about where our own country might lie within those boundaries of possibility. It may even assist us in stretching our imaginations to conjure up what life might be like on the other side of those boundaries, where 6 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM capitalism was no longer the organizing principle of economic life. II BUT WE CANNOT INDULGE ourselves in such an exer­ cise of imagination until we have performed a more immediate investigation, namely, to make ourselves more familiar with what capitalism looks like from our elevated vantage point. I propose to do so by looking at a part of the world that is unmistakably not capitalist, and then by asking a very odd ques­ tion about it. I have chosen the society of the !Kung - the so-called Bush people of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, whom we visit at the moment when Gai, a Bushman hunter, has just brought down a gemsbok with a well-aimed arrow and is about to divide up the kill. The anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas describes the scene in her classic account of the !Kung people*:2 Gai owned two hind legs and a front leg, Tsetchwe had meat from the back, Ukwane had the other front leg, his wife had one of the feet and the stomach, the young boys had lengths of intestine. Twikwe had received the head and Dasina the udder. It seems very unequal when you watch Bushmen divide the kill, yet it is their system, and in the end * The ! mark denotes the click language of the people. Capitalism from a Distance no person eats more than the other. That day Ukwane gave Gai still another piece because Gai was his relation. Gai gave meat to Dasina because she was his wifes sister .... No one, of course, contested Gai s large share, because he had been the hunter and by their law that much belonged to him. No one doubted that he would share his large amount with others, and they were not wrong, of course; he did.3 7 Now for the odd question I mentioned earlier: Does one need a knowledge of economics to understand what is going on here? Of course we need to know a great deal about the specific culture of the !Kung­ their customs and beliefs, patterns of family rela­ tionship, and the like. But economics? Perhaps I can make the question less odd by turning it around. Let us suppose that a group of the !Kung somehow arranged a return journey under the guidance of an anthropologist friend who brought them to visit Toronto, Paris, New York, or wherever. Would they need a knowledge of economics to understand what they saw in these strange places? This time the question is much easier to answer. I am sure we would agree that life in a Western city would be incomprehensible without some under­ standing of economics - I do not mean the stuff of textbooks, or even the ability to understand the finan­ cial pages, much less the front pages of newspapers. I mean a general comprehension of what is meant by work and the rights it confers to remuneration, or a familiarity with the purpose of those discs and paper rectangles called money, or some vague idea of 8 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM why the numbers of discs or paper rectangles required to take possession of the very same item may change from one day to the next. All these commonplace things would be utterly mysterious to someone who came from a primitive society. There is no work performed among the !Kung, although, of course, there is a great deal of toil, because work implies complex legal and social arrangements that are com­ pletely absent in a primitive culture;4 there is no idea of money and therefore of prices. At this basic level, then, there is as little need for a know ledge of eco­ nomics to understand Kalahari life as there is an indispensable need for it in Toronto or New York. The odd question now begins to point towards our central inquiry into the nature of capitalism. Why is there no economics in !Kung society, whereas eco­ nomics seems to pervade life in Western countries? The answer cannot be that Kalahari people do not carry on the fundamental economic activities of a modern society, albeit at a much simpler technological level. Primitive societies perform the tasks necessary for their maintenance and continuance exactly as do the most advanced societies - the !Kung sustain their bodies, replenish their households, repair or build their shelters, make tools and implements, embark on long and arduous journeys. If we say that there is no obvious economics in the Kalahari, we cannot mean that advanced societies perform essential undertak­ ings that are absent in their distant precursors. To understand why we sometimes do and some­ times do not need to know economics to understand society we must embark on one more journey of the imagination. This time we do so by turning the Capitalism from a Distance 9 pages of an immense historical atlas that describes the thousands of recognizably different societies in human history, all of which, of necessity, have coped with the problems of producing and distributing the wherewithal for their continuance. In this atlas the societies in which we will recognize the telltale char­ acteristics of capitalism are but a tiny handful, grouped in the last pages of the book, where - I do not have to say - they have expanded their influ­ ence virtually around the world, presenting us fi­ nally with the opportunity to discover the unique properties of capitalism for which we are searching. III TURNING THE PAGES of this historical atlas is interesting for two reasons. First, we are struck by the extra­ ordinary variety of ways in which human com­ munities have wrestled with what we might call the Economic Problem. No two societies seem to have used exactly the same ways of mobilizing and mar­ shalling their work forces or of distributing their prod­ uct. There are many ways to raise crops, spin thread, build houses, wage war. Equally great differences are visible in the means of selecting those who will go into the fields to hunt and gather, and those who will not­ gender, family, race, punishment, ambition. Tremen­ dous variations have marked the portions distributed to different members, and classes of members, of so­ ciety, and equally great differences can be found in the explanation of these differences between the fa­ voured and the unfavoured. 10 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM The second interesting aspect of the atlas of soci­ eties is the opposite of the first. It is not the variety, but the astonishing paucity of overall solutions to the problem of assuring societys material continu­ ance. For all its variety the atlas itself is organized into only three major sections. We have already seen the first of the three divisions in the Kalahari Bush people. How do the !Kung - and, by extension, the overwhelming majority of all human societies of which we have any historical knowledge - solve the problem of producing their needed food and other requirements, and how do they distribute what they have produced in such fashion that this social effort can continue? Direct observation quickly yields the answer. From their infancy !Kung children are taught the skills they will need and the roles they will fulfill as they accompany their elders on journeys of gather­ ing or hunting. The essential task of training a labour force therefore takes place as part of a process of socialization, a process to which all humans must submit if they are to become acceptable members of the community. In primitive societies like the !Kung the ruling principle of socialization is obedience to age-old ways, which is why we speak of such an organization of production and distribution as an economy under the guidance of tradition. There is a point worth making with respect to this most ancient, durable, and perhaps ultimately life­ preserving of all ways of overseeing the economic problem. It is that there is no need for economics in studying its mode of operation. That is, there is nothing in the socialization process that calls for the_ Capitalism from a Distance 11 special expertise of an economist. To understand the workings of Kalahari society we need an intimate knowledge of their culture, witho�t which the divi­ sion of Gais kill would be incomprehensible; we need knowledge about how political decisions are made with respect to such matters as when the community will leave one campground for another; and we need some acquaintance with their tech­ niques of hunting and gathering if we are to under­ stand why the community goes about these particular functions the way it does. None of the above, however, would ordinarily be called economic knowledge . Is there, perhaps, a deeper level of penetration that would give us in­ sight into an economic motivation beneath the sur­ face of society? A contemporary Western economist might suggest that such a motive can be found in the maximizing of utilities - satisfactions - that can be presupposed as the decisive principle behind all activities. But even if that were the case, which many besides myself doubt, it would not throw any addi­ tional light on !Kung life. Perhaps a maximizing impulse drives Gai to hunt and Dasina to gather, but an economist who sought to explain behaviour by utility maximizing would also have to assert that Gais brother, who stayed behind to loaf, was also maximizing his utilities. An explanation that cov­ ers every conceivable sort of behaviour cannot serve the purpose of telling us what is special about one sort of behaviour. Such an assertion does not mean there is no eco­ nomics in the organization of primitive social life. T he point, rather, is that whatever motives and 12 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM pressures and shaping forces affect production and distribution, they are inextricably intermixed with the cultural or political or technological attributes of those societies. To put it differently, if we knew everything that was to be known about !Kung cu.1- ture, political relationships, and technology, what would be left for an economist to find out? In contrast to tradition the second great coordina­ tive mechanism is called command. As the name indicates, it solves the problems of production and distribution by orders from above. These may be the commands of a pharaoh or the laws of a state; on a smaller scale they may be the authority of a head­ man or a community council, the orders of a planta­ tion boss or a factory manager. Command differs from tradition in two very important ways. First, it requires an enforcement mechanism different from the internalized pressures of socialization. That mechanism is coercion - the actual or threatened use of punishment. Command backed only by the pressures of existing mores and beliefs would be no more than a form of tradition. The orders of the Roman emperors or the Soviet commissars de­ pended on more than the internalized pressures of tradition for their obedient response - indeed, they often demanded of people that they go against the routines of the past. And what of the economics of command? Is there such an economics in the sense of a special kind of knowledge necessary to understand the workings of ancient Egypt or the deceased Soviet Union? Of course, taking the last case, we need an understand­ ing of the command structure itself, in this instance Capitalism from a Distance 13 the Soviet planning setup. In addition we need to be familiar with problems of running large-scale orga­ nizations, such as steel plants; and beyond that, a kind of knowledge not previously needed - knowledge of the problem of meshing many kinds of outputs if the blueprint of the central planners is to be met. The collapse of the Soviet Union has alerted us to the extraordinary difficulties of acquir­ ing this knowledge, but the knowledge itself is little more than the extension, on a giant scale, of that possessed by every factory manager. Such know­ ledge is very important, but I think we are more likely to call it management than economics. Thus we reach the same surprising conclusion in the case of command societies as in those coordi­ nated by tradition. The manner by which the activi­ ties of production and distribution are coordinated in both types of economic system is so enmeshed in the culture, technology, and politics of those kinds of societies that no special domain of knowledge re­ mains to be filled in. Once again to make the point, although there are assuredly economic problems in tradition- and command-run societies, there is no economics in either of them, no understanding that we would lack if we fully grasped their cultures, their technical means, and their political arrangements. IV AND so WE REACH the market. I shall leave aside for a moment the relation between the market as a means of organizing production and distribution, 14 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM and capitalism as the larger social order in which the market plays a crucial role. While we are still trying to find out where economics fits into the larger picture, let us simply look at the workings of the market through the same uncomprehending eyes as we looked at Gai distributing the parts of his gemsbok. This time, however, let us suppose that the !Kung people, having been deeply impressed by their trip to the West, wish to create such a society for them­ selves. Tell us, they ask, is there some way we should organize ourselves to duplicate the remark­ able things we have seen abroad? Indeed, there is, we reply. You must create a market economy. Very well, their elders agree. What shall we instruct our people to do? Aha, we answer. The first point is that you dont tell them what to do. They do what they please. In fact, the key difference between a market economy and the economic life of a traditional com­ munity such as your own, or a command society, like that of the ancient Dahomey kingdom, is that each person in a market system will do exactly as he or she pleases. There is c onsiderable c onsternation. You mean, a brave elder ventures, that we do not tell our women to gather fruit or our men to hunt? That we make no provision for the building and repair of our shelters? What happens, then, if no one goe� gathering or hunting or repairs our places of rest? Never fear, we reply. All these tasks will get Capitalism from a Distance 15 done. They will get done because it will be in your sisters interests to gather and in your brothers interests to hunt, and in the interests of others among you to repair your shelters or to make new bows and arrows. There are expressions of unease. But look, another says. Suppose we risk this astonishing change. How do we know that our gatherers will bring back the right amount of food? If it is in their interest to gather food, will they not bring back more than we need, with the result that it will spoil? You dont have to worry about that, we answer. The market system will take care of the problem. If too much food is collected, no one will want it, so that its price will fall, and because it falls, it will no longer be in your sisters interest to collect more than you need. Then how do we know that enough food will be collected? our interrogator asks triumphantly. Do not fret. The market will see to that, too! But what is this market that will do these won­ derful things? Who runs it, for example? Well, there isnt any such thing as a market, we explain. Its just the way people