NETOCRACY: the new power elite and life after capitalism [Paperback]

Alexander Bard (Author), Jan Soderqvist (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2002

The world will not live without logos, but neither will capitalism silently take over democracy. So, what comes next? After capitalism comes Netocracy. Those who can harness networks of information and master new forms of communication will control finance and legislation, forming the new business and government elites. They will inherit the power; they are the Netocrats.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Read it for the reason business information company Reuters published it: to understand why power in your workplace and your world isn't where you thought."New Scientist

"Contains interesting insights (into the growing likelihood of populist violence among the displaced and dispossessed.)" New Statesman

"An extraordinary book." Computer Weekly

"Digging deeper and wider than any previous effort into what the information revolution truly means, Netocracy is the must-read for anybody even remotely interested in what those kids out there are actually doing to us all with their gadgets. It's a bigger, more dramatic and very different change from what we had expected. Netocracy is the unsurpassable how and when of this whole revolution."  Kjell A. Nordström and Jonas Ridderstrale, authors of Funky Business ¿ talent makes capital dance.

"He's seen the future.  A renaissance man of many talents, Bard is either a genius or a madman.  You decide" The Times Magazine, July 2003

"Alexander Bard, author of 80 hit singles in Scandinavia, is a record producer, Internet mogul, philosophy enthusiast, and much more." FTDynamo, Euro-Gurus

 

"Netocracy is a fresh take on the information revolution. Bard and Soderqvist's concepts are clear and meticulously explained...the book is a brave account of the challenges ahead." Mail & Guardian Online (South Africa)

From the Back Cover

"Digging deeper and wider than any previous effort into what the information revolution truly means, Netocracy is the must-read. Netocracy is the unsurpassable how and when of this whole revolution."

—Kjell A. Nordström and Jonas Riddersträle,
authors of Funky Business

The world will not live without logos, but neither will capitalism silently take over democracy. What comes next?

Forget capitalism and the class struggle, we are witnessing the birth of a whole new world. The digital revolution is, in fact, changing things far more dramatically then the hype-mongers of tech Internet ever imagined—only not in the way that they and their investors hoped. The move from a society dominated by print and broadcast mass media to the age of interactivity is at least as dramatic as the move from feudalism to capitalism.

After capitalism comes attentionalism. Those who can harness global networks of information and master new forms of communication will control business, finance and legislation, forming the new business and government elites. They will inherit the power; they are the Netocracy.

Driven by the Internet and mobile communications, networks are turning into the major means of doing business, organising action, getting knowledge; the organising principle for the information age. Simply put, networks will make the world go round. So controlling the networks of this world will soon count for more than controlling the capital.

Manuel Castells has described the Internet as the most extraordinary technological revolution in history. But he also suggests it is as underdeveloped socially as it is overdeveloped technologically. The societal implications of the communications revolution are going to hit soon. Netocracy predicts what they will be, where the power will flow and draws some remarkable conclusions about life after capitalism.

And who will have the power in a world dominated by networks?

The Internet has often been touted as a radically decentralized unpredictable phenomenon thriving beyond the control of individuals, corporations or governments. In Netocracy, Bard and Soderqvist show that the transparent and non-hierarchical society proclaimed by the enthusiastic early Internet pioneers is one of the greatest myths of the information age. Future society will be hierarchical. It will be divided—but not along lines of wealth and academic merit. Capitalist structures will be broken down.

Power will not lie with those who own the means of production, but with those who sort and provide information: "It is the people who can create and sustain attention that are the Netocracy, the new holders of power, not those who simply supply capital."People who can manipulate networks and the information that runs through them will inherit the future. These are the netocrats. The netocracy consists of people with excellent social skills and a talent for the adept manipulation of information. Those without this ability to use the new interactive media technology to their advantage will form the lower classes of the digital age.

netocrat ne·to-krat n. The netocrat has created and not inherited his social identity. He/she is self-made in the most fundamental meaning of the word. The netocrat has money but it is a means and not an end goal. He/she outsmarts the capitalist by ruling the networks that now rule the world. The netocrat is an artistic and political manipulator who has turned networking into an artform.

