Abstract
Owing to social and technological changes, we are witnessing the beginnings of a global, hyper-competitive 'new capitalism' reorganizing economic and social relationships within and between businesses. This article argues that the themes and images of the new capitalism are part of a much larger 'thematic convergence' in which quite disparate things - like minds, molecules, media, ecosystems and organizations - are being talked about in new and similar ways. I argue that the 'master story' here centers around what I call 'non-authoritarian distributed systems'. After discussing this master story, I turn to two specific domains, which are, in quite different ways, getting 'aligned' with the themes of the new capitalism. The first domain is cognitive science as it applies new ideas about what constitutes 'knowledge' and 'control' in school reform efforts. In this case, I argue that cognitive science is progressively aligning itself with the new capitalism to the mutual benefit of both. The second domain is the radical 'postmodern' critique of capitalism. In this case, I argue that the language of the radical critique of capitalism is being co-opted by the new capitalism itself.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 385-407 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Organization |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - Aug 1996 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Management of Technology and Innovation
- Strategy and Management
Cite this
On mobots and classrooms : The converging languages of the new capitalism and schooling. / Gee, James.
In: Organization, Vol. 3, No. 3, 08.1996, p. 385-407.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - On mobots and classrooms
T2 - The converging languages of the new capitalism and schooling
AU - Gee, James
PY - 1996/8
Y1 - 1996/8
N2 - Owing to social and technological changes, we are witnessing the beginnings of a global, hyper-competitive 'new capitalism' reorganizing economic and social relationships within and between businesses. This article argues that the themes and images of the new capitalism are part of a much larger 'thematic convergence' in which quite disparate things - like minds, molecules, media, ecosystems and organizations - are being talked about in new and similar ways. I argue that the 'master story' here centers around what I call 'non-authoritarian distributed systems'. After discussing this master story, I turn to two specific domains, which are, in quite different ways, getting 'aligned' with the themes of the new capitalism. The first domain is cognitive science as it applies new ideas about what constitutes 'knowledge' and 'control' in school reform efforts. In this case, I argue that cognitive science is progressively aligning itself with the new capitalism to the mutual benefit of both. The second domain is the radical 'postmodern' critique of capitalism. In this case, I argue that the language of the radical critique of capitalism is being co-opted by the new capitalism itself.
AB - Owing to social and technological changes, we are witnessing the beginnings of a global, hyper-competitive 'new capitalism' reorganizing economic and social relationships within and between businesses. This article argues that the themes and images of the new capitalism are part of a much larger 'thematic convergence' in which quite disparate things - like minds, molecules, media, ecosystems and organizations - are being talked about in new and similar ways. I argue that the 'master story' here centers around what I call 'non-authoritarian distributed systems'. After discussing this master story, I turn to two specific domains, which are, in quite different ways, getting 'aligned' with the themes of the new capitalism. The first domain is cognitive science as it applies new ideas about what constitutes 'knowledge' and 'control' in school reform efforts. In this case, I argue that cognitive science is progressively aligning itself with the new capitalism to the mutual benefit of both. The second domain is the radical 'postmodern' critique of capitalism. In this case, I argue that the language of the radical critique of capitalism is being co-opted by the new capitalism itself.
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0039303390
VL - 3
SP - 385
EP - 407
JO - Organization
JF - Organization
SN - 1350-5084
IS - 3
ER -