transformacje · prof. witold kieżun kozminski university, warsaw prof. jerzy kisielnicki...
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I
Transformacje (Transformations) is an interdisciplinary refereed, reviewed
journal, published since 1992.
The journal is devoted to i.a.:
• civilizational and cultural transformations,
• information (knowledge) societies,
• global problematique,
• sustainable development,
• political philosophy and values,
• future studies.
The journal's quasi-paradigm is TRANSFORMATION - as a present stage and
form of development of technology, society, culture, civilization, values, mind-
sets etc. Impacts and potentialities of change and transition need new methodo-
logical tools, new visions and innovation for theoretical and practical capacity-
building. The journal aims to promote inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary ap-
proach, future orientation and strategic and global thinking.
Transformacje (Transformations) are internationally available
– since 2012 we have a licence agreement with the global database:
EBSCO Publishing (Ipswich, MA, USA)
We are listed by INDEX COPERNICUS since 2013
We are listed by ERIH+ since 2014
TRANSFORMACJE
(TRANSFORMATIONS)
II
TRANSFORMACJE(TRANSFORMATIONS) 3-4 (94-95) 2017
ISSN 1230-0292
Reviewed journal
Published twice a year (double issues) in Polish and English (separate papers)
Editorial Staff:
Prof. Lech W. ZACHER, Centre of Impact Assessment Studies and Forecasting,
Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland ([email protected]) – Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Mauro MAGATTI, Dept. of Sociology & ARC Centre for the Anthropology of
Religion and Cultural Change, University Cattolico del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
([email protected]) – Assoc. Editor
Prof. Dora MARINOVA, Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Aus-
tralia ([email protected])
Prof. Tadeusz MICZKA, Institute of Cultural and Interdisciplinary Studies, University
of Silesia, Katowice, Poland ([email protected]) – Assoc. Editor
Prof. (em.) Sangeeta SHARMA, Dept. of Public Administration, University of Raja-
sthan, Jaipur, India ([email protected]) – Assoc. Editor
Dr Małgorzata SKÓRZEWSKA-AMBERG, School of Law, Kozminski University,
Warsaw, Poland ([email protected]) – Chief Coordinator
Dr Alina BETLEJ, Institute of Sociology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin,
Poland, ([email protected]) – E-edtion Editor
Prof. Mirosław GEISE, Institute of Political Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University,
Bydgoszcz, Poland
Prof. Gavin RAE, Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland
Dr Urszula SOLER, Institute of Sociology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin,
Poland
Prof. Urszula ŻYDEK-BEDNARCZUK, Philology Dept., University of Silesia in Ka-
towice, Poland
III
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thropology of Religion and Cultural Change, Milan, Italia (Prof. Mauro Magatti)
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Tbilisi, Georgia (Prof. Vladimir Papava – Rector)
• University of Silesia, Institute of Cultural and Interdisciplinary Studies, Katowice,
Poland (Dr Anna Maj – Deputy Director)
• Technical University of Silesia, Dept. of Organization and Management, Zabrze,
Poland (Prof. Krzysztof Wodarski – Dean)
• Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego, Center of Impact Assessment Studies and Fore-
casting, Warsaw, Poland (Prof. Lech W. Zacher – Director)
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(Prof. Aleksandra Kuzior – President)
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– Chairman)
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iejuk – President)
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IV
I N T E R N A T I O N A L S C I E N T I F I C C O U N C I L
Prof. Leslie BASH
University College London UK
Dr Clement Bezold
Institute for Alternative Futures Alexandra, VA, USA
Prof. Krystyna Błeszyńska
University of Life Sciences, Warsaw
Prof. Peter Bołtuć
Dept. of Philosophy,
University of Illinois,
Springfield, III., USA
Prof. Olga Brusylovska
Odessa National
Mechanica University,
Ukraine
Prof. (Eng.) Czesław Cempel
Central Institute of Work Protection, Warsaw
Prof. Meinolf Dierkes
Science Center (WZB), Berlin, Germany
Prof. Dariusz T. Dziuba
University of Warsaw Warsaw
Prof. Nikolai Genov
School of Advanced Social Studies, Nowa Gorka, Slowenia
Prof. Günter Getzinger
Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Austria
Prof. Tomas Goban-Klas
Jagiellonian University Cracow
Prof. Janusz Golimowski
Casimir the Great University, Bydgoszcz
Prof. Larisa A. Gromova
Herzen State, Pedagogical University
St. Petersburg, Russia
Prof. Armin Grunwald
Institute of Technology
FZK, Karlsruhe, RFN
Prof. Lesław Haber
School of Management and Banking,
Cracow
Prof. David Hemphill
San Francisco State
Univ. San Francisco, USA
Prof. Andrzej Kiepas
Silesian Technical University
Zabrze
Prof. Witold Kieżun
Kozminski University,
Warsaw
Prof. Jerzy Kisielnicki
University of Warsaw,
Warsaw
Prof. Kazimierz Krzysztofek
SWPS University
Warsaw
Prof. Wojciech Lamentowicz
University of Business and Admin-
istration, Gdynia
Prof. Rudolf zur Lippe
Oldenburg Universität
Oldenburg, RFN
Dr Michael Maccoby
The Maccoby Group PC,
Washington, D.C., USA
Prof. Ali A. Mazrui
State University of New York,
Binghampton, NY, USA
Prof. Jerzy Mikułowski-Pomorski
Economic University,
Cracow
Prof. Małgorzata Molęda-Zdziech
European Union,
Brussels
Prof. Józef Oleński
Lazarski University,
Warsaw
Prof. Vladimir Papava
Tbilisi State University,
Tbilisi, Gruzja
Prof. Andrzej Papuziński
Casimir the Great University
Bydgoszcz
Prof. (inż.) Sławomir Partycki
John Paul II Catholic University,
Lublin
Prof. Lucjan Pawłowski
Lublin Technical University,
Lublin
Prof. (eng.) Karol L. Pelc
Michigan Technological University,
Houghton, MI, USA
Prof. Ewa Polak
University of Gdansk,
Gdansk
Prof. (Eng.) Alan R. Porter
Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA, USA
Prof. Bazyli Poskrobko
University in Bialystok
Bialystok
Prof. (eng.) Piotr Sienkiewicz
Military Technical University,
Warsaw
Prof. Encarnación Soriano Ayala
University of Almeria, Spain
Prof. Marek S. Szczepański
University of Silesia, Katowice
Prof. Agnieszka Szewczyk
University of Szczecin, Szczecin
Prof. Jan Szmyd
Pedagogical University, Cracow
Prof. (em.) Wiesław Sztumski
University of Silesia, Katowice
Prof. (eng.) Andrew S. Targowski
Western Michogan University Kalamazoo, MI, USA
Prof. Albert H. Teich
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Washington, D.C., USA
Prof. (eng.) Andrzej A. Wierzbicki
Institute of Telecommunication, Warsaw
Prof. Christoph Wulf
Freie Universität, Berlin, RFN
Prof. Danuta Zalewska
University of Wroclaw,
Wroclaw
Prof. Katarzyna Żukrowska
Main School of Economics,
Warsaw
V
TRANSFORMACJE (TRANSFORMATIONS) 3-4 (94-95) 2017
Contents
I. Questions about the Future
Wiesław SZTUMSKI: What kind of homo will shape the Future ...................... 2
Wacław A. KASPRZAK, Karol I. PELC: Exploration of human desires: A new
perspective on foresight and social planning ......................................................23
II. Impact of New Technologies
Alina BETLEJ: Society of E-Control in Hyperconnected Reality ....................38
and Culture .............................................................................................................
Urszula ŻYDEK-BEDNARCZUK: Transformations in Spheres of the Internet
and Culture..........................................................................................................48
Maciek ZAJĄC: Regulating Civilian – use Drones and Robots as a Serious
Homeland Security Hazard .................................................................................60
Wojciech J.BOBER: Do We need to implant an Ethics into Autonomous Vehi-
cles? ....................................................................................................................72
III. Research and Education Issues
Jan GONDEK: Sign-Technology-Simulation. Reflections on the Project of Jean
Baudrillard’s Research Method ..........................................................................87
Joanna LORENC, Monika MICZKA-PAJESTKA: Man Facing Multiplicity
and Diversity and Responsobility and Relationality in the Postmodern Education
............................................................................................................................99
IV. New Media in Action
Katarzyna KOPECKA-PIECH: Innovation of New Media Cultural Product –
The Case of Kontakt24.pl .................................................................................113
Radosław SAJNA: The media decentralization as a basis for resistance against
hegemony: the cases of Poland, Spain and Mexico ..........................................130
VI
V. National Cases Augmented
Valeriy NIKOLAYEVSKYY, Victoria OMELCHENKO, Vladas
TUMALAVICIUS: Ensuring Social Security in Contemporary Society: problems,
Instruments, Trends in the Context of Ukraine and Lithuania ......................... 151
M.S.KVARATSKHELLA: Tendencies of Social and Economic Development of
Georgia in the epoch of Globalization .............................................................. 162
Lech W. ZACHER: Obstacles to Sustainability in Public Discourse (The case of
a Transitional Economy – Poland) .................................................................. 170
VI. Transformation Challenges (selected)
Aleksandra KUNCE: The Post – Factory: On the Transformations of Place
.......................................................................................................................... 180
Mirosław GEISE, Maria E. SZATLACH: How Monoculture Economies Work
in the Conditions of Growing Tensions in National Resources Markets .......... 201
Monika D. ADAMCZYK: Modern Forms of Preparation of Retirement – Se-
lected Results of the Erasmus + Project BALL Be Active Through Lifelong Learn-
ing ..................................................................................................................... 220
VII. Reviews
Włodzimierz CHOJNACKI: L.W. Zacher (ed.) Potencjały I relacje siły w
cyfrowym społeczeństwie wiedzy – Potentials and Relations of Strengths in Digital
Knowledge Society. .......................................................................................... 232
Instructions to Authors .............................................................................................. 236
1
I. QUESTIONS
ABOUT
THE FUTURE
2
Wiesław SZTUMSKI
WHAT KIND OF HOMO WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE?
ABSTRACT
In the last decades, huge technological progress have created many kinds of human,
depending on which of his features dominate over the other at a given stage of social
evolution. Each of these kinds is treated like an ideal or a model of human. From the
beginning, in the capitalist economy, the ideal is homo oeconomicus, which contributes
most to its development. However, he turned out to be insufficient in contemporary
time. Modern technologies - especially IT and progressive digitization - need people
who can use them most effectively. Therefore, it was necessary to create new people -
virtual and digital ones. The political authorities also demand such people. But the ques-
tion arises: how long they will be needed and whether the future of humanity will de-
pend on them. This article contains descriptions of various kinds of human, their ad-
vantages and disadvantages, and an attempt to answer the question in the title.
Keywords: social evolution, economic human, rational human, virtual human, digital
human.
In the information society, all objects become smart,
only people become stupid mightily.
1. FOREWORD REMARK
Since Aristotle, representatives of the species Homo sapiens get different ad-
jective terms that reflect the most important feature of the majority of people at
a certain level of social evolution or of the development of civilization.. For
centuries, but above all in the past decades, the number of these adjectives is
3
constantly growing. The adjective defining homo describes a human and de-
fines its pattern. It not only shows a new characteristic that has emerged in hu-
mans at some time, but also a characteristic that should emerge as a result of
education and manipulation directed at the realization of a a human pattern in
the near future. This implies some danger resulting from excessive reduc-
tionism. It consists that a multidimensional human defined by a multitude of
attributes, also important or relevant for some reason, is reduced to a one-di-
mensional human, which is defined by only one feature.
Among the qualities defining a homo are general, relevant to the completely
human species throughout its existence, i.e. qualities that define species identity
as well as individual and special qualities, specific to people living at some
stages of social evolution in some territories. Natural species features of people
are biophysical (anatomical and morphological), mental and social ones: rea-
soning, logical thinking and socialization. Thus, homo is always rationalis, logi-
cus et sociale. (It does not follow from this that there are no people asocial or
non-rational.) Other features are temporary or appropriate only for a community
living in a certain place. Where natural species features are objective, i.e. gen-
erated by nature, the other features are artificial, i.e. created by humans and
implemented by enculturation or coercion used mainly in totalitarian systems.
It turns out that the natural qualities of the human species, formed in the process
of natural evolution of living beings, are not as persistent as commonly thought.
They change not only under the influence of changes of the environment,
to which people have to adapt to survive. They also change in the course
of social evolution, and under the influence of culture. In addition, tech-
nical progress, which has been taking place at a rapid pace since the second half
of the twentieth century, and especially the development of genetic engineering,
has enabled people to effectively intervene in their own genomes and conse-
quently to modify their natural qualities. They could change faster and on a
larger scale without some moral and religious constraints resulting from the re-
sponsibility and the fear of the unknown, and especially of unpredictable fate
of humankind. However, due to technical progress and economic and ideologi-
4
cal determinants, it changes for example the feature of rationality, which grad-
ually disappears, what scientific researches confirm experimentally.1
There are many kinds of people depending on what feature is considered
to be the most important for them and one creates their different patterns,
according to the current situation.. First, people are conventionally divided
into "natural" (populo naturalis) and "artificial" (populo artificialis). I do not
understand by artificial man, a man build of artificial organs, but such one
which was equipped by the culture (by the people) in artificial features
acquired and developed with the progress of civilization. Homo naturalis is not
only Homo rationalis (rational man), but also Homo bellicosus (war man) Homo
ludens (playing man), Homo rudis (raw man), Homo religosus (religious man),
Homo faber (architect man), Homo sociologicus (sociological man) and Homo
spiritualis (spitritual man). And Homo artficialis is Homo historicus (historical
man), Homo oeconomicus (economic man) Homo consumens (consuming
man), Homo bellicosus, Homo ambitiosus, Homo festivus (celebrating man),
Homo neuropsychologicus (neurasthenic man), Homo reciprocans (reciprocate
man), Homo mecanicus (mechanical man), Homo politicus (political man),
Homo ridens (laughing man), Homo electronicus (man who rules the virtual
world), Homo laborens (working man), Homo symbolicus (symbolic man),
Homo doctus (lerned man), Homo liberalis (generous man), Homo genoma-
nipulatos (genetic manipulated man) and Homo recens (instantaneous man).