behave. No one runs it. But we thought the people behaved as they wished! So they do. But you need not concern yourselves. They will want to behave the way you want them to. I fear, the headman of the community says with great dignity, that you are wasting our time. We 16 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM thought you had in mind a serious proposal. W hat you suggest is inconceivable.5 V OUR DEPICTION OF WHAT a market society might seem like to someone who was not exactly sure what a price was enables us to take the last step on our roundabout journey to forming a picture of capital­ ism. For we now see something that is both very simple and yet full of significance for understanding our own social order. It is that the three organizing principles of tradition, command, and market im­ part totally different dynamics into the societies over which they hold sway. The dynamism of the first organizing principle is very simple. It is the rule of stasis, of changelessness, which, however, does not mean a passive surrender to fate. Many tradition-ruled societies go on long forced marches in periods of famine and drought, and in Neolithic times we know that such commu­ nities managed the extraordinary adaptation to the demands of the Ice Age.6 Neither does the ruling importance of tradition impose an abject level of poverty, as we long used to believe. Anthropologist Marshall Sahlins has even gone so far as to call these societies the first affluent societies, in that their established ways amply fill the expectations of their people.7 Nonetheless, a society whose historical journey is entrusted to the guiding hand of tradition sleepwalks through history. It may make remark­ able adaptations - if it did not, human society Capitalism from a Distance 1 7 would never have survived its danger-beset in­ fancy - but these departures from lifes well-trod course are driven by need rather than adventure or a pioneering imagination. Things are quite different when we come to soci­ eties in which command plays a central role in the production and allocation of their provisioning ef­ forts. We do not know precisely when command began to displace tradition as a central organizing factor - the German historian Alexander Rustow has suggested that it might have begun with the Neolithic descent of nomadic horsemen onto seden­ tary cultivators, bringing a new breed of man, marked by a powerful superiority . . . over two me­ ters in height and . . . several times faster than a pedestrian. 8 In short, Rustow suggests the proto­ type of the centaur. All that we know from the historical record, however, is that in parts of the world as far separated as Egypt and Central and South America, societies appeared whose social structures resembled the phenomenal pyramids they built. Undoubtedly, such formal social hierar­ chies were preceded in many parts of the globe by less formally stratified kinship societies.9 What is important for our purposes is that in all these societies command played a crucial role in their provisioning arrangements, which is not to say that tradition ceased to exert its steadying influence. Writing of ancient Egypt, Adam Smith notes that each person was supposed to follow the trade of his father, and was supposed to have committed some hideous sacrilege if he did not. 1 0 But the rut of tradition could never have guided the Egyptians or 1 8 T WENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAPITALISM the Incas or Mayans into the construction of their extraordinary monuments, temples, and palaces. Neither could tradition have provided the goods and services that sustained the armies of Alexander or Caesar, not to mention the huge military provi­ sioning of both sides in World War II. Command therefore interests us because it is par excellence the mode of organization required to effectuate deliberate changes in the trajectory of society. War, revolution, or any major societal under­ taking - the provision of a welfare system, for in­ stance - may utilize many of the dependable behavioural traits of tradition and the much more flexible means of the market, of which I shall speak next. But command is the indispensable means of purposefully changing the ways and means of pro­ duction and distribution, whether change itself orig­ inates in an imperial decree or by democratic vote. So, finally, we come to the market, the organizing principle of capitalism. A capitalist order also de­ pends to no small degree on the steadying influence of tradition - could we run a market system with­ out the socialized trait of honesty? - as well as on elements of command; behind the contracts we sign are the courts that will enforce them. But it is clear that the impetus given to a market-organized sys­ tem is very different from that of tradition or com­ mand. If traditional society sleepwalks through history, and command society pursues the goals of powerful individuals or institutions, market society is in the grip of subterranean forces that have a life of their own. The principle of motion imparted by these forces Capitalism from a Distance 19 gives us a special kind of dynamism to which we can finally bestow the title of economics. We are all familiar with this dynamism, whether or not we have ever read a book on the subject of economics. In its most dramatic form the dynamism has taken the form of waves of invention that have altered not only the productive capabilities of society but its social composition, even its relationship to nature itself. The first of these was the Industrial Revolu­ tion of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth cen­ turies that brought the cotton mill and the steam engine, along with the mill town and mass child labour; a second revolution brought the railway, the steamship, and the mass production of steel, and along with them a new form of economic instabil­ ity- business cycles; a third … TEST ONLINE 3_Study Guide SOSC 1000 6.0 Reviewed: August 3, 2021 Due: August 11, 2021 Value: 20\% PART I Essay-type questions (10\%) From the items drawn from Section III and IV course material and listed below, respond to all. (approx. 250-320 words per item, 5\% per each) 1. Following Heilbroner’s reasoning, explain the relationship between the market economy and government in the 21st century capitalist social order. Refer to: (LEC 15 and 16) Readings: [1] [attached TXTBK Reading #1:] Heilbroner: page. 3-45, [2]https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/economics/ , [3]https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/concept , [attached TXTBK Reading #1:] Heilbroner: p. 49-118, [2]https://www.academia.edu/14543189/An_Essay_on_the_Philosophy_and_Methodology_of_Economics , 2. ‘Politology begins with the question ‘what ought to be a person’s relationship to society?’. Discuss. Refer to: (LEC 17) Readings: [1]https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10457097.2019.1576435?instName=York+University ,[2] https://www.iep.utm.edu/polphil/ . 3. Describe international migration as a multifaceted process with distinct stages and decision points and explain why it is a salient social concern. Refer to: (LEC 20) Readings: [1]https://www.knomad.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/Migration\%20\%26\%20Development_Brief\%2033.pdf , [2]https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/sites/default/files/180205_gcm_zero_draft_final.pdf , [3]https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-631#acrefore-9780190228637-e-631-div1-5 . 4. How do social media shape the public’s understanding of social phenomena such as loneliness or coronaviruss infodemic (World Health Organization 2020)? Refer to: (LEC 21) readings: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362331918301836 , [2] https://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/ 5. Fraser () argues that ‘(social) justice today requires both redistribution and recognition. Neither alone is sufficient’. Discuss. Refer to: (LEC 22_2) readings: [1]https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/55114/leppanenetalbookintrofinal2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y , [2]http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.978.5535&rep=rep1&type=pdf , [3]https://areomagazine.com/2018/12/18/postmodern-religion-and-the-faith-of-social-justice/ ,[4] https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/12624/ssoar-1998-fraser-social_justice_in_the_age.pdf?sequence=1 PART II Essay question(10\%) Respond to this item in an essay-type format. (approx. 500 words) 1. Why becoming aware of different ways of being, thinking, knowing, and acting in social realities is critical to studying and doing research in social science? Illustrate with examples drawn from the course material and/or from everyday life experiences. Refer to: readings: [1]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235952885_Introduction_New_Directions_in_Social_Sciencethe-faith-social-justice/ , [2]https://basicresearch.defense.gov/Portals/61/Future\%20Directions\%20\%20in\%20Social\%20Science_Final\%20Report_12\%20Aug\%202019.pdf?ver=\%202019-09-24-\%20114011-603 . INSTRUCTIONS · It will be expected that in PART I students’ answers will draw on Section III and IV course material and in PART II on full content of the course, including Zoom-delivered lectures, required readings, and lecture slides posted on the course Moodle website. · In your answers provide concrete details and specific examples drawn from the course material and, when appropriate, from personal experience. Write clearly, simply, and coherently. · If you paraphrase or quote directly, you must provide in-text citations, and for all direct quotations, page numbers must be given (all in APA format). Thus, whenever there is an idea attributable to a source, please use in-text citations. · Please note, all paraphrases and direct quotations must be cited in APA format. This test requires in-text citations to be given. 1. ***Please see the following links: on how to  in-text cite lectures on PowerPoint   (linked ; scroll down to Lecture on PowerPoint), and how to  in-text cite articles (linked) , both in APA format.*** 2. You only need to provide in-text citations. This is mandatory, the absence of which will cause a reduction in marks (and perhaps, charges of plagiarism). If you have any questions about this, please do not hesitate to email me.  3. Essentially, the format for in-text citations is just: (author last name, YEAR). So, if you borrow or paraphrase from a reading/course material, just cite as the following: ...China demonstrates a unique path towards modernity that diverges from, but yet, does not discount the presence of a Western modernity and others...(Peilin, 2015).... If you use a direct quote, you must provide the page number(s): ...Some scholars forward the issue that Eastern society and modernization have hardly been thought of together (Peilin, 2015, p. 2).... Nonetheless, please be sure to cite.  Disciplinary Approaches to Social Science Techno-logistic I SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 18 Jan Krouzil PhD July 22, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Ways of thinking ‘technology’ PART II Technology as practice PART III Social construction of technology PART IV Questioning ‘technology’ Keywords Part I Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (1) Terminology ‘technology’ (etymology) ‘science of craft’ (Greek), techne, ‘art, skill, cunning of hand’ ‘-logia’ as the sum of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives (such as scientific investigation) ‘knowledge’ of techniques, processes or embedded in machines to allow for operation without detailed knowledge of their workings technological systems (e.g., machines) applying technology by taking an input, changing it according to the systems use, and then producing an outcome Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (2) Episteme and techne epistêmê (Greek) translated as ‘knowledge’ technê translated as either craft or art contemporary assumptions about the relation between theory (the domain of ‘knowledge’) and practice (the concern of ‘craft’ or ‘art’) at the level of practice, concrete experience might be all we need  skepticism outside of modern science about the relevance of theory to practice within science, theory strives for a value-free view of reality theory is conducted at so great a remove from the facts - the province of practice - that it can lose touch with them as a consequence, scientific theory cannot tell us how things should be — the realm of ‘art’ or ‘craft’  Ways of thinking ’technology’ (3) Technicity refers to the relationship between technology and humanity (or humans) can be seen as either mutually co-constituted or not ways of understanding ‘technicity’ (Ash 2012) as a persuasive logic for thinking about the world (Heidegger’s thought) a mode of existence of technical objects an originary condition for human life itself Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (4) Alternative definitions and usage of technology as ‘the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value’ in this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems a far-reaching term that may include simple tools (such as a crowbar or wooden spoon) or more complex machines (such as a space station or particle accelerator) tools and machines need not be material virtual technology, such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of technology as ‘a means to fulfill a human purpose’ (Brian 2009) Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (5) Use of the term ‘technology’ changed significantly over the last 200 years before the 20th C the term uncommon in English used either to refer to the description or study of the useful arts or to allude to technical education (Massachusetts Institute of Technology chartered in 1861) in the 20th C in connection with the 2nd Industrial Revolution the terms meanings changed in the early 20th century when American social scientists, beginning with Thorstein Veblen, translated ideas from the German concept of Technik into ‘technology’ in German and other European languages, a distinction exists between technik and technologie that is absent in English - translates both terms as ‘technology’ by the 1930s, ‘technology’ referred not only to the study of the industrial arts but to the industrial arts themselves Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (6) can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques the current state of humanitys knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials when combined with another term (such as ‘medical technology’ or ‘space technology) refers to the state of the respective fields knowledge and tools ‘state-of-the-art technology refers to the high technology available to humanity in any field can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture the application of math, science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known the rise of communication technology has lessened barriers to human interaction and as a result has helped spawn new subcultures the rise of cyberculture has at its basis the development of the Internet and the computer   can also help facilitate political conflict, violence and war via tools such as guns Part II Technology as practice (1) Reality of a technological realm technology as practice’ and how the practices and their contexts have changed over time ‘From the invention of writing to the use of the Internet, the way in which knowledge is kept, transmitted, or shared has structured the perception of what is real, as well as what is possible or desirable.’ (Franklin 2004) the impact of these new technological practices on human ties, on work and community, on governance, citizenship, and the notion of individual and collective responsibility how new technologies, new ways of doing things, have pushed against the physical and social boundaries of space and time Technology as practice (2) how these activities have altered the relationships of people to nature, to each other, and their communities ‘the house that technology has built’ (Franklin 2004) Technology as a multifaceted entity not the sum of the artifacts, of the wheels and gears, of the rails and electronic transmitters entails far more than its material components includes activities as well as a body of knowledge, structures as well as the act of structuring involves organization, procedures, symbols, new words, equations, and, most of all, a mindset (Franklin 2004) Technology as practice (3) Forms of technological development distinction between holistic technologies (HTs) and prescriptive technologies (PTs) involve distinctly different specializations and divisions of labor with different social and political implications not asking what is being done, but how it is being done Holistic technologies (HTs) associated with the notion of craft artisans - be they potters, weavers, metal-smiths, or cooks, control the process of their own work from beginning to finish leaves the doer in total control of the process Technology as practice (4) Prescriptive technologies (PTs) different ‘division of labor’ the making or doing something is broken down into clearly identifiable steps each step carried out by a separate worker, or group of workers, who need to be familiar only with the skills of performing that one step the Chinese way of casting bronze before 1200 BC is a production method (Franklin 2004) ‘the work is orchestrated like a piece of music’ understanding the social and political impact of prescriptive technologies – key to understanding our own ‘real world of technology’ in political terms, prescriptive technologies are designs for compliance Technology as practice (5) when working within such designs workers become acculturated into a milieu in which external control and internal compliance are seen as normal and necessary (Franklin 2004) ‘only one way of doing something’ Todays ‘real world of technology’ characterized by the dominance of prescriptive technologies not restricted to materials production used in administrative and economic activities and in many aspects of governance the temptation to design more or less everything according to PTs so strong that it is even applied to those tasks that should be conducted in a holistic way any tasks that require caring, whether for people or nature, any tasks that require immediate feedback and adjustment, are best done holistically such tasks cannot be planned, coordinated, and controlled the way prescriptive tasks must be when successful, PTs do yield predictable results they yield products in numbers and qualities that can be set beforehand, and so technology itself becomes an agent of ordering and structuring (Franklin 2004) Technology as practice (5) the ordering that PTs has caused has now moved from ordering at work and ordering of work, to the prescriptive ordering of people in a variety of social situations (Franklin 2004) those who work in the so-called ‘smart’ buildings have a card with a barcode that allows them to get into areas of the building where they have work to do but excludes them from anywhere else the digitalized footprints of social transactions’ any goal of the technology is incorporated a priori in the design and is not negotiable as methods of materials production PTs have brought into the ‘real world of technology’ a wealth of important products that have raised living standards and increased well-being (Franklin 2004) Technology as practice (6) the acculturation to compliance and conformity has in turn accelerated the use of PTs in administration, government, and social services the same development has diminished resistance to the programming of people Growth model and production model within a growth model all that human intervention can do is to discover the best conditions for growth and then try to meet them growth occurs; it is not made (Franklin 2004) in a production model things are not grown but made under conditions that are, at least in principle, entirely controllable everything seems in hand, nothing is left to chance - while growth is always chancy Technology as practice (7) production models are perceived and constructed without links into a larger context (Franklin 2004) this allows the use of a particular model in a variety of situations at the same time such an approach discounts and disregards all effects arising from the impact of the production activity on its surroundings such ‘externalities’ are considered irrelevant to the activity itself and are the business of someone else factors - such as pollution or the physical and mental health of the workers - which in the production model are considered other peoples problems the deterioration of the worlds environment arose precisely from such inadequate modelling Technology as practice (8) processes that are cheap in the marketplace are often wasteful and harmful in the larger context production models make it easy to consider contextual factors as irrelevant we ought to think far more in terms of growth models rather than production models (Franklin 2004) even though today production models are almost the only guide for public and private discussions instructive to realize how often in the past the production model has supplanted the growth model as a guide for public and private actions even in areas in which the growth model might have been more fruitful or appropriate (i.e., education, new human reproductive technologies) Technology as practice (9) prevalence of the production model in the mindset and political discourse of our time and the models misapplication to inappropriate situations - an indication of just how far technology as practice has modified our culture (Franklin 2004) the new production based models and metaphors ..so deeply rooted in our social and emotional fabric that it becomes almost sacrilege to question them any critique or assessment of the real world of technology should involve serious questioning of the underlying structures of our models, and through them, of our thoughts (Franklin 2004) Part III Social construction of technology (1) Phrase ‘the social construction of technology’ (SCOT) a theory about how a variety of social factors and forces shape technological development, technological change, and the meanings associated with technology a specific account of the ‘social construction of technology’ SCOT uses the notions of relevant social groups, interpretive flexibility, closure and stabilization the concept of interpretive flexibility as its distinguishing feature to claim that technology has interpretive flexibility is to claim that artifacts are open to radically different interpretations by various social groups artifacts are conceived and understood to be different things to different groups. Social construction of technology (2) Tenets of ‘technological determinism’ theory of the ‘social construction of technology’ compared with another view of technology referred to as ‘technological determinism’ 1st technology develops independently from society technological development either follows scientific discoveries—as inventors and engineers apply science—or it follows a logic of its own, with new inventions deriving directly from previous inventions engineers and inventors work in an isolated domain in which all that matters is discovering and manipulating nature 2nd when a technology is taken up and used, it has powerful effects on the character of society Social construction of technology (3) social constructivists argue that technological development is shaped by a wide variety of social, cultural, economic, and political factors nature does not reveal itself in some necessary or logical order scientists and engineers look at nature through lenses of human interests, theories, and concepts - they invent and build things that fit into particular social and cultural contexts technologies are successful not by some objective measure of their goodness or efficiency - they are taken up and used because they are perceived to achieve particular human purposes and to improve a particular social world or to further the interests of individuals and social groups social constructivists claim that shaping does not just work in both directions but that technology and society are mutually constitutive - they co-create one another Social construction of technology (4) SCOT and ANT theories of ‘social construction’ critique of technological determinism and the emergence of the theory of the social construction of technology (SCOT) began and gained momentum in the 1980s the development of a new field of study sometimes labeled science and technology studies (STS) and other times science, technology, and society (also STS) social constructivism (referred to as SCOT) and actor-network theory (ANT) both seek to explain why and how particular technologies are adopted while others are rejected or never developed both concerned with how technological designs are adopted and become embedded in social practices and social institutions Social construction of technology (5) actor-network theory takes as its unit of analysis the systems of behavior and social practices that are intertwined with material objects the network part of actor-network theory the actor part of actor-network theory emphasizes the presence of many actors, human and nonhuman for instance, nature plays an important role in determining which technologies come to be adopted and nature can be described as one of the actors in shaping the technologies that succeed in becoming embedded in the social world technologies and artifacts can themselves also be actors humans, nature, and artifacts collectively are referred to in actor-network theory as actants Social construction of technology (6) How ‘social construction’ works what does it mean to say that technology is ‘socially constructed’? theory referred to as SCOT makes use of the notions of relevant social groups, interpretative flexibility, stabilization, and closure an account of the development of the design of the bicycle (Bijker 1995, Pinch and Bijker 1987) areas where social factors have a powerful influence on the technologies that are developed and what those technologies look like economics regulation culture Social construction of technology (7) Ethics and ‘social construction’ technological determinist theories imply that technological development is autonomous and unstoppable that is, individuals and even social movements can do nothing to change the pace or direction of development social constructivism seen as, at least in part, a response to the pessimism of technological determinism social constructivist scholars see themselves as providing an account of technological development and change that opens up the possibility of intervention, the possibility for more deliberate social control of technology SOTUS 2020 Social construction of technology (7) social constructivist theories seen as having an implicitly critical, and perhaps even a moral, perspective social constructivist theories developed primarily by historians and social scientists scholars in these fields traditionally understood the task of their scholarship to be that of description, not prescription generally deny that their perspective is ethical social constructivist analysis reveals the ways in which particular social groups wield power over others through technology knowledge of this aspect of technology opens up the possibility of deliberate action to counter the unfair use of power and the undesirable social patterns being created and reinforced through technology Social construction of technology (8) work on gender and technology draws attention to the ways in which technology reinforces gender stereotypes and how gender and technology are co-created ( Wajcman 1991, Cockburn and Omrud (1993) makes it possible for those involved with technological development to avoid reinforcing prevailing stereotypes or patterns of gender inequality in this respect social constructivism has important ethical implications Part IV Questioning ‘technology’ (1) Technology as an autonomous force separate from society viewed as a kind of ‘second nature’ impinging on social life from the realm of reason in which science too finds its source (Feenberg 1999) for good or ill, technology’s essence—rational control, efficiency—rules modern life this conception of technology seen as incompatible with the extension of democracy to the technical sphere technology is the medium of daily life in modern societies every major technical change reverberates at many levels, economic, political, religious, cultural if we continue to see the technical and the social as separate domains important aspects of these dimension of our existence will remain beyond our reach as a democratic society Questioning ‘technology’ (2) every major technical change reverberates at many levels, economic, political, religious, cultural insofar as we continue to see the technical and the social as separate domains important aspects of these dimension of our existence will remain beyond our reach as a democratic society the fate of democracy is therefore bound up with our understanding of technology (Feenberg 1999) Keywords techne technicity holistic technology prescriptive technology growth model production model technological determinism interpretive flexibility (SCOT) actor-network theory (ANT) ethics and social construction Current Social Science Themes and Issues Social Media Discourse SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 22_1 Jan Krouzil PhD August 5, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Discourse as a medium PART II Social media as social networks PART III Fake news and disinformation Keywords Part I Discourse as a medium (1) Discourse a unit of language organized around a particular subject matter and meaning signifies a particular awareness of social influences on the use of language can refer either to what is conventionally said or written in a general context or to what is said or written on a particular occasion of that context ambiguity between generality and specificity ‘coldness and wetness can cause a cold’ not necessarily a linguistic phenomenon can also be conceptualized as inhabiting a variety of other forms such as visual and spatial (Foucault 1975) Discourse as a medium (2) emphasizes that language is a social and communal practice never external to or prior to society Types of discourse academic discourse, legal discourse, media discourse, etc. each discourse type possesses its own characteristic linguistic features each type emphasizes the way in which social context–who is speaking, who is listening, and when and where the instance of language occurs–determines the nature of enunciations different conventions of style, wording, and other ‘linguistic features’ Discourse as a medium (3) Complex understanding of discourse emphasizes that formal conventions of the mode of expression are not the only aspect of language that is determined by the social underlying beliefs and worldviews specific to the social context are seen to be mediated by discourse assumptions about the nature of the world and of particular social values and beliefs as a means of the legitimization of social and political practices (Gramsci) discourse mediates ideological justifications of the status quo that come to be accepted as ‘common sense’ advertising discourse in capitalist society reinforces a consumption-driven culture Discourse as a medium (4) Discourse as a medium of power scientific discourses - such as the ‘human sciences’ claim to reveal human nature but actually establish norms and prescribe optimum modes of conduct (Foucault) establish ways of identifying, understanding, and managing ‘deviant’ subjects by describing and categorizing individuals in detail these discourses exert an unprecedented amount of power over the individual’s comportment and relationship to herself (Foucault 1978 and 1999) Discourse and performativity gender identity as an ongoing process of ‘citing’ gender norms that permeate society mediated by a heteronormative discourse that describes masculinity and femininity as stable, natural, and mutually exclusive a gender identity only seems to naturally emanate from the subject, while what is actually occurring is an ongoing reiteration and performance of gendered comportment that never fully achieves the gender ideal (Butler) discourse actually demarcates the necessary conditions for the embodiment of personhood (Butler) Discourse as a medium (5) Discourse as a medium a tool through which linguistic conventions social and political beliefs and practices, ideologies, subject positions, and norms can all be mediated does not simply serve as a connecting link between a stable, exterior society and the individual social values emanate from individuals who enunciate a discourse that is at the same not completely their own in turn implants and reinforces the notions it contains consists of both input and output always at once an extension of our culture and of ourselves Part II Social media as social networks (1) Social media ‘forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content such as videos’ (Merriam-Webster 2019)[29] interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation or sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks around 2.77 billion social media users around the globe in 2019 up from 2.46 billion in 2017 (Statista 2019) Social media as social networks (2) Common features interactive Web 2.0 Internet-based applications user-generated content such as text posts or comments, digital photos or videos, and data generated through all online interactions users create service-specific profiles and identities for the website or app that are designed and maintained by the social media organization facilitate the development of online social networks by connecting a user’s profile with those of other individuals or groups users engaging with their electronic services create highly interactive platforms through which individuals, communities and organizations can share, co-create, discuss, participate and modify user-generated content or self-curated content posted online Social media as social networks (3) networks formed through social media change the way groups of people interact and communicate or stand with the votes they ‘introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals’ these changes are the focus of the emerging fields of techno-self studies operate in a dialogic transmission system - many sources to many receivers in contrast to traditional media that operate under a mono-logic transmission model (one source to many receivers) Social media as social networks (4) Effects on youth communication social media has allowed for mass cultural exchange and intercultural communication as different cultures have different value systems, cultural themes, grammar, and world views, they also communicate differently emergence of social media platforms fused together different cultures and their communication methods blending together various cultural thinking patterns and expression styles social media has affected the way youth communicate by introducing new forms of language Social media as social networks (5) abbreviations introduced to cut down on the time it takes to respond online the commonly known ‘LOL’ globally recognized as ‘laugh out loud’ the use of hashtags to easily organize and search for information used when people want to advocate for a movement, store content or tweets from a movement for future use such as #tbt (throwback Thursday) become a part of online communication and influences the way in which youth share and communicate in their daily lives ability to strengthen relationships by keeping in touch with friends and family, make more friends and participate in community engagement activities and services Social media as social networks (6) Criticism and controversy disparity of information available issues with trustworthiness and reliability of information presented the impact of social media use on an individuals concentration ownership of media content meaning of interactions created by social media poor interoperability between platforms leading to the creation of information silos isolated pockets of data contained in one social media platform Social media as social networks (7) the term ‘social’ cannot account for technological features of a platform alone the level of sociability should be determined by the actual performances of its users Debate over issues trustworthiness and reliability regarding peer recommendations as indicators of the reliability of information sources trust can be exploited by marketers, who can utilize consumer-created content about brands and products to influence public perceptions can be improved by fact-checking Social media as social networks (8) Key concerns data harvesting critique of activism ownership of content privacy criticism of commercialization addiction use in academic settings censorship by government self-censorship by social media platforms reproduction of class distinctions Part III Fake news and disinformation (1) Social media and ‘fake news’ also known as junk news, pseudo-news, or hoax news ‘fake news’ is a neologism often used to refer to fabricated news found in traditional news, social media or fake news websites no basis in fact but presented as being factually accurate ‘fake news’ as a form of news consisting of deliberate disinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional news media (print and broadcast) or online social media digital news increases the usage of ‘fake news’, or yellow journalism often reverberates as misinformation in social media written and published usually with the intent to mislead in order to damage an agency, entity, or person, and/or gain financially or politically often using sensationalist, dishonest, or outright fabricated headlines to increase readership clickbait stories and headlines earn advertising revenue from this activity Fake news and disinformation (2) The relevance of ‘fake news’ increased in ‘post-truth’ politics for media outlets, the ability to attract viewers to their websites is necessary to generate online advertising revenue publishing a story with false content that attracts users benefits advertisers and improves ratings easy access to online advertisement revenue increases political polarization social media implicated in the spread of fake news i.e., the Facebook News Feed competes with legitimate news stories Fake news and disinformation (3) Intent and purpose of ‘fake news’ sometimes what appears to be ‘fake news’ may be news satire uses exaggeration and introduces non-factual elements that are intended to amuse or make a point, rather than to deceive propaganda can also be ‘fake news’ ‘fake news’ may be distinguished not just by the falsity of its content, but also the ‘character of [its] online circulation and reception’ mis-information false information disseminated without harmful intent dis-information created and shared by people with harmful intent mal-information the sharing of genuine information with the intent to cause harm Fake news and disinformation (4) Types of ‘fake news’ satire or parody ‘no intention to cause harm but has potential to fool’ false connection ‘when headlines, visuals or captions dont support the content’ misleading content ‘misleading use of information to frame an issue or an individual’ false context ‘when genuine content is shared with false contextual information’ impostor content ‘when genuine sources are impersonated with false, made-up sources’ manipulated content ‘when genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive’ as with a ‘doctored’ photo fabricated content ‘new content is 100\% false, designed to deceive and do harm’ Fake news and disinformation (5) Concerns over ‘fake news’ actions and behaviors associated with the term manipulation, disinformation, falseness, rumors, conspiracy theories have existed as long as humans have communicated new communication technologies have allowed for new ways to produce, distribute and consume ‘fake news’ makes it harder to differentiate what information to trust ‘Fake news’ studied along four lines characterization, creation, circulation, and countering Fake news and disinformation (6) characterization of ‘fake news’ – a major concern by differentiating between intention and facticity researchers attempt to study different types of false information creation concerns the production of ‘fake news’ often produced with either a financial, political, or social motivation circulation of ‘fake news’ refers to the different ways false information has been disseminated and amplified through communication technologies such as social media and search engines countering ‘fake news’ addresses the approaches to detect and combat fake news on different levels from legal, financial, and technical aspects to individuals’ media and information literacy and new fact-checking services Fake news and disinformation (7) Future challenges from ‘fake news’ research on the scale and scope to better describe the magnitude and characteristics of the problem debate about disinformation a reminder of the roots of journalism critical evaluation of information and sources, accountability, and ethical codes of conduct efforts to enhance transparency both in platforms information ecology as well as in journalistic methods, can in the long run increase trust in how information is handled and amplified by platforms and newsrooms. new tools and methods—including media and information literacy to identify and detect manipulated content to counter manipulation attempts by different actors political actors and institutions should recognize their role in improving the quality of the information ecosystem rather than enforcing laws to abolish ‘fake news’ which has become a politicized term Keywords discourse as a medium discourse and performativity dialogic transmission system information silos effects on youth communication intent and purpose of ‘fake news’ types of ‘fake news’ social media and coronavirus Disciplinary Approaches to Social Science Techno-logistic II SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 19 Jan Krouzil PhD July 27, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I ‘Bitsphere’ / ‘biosphere’ PART II Technological singularity PART III 5G Huawei vision PART IV Techno-logistic effects Keywords PART I ‘bitsphere’ / ‘biosphere’ (1) ‘Reality’ - ‘the experience of ordinary people in everyday life’ (Franklin 2004) levels of reality vernacular reality – ‘the reality of everyday life’ both private and personal, also common and political feminists - the personal is political extended reality body of knowledge and emotions based on the experience of others includes artifacts constructed (or reconstructed) reality manifestations - works of fiction, advertising and propaganda situations considered archetypal rather than representative part of the fabric that holds the common culture together The ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (2) projected reality - the vernacular reality of the future influenced or even caused by actions in the present. ‘heaven and hell’ or life after death for some people projected reality also the future itself, the five-year plan, the business cycle…can influence peoples actions and attitudes all levels of reality - affected and distorted by science and technology with respect to the realities of time and space Relationship between science and technology no hierarchical relationship have parallel or side-by-side relationship – stimulate and utilise each otyher science and technology as one enterprise with a spectrum of interconnected activity ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (3) The scientific method a way of separating knowledge from experience as understood in the West learning how to build bridges from somebody who has never built a bridge (Franklin 2004) questions of reductionism, of loss of context, of cultural biases scientific constructs as the model of describing ‘reality’ rather than one of the ways of describing life decrease in the reliance of people on their own experience and their own senses ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (4) the downgrading of experience and the glorification of expertise significant feature of the ‘real world of technology’ (Franklin 2004) experience should lead to a modification of knowledge rather than abstract knowledge forcing people to perceive their experience as being ‘unreal’, or ‘wrong’ feminist authors call for changes in evaluating the social and human impact of technology Speed of transmission of messages electricity – the speed of light (around 1800) a message in Morse Code (1844) ‘What hath God wrought?’ ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (5) Message-transmission technologies create a host of ‘pseudo-realities’ based on images constructed, staged, selected, and instantaneously transmitted radio, tv, film, video new ‘virtual realities’ with intense emotional components induce a sense of ‘being there’ sense of participating rather than observing technological rationales have the force and authority of ‘religious doctrine’ (Franklin 2004) possible, in theory, to opt out, in practice, only in a very limited way technologically induced human isolation how can one question and mitigate the encroachments of pseudo-realities? ‘Bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (6) Key preoccupation of technology to overcome the constraints of time and space the facet of time as sequence and pattern concepts of ‘synchronicity’ and ‘asynchronicity’ Synchronicity – evokes the presence of sequences and patterns fixed intervals and periodicities coordination and synchronization the bell’s call to work, or prayer to keep a community ‘in sync’ Asynchronicity – indicates the decoupling of activities from their functional time or space patterns unravelling of social and political patterns without apparent replacement voicemail, texting ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (7) What does this all mean to us as humans? as social and political beings evolving within the patterns of nature and culture difference between supplementing a rigidly patterned structure with asynchronous activities and substituting synchronous functions by asynchronous schemes (Franklin 2004) Global ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ interfaces City of Bits (Mitchell 1995) difference between a mechanism and an organism (Goodwin 1994) ‘biosphere’ – not only living creatures and their biological support systems the physical and mental artifacts attesting to their presence on earth a nest of spheres embedded in each other ordering principles drawn from the observation of nature ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (8) ‘bitsphere’ – the sphere of storage, display, and transmittal of information or data in BIT (digits) designed to have no (apparent) structure – or coherent sequence/consequence patterns evoking higher levels of ‘complexity’ utilizing the insights of ‘chaos theory’ the biosphere, existing in real time, encompasses past, present, and future the bitsphere – a product of human minds – exhibits no tense or temporality no roots in physical space we live simultaneously in both spheres all we can do is to understand the current and potential dynamics of these interacting spheres of influence try to monitor and mitigate their impacts Part II Technological singularity (1) Singularity a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization (Eden and Moor 2012) ‘singularity’ hypothesis also called ‘intelligence explosion’ an upgradable intelligent agent (such as a computer running software-based artificial general intelligence) will eventually enter a runaway reaction of self-improvement cycles, with each new and more intelligent generation appearing more and more rapidly, causing an ‘explosion’ in intelligence and resulting in a powerful superintelligence that qualitatively far surpasses all human intelligence Technological singularity (2) Debate public figures expressed concern that full artificial intelligence could result in human extinction (Hawking 2014, Musk 2015) the consequences of the singularity and its potential benefit or harm to the human race technological progress accelerating - limited by the basic intelligence of the human brain has not changed significantly for millennia (Ehrlich 2008)  with the increasing power of computers and other technologies, it might eventually be possible to build a machine that is significantly more intelligent than humans (Wayback Machine 2012) Technological singularity (3) claims that if a superhuman intelligence were to be invented—either through the amplification of human intelligence or through artificial intelligence—it would bring to bear greater problem-solving and inventive skills than current humans are capable of such an AI is referred to as Seed AI (Yampolskiy 2015, Yudkowsky 2001) because if an AI were created with engineering capabilities that matched or surpassed those of its human creators, it would have the potential to autonomously improve its own software and hardware or design an even more capable machine this more capable machine could then go on to design a machine of yet greater capability. these iterations of recursive self-improvement could accelerate, potentially allowing enormous qualitative change before any upper limits imposed by the laws of physics or theoretical computation set in speculated that over many iterations such an AI would far surpass human cognitive abilities Technological singularity (4) a possible outcome of humanity building artificial general intelligence (AGI) AGI would be capable of recursive self-improvement, leading to the rapid emergence of artificial superintelligence (ASI) the limits of which are unknown technology forecasters and researchers disagree about if or when human intelligence is likely to be surpassed some argue that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) will probably result in general reasoning systems that lack human cognitive limitations others believe that humans will evolve or directly modify their biology so as to achieve radically greater intelligence a number of futures studies scenarios combine elements from both of these possibilities, suggesting that humans are likely to interface with computers, or upload their minds to computers in a way that enables substantial intelligence amplification Technological singularity (5) Plausibility technologists and academics dispute the plausibility of a technological singularity including Gordon Moore whose ’law’ is often cited in support of the concept (Allen 2015) Ray Kurtzweil (2005) postulates a law of accelerating returns the speed of technological change (and more generally, all evolutionary processes predicts that the exponential growth will continue in a few decades the computing power of all computers will exceed that of (‘unenhanced’) human brains, with superhuman artificial intelligence appearing around the same time Technological singularity (6) Critics assert that computers or machines cannot achieve human intelligence (Dreyfus 2002) human intelligence refers to the intellectual prowess of humans marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness (Nokelainen 2011) Implications for human society the extent to which computers and robots might be able to acquire autonomy and to what degree they could use such abilities to pose threats or hazards (Markoff 2009) Technological singularity (7) Misconceptions protagonists - identify the Singularity with the creation of artificial (super) intelligence assert all their beliefs and desires simultaneously, assuming that they can thus reinforce each other critics - seek the weakest points assuming that refuting them will render the whole concept invalid biased by their desires which can be simply expressed as ‘Singularity is impossible because we do not want humans to disappear’ Singularity will not necessarily come about through the creation of Strong AI with digital computers (Potapov 2018) Technological singularity (8) What Do We Really Know? disentangle the grounded claims from the personal beliefs and desires, and underline what we can really say about Singularity the concept of Singularity is usually justified by timelines that track some key events in evolution supplemented by some qualitative measure, for example, memory capacities different authors choose different key events as indicators, curves of growing complexity or decreasing time intervals between paradigm shifts as measured by key events are consistent as shown by Ray Kurzweil with 15 lists of key events (2005) Technological singularity (9) ‘Singularity’ is a virtual time point at which the simplest extrapolation of the curve of growing complexity hits infinity which will be never really achieved (Potapov 2018) all models in science describe the reality approximately behind the concept of Singularity is the real phenomenon of accelerating universal evolution criticism should be addressed to the use of the model independently of the specific scenario to which it is applied. (Potapov 2018) Part III 5G Huawei vision (1) Next wave of digital society 5G wireless networks support 1,000-fold gains in capacity, connections for at least 100 billion devices (Huawei nd) a 10 Gb/s individual user experience capable of extremely low latency and response times deployment of these networks between 2020-30 5G radio access built upon both new radio access technologies (RAT) and evolved existing wireless technologies (LTE, HSPA, GSM and WiFi) breakthroughs in wireless network innovation to drive economic and societal growth in new ways 5G networks capable of providing zero-distance connectivity between people and connected machines 5G Huawei vision (2) Advent of 5G technologies and ICT networks next wave of a globally connected Digital Society mobile access to the internet fundamental to doing business in all industries flexible working practices facilitated by mobile networks and devices essential allowing enterprises to conduct operations across boundaries that previously inhibited growth mobile access to the internet, cloud-based services and Big Data analytics allowing anyone, anywhere to leverage ‘Big Wisdom’ – a whole new kind of globally connected and shared knowledge base 5G Huwaei vision (3) Promise of 5G any mobile app and any mobile service will be given the potential to connect to anything at anytime from people and communities to physical things, processes, content, working knowledge, timely pertinent information and goods of all sorts in entirely flexible, reliable and secure ways to expand the possibilities of what mobile networks can do, and to extend upon what services they can deliver 5G Huawei vision (4) Immediacy and adaptability massive capacity for delivery of services to allow connections between end users and the network to be made at ‘faster than thought’ speeds so fast that the apparent distance between connected people and connected machines will shrink to a virtual ‘zero distance’ gap an instant immediacy in mobile services will lay the foundation for a whole new set of mobile apps to proliferate and push the capabilities of communications beyond what is currently possible massive capacity for managing connections to better enable a greater widespread adoption of M2M services and interactions next wave of the Digital Society will be characterized by an ICT network’s capability for service immediacy and on-demand adaptability 5G Huawei vision (5) Smart cities 5G will provide the foundational infrastructure for building smart cities low latency and extremely high reliability, however, will also be essential requirements for the likes of mobile industrial automation, vehicular connectivity, and other IoT applications applications like smart sensors and text-based messaging are examples of extremely high volume applications Timeline 5G is presently in its early research stages new IMT spectrum is expected to be agreed upon for the World Radio Communication Conference (WRC) in 2015 ITU is currently at work on IMT spectrum requirements for 2020 and beyond after WRC-15, ITU will have a clearer path for determining network system and technology requirements Part IV Techno-logistic effects (1) Why technological change should be driven by a value system big data and new technologies ‘data is a continuum that goes from data to information to knowledge to wisdom’ (Medhora 2020) for this continuum to work well - technology that links them and values (ethics, morality) technological change and how we transform ourselves is not exogenous something that is endogenous and is (or should be) driven by a value system something about new technology that perhaps breaks that chain Techno-logistic effects (2) Characteristics in the digital economy  digital forms tend to face high upfront risk and high fixed costs, marginal costs of production often tend to be zero  gives an advantage to first movers and it prioritizes strategic behaviour the profits that are made are effectively monopoly rents the economic logic compelling firms to behave the way they do Data comes with different imperatives  data has the potential to create immense amounts of wealth need that wealth to do social good data has characteristics that make us value our privacy make us prioritize public security Techno-logistic effects (3) data is imperative if we want to preserve our open society and have a healthy democracy data infrastructure as part of the nation building and social fabric-building consensus works the same way that physical infrastructure did generations ago with railroads and broadcasting Global zones the state-centric China zone - cede data to the state the US zone - big firms to whom you have ceded that sovereignty the zone Europe - in principle, person-centric  GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] a host of countries — in fact, the majority of the countries in the world — lie outside these three zones Techno-logistic effects (4) Going forward how do we have a global data zone that balances all of these exigencies while valuing that each country at any given point in time might want to balance these differently need a broad moral and pragmatic statement to guide us all in how technology is created and how technology is used like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR] having a clear moral statement is aspirational How innovation is diffused innovation tends to be concentrated in a few parts of the world and a few regions within those parts of the world the process of innovation driven by proprietary intellectual property harmonize taxation - tax wealth and use it for the public good Techno-logistic effects (5) The use of technology is not exogenous algorithmic accountability (ethics) should be part of the public policy framework and not seen as outside it Foreign investment in the digital context economics of the data-driven digital world drives predatory behaviour – involves foreign investment a range of issues in which work is done here, but the IP and the wealth created is there multilateral and international cooperation a Digital Stability Board - promotes best practice in the digital realm Keywords levels of reality pseudo-realities bitsphere/biosphere synchronicity asynchronicity ‘singularity’ hypothesis technological singularity artificial superhuman intelligence law of accelerating returns digital economy Current Social Science Themes and Issues Social Media Discourse SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 22_1 Jan Krouzil PhD August 5, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Discourse as a medium PART II Social media as social networks PART III Fake news and disinformation Keywords Part I Discourse as a medium (1) Discourse a unit of language organized around a particular subject matter and meaning signifies a particular awareness of social influences on the use of language can refer either to what is conventionally said or written in a general context or to what is said or written on a particular occasion of that context ambiguity between generality and specificity ‘coldness and wetness can cause a cold’ not necessarily a linguistic phenomenon can also be conceptualized as inhabiting a variety of other forms such as visual and spatial (Foucault 1975) Discourse as a medium (2) emphasizes that language is a social and communal practice never external to or prior to society Types of discourse academic discourse, legal discourse, media discourse, etc. each discourse type possesses its own characteristic linguistic features each type emphasizes the way in which social context–who is speaking, who is listening, and when and where the instance of language occurs–determines the nature of enunciations different conventions of style, wording, and other ‘linguistic features’ Discourse as a medium (3) Complex understanding of discourse emphasizes that formal conventions of the mode of expression are not the only aspect of language that is determined by the social underlying beliefs and worldviews specific to the social context are seen to be mediated by discourse assumptions about the nature of the world and of particular social values and beliefs as a means of the legitimization of social and political practices (Gramsci) discourse mediates ideological justifications of the status quo that come to be accepted as ‘common sense’ advertising discourse in capitalist society reinforces a consumption-driven culture Discourse as a medium (4) Discourse as a medium of power scientific discourses - such as the ‘human sciences’ claim to reveal human nature but