IT革命とは何か? : ひとつの中間報告(<特集>現代資本主義と情報革命)

書誌事項

タイトル別名
  • What is the IT Revolution?(<SPECIAL ISSUE>Contemporary Capitalism and Information Revolution)
  • IT革命とは何か?--ひとつの中間報告
  • IT カクメイ トワ ナニカ ヒトツ ノ チュウカン ホウコク

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About ten years ago, many proponents of the IT Revolution said that IT would change our economy and society completely, so we should be ready to reform ourselves completely. But what has the IT Revolution brought forth since then? I think the IT Revolution has brought forth chief two results. One result is all-over automation, and another result is flood of information (intensifying competition and restructuring). All-over automation means FA (factory automation), OA (office automation) and HA (home automation). Home automation has brought many conveniences. But FA and OA have brought cut of employees. So unemployment has increased. However, in Japan (and perhaps in US), unemployed people can not exist as unemployed for a long time, because social security for them is too poor. Accordingly, unemployed must get a job anyhow, even if the pay is extremely low and the working hour is extremely long. I name these people "de facto unemployed." "De facto unemployed" have increased remarkably as the result of the IT Revolution. Flood of information has given birth to many serious problems as following; (1)Of course, it has brought about a very convenient society called "ubiquitous network society." But it also has a possibility to conjure up a terrible society where every one is watched from everywhere. (2)Flood of information forces companies to continue "restructuring" ceaselessly under the global competition. (3)Many workers have become forced to work even at night and even at home, because such working has become possible by using PC, mobile phone and other IT instruments. (4)Excess of information (e.g. 100 e-mails a day) causes people diseases coming from mind harassment. As a result of both automation and flood of information, un-equality of income has spread. Many people have paid attention to the effect of the IT Revolution on the trade cycle and economic growth. But I find that its effect on them are about the same as previous technological innovations. After seeing what the IT Revolution has brought forth as above, I have tried to see what the Revolution means concerning Marxian economic theory and socialism in future. Marx writes (at the end of the 24^<th> Chapter of The Capital I) of "the transformation of the instruments of labour into instruments of labour only usable in common." However, under the IT Revolution, majority of workers use the instruments of labour usable individually. This seems to differ from Marx's opinion. But I see these workers are firmly associated through the very IT communication means. Today's IT Revolution is giving a big pain to the working class. But, sooner or later, the trend will be reversed. I think socialism will come again surely in future. But the future socialism will be different in very many respects from the defunct Soviet-style socialisms. I think future socialism must be a "liberalistic and individualistic socialism," based on the freedom and individualism attained by the IT Revolution.

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