Networked society and new social movements
理論研究
作者：王帥利
【Introduction】 After the end of Cold War， the economic relations of different regions and states were becoming much closer. Not every individual is included in the world economic system， however， all of us are affected by it. And this also changed the organization of our world： we are living in a society which is constituted by different forms of networks. As for Castells， ‘A network is simply a set of interconnected nodes’ （Castells， 1999）. And it has three main basic characteristics： it has no center； this system operates mainly through inclusion and exclusion； and it is an ‘appropriate organization’ with ‘extreme flexibility’ （Castells， 1999）. The notes can be states， regions， or different individuals. They can be separated into different ranks， but the whole network has no center. Each actor has some degrees of autonomy and at the same time， no one can escape from others’ influence. All the actors included in the network can share information or products， and they are all producers. So in order to maximize the productivity of the whole system， network itself must be sensitive about the value of each actor. And this is enabled by its flexibility.
However， this flexibility also causes a series of social problems. The first form of inequality is ‘overexploitation’， which happens among certain groups of people who are easily to be discriminated in a particular social condition， like immigrants， ethnic minorities and female workers （Castells， 1999）. They are disadvantage social groups because of social， cultural or historical reasons. And the second inequality is about the individuals who are excluded from the network because of various reasons. They are not able to provide valuable resources for the system because of their poor education level or limited technological knowledge. These people live in extreme poverty and do not have the capacity or method to change their lives. Moreover， the autonomic operation of the network itself causes some bad effects to the development of human kind， such as nuclear problems and environment problems. People try to express their opinions towards these social problems through social movements. Compared with traditional social movements， the issues of new social movements are cultural instead of economical. Participates aim at changing people’s consciousness instead of struggling for more political power directly. Based on the change of social organization and the emergence of new problems， the movements also show some new changes in their power and form.
【Keywords】 “The media” development；Social movement；Networked society theory；Since the media；Democratic decisionmaking；The public will
The power of new social movements
As for Castells， power relations are the basic relations of a society. ‘Power relationships are the foundation of society， as institutions and norms are constructed to fulfill the interests and values of those in power.’ （Castells， 2011： 773） And because we are living in a networked society， so ‘social power is primarily exercised by and through networks.’ （Castells， 2011： 774） There are mainly four forms of powers： networking power， network power， networked power and networkmaking power. The inclusion and exclusion of a network exercise through networking power. Actors which are included in the network are endowed with power to share the benefits brought by the system. However， they must be restricted by the norms of this network， which is called network power. According to the goals of a whole system， the dominant network has power over other networks. This is networked power. And this is never a onedimensional system， so it is more complicated to analysis the decisionmaking process. The last form of power concerns the two basic mechanisms of exercising the control over other networks： intervening the common goals of a network and controlling the relations of cooperation between different networks. The holds of these two positions are called ‘programmers and switchers’
‘However， where there is power， there is counterpower， enacting the interests and values of those in subordinate positions in the social organization （Castells， 2011： 773774）.’ And the main aim of the movements is to struggle for more power and change the way of operation in a network. Traditional labor movement relies on party politics. They participate in politics and struggle for more power through election campaign and even violence. They try to be involved in the dominant political networks of a society and change the goals and rules of the whole social system. However， the result is disappointing. Most disadvantaged people can not benefit directly from the party politics and lose the trust towards the better future promised by them. In the era of globalization， new social movements are able to make a change through other approaches. What they intend to do is to express their opinions， draw people’s attention and change people’s mind， because ‘how people think about the institutions under which they live， and how they relate to the culture of their economy and society defines whose power can be exercised and how it can be exercised.’ （Castells， 2011： 779） In this sense， to what extent can they improve their influence among the people determines the effect of the movements.
Media becomes an important approach to achieve this purpose. Traditional mass media such as television and newspaper are controlled by elites or even governments directly in some countries. The ideas and opinions expressed through these mass media are shaped or screened by them. The only choice for most of us seems to accept and being convinced passively. In the era of globalization， the function of media has also changed to a large extent .With the widespread of internet and wireless communication methods， most people are able to express their opinions to the public directly. People communicate and debate through the media. And it has become a public sphere which shows the opinions from different groups. ‘The public sphere is not just the media or the sociospatial sites of public interaction. It is the cultural/informational repository of the ideas and projects that feed public debate. （Castells， 2008： 79）’ In the era of globalization， the original superincumbent and centralized communication has become ‘horizontal， autonomous networks of communication’ （Castells， 2008： 86）. Common people control their power of discourse and capacity to make some changes to the world. This is one of the most important foundations of the rise of new social movements.
Based on this foundation， some social activists or even common people who are more aware of the severity of some social problems are able to express their opinions through the internet， when these opinions are accepted by larger amount of people， then the collective actions are more possible to happen. That is to way， the approach of social movements has transformed from changing the networking power to changing the networkmaking power. First of all， because the ideas generate programs （Castells， 2011： 776） and the communication between different groups can reflect their ideas， then the influence of the ideas determines their power to intervene the final program of the whole network. Secondly， social movement intents to decrease the cooperation between media network and political network through participating in producing their own discourse and eventually influence the decisionmaking process. Accordingly， the traditional social movements intend to make a change through being involved in political network and change the norms and principles of the whole social network. And the new social movements do not intervene the political network directly， they try to change people’s mind and ‘make use of’ their power to increase their influence through the media. And through struggling for more networkmaking power， people have more capacity to participate into the decisionmaking process and change the society.