Theories of the Information Society, Third Edition - Cryptome

INFORMATION, REFLEXIVITY AND SURVEILLANCE
of one’s own destiny, doing one’s own thing, having control over one’s life –
things inimical, it would appear, to intrusive institutions and their informationgathering
impulses.
Frequently individuation and individuality are conflated, with the undoubted
increases in individuation being taken to mean there has been a decline in individuality.
Now, it is undeniable that individuation requires that people be
monitored and observed, but the development of files on individuals documenting
their earnings, housing circumstances and the like may in fact be requisites of
enhancing their individuality in so far as this relies on their being treated as
unique beings and, let us say, being sure of receiving entitlements without which
they may be limited in their capacity to be true to themselves. If we are going
to respect and support the individuality of members, then a requisite may be that
we know a great deal about them. For instance, if each of us, as an individual, is
to have a vote, then we must be individuated at least by name, age and address.
Again, if as a society we consider that members must reach a certain level of
housing provision and material sufficiency in order to fulfil their individuality
(if people are cold, alone and living in abject poverty, then their individuality is
surely thwarted), then it is a requisite of meeting those needs that we individuate
people and detail their precise circumstances.
This point may be taken further, beyond the idea that information needs to
be gathered in order that people may gain entitlements. It is clear, for instance,
that in many spheres monitoring of individuals is a foundation for the operation
of complex organisations that, through the services they supply, can enhance
the individuality of customers. For instance, the telephone network individuates
every user and accumulates a massive amount of detail about them (i.e. all users
have a unique number and every call is automatically logged for destination and
duration). Upon the basis of this information are established telecommunications
networks that extend into most homes in advanced societies and reach out across
the globe. For those people with appropriate connections these organisations
offer enormous enhancements to their lives (Mulgan, 1991). At the touch of a
button people may keep up friendships, family and professional relationships,
links that enhance one’s sense of self and individuality. Much the same point can
be made about the construction of banking networks. Many people nowadays
have credit cards of one sort or another through which every transaction made
may be recorded and an individuated profile of spending patterns constructed.
But if it is on the routine monitoring of an individual’s purchases and payments
that complex banking networks operate, then these very processes can increase
the individuality of actors by making credit and the transactions of everyday
life considerably easier. Anyone who has tried to book a hotel or hire a car or
even travel without fear of theft of their cash or anxiety about handling foreign
currencies will appreciate this point.
If we cannot therefore straightforwardly equate greater information about
people with a diminishment of individuality, there is yet another paradox that
requires comment. This stems from recognition that we have emerged from a
world of neighbours and entered what has increasingly become one of strangers.
Here we have the old theme in social science of a shift from community (the
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