actually establish norms and prescribe optimum modes of conduct (Foucault) establish ways of identifying, understanding, and managing ‘deviant’ subjects by describing and categorizing individuals in detail these discourses exert an unprecedented amount of power over the individual’s comportment and relationship to herself (Foucault 1978 and 1999) Discourse and performativity gender identity as an ongoing process of ‘citing’ gender norms that permeate society mediated by a heteronormative discourse that describes masculinity and femininity as stable, natural, and mutually exclusive a gender identity only seems to naturally emanate from the subject, while what is actually occurring is an ongoing reiteration and performance of gendered comportment that never fully achieves the gender ideal (Butler) discourse actually demarcates the necessary conditions for the embodiment of personhood (Butler) Discourse as a medium (5) Discourse as a medium a tool through which linguistic conventions social and political beliefs and practices, ideologies, subject positions, and norms can all be mediated does not simply serve as a connecting link between a stable, exterior society and the individual social values emanate from individuals who enunciate a discourse that is at the same not completely their own in turn implants and reinforces the notions it contains consists of both input and output always at once an extension of our culture and of ourselves Part II Social media as social networks (1) Social media ‘forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content such as videos’ (Merriam-Webster 2019)[29] interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation or sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks around 2.77 billion social media users around the globe in 2019 up from 2.46 billion in 2017 (Statista 2019) Social media as social networks (2) Common features interactive Web 2.0 Internet-based applications user-generated content such as text posts or comments, digital photos or videos, and data generated through all online interactions users create service-specific profiles and identities for the website or app that are designed and maintained by the social media organization facilitate the development of online social networks by connecting a user’s profile with those of other individuals or groups users engaging with their electronic services create highly interactive platforms through which individuals, communities and organizations can share, co-create, discuss, participate and modify user-generated content or self-curated content posted online Social media as social networks (3) networks formed through social media change the way groups of people interact and communicate or stand with the votes they ‘introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals’ these changes are the focus of the emerging fields of techno-self studies operate in a dialogic transmission system - many sources to many receivers in contrast to traditional media that operate under a mono-logic transmission model (one source to many receivers) Social media as social networks (4) Effects on youth communication social media has allowed for mass cultural exchange and intercultural communication as different cultures have different value systems, cultural themes, grammar, and world views, they also communicate differently emergence of social media platforms fused together different cultures and their communication methods blending together various cultural thinking patterns and expression styles social media has affected the way youth communicate by introducing new forms of language Social media as social networks (5) abbreviations introduced to cut down on the time it takes to respond online the commonly known ‘LOL’ globally recognized as ‘laugh out loud’ the use of hashtags to easily organize and search for information used when people want to advocate for a movement, store content or tweets from a movement for future use such as #tbt (throwback Thursday) become a part of online communication and influences the way in which youth share and communicate in their daily lives ability to strengthen relationships by keeping in touch with friends and family, make more friends and participate in community engagement activities and services Social media as social networks (6) Criticism and controversy disparity of information available issues with trustworthiness and reliability of information presented the impact of social media use on an individuals concentration ownership of media content meaning of interactions created by social media poor interoperability between platforms leading to the creation of information silos isolated pockets of data contained in one social media platform Social media as social networks (7) the term ‘social’ cannot account for technological features of a platform alone the level of sociability should be determined by the actual performances of its users Debate over issues trustworthiness and reliability regarding peer recommendations as indicators of the reliability of information sources trust can be exploited by marketers, who can utilize consumer-created content about brands and products to influence public perceptions can be improved by fact-checking Social media as social networks (8) Key concerns data harvesting critique of activism ownership of content privacy criticism of commercialization addiction use in academic settings censorship by government self-censorship by social media platforms reproduction of class distinctions Part III Fake news and disinformation (1) Social media and ‘fake news’ also known as junk news, pseudo-news, or hoax news ‘fake news’ is a neologism often used to refer to fabricated news found in traditional news, social media or fake news websites no basis in fact but presented as being factually accurate ‘fake news’ as a form of news consisting of deliberate disinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional news media (print and broadcast) or online social media digital news increases the usage of ‘fake news’, or yellow journalism often reverberates as misinformation in social media written and published usually with the intent to mislead in order to damage an agency, entity, or person, and/or gain financially or politically often using sensationalist, dishonest, or outright fabricated headlines to increase readership clickbait stories and headlines earn advertising revenue from this activity Fake news and disinformation (2) The relevance of ‘fake news’ increased in ‘post-truth’ politics for media outlets, the ability to attract viewers to their websites is necessary to generate online advertising revenue publishing a story with false content that attracts users benefits advertisers and improves ratings easy access to online advertisement revenue increases political polarization social media implicated in the spread of fake news i.e., the Facebook News Feed competes with legitimate news stories Fake news and disinformation (3) Intent and purpose of ‘fake news’ sometimes what appears to be ‘fake news’ may be news satire uses exaggeration and introduces non-factual elements that are intended to amuse or make a point, rather than to deceive propaganda can also be ‘fake news’ ‘fake news’ may be distinguished not just by the falsity of its content, but also the ‘character of [its] online circulation and reception’ mis-information false information disseminated without harmful intent dis-information created and shared by people with harmful intent mal-information the sharing of genuine information with the intent to cause harm Fake news and disinformation (4) Types of ‘fake news’ satire or parody ‘no intention to cause harm but has potential to fool’ false connection ‘when headlines, visuals or captions dont support the content’ misleading content ‘misleading use of information to frame an issue or an individual’ false context ‘when genuine content is shared with false contextual information’ impostor content ‘when genuine sources are impersonated with false, made-up sources’ manipulated content ‘when genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive’ as with a ‘doctored’ photo fabricated content ‘new content is 100\% false, designed to deceive and do harm’ Fake news and disinformation (5) Concerns over ‘fake news’ actions and behaviors associated with the term manipulation, disinformation, falseness, rumors, conspiracy theories have existed as long as humans have communicated new communication technologies have allowed for new ways to produce, distribute and consume ‘fake news’ makes it harder to differentiate what information to trust ‘Fake news’ studied along four lines characterization, creation, circulation, and countering Fake news and disinformation (6) characterization of ‘fake news’ – a major concern by differentiating between intention and facticity researchers attempt to study different types of false information creation concerns the production of ‘fake news’ often produced with either a financial, political, or social motivation circulation of ‘fake news’ refers to the different ways false information has been disseminated and amplified through communication technologies such as social media and search engines countering ‘fake news’ addresses the approaches to detect and combat fake news on different levels from legal, financial, and technical aspects to individuals’ media and information literacy and new fact-checking services Fake news and disinformation (7) Future challenges from ‘fake news’ research on the scale and scope to better describe the magnitude and characteristics of the problem debate about disinformation a reminder of the roots of journalism critical evaluation of information and sources, accountability, and ethical codes of conduct efforts to enhance transparency both in platforms information ecology as well as in journalistic methods, can in the long run increase trust in how information is handled and amplified by platforms and newsrooms. new tools and methods—including media and information literacy to identify and detect manipulated content to counter manipulation attempts by different actors political actors and institutions should recognize their role in improving the quality of the information ecosystem rather than enforcing laws to abolish ‘fake news’ which has become a politicized term Keywords discourse as a medium discourse and performativity dialogic transmission system information silos effects on youth communication intent and purpose of ‘fake news’ types of ‘fake news’ social media and coronavirus Disciplinary Approaches to Social Science Techno-logistic II SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 19 Jan Krouzil PhD July 27, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I ‘Bitsphere’ / ‘biosphere’ PART II Technological singularity PART III 5G Huawei vision PART IV Techno-logistic effects Keywords PART I ‘bitsphere’ / ‘biosphere’ (1) ‘Reality’ - ‘the experience of ordinary people in everyday life’ (Franklin 2004) levels of reality vernacular reality – ‘the reality of everyday life’ both private and personal, also common and political feminists - the personal is political extended reality body of knowledge and emotions based on the experience of others includes artifacts constructed (or reconstructed) reality manifestations - works of fiction, advertising and propaganda situations considered archetypal rather than representative part of the fabric that holds the common culture together The ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (2) projected reality - the vernacular reality of the future influenced or even caused by actions in the present. ‘heaven and hell’ or life after death for some people projected reality also the future itself, the five-year plan, the business cycle…can influence peoples actions and attitudes all levels of reality - affected and distorted by science and technology with respect to the realities of time and space Relationship between science and technology no hierarchical relationship have parallel or side-by-side relationship – stimulate and utilise each otyher science and technology as one enterprise with a spectrum of interconnected activity ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (3) The scientific method a way of separating knowledge from experience as understood in the West learning how to build bridges from somebody who has never built a bridge (Franklin 2004) questions of reductionism, of loss of context, of cultural biases scientific constructs as the model of describing ‘reality’ rather than one of the ways of describing life decrease in the reliance of people on their own experience and their own senses ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (4) the downgrading of experience and the glorification of expertise significant feature of the ‘real world of technology’ (Franklin 2004) experience should lead to a modification of knowledge rather than abstract knowledge forcing people to perceive their experience as being ‘unreal’, or ‘wrong’ feminist authors call for changes in evaluating the social and human impact of technology Speed of transmission of messages electricity – the speed of light (around 1800) a message in Morse Code (1844) ‘What hath God wrought?’ ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (5) Message-transmission technologies create a host of ‘pseudo-realities’ based on images constructed, staged, selected, and instantaneously transmitted radio, tv, film, video new ‘virtual realities’ with intense emotional components induce a sense of ‘being there’ sense of participating rather than observing technological rationales have the force and authority of ‘religious doctrine’ (Franklin 2004) possible, in theory, to opt out, in practice, only in a very limited way technologically induced human isolation how can one question and mitigate the encroachments of pseudo-realities? ‘Bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (6) Key preoccupation of technology to overcome the constraints of time and space the facet of time as sequence and pattern concepts of ‘synchronicity’ and ‘asynchronicity’ Synchronicity – evokes the presence of sequences and patterns fixed intervals and periodicities coordination and synchronization the bell’s call to work, or prayer to keep a community ‘in sync’ Asynchronicity – indicates the decoupling of activities from their functional time or space patterns unravelling of social and political patterns without apparent replacement voicemail, texting ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (7) What does this all mean to us as humans? as social and political beings evolving within the patterns of nature and culture difference between supplementing a rigidly patterned structure with asynchronous activities and substituting synchronous functions by asynchronous schemes (Franklin 2004) Global ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ interfaces City of Bits (Mitchell 1995) difference between a mechanism and an organism (Goodwin 1994) ‘biosphere’ – not only living creatures and their biological support systems the physical and mental artifacts attesting to their presence on earth a nest of spheres embedded in each other ordering principles drawn from the observation of nature ‘bitsphere’ / human ‘biosphere’ (8) ‘bitsphere’ – the sphere of storage, display, and transmittal of information or data in BIT (digits) designed to have no (apparent) structure – or coherent sequence/consequence patterns evoking higher levels of ‘complexity’ utilizing the insights of ‘chaos theory’ the biosphere, existing in real time, encompasses past, present, and future the bitsphere – a product of human minds – exhibits no tense or temporality no roots in physical space we live simultaneously in both spheres all we can do is to understand the current and potential dynamics of these interacting spheres of influence try to monitor and mitigate their impacts Part II Technological singularity (1) Singularity a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization (Eden and Moor 2012) ‘singularity’ hypothesis also called ‘intelligence explosion’ an upgradable intelligent agent (such as a computer running software-based artificial general intelligence) will eventually enter a runaway reaction of self-improvement cycles, with each new and more intelligent generation appearing more and more rapidly, causing an ‘explosion’ in intelligence and resulting in a powerful superintelligence that qualitatively far surpasses all human intelligence Technological singularity (2) Debate public figures expressed concern that full artificial intelligence could result in human extinction (Hawking 2014, Musk 2015) the consequences of the singularity and its potential benefit or harm to the human race technological progress accelerating - limited by the basic intelligence of the human brain has not changed significantly for millennia (Ehrlich 2008)  with the increasing power of computers and other technologies, it might eventually be possible to build a machine that is significantly more intelligent than humans (Wayback Machine 2012) Technological singularity (3) claims that if a superhuman intelligence were to be invented—either through the amplification of human intelligence or through artificial intelligence—it would bring to bear greater problem-solving and inventive skills than current humans are capable of such an AI is referred to as Seed AI (Yampolskiy 2015, Yudkowsky 2001) because if an AI were created with engineering capabilities that matched or surpassed those of its human creators, it would have the potential to autonomously improve its own software and hardware or design an even more capable machine this more capable machine could then go on to design a machine of yet greater capability. these iterations of recursive self-improvement could accelerate, potentially allowing enormous qualitative change before any upper limits imposed by the laws of physics or theoretical computation set in speculated that over many iterations such an AI would far surpass human cognitive abilities Technological singularity (4) a possible outcome of humanity building artificial general intelligence (AGI) AGI would be capable of recursive self-improvement, leading to the rapid emergence of artificial superintelligence (ASI) the limits of which are unknown technology forecasters and researchers disagree about if or when human intelligence is likely to be surpassed some argue that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) will probably result in general reasoning systems that lack human cognitive limitations others believe that humans will evolve or directly modify their biology so as to achieve radically greater intelligence a number of futures studies scenarios combine elements from both of these possibilities, suggesting that humans are likely to interface with computers, or upload their minds to computers in a way that enables substantial intelligence amplification Technological singularity (5) Plausibility technologists and academics dispute the plausibility of a technological singularity including Gordon Moore whose ’law’ is often cited in support of the concept (Allen 2015) Ray Kurtzweil (2005) postulates a law of accelerating returns the speed of technological change (and more generally, all evolutionary processes predicts that the exponential growth will continue in a few decades the computing power of all computers will exceed that of (‘unenhanced’) human brains, with superhuman artificial intelligence appearing around the same time Technological singularity (6) Critics assert that computers or machines cannot achieve human intelligence (Dreyfus 2002) human intelligence refers to the intellectual prowess of humans marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness (Nokelainen 2011) Implications for human society the extent to which computers and robots might be able to acquire autonomy and to what degree they could use such abilities to pose threats or hazards (Markoff 2009) Technological singularity (7) Misconceptions protagonists - identify the Singularity with the creation of artificial (super) intelligence assert all their beliefs and desires simultaneously, assuming that they can thus reinforce each other critics - seek the weakest points assuming that refuting them will render the whole concept invalid biased by their desires which can be simply expressed as ‘Singularity is impossible because we do not want humans to disappear’ Singularity will not necessarily come about through the creation of Strong AI with digital computers (Potapov 2018) Technological singularity (8) What Do We Really Know? disentangle the grounded claims from the personal beliefs and desires, and underline what we can really say about Singularity the concept of Singularity is usually justified by timelines that track some key events in evolution supplemented by some qualitative measure, for example, memory capacities different authors choose different key events as indicators, curves of growing complexity or decreasing time intervals between paradigm shifts as measured by key events are consistent as shown by Ray Kurzweil with 15 lists of key events (2005) Technological singularity (9) ‘Singularity’ is a virtual time point at which the simplest extrapolation of the curve of growing complexity hits infinity which will be never really achieved (Potapov 2018) all models in science describe the reality approximately behind the concept of Singularity is the real phenomenon of accelerating universal evolution criticism should be addressed to the use of the model independently of the specific scenario to which it is applied. (Potapov 2018) Part III 5G Huawei vision (1) Next wave of digital society 5G wireless networks support 1,000-fold gains in capacity, connections for at least 100 billion devices (Huawei nd) a 10 Gb/s individual user experience capable of extremely low latency and response times deployment of these networks between 2020-30 5G radio access built upon both new radio access technologies (RAT) and evolved existing wireless technologies (LTE, HSPA, GSM and WiFi) breakthroughs in wireless network innovation to drive economic and societal growth in new ways 5G networks capable of providing zero-distance connectivity between people and connected machines 5G Huawei vision (2) Advent of 5G technologies and ICT networks next wave of a globally connected Digital Society mobile access to the internet fundamental to doing business in all industries flexible working practices facilitated by mobile networks and devices essential allowing enterprises to conduct operations across boundaries that previously inhibited growth mobile access to the internet, cloud-based services and Big Data analytics allowing anyone, anywhere to leverage ‘Big Wisdom’ – a whole new kind of globally connected and shared knowledge base 5G Huwaei vision (3) Promise of 5G any mobile app and any mobile service will be given the potential to connect to anything at anytime from people and communities to physical things, processes, content, working knowledge, timely pertinent information and goods of all sorts in entirely flexible, reliable and secure ways to expand the possibilities of what mobile networks can do, and to extend upon what services they can deliver 5G Huawei vision (4) Immediacy and adaptability massive capacity for delivery of services to allow connections between end users and the network to be made at ‘faster than thought’ speeds so fast that the apparent distance between connected people and connected machines will shrink to a virtual ‘zero distance’ gap an instant immediacy in mobile services will lay the foundation for a whole new set of mobile apps to proliferate and push the capabilities of communications beyond what is currently possible massive capacity for managing connections to better enable a greater widespread adoption of M2M services and interactions next wave of the Digital Society will be characterized by an ICT network’s capability for service immediacy and on-demand adaptability 5G Huawei vision (5) Smart cities 5G will provide the foundational infrastructure for building smart cities low latency and extremely high reliability, however, will also be essential requirements for the likes of mobile industrial automation, vehicular connectivity, and other IoT applications applications like smart sensors and text-based messaging are examples of extremely high volume applications Timeline 5G is presently in its early research stages new IMT spectrum is expected to be agreed upon for the World Radio Communication Conference (WRC) in 2015 ITU is currently at work on IMT spectrum requirements for 2020 and beyond after WRC-15, ITU will have a clearer path for determining network system and technology requirements Part IV Techno-logistic effects (1) Why technological change should be driven by a value system big data and new technologies ‘data is a continuum that goes from data to information to knowledge to wisdom’ (Medhora 2020) for this continuum to work well - technology that links them and values (ethics, morality) technological change and how we transform ourselves is not exogenous something that is endogenous and is (or should be) driven by a value system something about new technology that perhaps breaks that chain Techno-logistic effects (2) Characteristics in the digital economy  digital forms tend to face high upfront risk and high fixed costs, marginal costs of production often tend to be zero  gives an advantage to first movers and it prioritizes strategic behaviour the profits that are made are effectively monopoly rents the economic logic compelling firms to behave the way they do Data comes with different imperatives  data has the potential to create immense amounts of wealth need that wealth to do social good data has characteristics that make us value our privacy make us prioritize public security Techno-logistic effects (3) data is imperative if we want to preserve our open society and have a healthy democracy data infrastructure as part of the nation building and social fabric-building consensus works the same way that physical infrastructure did generations ago with railroads and broadcasting Global zones the state-centric China zone - cede data to the state the US zone - big firms to whom you have ceded that sovereignty the zone Europe - in principle, person-centric  GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] a host of countries — in fact, the majority of the countries in the world — lie outside these three zones Techno-logistic effects (4) Going forward how do we have a global data zone that balances all of these exigencies while valuing that each country at any given point in time might want to balance these differently need a broad moral and pragmatic statement to guide us all in how technology is created and how technology is used like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR] having a clear moral statement is aspirational How innovation is diffused innovation tends to be concentrated in a few parts of the world and a few regions within those parts of the world the process of innovation driven by proprietary intellectual property harmonize taxation - tax wealth and use it for the public good Techno-logistic effects (5) The use of technology is not exogenous algorithmic accountability (ethics) should be part of the public policy framework and not seen as outside it Foreign investment in the digital context economics of the data-driven digital world drives predatory behaviour – involves foreign investment a range of issues in which work is done here, but the IP and the wealth created is there multilateral and international cooperation a Digital Stability Board - promotes best practice in the digital realm Keywords levels of reality pseudo-realities bitsphere/biosphere synchronicity asynchronicity ‘singularity’ hypothesis technological singularity artificial superhuman intelligence law of accelerating returns digital economy Disciplinary Approaches to Social Science Techno-logistic I SOSC 1000 6.0 Lecture 18 Jan Krouzil PhD July 22, 2021 Agenda Announcements PART I Ways of thinking ‘technology’ PART II Technology as practice PART III Social construction of technology PART IV Questioning ‘technology’ Keywords Part I Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (1) Terminology ‘technology’ (etymology) ‘science of craft’ (Greek), techne, ‘art, skill, cunning of hand’ ‘-logia’ as the sum of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives (such as scientific investigation) ‘knowledge’ of techniques, processes or embedded in machines to allow for operation without detailed knowledge of their workings technological systems (e.g., machines) applying technology by taking an input, changing it according to the systems use, and then producing an outcome Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (2) Episteme and techne epistêmê (Greek) translated as ‘knowledge’ technê translated as either craft or art contemporary assumptions about the relation between theory (the domain of ‘knowledge’) and practice (the concern of ‘craft’ or ‘art’) at the level of practice, concrete experience might be all we need  skepticism outside of modern science about the relevance of theory to practice within science, theory strives for a value-free view of reality theory is conducted at so great a remove from the facts - the province of practice - that it can lose touch with them as a consequence, scientific theory cannot tell us how things should be — the realm of ‘art’ or ‘craft’  Ways of thinking ’technology’ (3) Technicity refers to the relationship between technology and humanity (or humans) can be seen as either mutually co-constituted or not ways of understanding ‘technicity’ (Ash 2012) as a persuasive logic for thinking about the world (Heidegger’s thought) a mode of existence of technical objects an originary condition for human life itself Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (4) Alternative definitions and usage of technology as ‘the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value’ in this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems a far-reaching term that may include simple tools (such as a crowbar or wooden spoon) or more complex machines (such as a space station or particle accelerator) tools and machines need not be material virtual technology, such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of technology as ‘a means to fulfill a human purpose’ (Brian 2009) Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (5) Use of the term ‘technology’ changed significantly over the last 200 years before the 20th C the term uncommon in English used either to refer to the description or study of the useful arts or to allude to technical education (Massachusetts Institute of Technology chartered in 1861) in the 20th C in connection with the 2nd Industrial Revolution the terms meanings changed in the early 20th century when American social scientists, beginning with Thorstein Veblen, translated ideas from the German concept of Technik into ‘technology’ in German and other European languages, a distinction exists between technik and technologie that is absent in English - translates both terms as ‘technology’ by the 1930s, ‘technology’ referred not only to the study of the industrial arts but to the industrial arts themselves Ways of thinking ‘technology’ (6) can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques the current state of humanitys knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials when combined with another term (such as ‘medical technology’ or ‘space technology) refers to the state of the respective fields knowledge and tools ‘state-of-the-art technology refers to the high technology available to humanity in any field can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture the application of math, science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known the rise of communication technology has lessened barriers to human interaction and as a result has helped spawn new subcultures the rise of cyberculture has at its basis the development of the Internet and the computer   can also help facilitate political conflict, violence and war via tools such as guns Part II Technology as practice (1) Reality of a technological realm technology as practice’ and how the practices and their contexts have changed over time ‘From the invention of writing to the use of the Internet, the way in which knowledge is kept, transmitted, or shared has structured the perception of what is real, as well as what is possible or desirable.’ (Franklin 2004) the impact of these new technological practices on human ties, on work and community, on governance, citizenship, and the notion of individual and collective responsibility how new technologies, new ways of doing things, have pushed against the physical and social boundaries of space and time Technology as practice (2) how these activities have altered the relationships of people to nature, to each other, and their communities ‘the house that technology has built’ (Franklin 2004) Technology as a multifaceted entity not the sum of the artifacts, of the wheels and gears, of the rails and electronic transmitters entails far more than its material components includes activities as well as a body of knowledge, structures as well as the act of structuring involves organization, procedures, symbols, new words, equations, and, most of all, a mindset (Franklin 2004) Technology as practice (3) Forms of technological development distinction between holistic technologies (HTs) and prescriptive technologies (PTs) involve distinctly different specializations and divisions of labor with different social and political implications not asking what is being done, but how it is being done Holistic technologies (HTs) associated with the notion of craft artisans - be they potters, weavers, metal-smiths, or cooks, control the process of their own work from beginning to finish leaves the doer in total control of the process Technology as practice (4) Prescriptive technologies (PTs) different ‘division of labor’ the making or doing something is broken down into clearly identifiable steps each step carried out by a separate worker, or group of workers, who need to be familiar only with the skills of performing that one step the Chinese way of casting bronze before 1200 BC is a production method (Franklin 2004) ‘the work is orchestrated like a piece of music’ understanding the social and political impact of prescriptive technologies – key to understanding our own ‘real world of technology’ in political terms, prescriptive technologies are designs for compliance Technology as practice (5) when working within such designs workers become acculturated into a milieu in which external control and internal compliance are seen as normal and necessary (Franklin 2004) ‘only one way of doing something’ Todays ‘real world of technology’ characterized by the dominance of prescriptive technologies not restricted to materials production used in administrative and economic activities and in many aspects of governance the temptation to design more or less everything according to PTs so strong that it is even applied to those tasks that should be conducted in a holistic way any tasks that require caring, whether for people or nature, any tasks that require immediate feedback and adjustment, are best done holistically such tasks cannot be planned, coordinated, and controlled the way prescriptive tasks must be when successful, PTs do yield predictable results they yield products in numbers and qualities that can be set beforehand, and so technology itself becomes an agent of ordering and structuring (Franklin 2004) Technology as practice (5) the ordering that PTs has caused has now moved from ordering at work and ordering of work, to the prescriptive ordering of people in a variety of social situations (Franklin 2004) those who work in the so-called ‘smart’ buildings have a card with a barcode that allows them to get into areas of the building where they have work to do but excludes them from anywhere else the digitalized footprints of social transactions’ any goal of the technology is incorporated a priori in the design and is not negotiable as methods of materials production PTs have brought into the ‘real world of technology’ a wealth of important products that have raised living standards and increased well-being (Franklin 2004) Technology as practice (6) the acculturation to compliance and conformity has in turn accelerated the use of PTs in administration, government, and social services the same development has diminished resistance to the programming of people Growth model and production model within a growth model all that human intervention can do is to discover the best conditions for growth and then try to meet them growth occurs; it is not made (Franklin 2004) in a production model things are not grown but made under conditions that are, at least in principle, entirely controllable everything seems in hand, nothing is left to chance - while growth is always chancy Technology as practice (7) production models are perceived and constructed without links into a larger context (Franklin 2004) this allows the use of a particular model in a variety of situations at the same time such an approach discounts and disregards all effects arising from the impact of the production activity on its surroundings such ‘externalities’ are considered irrelevant to the activity itself and are the business of someone else factors - such as pollution or the physical and mental health of the workers - which in the production model are considered other peoples problems the deterioration of the worlds environment arose precisely from such inadequate modelling Technology as practice (8) processes that are cheap in the marketplace are often wasteful and harmful in the larger context production models make it easy to consider contextual factors as irrelevant we ought to think far more in terms of growth models rather than production models (Franklin 2004) even though today production models are almost the only guide for public and private discussions instructive to realize how often in the past the production model has supplanted the growth model as a guide for public and private actions even in areas in which the growth model might have been more fruitful or appropriate (i.e., education, new human reproductive technologies) Technology as practice (9) prevalence of the production model in the mindset and political discourse of our time and the models misapplication to inappropriate situations - an indication of just how far technology as practice has modified our culture (Franklin 2004) the new production based models and metaphors ..so deeply rooted in our social and emotional fabric that it becomes almost sacrilege to question them any critique or assessment of the real world of technology should involve serious questioning of the underlying structures of our models, and through them, of our thoughts (Franklin 2004) Part III Social construction of technology (1) Phrase ‘the social construction of technology’ (SCOT) a theory about how a variety of social factors and forces shape technological development, technological change, and the meanings associated with technology a specific account of the ‘social construction of technology’ SCOT uses the notions of relevant social groups, interpretive flexibility, closure and stabilization the concept of interpretive flexibility as its distinguishing feature to claim that technology has interpretive flexibility is to claim that artifacts are open to radically different interpretations by various social groups artifacts are conceived and understood to be different things to different groups. Social construction of technology (2) Tenets of ‘technological determinism’ theory of the ‘social construction of technology’ compared with another view of technology referred to as ‘technological determinism’ 1st technology develops independently from society technological development either follows scientific discoveries—as inventors and engineers apply science—or it follows a logic of its own, with new inventions deriving directly from previous inventions engineers and inventors work in an isolated domain in which all that matters is discovering and manipulating nature 2nd when a technology is taken up and used, it has powerful effects on the character of society Social construction of technology (3) social constructivists argue that technological development is shaped by a wide variety of social, cultural, economic, and political factors nature does not reveal itself in some necessary or logical order scientists and engineers look at nature through lenses of human interests, theories, and concepts - they invent and build things that fit into particular social and cultural contexts technologies are successful not by some objective measure of their goodness or efficiency - they are taken up and used because they are perceived to achieve particular human purposes and to improve a particular social world or to further the interests of individuals and social groups social constructivists claim that shaping does not just work in both directions but that technology and society are mutually constitutive - they co-create one another Social construction of technology (4) SCOT and ANT theories of ‘social construction’ critique of technological determinism and the emergence of the theory of the social construction of technology (SCOT) began and gained momentum in the 1980s the development of a new field of study sometimes labeled science and technology studies (STS) and other times science, technology, and society (also STS) social constructivism (referred to as SCOT) and actor-network theory (ANT) both seek to explain why and how particular technologies are adopted while others are rejected or never developed both concerned with how technological designs are adopted and become embedded in social practices and social institutions Social construction of technology (5) actor-network theory takes as its unit of analysis the systems of behavior and social practices that are intertwined with material objects the network part of actor-network theory the actor part of actor-network theory emphasizes the presence of many actors, human and nonhuman for instance, nature plays an important role in determining which technologies come to be adopted and nature can be described as one of the actors in shaping the technologies that succeed in becoming embedded in the social world technologies and artifacts can themselves also be actors humans, nature, and artifacts collectively are referred to in actor-network theory as actants Social construction of technology (6) How ‘social construction’ works what does it mean to say that technology is ‘socially constructed’? theory referred to as SCOT makes use of the notions of relevant social groups, interpretative flexibility, stabilization, and closure an account of the development of the design of the bicycle (Bijker 1995, Pinch and Bijker 1987) areas where social factors have a powerful influence on the technologies that are developed and what those technologies look like economics regulation culture Social construction of technology (7) Ethics and ‘social construction’ technological determinist theories imply that technological development is autonomous and unstoppable that is, individuals and even social movements can do nothing to change the pace or direction of development social constructivism seen as, at least in part, a response to the pessimism of technological determinism social constructivist scholars see themselves as providing an account of technological development and change that opens up the possibility of intervention, the possibility for more deliberate social control of technology SOTUS 2020 Social construction of technology (7) social constructivist theories seen as having an implicitly critical, and perhaps even a moral, perspective social constructivist theories developed primarily by historians and social scientists scholars in these fields traditionally understood the task of their scholarship to be that of description, not prescription generally deny that their perspective is ethical social constructivist analysis reveals the ways in which particular social groups wield power over others through technology knowledge of this aspect of technology opens up the possibility of deliberate action to counter the unfair use of power and the undesirable social patterns being created and reinforced through technology Social construction of technology (8) work on gender and technology draws attention to the ways in which technology reinforces gender stereotypes and how gender and technology are co-created ( Wajcman 1991, Cockburn and Omrud (1993) makes it possible for those involved with technological development to avoid reinforcing prevailing stereotypes or patterns of gender inequality in this respect social constructivism has important ethical implications Part IV Questioning ‘technology’ (1) Technology as an autonomous force separate from society viewed as a kind of ‘second nature’ impinging on social life from the realm of reason in which science too finds its source (Feenberg 1999) for good or ill, technology’s essence—rational control, efficiency—rules modern life this conception of technology seen as incompatible with the extension of democracy to the technical sphere technology is the medium of daily life in modern societies every major technical change reverberates at many levels, economic, political, religious, cultural if we continue to see the technical and the social as separate domains important aspects of these dimension of our existence will remain beyond our reach as a democratic society Questioning ‘technology’ (2) every major technical change reverberates at many levels, economic, political, religious, cultural insofar as we continue to see the technical and the social as separate domains important aspects of these dimension of our existence will remain beyond our reach as a democratic society the fate of democracy is therefore bound up with our understanding of technology (Feenberg 1999) Keywords techne technicity holistic technology prescriptive technology growth model production model technological determinism interpretive flexibility (SCOT) actor-network theory (ANT) ethics and social construction