The features of an artificial human are not only positive, but also pejorative,
such as Homo cretinus(idiotic man), Homo sovieticus, Homo stupidus, Homo
prodigus (wasteful man) etc.
The collection of distinctions and the corresponding patterns of man is rich and
varied. Moreover, behind each one is some vision of the society of the future.
For this reason, it is justified by all means the question, which of these
patterns should be choose for the good of future generations, and which
of them should be the goal of education. The modern man is not just one of
these Homo's, but their superposition, sum or synthesis.
1 See 1) S. Connor, Human intelligence peaked thousands of years ago and we’ve been on an
intellectual and emotional decline, w: “The Independent”, 12.1.2013; 2) G. Livraghi, Il potere
della stupidità, Monti & Ambrosini, Pescara 2009
5
2. ABOUT SOME HOMO CONCEPTS
2. 1. Homo ecologicus
A man like any organism lives thanks to the environment and for this reason
should live in harmony with it. Therefore, self-evidently and by his nature, he
should be an "ecological man". By this concept, I understand a man who is
friendly not only to his natural but also social environment, i.e. a man who res-
pects the laws and norms that apply in the natural and social world. First of all,
he refers friendly to everything that does not threaten him. In his life he is gui-
ded by the eight principles proclaimed by philosophical enwironmentalism: 2
1. The principle of the isomorphism of the world.
If something in the world is avarded, it is only by man. Only people value
the components of the world, and they consider their own species as the
privileged and the most important.
It is the people, who created the idea of anthropocentrism, and according to
it, they are guided by species selfishness. Hence, it appears the desire to
rule over other species of living beings and other people, if they are consid-
ered enemies, even at the cost of their extermination. Ecological man should
respect and value other species of living beings.
2. The principle of structural determinism
The existence of people depends on the one hand on the structure of the
environment, in which they live, and on the other hand, people shape this
structure more and more proportionally to the progress of knowledge an
technology. In results of that the natural structure becomes more and more
artificial. Therefore, the concept of natural environment, i.e. the environ-
ment undenatured by people activity, loses its sense. It transforms quickly
in the artifact of environment.3 The ecological man should oppose exces-
sive artificiality.
2 The principles of this concept of ecophilosophy were presented in the monograph W.
Sztumski, „Enwironmentalizm i cywilizacja życia, Res-Type Katowice 1997 3 See W. Sztumski, Człowiek w środowisku artefaktów, in: „ProblemyEkologii“, Nr. 6 (60),
2006
6
3. The principle of biocentrism
Life in biological aspect of each creature, especially of human, is consid-
ered a universal and the highest value. The source of reverence of life is the
survival instinct of all living beings. The ecological man should take care
for the life of other beings, and above all, for his own life.
4. The principle of non-antagonistic development..
Social evolution occurs as a result of the rise of contradictions and conflicts.
However, in general, they do not transform themselves into antagonisms..
Fueling hostility and exacerbating contradictions between the components
of nature and of society is the work of people which refer with hostility to
their environment. Antagonizing people's attitudes and interpersonal rela-
tions leads to a critical moment in social evolution, and its transgresseion
threatens the premature destruction of humanity.. The duration of our spe-
cies can be lengthened if social antagonisms are eliminated in time. Eco-
logical man should not antagonize conflicts and social contradictions and
prevent aggression.
5. The principle of peaceful coexistence
People cannot be without themselves or without other living beings, which
help them survive. Therefore, a condition of life and survival is a peaceful
coexistence within a given ecosystem and community. Ecological man
should care for good interpersonal relations.
6. The principle of cooperation
Achieving collective and individual goals, and above all the most important
ones, such as the longest survival of individuals and humanity, requires
common efforts to achieve these goals. Consequently, people's goals should
not be contradictory, and their actions should support each other. This en-
sures the most effective and harmonious cooperation. Ecological man
should agree his goals with the goals of other people and implement them
in a joint action.
7. The principle of tolerance and compromise
Mutual respect, tolerance and willingness to seek compromises for potential
social conflicts are a necessary condition for peaceful co-existence and for
7
help each other. Ecological man should be tolerant and willing to compro-
mise.
8. The principle of synergy action
People should not only act together to provide a chance for survival, but
they should also support each other in their actions. Synergy makes more
effective people's activities to achieve their goals and the common good,
and it allow them to achieve these goals faster. Ecological man should min-
imize selfishness and support actions other members of the community by
his actions in the pursuit of the common good. .
In addition, ecologic man characterizes with a specific way of thinking,
which I call "ecological thinking". It rejects the Cartesian paradigm of ra-
tionalism, binarism and the Enlightenment paradigm of scientism.
Present algorithmic or calculated thinking, derived from "pure reason", con-
stitutes an obstacle in shaping correct social relationships and in the reali-
zation of the postulates that the ecological man has to follow. Less and less,
one recognizes it neither as an authoritative and reliable way of thinking in
cognition and behavior, nor as only credible and authoritative criterion of
sources of information (knowledge) and as the foundation of morality. The
place and role of pure reason takes over common sense, which consists of
scientific and extra-scientific knowledge, rationality, feelings, faith, life ex-
perience, and subjective way of experiencing the world. Ecological think-
ing is at the same time eccentric (coming out from the human being and
embracing ever wider horizons of his environment), concentric (in the final
analysis focuses on man and on what enables him to live on Earth), pro-
spective (dominated by concern for the future of humanity), and evaluative
(attitudes, behavior and human acts are evaluated due to the harmonious
unity of man with his environment, and the good thing is, what serves life
and survival).
Ecological man acknowledges the principles of ecohumanism that was cre-
ated to serve the people, the communities, the human species, and not some-
thing else – some abstract beings (gods), ideas, rules, etc.
It bases on the idea of non-antagonistic social development, respect for life,
synergies of human activities and tolerance. In ecohumanism, it applies the
8
life principle "Homo homini homo est" (Human for human is a human).
It differs from other contemporary concepts of humanism, in which the
principle "Homo homini lapus est" (human for human is a wolf) applies,
operating under conditions of fierce competition, or the principle "Homo
homini deus est" (human for human is a god) applied in the conditions of
worship of idols, celebrities, etc.
2.2. Homo oeconomicus
In result of social evolution, human gradually transforms from the natural being
in the cultural being. And, the higher is the culture developed, the more he goes
away from his naturalness and becomes more and more an artifact of human.
The transformation of natural human into artificial human accelerates in modern
times proportionally to the implementation of market economy. This process is
irreversible, just like all real processes. Nothing will restore people their origi-
nal naturalness. It is difficult to say whether it is good or bad. Naturalness and
artificiality have their advantages and disadvantages. It is bad when both are in
the extreme. It is ideally, when one with the other is in balance, according to the
principle of the golden measure. 4
The development of a specific version of artificial human made named "eco-
nomic human" accompanies the development of a market economy. At the end
of the 19th century, John Stuart Mill has first introduced the concept “Homo
oeconomicus”.5 This term is used for a model of Homo sapiens that acts to ob-
tain the highest possible well-being for himself given available information
about opportunities and other constraints, both natural and institutional, on his
ability to achieve his predetermined goals. Shortly, he is “a dollar-hunting ani-
4 See Zecha G., The Golden Rule and Sustainable Development, in: “Problemy Ekorozwoju –
Problems Of Sustainable Development”, 2011, vol. 6, no 1 5 Homo oeconomicus is a term used for an approximation or model of Homo sapiens that acts
to obtain the highest possible well-being for himself given available information about op-
portunities and other constraints, both natural and institutional, on his ability to achieve his
predetermined goals. This approach has been formalized in certain social science models,
particularly in economics. (Mill, John Stuart. "On the Definition of Political Economy, and
on the Method of Investigation Proper to It," London and Westminster Review, October
1836.)
9
mal”. This approach has been formalized in certain social science models, par-
ticularly in economics. He proposes to define an economic man as a being who,
by necessity, do this, thanks to what he can achieve more goods, comfort and
luxury at the smallest amount of work and sacrifices.
Homo oeconomicus is characterized by the following characteristics:
• He is increasingly subordinated to market laws that are artificial because
people invent them.
• His actions are rational in the specific meaning of the word because they
are directed to a single, fundamental goal - for such economy and manage-
ment, which gives him maximum profit, wealth and lap of luxury. There-
fore, he remains in the service of the Golden Calf, which in itself is not
rational for other reasons6.
One perceives Homo oeconomicus as a rational person, because the welfare he
desires depends on optimizing the utility function. Optimization of function is
a mathematical operation, fully rationalized. However, this kind of rationality
does not determine the rationality of goals in the ethical, social and human
sense, but only the rationality of processes of achieving them at the least cost.
Because of this, generally, one considers the homo oeconomicus as an amoral
person, because he makes his choices and decisions, guided by his own benefi-
cial function; he ignores all social values and altruism is alien to him. He is the
man who in the end makes choices with regard primarily to economic criteria,
not to others, e.g. social, ecological, etc. In making decisions and actions, the
profitability plays the greatest role: it is not worth doing anything what is not
profitable and what does not bring measurable profit, mainly material and fi-
nancial. This is because profitability has become an important determinant of
the social environment, the way of life, the way of thinking, the personality of
people and of interpersonal relationship. So, homo oeconomicus is guided by
the principles of profitability in production and services, in research, in creativ-
ity, in interpersonal relations, and even in the sphere of feelings and religious
belief. Homo oeconomicus is criticized from the point of view of economics,
6 Now, it is difficult to set the limits of rationality. Therefore, it is not known at what point our
proceedings are no longer rational. Of different senses of rationality, see Rationalitaet heute:
Vorstellungen, Wandlungen, Herausfordergen (ed. Banse G., Kiepas A.), Lit Műnster, 2002
10
sociology and psychology, and recently - ecophilosophy. He is the only type of
man who, instead of adapting to his environment - just as all other living things
are guided by self-preservation instinct - he adapts the environment to himself
per force and to detriment of the environment and himself. Often against the
laws of nature, what causes ever more degradation of the environment and of
people. The development of market economy, industrialization, urbanization, a
variety of philosophical ideas and ideologies, scientific discoveries and tech-
nical innovations - all these joint into one driving force of Western civilization
and shap various faces of economic man.
Homo oeconomicus develops and changes with the development of free market
economy. It manifests itself in various forms. Many of them have appeared in
recent years and have received different names. The capitalist system has sim-
ultaneously shaped homo oeconomicus and homo consumens. The first is ori-
ented for profit and the other for consumption. The first acts rationally to in-
crease his wealth, whereas the other acts irrationally to satisfy his various needs.
Both contribute to economic growth as the first maximizes profit by pro-
ducing goods more than necessary, and the other contributes to their
sales.
2.3. Homo prodigus
The modern economy is becoming more rationalized and economic activity de-
mands operative thinking subordinated to the requirements of logic and prag-
matism. Such thinking is a powerful and effective weapon in the struggle for
existence and survival in a world full of competition. Victory depends on the
efficiency of economic activities (business activity), labor productivity and
minimize production costs. Thinking rationally based on economics and pro-
duction has developed in people the habit to save. In addition, the need for sav-
ing is due to ecological reasons.. People were forced to save natural resources
being aware of their rapid depletion. Saving is the accumulation of stocks in
order to profit from them, when necessary, or is to consume something as little
as possible. The more rational the economy is, the more one can save. However,
saving does not always pay off. For example, when it is false, i.e. when one
saves on the one and one loses a lot more on the other. One can also lose on
11
saving if one put savings in an insecure bank. Excessive saving also is bad when
it turns into greed. In spite of this, saving within reasonable limits is useful and
facilitates survival. In a free-market economy aimed at maximizing profit, ra-
tional management combines with saving. Homo rationalis ought also to be
homo frugal (economical man). Meanwhile, in our time, a highly rationalized
economy, driven by the rise of over-consumption, has led to increased prodi-
gality and wastefulness. On the one hand, it saves on production costs and on
the other hand, it creates artificial demand for offered in a huge excess of goods
and services Homo rationalis et frugi, a rational and frugal man, has trans-
formed into homo irrationalis et prodigus, an irrational and prodigal or wasteful
man. A prodigal man is a degenerate type of economic man. Nothing indicates
otherwise, at least in the foreseeable future. (This transformation does not con-
cern the poor who have nothing to spare. Besides, no one counts with them,
except for the populists.) Increasing wastefulness has become a fact, and even
an advantage commendable that belongs to the good tone. It is an irreversible
phenomenon in the contemporary model of the world economy. Even the idea
of sustainable development will not restore the balance between justified needs
and rationally frugal supply. This idea is not aimed at saving energy resources,
but rather replacing traditional energy (coal, wood and oil) with alternative
sources of energy (wind, water, sun). It does not eliminate excessive energy
consumption (e.g. illuminations, ads, etc.) or materials. It is an idea that sup-
ports a model of over-consumption, over-production, and over-wear, and there-
fore a wastefulness that is growing despite recycling.
The development of homo prodigus, prodigality and wastefulness is propor-
tional to the progress of civilization and living standard. Particularly visible and
outrageous is the waste that manifests itself in the destruction of food, paper,
clothing, footwear, electronic equipment and other goods as a result of technical
progress and changing fashion, and not because they are no longer usable. Peo-
ple without thought and sense of responsibility waste all what and how much
they can, to satisfy their whims (in essence imposed by fashion dictators and
advertisers) and to feel appreciated. Often and commonly, they take loans that
are increasingly difficult to pay them. As a result, they pauperize themselves,
but for that, they provide growing profits to owners of corporations and to the
global financiers.
12
2.4. Homo festivus
Homo festivus (celebrating human) was born because of becoming aware of the
powerlessness of the "invisible social forces" in the modern world, of the help-
lessness of their own destiny and of the boredom due to the increasing comfort
of life, of the lack of interest and of the reluctance to undertake intellectual and
bodily effort. All that remains to him is fun, games and celebrations. "Celebrant
Man" is, in a sense, a self-satisfied hedonist who feels "happy slave" in the pre-
sent enslaved social reality. And this reality has not much in common with the
old world of contents and concrete things. Its distinguishing features are:
• Lack of respect for holiness, God and humanity because of secularization,
ethical relativism, economisation of life and dehumanization.