"Alexander Bard, author of 80 hit singles in Scandinavia, is a record producer, Internet mogul, philosophy enthusiast, and much more."

FTDynamo, Euro-Gurus

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: FT Press; 1 edition (November 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903684293
• ISBN-13: 978-1903684290
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are you a Netocrat like me?, March 4, 2003

By 

Ramon Thomas "Professional Speaker" (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NETOCRACY: the new power elite and life after capitalism (Paperback)

As per the subtitle this book describes the rise of the "new power elite" and "life after capitalism". It what must be seen as a profound and groundbreaking work, Bard & Söderqvist demonstrates how "informationalism" is taking over from capitalism. It is already a given fact that the available information dictates which thoughts and actions are possible. A direct conclusion from this is that whomever controls the flow of information will become the new ruling class. No stone is left unturned and the new technology for communication and information will undoubtedly change the preconditions for everything: society, economy and culture.

As Bard & Söderqvist explains, democracy, as we know it is in crises and as example they show how the boundary between politics and gossip is increasingly being erased. As in the last episode of the Dilbert TV series, where Dilbert creates the Internet Voting Network with the vision of brining democracy to the people, it is clear that some political issues are to complicate for the masses to understand so the media grabs any opportunity to vilify the politician's social misbehaviour instead. No wonder voter participation all over the world is down and as often quoted example more people voted in the finals of Big Brother TV series then in the last British election. What we lack today is not information but overview and context.

One of the more controversial assertions in NETOCRACY is that when a taboo has been transgressed in one specific area, it is impossible to maintain this taboo for society in general. It will become quite "natural" to regulate how reproduction should occur. The constant weakening of the nation state will impose insurmountable obstacles for these political efforts when trying to regulate biotechnology and specifically genetic research. In Asia for example there is far less sentimental view of the matter then in the West's strongly Judeo-Christian world.

Information society is controlled by networking, something the metropolitan part of the urban population has conscientiously practised for centuries. Conventional forms of personal relations are dissolving and disappearing: circumstances will determine the form of a relationship. One thing that becomes clear is the now overused statement that change is the only constant. As we are in the transition phase of the new Informational Society so we can become aware of its likely effects on our lives. If we're willing to adapt rather then keep things the way the are and were we should prosper as a society.

I consider myself part of the Netocracy simply because I believe I understand the fundementals behind the Information Society and especially the technology. It's become something I take for granted. Now all I need is to exploit it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad -- but could be better, August 6, 2007

By 

Mikhail Slavkov "Hirurg" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: NETOCRACY: the new power elite and life after capitalism (Paperback)

The original text was written in 2000, and now seven years later, I can say that many ideas presented in the book have proved right. Translation to English is of mediocre quality though. The book is filled with long, run-on sentences and suffers from extremely poor punctuation. The same ideas, by the way, are discussed to a much greater extent in The Dream Society by Rolf Jensen.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intellectual introduction to the connected world, August 30, 2003

By 

Sven van de Riet (Utrecht, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: NETOCRACY: the new power elite and life after capitalism (Paperback)

There are hundreds of books available on the new economy, the digital society and e-business. This book is completely different. The publication catched quite some attention in Scandinavia and for good reasons.
Based on a thorough historical perspective, the authors claim the arrival of a new elite after first feudalism and now capitalism. They call this new power elite the Netocrats.
Some critics claim the authors do not provide academic rigour to backup their claims. Indeed, not one reference to related books or articles is presented although the authors name sources of inspiration.
Is this a bad thing? Not at all. The result is a highly readible book as opposed to other books which make you check the references each couple of sentences. This does not mean the book is a "simple" book. Be prepared for an intellectual text compared to the usual management books written by the well-known authors.
The book is a heavy contribution to all the discussions on the impact technology has on the power balance in the next era.
Like me you might not agree with the authors on all issues, at least you read one of the most interesting books of this decade.