The Opposition Between the Net and the Self (1989-2009): Analysis of Manuel Castells’ Sociological Hypothesis

Abstract

The opposition between the Net and the Self is the main formula Manuel
Castells proposes since 1989 to synthesize his view of the structural
dynamic of contemporary societies. In this article we will analyze the
main aspects of this postulate, focusing on the relationship established
with the question of power. This research will allow us to discover that
the mentioned bond, zigzagging and confusing in the explicit level of his
social theory, promotes a reductionist and non-relational conception of
power, supported by a certain spatial determinism. In this piece of work
we also analyze the logics of articulation involved in the formula, its
connection with the main social metaphors, and fi nally the main problem
arising from the opposition between the Net and the Self: the breakingoff
of social communication patterns.