• Tightening of differences, conflicts, contradictions, and aggressions that
arise even for trivial reasons and increasingly take on a global dimension.
• Blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction as a result of virtualiza-
tion..
Homo festivus has the past for nothing. Therefore, he despises the old world and
recognizes it as needless ballast. Nor does he care too much for the future. For
him the most important is the present. He is therefore a recentivist. He sees
social reality as momentary great feta, Disneyland, amusement park, a fair of
modern miracles filled with a crowd of balangists and vacationers. Our present
social reality is like “an park of abstraction where words and concepts are still
running, but like chickens with cut heads." 7 Homo Festivus does not accept bor-
ders, barriers and differences, distinctions between truth and falsehood, talent
and mediocrity, human and animal. He wants everything to be equal, he dreams
of a world without secrets, hierarchies, generations, nations, etc. He dreams
above all an integral egalitarianism, which erases age difference (between the
child and adult), and gender difference (between men and women). Welfare
state as a mother, a “Big Mother”, is an institutional response to widespread
infantilization.8
The celebrated man, created in a natural way by the contemporary social reality,
7 See Ph. Muray, Festivus festivus. Conversations avec Élisabeth Lévy, Ed. Flammarion Paris,
2008. 8 See S. Rieger, Ph. Muray, „Homo Festivus festivus“ (http://www1.rfi.fr/actupl/arti-
cles/122/article_10026.asp)
13
turned out to be the essence desired by the elites of power. They need people
who either are not able or do not want to think critically, who avoid social par-
ticipation, and instead of being active in politics they prefer to play and admire
cheap mass entertainment, be interested in life and adventures of celebrities (of-
ten imaginative and shocking), and participate in secular and religious festivals
adequate to their intellectual level and mass taste. One can marginalize easily
the "Celebrating people" and move them away from issues that are important
for society and the country. One can easily drug and fool them as well as ma-
nipulate them like puppets. They just do not make trouble for the ruling elites.
Therefore, such people are extremely desirable by them.
2.5. Homo virtualis
The intrusion of people into natural processes, mainly the destruction of home-
ostasis mechanisms that support the proper functioning of nature, has reached
such a level that in 2000 Paul Crutzen (Dutch chemist, meteorologist and Nobel
laureate of 1995) and Eugene F. Stoermer (American biologist) have introduced
a new geostratigraphic unit, which they called "anthropocene" (human age).9
According to J. Zalasiewicz, a senior lecturer in palaeobiology at the University
of Leicester, it was initiated by the first nuclear test in Alamogordo, New Mex-
ico on July 16, 1945.10 Since then there has been an era of nuclear energy.11 In
this age, people increasingly disrupt the natural ordering of geological deposits,
devastate the natural and social environment on an unprecedented scale, and
consequently, inadvertently, degenerate themselves. Technological progress
9 Scholars of the USSR used the name „anropocene” yet in the 1960s, but only in 2000, E.
Stoermer and P. Crutzen introduced it into circulation. And in 2016 at the 35th International
Geological Congress in Cape Town (South Africa) officially recognized this new geological
era in the history of the Earth. (See 1) C. N. Waters, J. Zalasiewicz, C. Summerhayes, A. D.
Barnosky, C. Poirier, A. Gałuszka, The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically
distinct from the Holocene, w: ”Science”, 08 Jan. 2016, Vol. 351, Issue 6269; 2) Zob. J.
Zalasiewicz et al. „GSA Today“, 18(2), 4–8, 2008. 10 See J. Zalasiewicz, When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary
level is stratigraphically optimal, w:in: “Quaternary International”, 12.1.2015). 11 Reinhold Leinfelder (a geologist, paleontologist and geobiologist at the Freie Universität Ber-
lin) claims that the anthropocene began several decades ago, since 1972, when the first 120-
meter "Teufelsberg" was sprinkled in Berlin. (See Leinfelder R., Anthropozän ausgerufen –
Golden Spike im Berliner Regierungsviertel eingeschlagen, in: Spektrum der Wissebschaft,
01.04.2016; http://scilogs.spektrum.de/der-anthropozaeniker/anthropozaen-golden-spike-
berliner-regierungsviertel)
14
and the development of natural sciences contribute to the destruction of the nat-
ural environment. And the destruction of the social environment is progressing
with the development of social sciences, psychology, neurophysiology of the
brain, and the technology of influencing consciousness and subconsciousness.
Degradation of both environments is also effect of economic factors. Today,
there is no such subdomain of social environment, which would undergo no
devastation as, for example, environments of work, family and education.
For years, in the era of anthropocene homo oeconomicus caused the greatest
environmental degradation of our life-milieu and now, homo virtualis (e-man)
begins to help him in this work. The first initiated the anthropocene phase,
called capitalocene, i.e. the epoch of capital, and the second - an epoch, called
virtualocene, the epoch of the virtual world. No system has destroyed the envi-
ronment in such degree as capitalism.
Indeed, capitalism appeared in the sixteenth century, but only for decades, cap-
ital interventions in private and social life, in all social and cultural spheres
(politics, morality, religion, etc.) grew as never before. One expects that in the
future it will increase even more. Consequently, the contribution of economic
man with consumer attitudes in the degradation of the social environment will
continue to grow significantly. Whereas the virtual man will spoil this environ-
ment more and more, what will lead to the serious degeneration of the human
species. He creates and develops in an accelerated pace a virtual world that more
and more replaces the real world. Virtual world (“the virtual”) is a simulation
of the real world made by computers. It consists of various virtual beings and
objects: avatars, icons, emoticons, e-money e-shops, e-books, e-journals, inter-
net radio and TV, public and social portals (e.g. facebook, LinkedIn, twitter),
websites, communicators, etc.. One can experience virtual world (get it know
and explored it), actively participate in its functioning, and one can communi-
cate within it with other computer users. Mark W. Bell (Indiana University)
gave the following definition of the virtual world, which is a synthesis of several
partial definitions: Virtual world is a synchronous, persistent network of people
represented by avatars, functioning through a system of computers linked to-
gether.
By computers, one can create many virtual worlds, and their components can
15
have such properties that differ from the properties of their correlates in the real
world. In particular, in virtual worlds, the laws of physics do not have to apply.
Virtual worlds are durable web-based, computer-rendered spaces (their com-
puter images are created realistically) populated by hundreds, thousands and
even millions of people at once. Virtual world is a space created by the users
and for the benefit of the online communities, which perceive and feel virtual
world almost the same as the real world. Virtual beings and situations are de-
veloping more and more thanks to the intelligent technology. They are as if real
elements of the sensory world, because they are presented on the material com-
puter screens and perceived by the senses. And despite of this they are unreal-
istic because they are artificial, phenomena, and situations, for which exist often
no real and natural correlations. Communing with the virtual world implies at
least two negative effects. First, it reduces our contact with the natural world
with living people and real "living" situations. The more time we spend with
the computer, the less we experience a real "natural" environment. Secondly,
intense and continuous contact with the virtual world blurs the boundary be-
tween reality and fiction, embodied in virtuality. As a result, we do not very
good know (this concerns especially children) what is natural and what is in-
vented and we are increasingly inclined to attribute figures, phenomena, and
virtual situations the value of reality. As a result, we often behave in the real
world and in real situations as if we were in the virtual world, which can have
fatal consequences. Surely, in the virtual world, they apply not the laws of na-
ture, but the laws invented by programmers and other creators of fiction. Un-
doubtedly, with the creation of fictions and illusions we have been dealing for
ages. This was connected with mythical and magical thinking, religious beliefs,
ideologies, philosophical views, and with literature fantastic science fiction and
storytelling.
Humans created various fictions and were willing to delude themselves for their
real existence and real power. Nevertheless, the impact of fiction on people's
consciousness was incomparably smaller than before. And this is mainly due to
massive use of computers and the Internet, although a significant part in this
work also has a television and mass production of appropriates books and mag-
azines It is difficult to assess whether earlier was created less fiction than today.
However, one thing is certain: the spread of fiction through computer games,
16
comics, commercials, movies, etc., the frequency of their display and viewing,
the extraordinary expression of images and the ease access to them are now
incomparably greater. More and more, virtual reality leaves his mark on our
psyche because of the multiplied influence of the virtual world on our con-
sciousness and subconsciousness.
Human, creating the technique and improving it, simultaneously creates and
changes himself to improve and better adapt to a constantly degenerated envi-
ronment because of technical progress. To some extent it succeeded. Neverthe-
less, probably the e-man has already exceeded his abilities in this work. Since
him, a "March to the degradation of human" began that accelerates, and we do
not know when and how it will end. Maybe, it is oriented to the self-destruction
of humanity.
2.6. Homo digitalis
Antropocen has also created a new form of the virtual world - the digital world.
It is a world that consists of mathematical representations of real objects, pro-
cesses and phenomena. In the simplest form, they are represented by numbers
(digital representations) and in complex forms - by means of various mathemat-
ical functions (functional representations). Now it is all in the form of numbers.
Digitized elements of the real world are reflected in readers of different widely
available electronic devices, primarily on handhelds ones: laptops, tablets, cell
phones, smart watches and other “smart devices” and gadgets. Digitization
more and more get into our daily life thanks to the fashionable "Internet of smart
things". This has some good and bad effects. On the one hand - like any intelli-
gent technical device - it makes our life easier, makes it more interesting and
comfortable. On the other hand, it contributes to reducing our privacy sphere
everywhere it reaches the Internet, as it makes available our personal and inti-
mate data. Even our traditional homes, transformed into "smart homes," are
controlled and viewed by smart Internet devices, which relay the information
about us, including to spying and data theft: Are we at home? What we do?
How we rest? Are we sick? Ubiquitous Computing enables IT corporations,
private developers and hobbyists to implant microscopic electronic devices
(chips) and to digitize everything in their environment. And thanks to "weara-
bles" and "smart implants" IT can cross the boundaries of our body. Naturally,
17
all these devices can communicate with each other and with people through the
network. Social media, especially twitter and facebook, have revolutionized
method of transmission and circulation of information. They also have bad side
because they have opened unprecedented opportunities for social manipulators.
Various electronic devices collect and accumulate data about people and offer
more information about them than they themselves know about themselves. In-
stitutions and corporations use them supposedly for our good, but in fact, for
other purposes: tracking, controlling, advertising and marketing. One promises
people the benefits of the information society, for example, that productivity
and quality of life will be better and better, although there is no certainty that
they will grow for an indefinite period and that they will be so good as one
expects. In contrast, it is certain that the progressive digital revolution poses a
threat to the freedom and privacy of the individual.12 Automating the society by
means of algorithms threatens in the worst case the demolition of democracy
by new totalitarian structures, to the control of citizens by means of artificial
intelligence. It starts with computer programming, and ends with programming
people. This is illustrated by the examples of Singapore and China. All rulers
and dictators know that privacy is the biggest obstacle to getting full domination
over citizens. As long as people have something else for themselves, and no one
else, and even more, the state cannot interfere, they cannot be completely en-
slaved. As Günther Anders stated, "In every dictatorship,’I‘ is the first occupied
area.” 13
The digital world alienates gradually and escapes from the control of human. In
consequence, it becomes less predictable and more and more threatens us.
Therefore, nine prominent European experts in the field of Big Data, sociology,
philosophy and economics draws attention to the threat of automation of society
by means of algorithms and artificial intelligence, and warns against the "dicta-
12 Only in 2015, there were as much data as in the history of humankind until 2014; hundreds
of thousands of queries are sent to Google every minute, and the same number of posts on
facebook. They betray our thoughts and feelings. It estimates that over 150 billion cross-
linked measuring sensors will be within the "Internet of Things", i.e. twenty times more than
today's population of the world. Then every 12 hours will double the number of data. Even
today, many organizations are struggling to convert these Big Data into Big Money. 13 I quote from H. Welzer, Die smarte Diktatur. Ein Angriff auf unsere Freiheit, S. Fischer Ver-
lag, Frankfurt a/M. 2016
18
torship of the data."14
In the digital world, a new form of e-man appeared - "Homo digitalis" (digital
human).15 Integral parts of his activity are digital auxiliary tools and improvers,
so that he should be "digitally wise", that is, he should be able to choose the
tools supporting his innate abilities, and use them to make easily the better de-
cisions.16 However, the decision or the selection can take place only in systems
weakly determined, where is freedom. In the meantime, a full-scale digital man
is a real robot, governed by algorithms. Thus, it functions in a strongly deter-
mined environment and therefore he is enslaved in the highest degree. He makes
such choices or decisions that dictate to him a program (algorithm) imposed on
him, that is, what he has to do in a given situation. It does not depend on whether
he thinks and what he thinks when making decisions.
The evolution of a machine-like man, initiated by the first industrial revolution,
aims to the shaping the digital man, which will be probably his most advanced
form. So far, the process of shaping the digital man progresses faster and faster.
Bodily and mental functions, psyche, personality and spirituality as well as be-
havior, attitudes, emotions and interpersonal relationships increasingly digitize.
