MacInnes John
Department of Sociology, University of Edinburgh and Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Br J Sociol. 2006 Dec;57(4):677-98. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-4446.2006.00131.x.
Castells' analysis of the rise of a global network society and information age is underpinned, paradoxically, by a nationalist vision with organic links in a Gramscian sense to Catalan nationalism. This leads to various weaknesses in his theory, especially an over-emphasis on language and nation at the expense of class. Exploring the specifically Catalan origins of his work, and testing its adequacy there, helps us to understand Castells' broader approach. Discussion of Castells has perhaps overlooked his commitment to nationalism because the sociology of identity sometimes unwittingly adopts what Billig has called a banal nationalist perspective. A stricter distinction between the different meanings of the term identity would help sociology to avoid arguments, such as that of Castells, that risk becoming determinist, teleological or both. The article concludes by asking whether the 'sociological imagination' has been alert enough to its banal nationalist form, facilitated by its intimate relationship with the state, its concern for policy relevance and methods of data gathering.
卡斯特尔斯对全球网络社会和信息时代兴起的分析，自相矛盾地基于一种民族主义视角，这种视角在葛兰西意义上与加泰罗尼亚民族主义有着有机联系。这导致了他理论中的各种弱点，尤其是过度强调语言和民族而忽视了阶级。探究他作品的具体加泰罗尼亚根源，并在那里检验其适用性，有助于我们理解卡斯特尔斯更广泛的方法。对卡斯特尔斯的讨论可能忽略了他对民族主义的执着，因为身份社会学有时会不知不觉地采用比利格所称的平庸民族主义视角。对“身份”一词不同含义进行更严格的区分，将有助于社会学避免类似卡斯特尔斯那样的、可能陷入决定论、目的论或两者兼具的争论。文章最后提出疑问，即“社会学想象力”是否因其与国家的密切关系、对政策相关性的关注以及数据收集方法，而对其平庸的民族主义形式保持了足够的警觉。
