A Portal on the New Society

The Research Group on the Global Future presents a new Internet Portal

19.04.2005 · Research Group on the Global Future

"Information society" is the label usually employed to describe the new kind of societal organization. However, the number of Internet accesses or the hours spent in the Net do not really tell the full story about what is actually happening to the lives of people. Sociologists in the last twenty years have proclaimed various fundamental transformations: Old arrangements of Western industrial societies were called into question. Ecological disasters challenged the paradigm of progress; gender politics shattered the institutional settings of the welfare state; and the differentiation of life-styles brought about the end of class milieus. Connecting these to technological progress opened new theoretical gateways for the discourse. This lead to views of the world as structured by binary oppositions between, for instance, "Jihad vs. McWorld" and "globalization" with its deinstitutionalization of work and the European welfare state.

Bringing together technological and societal change of the last twenty years, with a particular emphasis on the rise of the Internet with its new opportunities, this portal offers insights into the developments in different areas of society.

Information Society
What impact has technological change had on the family, communities and friendship? How are people affected by the new technology and the influence it exerts on the work place and societal institutions? Is the real neighborhood suffering from declining importance, with the person living next door becoming a stranger whereas someone far out there in cyberspace gets your virtual soul mate?

Politics and Government
What consequences does the world of politics, government and public services face? How does the future of governance look like? Are we on the eve of an age of advanced citizen participation, better and more efficient public services, or an age of digital observation and new social divisions?

Labor Market
How does the organization of work change? What concrete impacts does flexibility have on the lives of people? What new kinds of skills are required and what new differentiations among employees do they evoke? Will there even be a new kind of work as automatization puts an end to old forms of work? Will it be a more fulfilling and democratic kind of work? How are industrial relations transformed, and what are the answers of the actors involved, the trade unions, the employer’s associations, and the states? To what reactions might rise income gaps lead?

Arts
What opportunities do the new technologies offer for the arts? How will offline art be affected by new media, will a form of online art evolve? Will this enable a new kind of experience? Can interactivity change the process of creation and the position of the "consumers" of art?

Internet Usage
In what respect is the Internet different from other kinds of communication? What are the consequences for the way we think, act and learn? What contents are processed in the new form of communication? Will current trends in computing lead to greater opportunities for both women and men, or will it cement them in their current roles? Will women be creators of software and virtual communities, or will they be disempowered users?