Transformation of homo naturalis into homo digitalis - the effect of technomor-
phization of human - implies at least some negative effects:
• People in their mad rush for career, profits and get rich, impose a murderous
pace his life and work. They do this also for fear of social exclusion - eco-
nomic and informatic. One cannot stand out of the average standard of
wealth nor to be behind others due to the ability to use the latest information
14 See Dirk Helbing, Bruno S. Frey, Gerd Gigerenzer, Ernst Hafen, Michael Hagner, Yvonne
Hofstetter, Jeroen van den Hoven, Roberto V. Zicari, Andrej Zwitter, „Digital-Manifest“ in:
Eine Strategie für das Digitale Zeitalter“, „Spektrum der Wissenschaft“, Januar 2016. 15 The term "digital human" can mean either an artificial person (a fully automatic robot or the
imitation of a natural human like in the movie "Digital Man") or a person reduced to the zero-
one system, which operates in the digital world full of "intelligent" devices. 16 There are yet other definitions of the “digital wisdom”. 1) "Digitally wise" man is not only in
the Internet, but in the real world: it is a man who thanks to his experience and knowledge
knows how to use hardware and software. (See P. Toczyski, Srebrne treści cyfrowe: między-
pokoleniowy transfer mądrości poprzez internetowe twórcze pisanie osób starszych, w: „Za-
gadnienia Rodzajów Literackich”, LX z. 1, 2017, s. 106). 2) Digital wisdom does not auto-
matically have those who quickly adapt and always know everything about technology, its
possibilities and ways of functioning, but those who have an idea of how to deal with network
technology, to become truly wise, rather than get lost in flood data. Digital wisdom means
choosing what is good. (See. V. Muntschick, Die digitale Weisheit der Freeager, w: Pro-Ag-
ing, (ed. H. Gatterer) Wyd. Zukunftsinstitut Frankfurt a/M. 2016)
19
technologies. This is the consequence of chase for the fastest technical de-
vices no matter what the consequences are.
• Biological degradation of the human species is a result of building machines
more and more similar to humans. (The latest achievement in this field is
the humanoid "Sofia" built in 2016 by David Hanson, owner of the famous
American company Hanson Robotics, who not only looks but also behaves
like a human.) Gradual transmission to the machines our species features is
one of the causes of dehumanization the humanity. The more we lose our
important features and functions, the less of human features remains in us,
the less human we are.
• A machine-like person behaves like a machine - thoughtlessly and unreflec-
tively:
➢ He refers without emotion to other people, but with calculation.
➢ Usually his rationality reduces itself to "cold" calculation.
➢ In thinking, he uses standard algorithms and stereotypes.
As a result, he degrades his spiritual and emotional sphere. He not only
disturbs the balance between the physical, mental and spiritual sphere, but
he causes negative phenomena, which are known psychologists, that con-
tribute to the degradation of personality.
• Technomorphization of the human being has a negative impact on decision-
making. A man acting like a machine usually automatically makes deci-
sions, regardless of feelings and empathy or future consequences. In gen-
eral, he willingly entrusts the machines with making decisions for them.17
• A machine-like man reduces the sphere of his own will and freedom. As a
17 Nicholas Carr writes about the risk of automating decision-making. In his book "Addicts.
Where is the man when the computers decide" he gives numerous negative effects of com-
puter-aided automation. I only give two examples: 1) At the beginning of 2013, the US Fed-
eral Aviation Administration ordered aircraft captains to operate as manually as possible and
not fall back on autopilot. The reason for this was the crash on long-haul flights, during which
misleading alarms pulled out of half-dream pilots, who instead of hitting on the gas add up
the plane flying too slowly and consequently they lead to failure. 2) Often, automated expert
systems make diagnoses based on patient data and propose appropriate therapy at the same
time. But atypical combinations of symptoms can lead to abnormal treatment; An ordinary
doctor cannot be replaced simply by a computer. (See N. Carr, Abgehängt. Wo bleibt der
Mensch, wenn Computern entscheiden, Verlag: Hanser, München 2014) 17 See P. Prajsnar Cyfrowy humanizm. Czy branża IT stworzy „człowieka 2.0”? (https://eduto-
rial.pl/ ; 06. 03. 2017)
20
result, it becomes increasingly passive and vulnerable to manipulation and
enslavement.
• In times of Big Data, every person acting in cyberspace leave digital traces
or shadows, because it generates the data (including personal ones) that
goes to databases and the Internet cloud. In this way, he creates his image
and his digital identity (e-identity). They become a kind of commodity
(prey), willingly being acquired by fraudsters or different organizations in-
volved in spying.
Digital people, which have to do daily with different electronic devices, entan-
gle in multiple Internet networks, from which it is difficult to release them, be-
cause they become addicted to them, like from drugs. Consequently they sur-
render their power, become their hostages and slaves. That is why Aleksandr
Nikiszin rightly claims that "the latest intelligent technologies, exercising con-
trol over people, threaten the transformation of society into a digital concen-
tration camp".18 Thus, in digital civilization it develops digital slavery, which
is the most recent and the most formidable form of neo-slavery in the neo-lib-
eralism.
The social environment becomes increasingly neurotic following the imple-
mentation of the principle of acceleration of social processes and the pace of
life and work. Its creator is the man acting in contemporary civilization, a syn-
thesis of Homo oeconomicus Homo virtualis and Homo digitalis. It is also a
victim of the environment created by themselves, because the number of people
who fall ill nervous and mental steadily increase.. In consequence, it arises yet
another human - Homo neuropsychologicus (neuropathic and psychopathic
man).
CONCLUSION
People create different eras in social evolution depending on the development
of productive forces, that is, on the progress of knowledge and technology. The
18 See A. Nikišin, Cifrovoje rabstvo v cifrovoj civilizacii, (http://kolokolrussia.ru/globaliza-
ciya/cifrovoe-rabstvo-v-cifrovoy-civilizacii#hcq=Mdvrttq; data dostępu: 18.10.2017)
21
modern era - virtual and digital - was born in anthropocene thanks to advances
in information technology, computer technology and intelligent technologies.
This era is still in statu crescendi. For now, it is unknown when it will end,
similarly as the era of capitalocen. Nothing points to it that the capitalist system
will end in some predictable time. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that
about the future of humankind will decide people who join the characteristics
of economic, consumer, virtual, electronic and digital humans. Probably, the
future fate of humanity will to a lesser extent depends on the specialists of the
real world; rather more in the hands of the specialists of virtual world. Maybe,
some other features of the new people will join also. For example, is highly
probably, that it will emerge in the near future Homo sustinens - a human who
will care for the sustainable development of many different spheres of social
activity and not just of the economy. Certainly, he will oppose to the tendencies
of humankind’s development outlined by human beings like homo oeconomi-
cus, homo consumens, homo frugus or homo digitalis. Only, it is unknown
whether his actions will prove effective in present and future capitalistic system.
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Prof. Wiesław Sztumski (em.) – Silesian University, Katowice, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
23
Waclaw A. KASPRZAK
Karol I. PELC
EXPLORATION OF HUMAN DESIRES: A NEW PERSPEC-
TIVE ON FORESIGHT AND SOCIAL PLANNING
ABSTRACT
Distinction between human needs and desires is viewed as important subject for con-
sideration in foresight, social planning and all other studies related to social change.
Human desires are defined as expression of subjective wishes that are not always
founded on rational principles or beneficial for individuals interested in their satisfac-
tion. Those desires are related to but not identical with objective human needs. In gen-
eral, the level of human sense of happiness depends on satisfaction of desires. However
satisfaction of some human desires doesn’t necessarily bring positive effects for indi-
vidual well-being and may not lead to solving individual or social problems. To the
contrary, it may lead to pathologies. Unfortunately, lack of satisfaction of such human
desires that extend beyond objective needs may lead to frustration and conflicts at a
social scale. On the other hand, satisfaction of objective needs guarantees possibility of
safe existence. The authors suggest using analysis of both human needs and desires as
a conceptual framework for the foresight and social planning. A social planning model
following this approach is also presented.
Keywords: human needs, human desires, well-being, foresight, social planning
1. INTRODUCTION
It became a commonly accepted rule to define the national and regional devel-
opment strategies by identifying possible options for economic development
and exploring social needs. On that basis the economic and social goals are de-
termined and the plan for their achievement is finally created and developed in
the form of a roadmap. The latter also involves verification of the financial fea-
sibility for the multi-year program of actions. The timing of the planned actions
is compared with a forecast for technology development to insure feasibility of
24
the proposed plan. A review of respective methods may be found in papers by
(Cuhls, 2016; Linstone, 1969; Porter et al., 2004; Porter, 2010) . Such an ap-
proach has also been presented in the UNIDO instructions for foresight
(UNIDO Vienna International Centre, 2005) and in the methodology publica-
tion approved and recommended by the European Union (Steinbeis European
Centrum Germany, 2006). That methodology has been improved by the com-
mon project of NISTEP, Japan, and TEKES, Finland, (Tekes, 2009), which
showed how social systems can be organized for achieving predetermined goals
of development, taking into account the recognized feasibility of technological
solutions. It has been applied, among others, in foresight for medical services
in societies of Finland and Japan. The proposed organization of those services
was somewhat different in each of the countries due to their specific conditions
but it is fully defined in detail, similarly to that of the system for lean manufac-
turing. It is assumed that execution of these plans will lead to satisfaction of
needs.
As in all other cases, assessment of the plan implementation should be based on
documented data reflecting the socially observable outcomes. In the recent
years, indicators of well-being such as data on longevity, education system etc,
are being used for presenting the pattern of human needs satisfaction. Analyses
of needs and subjective desires for purposes of foresight and social planning
have been mentioned in several publications reviewed briefly below.
The purpose of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using consistently, sys-
tematically and directly both categories i.e. human needs and human desires as
bases for social planning and to emphasize distinction between needs and de-
sires in this context.
Usually human needs constitute central category of earlier analyses. However,
more and more frequently the subjective indicators are suggested in the litera-
ture (Diener & Seligman, 2004; Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2008; Eiffe &
Ponocny et al., 2016) to present level of satisfaction due to well-being achieved
in a given society. Importance of subjective aspects of the human sense of hap-
piness has been shown by Diener & Biswas-Diener (2008) who introduced the
concept of subjective well-being. If the objective statistical indicators can be
accepted as certain measures of human need satisfaction, then the subjective
25
indicators reflect individual assessments of human desire satisfaction but they
are still seldom included in official statistics.
Already in 1973, Kocowski (1973) introduced in psychology the concept of ob-
jective human needs, that can be defined by science, and the concept of subjec-
tive desires, which are wishes/wants reflecting individual desires, sometimes
loosely associated with the real needs. Linstone (1969) emphasized importance
of needs analysis for normative forecasting in his paper of 1969. According to
Cuhls (2016) a need was viewed as “a necessity, as something not only nice to
have, but with real usability or problem solving potential.” That concept corre-
sponds to the objective need definition of Kocowski (1973) as distinct from a
desire. In 1978, the authors of this paper proposed an extended approach
(Kasprzak & Pelc, 1978) to the design of plans for development. It is based on
exploration and definition of human needs as an objective category, and of hu-
man desires.
Satisfaction of needs doesn’t necessarily yield a social well-being because the
lack of satisfaction of some desires may lead to the sense of frustration in soci-
ety. On other hand, the satisfaction of some desires that should be excluded for
objectively justifiable reasons may evoke serious pathologies. In other terms,
instead of identifying needs through surveys (as in several planning proce-
dures), we propose to conduct research on both the objective human needs and
on subjective human desires. In the latter case, the social pattern of desires may
be determined by statistical analysis and surveys. Foresight and long term de-
velopment plans need to be based on the complete exploration of both human
needs and desires.
2. HUMAN NEEDS AND DESIRES VERSUS OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED BY
THE MARKET
Identification of social and individual human needs and their diversity should
be based on scientific analysis. Some desires may lead to diversification of op-
portunities searched for and being developed by the market. They might or
should be socially acceptable, if they remain within certain limits, and are not
26
violating the well-being of other individuals, society or environment. The re-
maining part of desires derived from individual preferences, tastes or interests
could also be socially acceptable, if they are not in conflict with accepted val-
ues. Both desires and needs are being satisfied by opportunities available on the
market. Assuming set A contains all opportunities existing on the market and
set B represents human desires (it is also assumed that individual objective
needs are included in the set B), then it is possible to suggest that the market is
capable of satisfying all desires through opportunities it provides. Set A will be
almost identical to set B hence we’ll use only sets A and C in the following part
of this paper. However the set of objective needs C, together with their differ-
entiation, and taking into account the range of individual tastes, extended into
the acceptable desires, will be smaller than B (C included into B). Opportunities
providing satisfaction of acceptable desires and needs are represented by the
product of sets A C. Opportunities from the set A not belonging to the prod-
uct of A C, hence belonging to A\(A C) should not be used. They are in
conflict with the objective interests of individuals or society. Usage of many of
them can’t be prohibited by legal regulations. In many cases such attempts
could be, and are, ineffective. Contemporary societies have difficulties with an
early identification of desires and opportunities belonging to the set A\(A
C). For example, it has happened with a relatively common problem of obesity.
Similar problem may emerge due to expanding scale of living in a virtual world
(as it is already common in the computer games). Further development of such
possibilities appears to be probable in the future. It is impossible to declare that
we are already prepared for counteraction against such pathologies. In addition,
we are not able to predict potential sources of those pathologies at a proper time,
in advance of their emergence. Exploration of human desires, especially those
socially unacceptable (or dangerous), may be even much more valuable and
required than exploration of needs for purposes of social and scientific policy
development.
According to Kocowski (1973), the fundamental level of social need satisfac-
tion has been defined as guaranteeing the human existence (it has been named
existential needs satisfaction). The next level of need satisfaction is related to
procreation (reproduction). It is relatively easy to determine the level of income
per capita that guarantees achievement of individual goals at those two levels.
27
In developed societies, such level of income should be correlated with the min-
imum wage and scale of employment availability. Satisfaction of needs at those
levels corresponds to opportunities existing on the market mainly in form of
available food and shelter as well as access to health care and education. Data
on so called “Purchasing Power Index” are presented in the European statistical
reviews. It allows assessment of the degree of material needs satisfaction and
even that of potential oversupply. For example, in the area of rational alimenta-
tion the market abundance is represented by opportunities providing an appro-
priate amount of calories. As a matter of social policy, the opportunities for
satisfaction of those needs should not be too easily accessible as it might lead
to overeating and to obesity as a consequence. It is doubtful if such situations
may be predicted. However a monitoring system appears to be feasible for de-
tecting occurrence of such pathologies in advance i.e. at the time when the first
symptoms emerge (early warning system). Such prediction would be facilitated
by implementation of a system capable to assess the level of satisfaction of ex-
istential and procreation related needs. It would require means for assessment
of accessibility in two domains i.e. health care and education. Both systems are
extremely important for any considerations related to evaluation of the level of
well-being. Without them, such evaluation would always be imprecise and
based on subjective estimates only. Currently, it is being oversimplified and
reduced, in the formal statistical reviews, to presenting only the average life
expectancy (as representation of health situation) and the average time of edu-
cation in combination with the percentage of population achieving certain level
of education (as representation of education situation). Those data are not broad
enough from the social planning point of view, in particular for the domain of
health care. An adequate organization in that domain would require a system
similar to that developed by Tekes and NISTEP to be introduced (Tekes, 2009).
