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Cyberspace not only exemplifies but spearheads the greater political
economy of which it has become such a critical part. The networks that comprise
cyberspace were originally created at the behest of government agencies, military
contractors, and allied educational institutions. However, over the past generation
or so, a growing number of these networks began to serve primarily corporate users.
Under the sway of an expansionary market logic, the Internet began a political-economic
transition toward what Dan Schiller calls "digital capitalism."
Schiller traces these metamorphoses through three critically
important and interlinked realms. Parts I and II deal with the overwhelmingly
"neoliberal" or market-driven policies that influence and govern the
telecommunications system and their empowerment of transnational corporations
while at the same time exacerbating existing social inequalities. Part III shows
how cyberspace offers uniquely supple instruments with which to cultivate and
deepen consumerism on a transnational scale, especially among privileged groups.
Finally, Part IV shows how digital capitalism has already overtaken education,
placing it at the mercy of a proprietary market logic. Dan
Schiller is Professor of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. |