Establishing a data bank with information on health condition of each citizen is
of greatest importance from the perspective of social planning. Such data bank
would be accessible and used for statistical analysis only (hence it would not
reveal personal data). It would allow for quantitative assessments of the level
of health needs satisfaction, and for monitoring of any threats and pathologies
caused by an exaggerated satisfaction of certain desires. There is no doubt, the
European countries and other members of OECD can afford the establishment
of such systems. At the same time, it seems to be obvious that any substantial
28
advancement in health care can’t be achieved without implementation of such
systems. Along the same line of reasoning, it seems advisable to consider im-
plementation of a similar monitoring and control system for education. It would
allow for more advanced solutions and actions aimed at taking full advantage
of individual talents and for essential improvements in continuous education.
Satisfaction of three subsequent categories of needs i.e. functional, coexistential
and sense of happiness is much more difficult, highly individualized and de-
pendent not only on income or wealth. A complete matrix of needs has been
presented in our earlier paper (Kasprzak & Pelc, 1978, p. 136, Fig.1). In many
cases, the non-material goods and opportunities can satisfy those needs. Needs
of self-actualization, participation, sense of influence, and finally sense of hap-
piness belong to this category. Such individual impressions depend on quality
of social system, organization of community life, organization of workplace, as
well as on the level of culture and spectrum of opportunities for participation in
cultural life. This area requires a broad interdisciplinary research on definition
of needs with contributions from sociologists, psychologists, experts in culture
and process management. In summary, in addition to studies on human needs it
is equally important to conduct research on human desires and potentially neg-
ative effects of their satisfaction or lack of it. A monitoring system will be
needed for early detection of all negative phenomena. It would become realistic,
if data on subjective indicators, described by Diener & Seligman (2004), Diener
& Biswas-Diener (2008), and Eiffe & Ponocny et al., (2016) and reflecting sat-
isfaction of desires, were systematically included in official statistical reports.
3. IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS AND DESIRES AT THE FUNCTIONAL AND
HIGHER LEVELS
It becomes more and more difficult to identify scope and condition of human
needs and desires when we move toward higher levels of their satisfaction. At
the same time they become less dependent on the level of income. In reality, we
are able to determine rather precisely the needs related to food, shelter, health
care and education. Certain doubts may emerge in assessment of resources ne-
eded for assurance of the sense of security, in particular those related to defense
29
against violence and terror, and maintaining the balance between security and
personal freedom. It appears the more wealthy societies are the less they are
interested in opportunities providing just the material means for need satisfac-
tion. Diener & Seligman (2004) indicated that “…money is an inexact surrogate
for well-being, and the more prosperous a society becomes the more inexact a
surrogate income becomes.” Interesting information on this subject may be de-
rived from studies on relation between the level of income per capita (GDP per
capita) and the level of satisfaction and sense of happiness. Results of such re-
search have been published in reports on quality of life and happiness such as
“Europe: Quality of Life Index by Country” (2016) and “World Happiness Re-
port. Update 2016” by Helliwel, Layard & Sachs (2016). Comparing of those
two documents is possible only for a few indices because different sets of
measures have been applied in each document. In the study “Europe Quality of
Life Index” (2016), there were eight factors taken into consideration: purchas-
ing power index, cost of living index, house price to income ratio, health care
index, safety index, pollution index, traffic commute time index, and climate
index. The study on World Happiness (Helliwel, Layard & Sachs, 2016) in-
volved six basic indicators: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expec-
tancy at birth, freedom to make life choices, generosity, perception of corrup-
tion. Some relations among indicators have also been studied. The authors no-
ticed that “effect of income on the happiness answers (to the poll questions for-
mulated according to Cantrill Ladder) to be less significant than on satisfaction
with the life.” In the same study some consideration was given to the impact of
inequalities. The authors stated (p.40) that “countries with the largest increase
in well-being inequality have all been undergoing significant social and eco-
nomic difficulties.“ It is interesting to find that countries of the lowest GDP per
capita (in Europe) not always received the lowest ranks according to (Europe:
Quality of Life Index by Country, 2016). For example Lithuania is ranked at
26th position among 29 countries of Europe even though it’s GDP per capita
($28,400) is much higher than that of Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked on the
same scale at 21st position even though their GDP per capita is only $19,500
(see Table I). It is worth mentioning that, according to study presented by the
Eurostat, Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, is ranked almost at the top of
European capitals with 98% of its population sense of happiness, second only
to Oslo, Norway, with 99% (Eurostat, 2016) .
30
Similar situation and discrepancies or apparent inconsistencies of ranking may
be observed in the group of countries with higher income per capita. For exam-
ple Spain ($34,800) is ranked on 7th position in terms of Quality of Life when
the U. K. ($ 41,200) is ranked at 11th position. The second type of ranking,
representing different levels of happiness in respective societies may also sug-
gest that the level of income does not constitute the main factor of happiness.
For example, Finland with GDP/capita of $41,100 is ranked as the 5th most
happy nation in the world, when Germany with GDP/capita of $46,900 is
ranked at 16th position with regard to happiness (both ranks among 157 coun-
tries of the world). At the same time, Germany is ranked higher (16th) than Lux-
embourg (20th), which achieved GDP/capita more than twice as high. In addi-
tion, as mentioned earlier, the two types of ranking differ substantially for sev-
eral countries (see rankings shown in two adjacent columns of Table I).
A still different approach has been applied in a study on “subjective well-being”
published by the Eurostat. The Eurostat’s quality of life framework is based on
nine dimensions: material living conditions (income, wealth and consumption),
education, natural and living environment, productive and valued activities (in-
cluding work), health, leisure and social interactions, experience of life, gov-
ernance and basic rights, and economic and physical activity (Eiffe & Ponocny
et al, 2016).
Table I. Comparative data on Income, Quality of Life, and Happiness in selected
European countries. Data extracted from: (Central Intelligence Agency,
2016), (Europe:Quality of Life Index by Country, 2016), and (Helliwel, Lay-
ard & Sachs, 2016).
Country
GDP per ca-
pita (2015)
$ PPP*)
Quality of
Life QL
Index (2016)
Rank in
Quality of
Life - Europe
(2016)
Rank in Hap-
piness -
World (2013-
15)
Serbia 13,700 138.26 25 86
Macedonia 14,000 115.03 27 95
Bulgaria 19,100 141.61 23 129
Bosnia and
Herzegovina 19,500 146.70 21 87
Portugal 27,800 181.18 10 94
31
Lithuania 28,400 134.33 26 60
Spain 34,800 186.41 7 37
Finland 41,100 184.01 9 5
U.K. 41,200 180.25 11 23
Germany 46,900 199.70 3 16
Luxembourg 99,000 n. a. n. a. 20
*) PPP = Purchasing Power Parity
All of these data indicate a necessity of finding appropriate measures for as-
sessment of social well-being and confirming that the level of income, above
certain minimum threshold, does not reflect social situation in a country ade-
quately. On the other hand, such elements of social well-being as for example
the sense of satisfaction due to professional success (self-esteem) is being as-
sessed mostly in the creative environments. One could expect that similar con-
ditions should be satisfied by social and family environments in order to provide
a sense of happiness. The desire of self-actualization should be satisfied by wide
and unlimited access to opportunities provided in the domain of culture. This
problem has been discussed extensively by Florida (2004). His considerations
are focused mainly on features of creative communities. To some extent, the
conditions for sense of well-being are a subject for consideration in manage-
ment and organization systems. However, the existing social and political sys-
tems don’t have a direct impact on conditions of social well-being through or-
ganizing and culture of coexistence. It is possible to influence this domain only
by education and diffusion of research results in relevant fields. Hence, it seems
necessary to intensify detailed research on those phenomena to be conducted by
interdisciplinary scientific teams. The approach based on exploration of human
needs and desires, suggested in this paper, is intended to provide a conceptual
framework for design of measurements that could be applicable in foresight
studies. It requires research on human desires at a social scale and developing
diagnoses of existing dissatisfactions and satisfactions. Both types of those di-
agnoses may serve for identifying conditions for social sense of happiness. Ex-
ploration of correlations between the identified desires, feasibility of their sat-
isfaction and the sense of happiness may suggest solutions and provide tools for
policy makers in social planning.
32
4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this paper is to emphasize importance of research on human de-
sires in addition and parallel to that of research on human needs as support for
social and economic planning. In particular, such studies should focus on those
desires that can develop beyond the scope of identified needs. We propose to
extend the traditional approach to foresight, used by corporations, regions and
countries, by adding the analysis and forecasting of unwanted or dangerous con-
sequences of implementation of new technologies and side-effects of satisfac-
tion of certain human desires. At the same time, we believe that certain level of
social and political tensions and disturbances in some countries reflects the im-
pact of an inadequate satisfaction of desires causing social frustration, even
though the economic growth indicators remain high. An area of potential threats
due to technological change is related to advances of artificial intelligence and
emergence of intelligent robots capable to read out the thoughts of their owners.
According to some authors, the computer intelligence may reach the level equal
to or higher than that of human beings already in the current century (phenom-
enon of singularity described by Kurzweil (2005) and others (Singularity Sum-
mit, 2012). It might become possible to predict effects of implementation of the
owner’s thoughts or concepts. Hence our own capacity of eliminating or reduc-
ing the potential threats will be of special importance in the new world of those
emerging technologies, reaching the brink of uncontrollability.
In addition to the foresight based on analysis of human needs only, it will beco-
me necessary to predict also the future desires or to detect potential emergence
of such desires or addictions. Social systems have to be equipped with adequate
protective monitoring and early warning systems, not just with systems for sat-
isfaction of desires. The corresponding changes in the social planning system
are suggested in the graph presented in Fig 1. That graph expands the scope of
information needed for social planning by including the whole system of fore-
sight oriented at predicting the future threats and their monitoring (not just new
technologies). Some of the published statistical data, as those shown in Table
I., already allow for such expansion. A wide range of literature, reviewed in
(Diener & Seligman,2004) includes some suggestions for expanding of the
well-being indicators together with explanation of their impact on society. A
33
major part of these suggestions should be already taken into account in research
on conditions of society. They could also be applied in the planning processes
(example shown in Fig 1). Identification of the pattern of discoverable threats
and emerging pathologies constitutes an extremely important component of this
process. Similarly, the reports on social well-being should assess its current
condition on the basis of accepted indicators, and should present data on ex-
pected future condition as a result of the foresight.
In summary, it is proposed to extend and enhance the planning systems such as
those of OECD and UNIDO (UNIDO Vienna International Centre, 2005),
which are currently focused on economy and innovation processes, by introduc-
ing a broader approach allowing for monitoring and influencing the individual
and social sense of satisfaction.
Fig 1. Social planning system – basic components
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Our thanks are extended to Professor C. Nosal, Wroclaw University of Technology, and
Professor P. Nelson, Michigan Technological University, for their suggestions and
34
comments on an earlier version of this paper.
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date, http://worldhappiness.report/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/03/HR-
V1Ch2_web.pdf. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
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13. Porter, A. L. et al. (2004). Technology futures analysis: Toward integration of the
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Wacław A. Kasprzak – Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
Karol. L. Pelc - Michigan Technological University,1400 Townsend Dr., Hough-
ton,Michigan 49931, U.S.A.
e-mail: [email protected]
36
37
II. IMPACT
OF
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
38
Alina BETLEJ
SOCIETY OF E-CONTROL
IN HYPERCONNECTED REALITY
ABSTRACT
Author analyse the problem of transformation society of control into society of e-con-
trol in hyperconnected reality. The term is defined by calling to works of Foucault,
Deleuze and Castells. Contemporary societies becomes more and more complicated and
technologically based. The process of networking has influenced the changes of power
relations in networked reality, where all connections are enhanced by the networked
power. The question is what those processes mean for the future of society of e-control.
Keywords: e-society, control, hyperconnectivity, networked transformations
“The administrations in charge never cease announcing supposedly necessary re-
forms: to reform schools, to reform industries, hospitals, the armed forces, prisons.
But everyone knows that these institutions are finished, whatever the length of their
expiration periods. It’s only a matter of administering their last rites and of keeping
people employed until the installation of the new forces knocking at the door. These
are the societies of control, which are in the process of replacing the disciplinary so-
cieties. ‘Control’ is the name Burroughs proposes as a term for the new monster, one
that Foucault recognizes as our immediate future.”
Gilles Deleuze, “Postscript on the Societies of Control”
INTRODUCTION
Assigning ethics to the concept of society is not a novum in the social sciences.
The ever increasing complexity of the social reality creates a necessity of
searching for new concept tools. Describing the world, which becomes more
39
and more multi-contextual and multinarrational construct, is not easy1. The
amount of available interpretation matrices, related with various scientific vi-
sions describing today's civilization changes appears to be a sign of the network
era. All the attempts at defining the emergent values of a technological society
are an expression of an attempt to name new phenomena that play a significant
role in the process of discovering the direction of social transformations.
A symptom of the contemporaneity and connectivity is the necessity of living
in a new reality, one that we call a hyperconnected one, characterized by the wi-
despread or habitual use of devices that have Internet connectivity. Hypercon-
nectivity is a term invented by social scientists Anabel Quan-Haase and Barry
Wellman. It has arose from their studies of person-to-person and person-to-ma-
chine communication in networked societies and organizations. The term refers
to the use of multiple means of communication. Hyperconnectivity is also a
trend in computer networking in which all things that can or should communi-
cate through the network will communicate through the network. This encom-
passes person-to-person, person-to-machine and machine-to-machine commu-
nication. The trend changes communication because of the complexity, diver-
sity and integration of new applications and devices. Hyperconnectivity is a
pervasive and growing market condition that is at the core of their business
strategy.
A hyperconnected reality is rooted in the networked social order, identified and
described in the works of many known sociologists2. The concept of 'network'
is an example of one of the most important metaphors, the ideological materi-
alization of which has influenced a series of significant social and economical
transformations. Deeds, processes, spaces, acts of communication and social
relations in the world of the network have the common signs of universality and
historical necessity.
1 Zacher Lech W., (2013), Reconfigurations in the World System - Between the Old Driving
Forces and New Networks, TRANSFORMACJE, 3-4 (78-79), s.182-198. 2 Betlej Alina (2009), Metafora sieci a nauki społeczne- w kierunku zmiany paradygmatu struk-
tur, Transformacje. Pismo interdyscyplinarne ( 2007-2008), Fundacja Edukacyjna „Transfor-
macje”, Centrum Badań Ewaluacyjnych i Prognostycznych Akademii Leona Koźmińskiego
w Warszawie, Warszawa, s.98-116.
Zacher Lech W. (2013).
Castells Manuel (2009), Communication power. Oxford/New York, Oxford University Press.
40
Asking for a place of social actors in the network structure and the hypercon-
nected reality, and their role in the process of creating a networked order ap-
pears to have a particular significance. It is also very complex, when one takes
into consideration the amount of available interpretation contexts, under which
the attempt at an answer would be located. The matter of control and security
in such a technologically complicated space, rooted in difficult to identify fields
of power is particularly interesting.
In the article, the concept of a “society of control” is called. It comes from post-
modernism and is related primarily with various concepts of political philoso-
phy. The term “control” in this case means the way of self-organisation of the
world in the near future. The border line of those transformations is the fall and
the end of the classical disciplinary institutions that have defined the way of
managing power and the distribution of control in panoptical societies. The idea
of a society of control has been developed between 1986-1990 by the philoso-
phers Gilles Deleuze and Antonio Negri3. Their great inspiration were the works
of Michel Foucault, especially his concept of discipline and punishment (“Dis-
cipline and Punish”, 1975). The term has been borrowed from the works of a
novelist W. Borrough's. The term of society of control carries a big potential of
explanation, especially for social analysis of key transformations of today's so-
ciety, the social and economic development of which is conditioned by the de-
gree of technological advancement. The power criticism of post-modernist's ap-
pears to be the key to understanding the transformations of the control phenom-
enon in the hyperconnected reality.
The will to control the citizens is inscribed into the very core of every power.
The ideas of democracy and freedom of the citizens seems to be one of the
biggest myths of the last decade. The rapid technological advancement, espe-
cially with social and network technologies, is not without influence to the
change of meaning of the classical terms. Old conceptual grids have been
stripped of their “natural” meanings. Control, oversight, security, freedom, pri-
vate space, subjective world of experiences, individualism are currently under-
going a process of ideological redefinition4. Today's democratic systems and
3 Deleuze Gilles, Post-script on society of control: https://cidadeinseguranca.files.word-
press.com/2012/02/deleuze_control.pdf Access: 05. 04.2018. 4 Agamben Giorgio (2016), The Use of Bodies, Stanford University Press, California, p.49-66.
41
networked structures of power inhabit more and more significant spaces, ones
once thought to be a private domain of a citizen. The relations of powers related
to the coming of the era of total social technologies take away more and more
domains of everyday life from the unit, ones devoid of external control.
The myth of freedom and independence is contextualized within various dis-
cursive narrations of daily life in reality the “natural trait” of which becomes
the technology. The redefinition of control in a hyperconnected reality is an
example of technological substantiation of a certain symbolic idea of the end of
the world which we know. The axionormative of the world of network is char-
acterized by a high degree of change potential. Behind the façade of technolog-
ical freedom, one can identify many processes that deligitimize the rules of
democratic social order. Panoptikon lies in ruin. The symbolic of modern power
and dominating relations of power in the hyperconnected reality goes beyond
the known images of guards and disciplinary institutions. Network control is of
a total character, is invisible and is not represented by classic institution. Bi-
opolitcs is transforming into a strategy of self-control.
The citizens themselves surrender to total techniques of network influence and
voicelessly accept the primacy of the technological rules in everyday life. The
total control and oversight in the hyperconnected reality are an example of an
attempt at assigning new meaning to the concept of a society of control. The
label “e-control” serves to underline the new aspects of transformation of the
networked power, read in the spirit of postmodernists, pointing one's attention
to new problems of society in the world of network.
NETWORKED CONTROL
A sociological analysis of the process of transformation of “control” into “e-
control” will not be possible without calling back to works of Michel Foucault5.
That author saw the problem of power in a very specific light, which differs
greatly from the works of French Marxists. Analyses of Foucault have gone
beyond the classical descriptions of government institutions and other official
5 Foucault Michel (1982), The Subject and Power, University of Chicago Press, Retrieved 25
November 2014.
42
tools of violence6. He was interested in the processes of political and social
knowledge entanglement, which he inseparably connected to the concept of
power. The epistemological aspect of power in Foucault's eyes is underlining
the role of power in the process of social and political construction of given
knowledge areas.
Foucault's contemplations have influenced the way of analysis of power defined
in the introduction of Deleuze. He argues that our environment has shifted from
disciplinary societies to ‘societies of control’. He claims that we are living in a
generalized crisis and spaces of enclosure mould people into data dividuals:
“In the societies of control, on the other hand, what is important is no longer
either a signature or a number, but a code: the code is a password, while on the
other hand disciplinary societies are regulated by watchwords (as much as from
the point of view of integration as from that of
resistance). The numerical language of control is made of codes that mark ac-
cess to information, or reject it. We no longer find ourselves dealing with the
mass/individual pair. Individuals have become dividuals, and masses, samples,
data, markets, or banks[…]. The disciplinary man was a discontinuous producer
of energy, but the man of control is undulatory, in orbit, in a continuous net-
work” (Deleuze, 1992:6).
He tries to understand individuals and their behaviour in “Society of Control”.
Connections between politics and economy seems to him be very important in
the context of global problems of environmental control and ecological change.
Understanding individuals and their moralities as products of the organization
of control bring crucial implications for social sciences. The ethical and political
implications of those processes gain a significant meaning in the reality defined
as hyperconnective.
The terms of “network”, “networked” and “society of network” refer to socie-
ties characterized with two basic traits. The first is the ability to reproduce and
institutionalize networks. In a networked space, social structures transform un-
der the influence of the networked structural interactions. The network layout,
6 Foucault Michel (1975), Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison.
43
configuration, force of pressure, the structure of communicational and narra-
tional power interact with the production and information distribution pro-
cesses, as well as scientific and common knowledge7. Another trait of that space
is being made technical, a civilizational addiction to new technologies. Today's
technological innovations greatly differ from the technologies of old. They in-
teract with the change of the social way of experiencing time and space (time-
space compression), geography (deteritorialisation), decentralization and con-
trol, as well as interactivity. Technical networks are spread apart, hard to iden-
tify, interconnected on multiple levels. Power dispersed into a network of tech-
nical relations is a mechanism of preserving social order. It is a subject to social
anthropomorphizing and becomes a natural laboratory of power.
In hyperconnected reality we have moved from the disciplinary society to a
more invasive and more powerful society of e-control. The transformation is
connected with the change of role and function of disciplinary institutions and
the arisen of the great social technology. Disciplinary institutions have not dis-
appeared. Their authority is no longer confined to particular institutions. Instead
power and control are becoming integrated into every aspect of social life in
increasingly hyperconnected networks. The power dispersed in a network of
relations influences the process of creating individual, social and cultural iden-
tities more and more8. The global systems of power and knowledge are co-cre-
ated within networked structures and distributed via them. The power in hyper-
connected reality has a polymorphic character. The social relations in the net-
work layouts are co-created with the power relations that dominate the network.
The idea of power relations seems widespread, especially in the social sciences,
is a term that is highly ambiguous9. It has more connotation than a real meaning.
Possibly the most often quoted part of the Foucauldian works is the analysis of
power relations. They are commonly discussed as fundamental to social rela-
tions, scientific and common knowledge of the world and ourselves. Two ele-
ments are one of the crucial to understand power transformations in networked
world. The first one is subjectivity- the way we relate to ourselves. The second
7 Castells Manuel, A Network Theory of Power: Access 05.04.2018, https://fac-
ulty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/Castells-Network-Power-2011.pdf 8 Valiaho Pasi (2014), Biopolitical Screens. Image, Power and Neoliberal Brain, The MIT
Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England, p.27-80. 9 Castells Manuel, A Network Theory of Power (opcit).
44
one is the way we are with people and things around us. He tried to answer the
question how we mirror ourselves in them. Power relations are relationships in
which one person has social-formative power over another. Compelling obedi-
ence transformed as a process from a very compulsive way to a more subtle
way.
It is very difficult to recognise the object and the subject of the influence as well
as the transfer direction10. The power is operative by the nature of such relations.
Power relations are connected with many aspects of social life like language,
economy, ethic, political, etc. Sociologists debate the specifics of power trans-
formations in the hyperconnected reality without giving the notion "power re-
lations" a concrete definition. As Manuel Castells says: “Power relationships
are the foundation of society, as institutions and norms are constructed to fulfill
the interests and values of those in power. However, wherever there is power,
there is counterpower, enacting the interests and values of those in subordinate
positions in the social organization. […]Power is multidimensional, and it is
constructed around multidimensional networks […]”. He identifies four differ-
ent forms of power under which are under the specific social and technological
conditions discussed in the paper: networking power, network power, net-
worked power, network-making power. The most interesting king of seems to
be networked power (“ the power of social actors over other social actors in the
network. The forms and processes of networked power are specific to each net-
work”). In the networked reality social power is primarily exercised by and
through networks. The e-control is also networked in the world of total connec-
tions between humans and machines. It is a new tool for self-organisation of
social and technological systems which are still being arisen.
The social reality is not given ad hoc, it's constantly being generated, changed,
created, transformed. With the help of network, interpretational codes, symbolic
among users of the digital world are propagated. The fight for power is etched
into the essence of the network. In a society of network, there are no universal,
irrefutable centres and sources of power. Networked power is characterized not
only by its global range. A dispersed networked power is influencing the inti-
mate world of a man, taking over the more spiritual areas of activity of its users
10 Hartley John (Edited by), A Dictionary of Postmodernism. Niall Lucy, Wiley Blackwell 2016,
p. 30-76.
45
and co-creators of the digital world11. It expands into the most intimate regions
of human activity, through providing ready to use interpretational matrices
which serve to explain both the external and subjective world of human experi-
ences and emotions. The networked disciplinary and biopolitical techniques
spectacularly control more and more universal areas of the human life (time,
worth, sexuality, lifespan, social relations)12. If individuals are continuously and
limitlessly controlled by systems of domination where is the place for freedom
in societies of e-control?
CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of a society of e-control in the hyperconnected reality requires a
new approach. The transformation of the relations of strength, power, control
and symbolic violence is clear, interconnected in a new way with the creation
of knowledge, the process of control institutionalization and the social order.
New technologies connected with technical innovations generate specific social
technologies. The imperative of being connected has a global character in this
networked space. Symbolic access codes to defined knowledge areas are not
publicly accessible. Power in a reality interpreted as such is not an attribute, it's
a relation. In the network discourse, the strength of relation is universalized.
The social actors are devoid of reflexitivity more and more, unconsciously re-
signing from having the competences of valuing technical achievements.
The scientific exploration of unplanned and difficult to predict social conse-
quences of technological advance more and more often means an attempt to
evaluate the degree of its influence on limiting the widely understood independ-
ence of human beings. The technologies that allow for limitless control of the
network users influence every aspect of everyday human activity in today's
world. The issue of transformation of power relations in a hyperconnected
world requires systematic and interdisciplinary analysis. The way of creation
11 Betlej Alina (2016), Konflikty tożsamości w dobie globalizacji,[w:]Betlej A., Partycki S.,
Parzyszek Magda J.,(red.), Organizacja społeczna w strukturach sieci. Doświadczenia i per-
spektywy rozwoju w Europie Środkowej i Wschodniej, s.387-395. 12 Alleyne A. (2014), Narrative Networks Storied Approaches in a Digital Age, Goldsmiths,
University of London, SAGE Publications Ltd | 224 pages.
46
and decay of relations of power in the world of connections is difficult to de-
scribe and analyse. Power is an attribute of man, network, and technical tools
(machine, computer). The process of e-control in such a complicated and non-
transparent structure of flow is rooted more and more in the market and political
dimension.
The network institutionalization of classical network areas, serving, according
to Foucault, purposes of power, is happening outside of the traditional structures
responsible for preserving the social order. In the non-linear logic of hypercon-
nective space, the source and value of power is network. If that network is
rooted in specific cultural layouts, it is created around strictly defined values,
what value do freedom and independence hold in a technical society? Is power
related to e-control order-creating? What universal values will soon become the
fundamental base of social order? Is e-control an example of a symbolic capital
in a hyperconnected reality?
The conviction about the birth of an era of freedom in the network, based on the
belief in impossible to control architecture of the Internet, has lost its meaning.
More and more areas of human activity are subject to e-control, not only the
ones related to the information realm. New social technologies carry serious
dangers to democratic basics of network layout function. The danger of meta-
cyberpanoptikon is very current in a hyperconnective reality. The decentralized
structure of the Internet is intertwined in the market context and it's hard to
clearly pinpoint the major junctions and tools used for total e-control of users
of new technologies. One can also suspect that we will be witness to a signifi-
cant divide of the new technology users in the near future, divide between those
who consciously or unconsciously give themselves up to e-control.
The right to privacy, anonymity and freedom of communication will return in a
completely new context in public debates. The stances of users of hypercon-
nected reality will influence the potential destabilization of social order, which
is currently defined in democratic categories. If the proces of e-control spreads
to such widespread areas of human activity and creativity as: producing infor-
mation and knowledge, global discourse, risk management, communication,
sexuality, emotions, where will one find freedom in such a world? In what way
the new technologies could become tools of freedom in an universal way?
47
LITERATURE:
1. Agamben Giorgio (2016), The use of bodies, Stanford University Press, California,
p.49-66.
2. Alleyne A. (2014), Narrative Networks Storied Approaches in a Digital Age, Gold-
smiths, University of London, SAGE Publications Ltd | 224 pages
3. Betlej Alina (2016), Konflikty tożsamości w dobie globalizacji,[w:]Betlej A., Par-
tycki S., Parzyszek Magda J.,(red.), Organizacja społeczna w strukturach sieci.
Doświadczenia i perspektywy rozwoju w Europie Środkowej i Wschodniej, s.387-
395.
4. Betlej Alina (2009), Metafora sieci a nauki społeczne- w kierunku zmiany para-
dygmatu struktur, Transformacje. Pismo interdyscyplinarne (2007-2008), Funda-
cja Edukacyjna „Transformacje”, Centrum Badań Ewaluacyjnych i Prognostycz-
nych Akademii Leona Koźmińskiego w Warszawie, Warszawa, s.98-116.
5. Castells Manuel (2009), Communication power. Oxford/New York, Oxford Uni-
versity Press.
6. Castells Manuel, A Network Theory of Power:
7. Access 05.04.2018
8. https://faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/Castells-Network-Power-2011.pdf
9. Deleuze Gilles, Post-script on society of control:
10. https://cidadeinseguranca.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/deleuze_control.pdf
11. Access: 05. 04.2018.
12. Foucault Michel (1982), The Subject and Power, University of Chicago Press, Re-
trieved 25 November 2014.
13. Foucault Michel (1975), Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison.
14. Hartley John (Edited by), A Dictionary of Postmodernism. Niall Lucy, Wiley
Blackwell 2016, p. 30-76.
15. Valiaho Pasi (2014), Biopolitical Screens. Image, Power and Neoliberal Brain,
The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England, p.27-80.
16. Zacher Lech W., (2013), Reconfigurations in the World System - Between the Old
Driving Forces and New Networks, TRANSFORMACJE, 3-4 (78-79), s.182-198.
Dr. Alina Betlej – Institute of Sociology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin,
Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
48
Urszula ŻYDEK-BEDNARCZUK
TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE SPHERES
OF THE INTERNET AND CULTURE
ABSTRACT
The aim of the article is to show the transformations taking place in new media. The
focus was on selected areas of the Internet. The changes and transformations brought
about by new technologies also result in cultural transformations. The most dynamic
phenomena include changes in scientific paradigms, the effects of which can be ob-
served on the Internet, and permanent media communication related to mobility. Web
2.0 has a significant impact here, so does the projected Web 3.0 . Changes in culture are
the result of changes on the Internet - society relationship, as well as on the Internet -
society relationship.
Keywords: change, transformation, scientific paradigms, communication behaviours,
Web 3.0.
BACKGROUND
The Internet is in a phase of continuous and systematic development. This re-
sults in a number of changes and transformations. The concept of change is bro-
ader than that of transformation, the latter being defined as alteration, reorgan-
isation, restructuring taking place not only in the new media but also in culture.
Lech Zacher systematised the transformation issue, distinguishing five areas:
social, political, environmental, economic and technological (Zacher 2013, 2-
44). Investigating the relationship: Internet-culture-transformation requires at-
tention to be paid to those elements which are of a dynamic and variable nature.
They also take place in the mental sphere. The essence of transformation is dif-
ficult to describe accurately, because it is in continuous operation and requires
observation, evaluation and assessment of phenomena on many levels, and this
can only be done in a multidiscursive way. In this article I shall address a few
49
areas of the Internet that are changing fast. These include, but are not limited
to:
• changes in the scientific paradigms,
• permanent media communication,
• - changes and transformations in the areas: technology, society, culture and
economics. presented in TrendBoo 2017.
CHANGES IN THE SCIENTIFIC PARADIGMS
The changes that took place in the prevailing world views had a significant im-
pact on the created and interpreted knowledge. We are talking about a change
in scientific paradigms here. "The scientific paradigm is a collection of basic
and most important concepts and assumptions valid in science at a given time,
concerning the essence of the world, nature and subject of research in a given
field of knowledge" (Olechnicki, Załęcki 2004, 151). In the area of humanities,
we talk about turns: linguistic, semiotic, cultural, iconic and performative. Lin-
guistic turn was extremely important in the perspective of 20th century human-
ities. Its functioning is closely linked to F. de Sausussure's structuralism and
theory. The essence is word and text. The model of humanities was inspired by
structure, function and form. At the same time, it ensured autonomy and objec-
tivity (independence from the context), linearity, universality, comprehen-sive-
ness and neutrality (Burzyńska 2006, 46-47, Leszczyńska, Skowronek 2012,
12-13). At this point, the following questions should be asked: "Is the definition
of the concept of turn a dynamic change of direction of research or a change
that connotes "severance? These questions are not trivial. Although there is a
consensus on the pluralism of "ways of being in the world", their variability and
freedom of expression in the contemporary reality - contrary to the connotations
hidden in the slogans - we are still immersed in the world organized by the
cultural framework. Thus, the research turn can be perceived as an act of rup-
ture, reversal, transformation. Following this path consistently, it is difficult not
to ask a question about the place of tradition in the face of the phenomenon of
research "turn"? Do the latter constitute themselves in the face of, above or be-
yond the current interpretative canon? (Kowalewski, Piasek 2010, p. 7).
50
The introduction of new media is the cause of changes and transformations in
the knowledge paradigm. We are talking about the digital humanities here. Dig-
ital humanities are also characterised by a strong emphasis on visualization. Im-
aging research material, the process of analysis and its results become an indis-
pensable way of understanding the reality of huge data. Traditional methods,
such as text, cease to work and often become dysfunctional in the age of a rap-
idly changing world and huge amounts of data. However, visualization tools
and visual communication of research results bring about significant changes.
The first is the aestheticisation of the test field. Science understood in this way
is no longer only characterised by rational values. To a greater or lesser extent,
they are complemented and supplemented by aesthetic values, such as: the form
of visualization, color, shape, animations, interactive elements, which increase
the attractiveness and persuasiveness of such forms. "In the case of digital hu-
manities, the question arises of whether more attractive and standardised forms
of presentation and research based on visualisations will not be easier for the
public to absorb, and thus - will they not have a deeper impact on its shape than
has been the case so far? Because it may turn out that more attractive forms of
communication of research results (and even the research tools themselves
which have aesthetic values) will be more willingly chosen by the recipients,
thus transforming their habits and social expectations /.../. The acceleration of
the pace of life and the excess of information somehow force us to rely on visual
forms of knowledge transfer. It is easier and faster to absorb information in the
form of an attractive infographics than a two hundred-page report. It can there-
fore be assumed that public attention will be more focused on visual and es-
theticised forms of research" (Bomba 2013, pp. 57-72). So we live in a world
where images are at the forefront, and society's actions consist of producing and
consuming images. As John Berger points out, in none of the earlier societies
was there such a concentration of images or such a density of visual messages
(Berger 2002, 475). According to Jan Hudzik, "we perceive our world as a
screen on which we observe the course of successive images" (Hudzik 2005,
43). As Kazimierz Krzysztofek notes, "nowadays the perception of an image
becomes a substitute for thought. An image becomes a carrier of information,
knowledge, emotions, and values, significantly shortening the time of decoding
the message it contains, despite its ambiguity" (Krzysztofek 2006, 46). Image
culture has dominated not only the mass media, but has also become a commu-
51
nication practice. The problem concerns terminology and definitions, namely
that the notion of "visual culture" dominating among Polish researchers is not
the only possibility. After all, we also have categories such as image culture or
iconosphere. The following terms are used interchangeably: visual culture - vis-
ual culture - image culture - iconosphere - visual. Images are not only a product
of perception, they are a product of individual or social symbolisation. The ten-
dency to emphasize the importance of the image and its primary role in human
life is described in literature as an iconic turn (Böhm, Michell 2012, Michell
2012). The image becomes a central theme in the reflections on contemporary
humanities. This term is not immune to criticism. Ophthalmocentrism is not the
invention of the 21st century. We had met this phenomenon before, for example
in the Middle Ages, when culture and mentality were also shaped by images. It
is also worth noting the ambiguity of the interpretation of the image, which
leads to relativity and contextuality.
The last paradigm that has had a strong impact on the media is the performative
turn. According to Ewa Domańska, "/.../ performance has become a word as
popular in the humanities as a text used to be. Sometimes you get the impression
that the word performance has become a catch-all term, and virtually all actions
can be described as performance. Once we were inclined to see everything as a
text, today as a performance" (Domańska 2007, 47). The basic concepts for this
turn are processuality and action, but also interdisciplinarity and transdiscipli-
narity. Domańska draws attention to the following features of performative
turn:
• pro-agency orientation,
• posthumanism,
• interdisciplinarity of perspectives, methods and procedures,
• conceptualisation of the world as performance,
• praxis in a broad sense (Domańska 2007, 52).
The development of new media fully respects the performative paradigm. It is
visible in the over-presence of games, but also in the increase of phaticity, lu-
dicity and carnival. This also applies to various types of social and political
activities visible in social media as well as in blogs and chat rooms. It is also
worth noting the performativity and interactivity present on the Internet.
52
CHANGES IN COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOURS OF USERS OF NEW MEDIA
Continuous mobility is another area undergoing transformation. New technolo-
gies such as the Internet, computers, smartphones and tablets have a huge im-
pact on people's everyday lives, starting with interpersonal communication,
through professional communication or our interests. The Internet has taken
over a number of areas of human activity, such as communication, transferring
knowledge and information, purchasing products and services, financial mana-
gement. The man of the 21st century is completely connected with the Internet.
If one tries to separate from it, one belongs to the excluded people (Prensky
2001). It is therefore worth considering the relationship between the Internet
and the individual and society. This relationship is connected with media and
its influence on people. On the other hand, we must not forget the impact that
humanity has on the Internet as a result of the feedback between the two ele-
ments. Such a symbiosis with new media is connected, among others, with the
development of Web.2.0. Users use the Internet and take advantage of the Web.
2.0 in the following forms: sending and receiving electronic mail (57.8%),
searching for information about goods and services (56.6%), using social net-
working sites (39.1%), playing computer games (19.2%), using electronic bank-
ing services (39.1%) of respondents. In 2016, 15.3% of Internet users made use
of the Internet to upload their own content (texts, photos, videos), while 58%
read and downloaded newspaper and magazine files. Internet users searched for
health-related information (40.3%), used tourism-related services (20.6%). An-
alysing the data over the years, we can observe a constant increase in the use of
the Internet (Central Statistical Office 2016).
The transformations and changes on the Internet concern two groups: digital
natives and digital immigrants. Leading media expert M. Prensky (2001) points
out that digital natives are born in the digital age. For them, new media are their
natural habitat. They definitely prefer hypertext, graphics, images in their com-
puters or other multimedia devices to written words. Moreover, the way of thin-
king of digital youth is completely different from that of their parents or teach-
ers. Digital natives do not read the operating instructions of any media device,
but assume that the same device or computer program will teach them how to
use it. They use multiple media devices at the same time or one multifunctional
53
device, such as a smartphone. They can use the Internet, listen to music, send
messages and watch movies on one device at the same time. So they are doing
multi-tasking. They fully benefit from the phenomenon of media convergence
(Żylińska 2010; Krauze-Sikorska, Klichowski 2013, p. 71-72).
Digital immigrants are the generation of the pre-digital era. New media (the
Internet, smartphones, tablets, ipods ) are not their living environment. They are
much better at working on printed text, where they can use a pen to edit it freely.
They can use the Internet, but not as technologically advanced as young people
brought up in the world of new media. M. Prensky (2001) indicates that they
speak an outdated language which is not adapted to the requirements of the con-
temporary educational system. In most cases, the phone is only used to answer
and make calls. In the digital world, they often lack the courage to get used to
new technological developments. They are sceptical and distrustful of all new
technologies. It is also worth noting that technological progress is slowly turn-
ing digital immigrants into digital natives. New media force new communica-
tion behaviours, and these become our everyday practices.
Another relationship between the Internet user and the medium is that it is so-
ciety that provides data, information and knowledge to the Internet. It allows it
to earn money and is a proverbial bank providing money. We live in a big data
age. This is a phenomenon of an increasing amount of data that we store and
process. The ever-increasing amount of data leads to information chaos and per-
ceptual paralysis. This surplus of information requires managing it (Piekarski
2017). Let us not forget that it is man who has created an immeasurable poten-
tial of information, which is constantly expanding. We are gradually becoming
digital people because, as Kazimierz Krzysztofek writes, "A digital man
breathes with bits. The bit shapes existence" (Krzysztofek 2015, 52). These re-
flections on the relationship between the Internet and society boil down to the
key question of what digital technologies "do" with society, culture and all other
spheres of life. The Internet certainly codes a new society, but also the society
develops, transforms and allows the Internet to function.
WEB 3.0 AS TRANSGRESSION
Web 3.0 is the next stage in the development of the network over recent years.
54
We are witnessing the evolution of the Internet, which in itself is a transgression
that is ongoing. The well-known and widely used Web 2.0 technology had al-
ready crossed the line of the existing experience, proving that there is no gap
between the virtual and the real world - a community functioning in reality not
so much moves to the Internet but supports its activities with the help of the
Internet. The use of the Internet has become a daily necessity and the mental
barrier between these two environments is gradually disappearing. This is a ma-
jor change and a significant milestone in social development. This change can
be described as social transgression. According to Józef Kozielecki, transgres-
sion is an innovative phenomenon which goes beyond the limits of human social
and cultural activity to date (Kozielecki 2001). Now another transgression is
coming. Signals announcing its arrival can be observed on the Internet and in
the statements of specialists.
A significant step supporting the development of Web 3.0 phenomenon is the
popularization of mobile access terminals in the form of laptops, palmtops and
mobile phones adapted to functioning on the Internet. The development of mo-
bile telephony is geared towards becoming a network of personal internet ter-
minals. This is a phenomenon that is already observed on a daily basis, both
technical and social. The ultimate idea is a common (collective?) intelligence,
accessible through the interaction of different technical devices. However, Web
3.0 needs to be distinguished from the existing forms of spontaneous categori-
sation of network resources - helpful in searching and selecting them. The trans-
gressive aspect of Web 3.0 has a psychological, cultural and social dimension.
Web. 3.0. is a semantic network which includes:
1. "Psychological transgression - is reflected in the acceptance of constant
monitoring of an individual's intellectual and information needs (carried out
on the Internet); a semantic network, in order to read the meaning, it must
first obtain, collect and process information - this creates a special (worry-
ing) situation for the individuality of a person;
2. An unquestionable facilitation of the use of existing information resources
- it supports the creation of new ones (therefore, the development of
knowledge), and on the other hand it reduces the motivation to think and
act independently and to undertake verification and selection efforts;
3. The semantic network - by being popularised, may become an authority
55
which will be very difficult to undermine for a major part of network users
- and there may therefore appear a temptation to shape knowledge and col-
lective awareness through the smart network;
4. The transition from a culture of intellectual independence to a culture of
full intellectual online service entails the danger of being dependent on the
comfort of thoughtlessness" (Lubina 2008).
Changes on the Internet and culture are a fact and are being analysed not only
in the context of technological changes, but also in all areas of our lives. Modern
trends in changes have been published (TrendBook 2017) and are divided into
four areas: technology, society, culture and economics. They show not only the
transformations but also the changes we face in our everyday lives.
„Chapter 1: TECHNOLOGIES
1. Post-Reality - the physical and virtual worlds have become inseparable
from each other, creating together a new form of reality: post-reality. The
material world is no longer the only one that can be considered real, and
often the digital environment wins the battle for an impact on our lives - for
example the Google navigation is treated as more reliable than the road
signs.
2. Post-communication - in short, this trend involves a change of communica-
tion with devices - from touch-based or keyboard and mouse-based com-
munication to natural communication for humans, i.e. voice communica-
tion. So there are chatbots and all sorts of conversation interfaces, with
Alexa (Amazon) at the top. The long-term perspective is ears only experi-
ence and ultimately open air design.
3. Post-Earth - since the 1960s, when it turned out that safe flight outside the
Earth is not only a fantasy, mankind has focused its efforts on further and
more daring escapades into space. New discoveries and investments show
that we are getting closer and closer to achieving our vision out of science
fiction.
Chapter 2: SOCIETY
1. Womenomics - a trend connected with the growing role of women in the
56
world economy and the social development that follows. In the US, the
number of women setting up a business between 2007 and 2016 was five
times higher than the national average. At that time, Poland recorded the
highest growth (up from 12th to 9th place) in the Women in Work index,
which tracks the participation and conditions of participation of women in
the labour market. In 2017, the UN Commission on the Status of Women
dealt with the subject of how the growing economic power of women is
changing the world. This is visible, among others, in investments where
women, in addition to the rate of return, during the investment, pay great
attention to intangible assets of enterprises.
2. he power of no - recent events in the world (Brexit, Donald Trump President
of the USA) show that societies rebel against the "elites" (in quotation
marks, because it is difficult to unequivocally define who the elites are).
These socio-economic concerns are, among other things, the result of the
global crisis resulting from social inequalities. From a brand perspective,
this trend may seem too distant, but in reality it has a huge impact on the
activities of the business. Today, we are talking about the so-called human
economy and about the fact that companies which want to succeed in the
future will have to become so-called blue companies, i.e. act honestly, have
a positive social impact, that is, they will give more - for example to ex-
cluded groups, the local community - than they receive (even the largest
clothing companies and their way of producing clothes will have to undergo
a significant transformation in this context).
Chapter 3: CULTURE
1. Post-truth - we are in the post-truth era, in which truth (in the scientific, not
philosophical sense) is no longer certain. What is true, that is, verifiable,
supported by facts and evidence, ceases to be the most important, giving
way to information that is considered reliable, because it seems to be so.
For brands, this trend means, on the one hand, a crisis of confidence and,
on the other hand - the need to adopt a strategy of full transparency.
Chapter 4: ECONOMY
1. Subscription Economy - in the global economy there is a shift from a pay-
57
per-product model to a subscription-based business model where we pay a
subscription fee for a product or service. The Subscription Economy Index
is 9 times higher than the stock market index S&P 500 - 15.1% vs. 1.7%. (
cf. TrendBook 2017). Subscription Economy - in the global economy there
is a shift from a pay-per-product model to a subscription-based business
model where we pay a subscription fee for a product or service. The Sub-
scription Economy Index is 9 times higher than the stock market index S&P
500 - 15.1% vs. 1.7%. ( cf. TrendBook 2017).
Both Web 3.0 and new trends can be described as "open transgression" (Kozi-
elecki 2004, 136). Thanks to predictions and reflections, we already know a bit
about this and we are preparing in a sense for the process of including this trans-
gression in the system of culture and its optimal assimilation. The dynamism of
change and transformation in the Internet space also requires new communica-
tion behaviours of users. The human being must become a "digital man". How-
ever, this change should not be described only in positive terms. The new media
also carry with them anxieties and threats to the culture and society of the 21st
century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Berger J., 2002, Obrazy reklamowe, [w:] Nowe media w komunikacji społecznej
XX wieku, (ed.) M. Hopfinger, Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa, pp. 479-487.
2. Böhm G., Michell W.J.T., 2012 Zwrot obrazowy a zwrot ikoniczny: dwa listy,
transl. K. Gadowska [w:] Fotospołeczeństwo. Antologia tekstów z socjologii wizu-
alnej, (ed.) M. Bogunia-Borowska, P. Sztompka, Kraków: Publishing House
ZNAK, pp. 94-117
3. Bomba R., 2013. Narzędzia cyfrowe jako wyznacznik nowego paradygmatu badań
humanistycznych, [w:] Zwrot cyfrowy w humanistyce,. Internet / nowe media / kul-
tura 2.0, (ed.) A. Radomski, R. Bomba, Lublin: E-naukowiec, pp. 57-72.
4. BurzyńskaA., 2006, Kulturowy zwrot teorii, [w:] Kulturowa teoria literatury.
Główne pojęcia i problemy, (ed.) M.O. Markowski, R. Nycz, Kraków: Universitas,
46-47.
5. Domańska E., 2007, „Zwrot performatywny“ we współczesnej humanistyce, „Tek-
sty Drugie“ no. 5.
6. Hojnacki L., 2006, Pokolenie m-learningu - nowe wyzwanie dla szkoły, „E-men-
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tor”, no. 1(13), s. 23-27, online: http://www.ementor.edu.pl/artykul.php?nu-
mer=13&id=239, [access: 18.05.2013].
7. Hudzik, J., 2005, Niepewność realnego: o nowoczesnym życiu w świecie iluzji,
[w:] Estetyka wirtualności, (ed.) M. Ostrowicki, Kraków: Universitas.
8. Kowalewski J., Piasek W. 2010, Wprowadzenie, [w:] Zwroty badawcze w humani-
styce Konteksty poznawcze, kulturowe i społeczno-instytucjonalne, (ed.) J. Kowa-
lewski, W. Piasek, Toruń,
9. Kozielecki J., 2001, Psychotransgresjonizm, nowy kierunek w psychologii, War-
szawa: Publishing House Żak.
10. Kozielecki J., 2004, Społeczeństwo transgresyjne szansa i ryzyko, Warszawa: Pu-
blishing House Żak.
11. Krauze-Sikorska H., Klichowski M., 2013, Świat Digital Natives. Młodzież w
12. poszukiwaniu siebie i innych, Poznań: Scientific Publishing House of UAM.
13. Krzysztofek K., 2015, Zmiana – transformacja – big data: wzajemne sprzężenie,
14. Transformacje. Interdisciplinary journal 1-2 (84-85), pp. 33-67.
15. Krzysztofek Kazimierz, 2006, Cyfrowa i analogowa. Dwie kultury uczestnictwa,
Transformacje. Interdisciplinary journal 1-4 (47-50) 2006, pp. 109-120.
16. Leszczyńska K., Skowronek K., 2012, Wolność i wierność. O roli zwrotów w hu-
manistyce u naukach społecznych, [w:] Performatywne wymiary kultury, (ed.) K.
Skowronek, K. Leszczyńska, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Libron, pp. 9- 25.
17. Lubina E., 2008, Web 3.0 jako transgresja kulturowa o wymiarze społecznym , »
E-mentor, no. 1 (23) / 2008 e-education in the homeland, online: http://www.emen-
tor.edu.pl/artykul/index/numer/23/id/511 [access6.06.2017]
18. Michell W.J.T. 2012, Przedstawienie widzianego: krytyka kultury wizualnej, transl.
G. Bryda, [w:] Fotospoleczeństwo. Antologia tekstów z socjologii wizualnej, (ed.)
M. Bogunia-Borowska, P. Sztompka, Kraków: Publishing House ZNAK, pp. 118-
138.
19. Olechnicki K., Załęcki P., 2004, Słownik socjologiczny, Warszawa: Publishing Ho-
use Graffiti BC.
20. Piekarski K., 2017, Kultura danych. Algorytmy wzmacniające uwagę, Gdańsk:
Scientific Publishing House Katedra.
21. Prensky M., 2001, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, „From On the Horizon”,
2001, Vol. 9 No. 5.
22. TrendBook 2017, online: http://hatalska.com/trendbook2017/ [access6.06.2017]
23. Zacher L.W., Transformacje świata i ludzi. „Transformacje” 2013, no. 1-2, pp. 2-
44.
24. Żylińska M., 2010 , Digitalni tubylcy, „Meritum”, 2010, no. 5, online:
http://www.oil.org.pl/xml/oil/oil67/gazeta/numery/n2010/n201005/n20100510,
59
[access: 16.05.2017]
Prof. Dr hab. Urszula Żydek-Bednarczuk – University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
60
Maciek ZAJĄC
REGULATING CIVILIAN-USE DRONES AND ROBOTS AS A
SERIOUS HOMELAND SECURITY HAZARD
ABSTRACT
Drones – platforms remotely controlled by humans – and robots – platforms designed
to operate in fully autonomous mode most of the time – are quickly becoming quite
ubiquitous throughout our society, bringing a promise of great economic advancement,
much safer transport of goods and people and elimination of Dull, Dirty and Dangerous
jobs. Welcome as these developments are, they also introduce into our lives thousands
of platforms that, absent effective safety measures, could become cheap and easy to use
tools for launching mass-casualty attacks from safe distance. Given the potential scope
of these attacks, this is one of the most pressing homeland security issues for the next
decades. The article puts forward a vision for a regulatory, technological and infrastruc-
tural measures for reducing the homeland security threat to an acceptable level without
sacrificing either the economic and ethical promise of the Robotic Revolution or the
values and interests protected by the civil liberties in the form they currently take.
Keywords: drones, robots, homeland security, national security, Robotic Revolution,
terrorism, ethics of technology
It would be hard to assert that the dangerous aspects of emerging technologies
are underappreciated in present day academic discourse. Prominent and vital
debates are being had on issues such as AI safety, hazards related to develop-
ments in nano- and biotechnology, ethics of human enhancement, social aspects
of increasing automation of successive trades and professions and the ethics of
employing all these new technologies in military context. What seems to have
largely eluded the spotlight is the widespread, tangible and serious homeland
security danger posed by service drones and robots, employed in purely civilian
capacity, that are becoming more and more ubiquitous in our daily life. In this
paper I will try to provide a description of the character and magnitude of this
threat, proper analysis of the values and interests at stake and a general overview
61
of ways for mitigating it desirable, or at least tolerable, from an ethical stand-
point. If the results of my effort prove valuable, I will also achieve my second-
ary goal, which is demonstrating the usefulness of abstract, general philosoph-
ical analysis at the early stages of crafting policy related to potentially trans-
formative technologies.
ROBOTIC REVOLUTION – DESIRABILITY, INEVITABILITY, UBIQUITY
The space we live in is quickly filling with machines capable of remotely con-
trolled or autonomous movement – from hobbyist drones to autonomous cars
to delivery vehicles. These are all already existing technologies that will grow
in sophistication and popularity. No large technological breakthroughs need to
be assumed to make the machines I am focusing on into real threats, while only
moderate progress in their gradual maturation would render them fully capable
of becoming the backbone of the transport industry.
There are large economic, environmental and quality of life incentives to adopt
drones and robots as vital, omnipresent elements of our transport infrastructure.
They not only have the potential to cut costs, consumption of scarce resources,
pollution and congestion; they will also allow new possibilities in business and
social domains. There are also more explicitly moral incentives for launching
the Robotic Revolution as fast as its safely possible. To begin with, it holds a
promise of cutting the road accident rates tenfold and therefore sparing hun-
dreds of thousands of lives a year worldwide. Doubts about their present capac-
ity to achieve these levels of safety, such as put forward by Hanckock (2018),
are surely justified, but in the mid-to-long-term perspective these vehi-cles are
sure to bring casualties down, especially if proper infrastructure is erected to
alleviate some specific performance drawbacks that may remain inherent in
their performance1. Timelines and technical details aside, models devised by
RAND Corporation indicate that moderately early adoption of vehi-cular au-
tonomy – at the levels of safety slightly better than human in an aggregate of all
road conditions, rather than after significantly better performance has already
been achieved – is optimal in terms of saving the most lives. Such large gains
1 For a deeper treatment of this idea, see Bober (2018) in this volume.
62
in safety have to be sought after by any minimally conscientious policymaker,
and would still be boosted by direct and indirect effects lessened congestion
would have on the air quality, stress levels or the accessibility of emergency
care.
In the long run, Robotic Revolution may well ensure that no human will have
to engage in what is known as Dull, Dangerous and Dirty jobs. Miners, truckers,
dedicated drivers, sex workers – the characteristic risk and misery of these oc-
cupations may forever be removed from the realm of human experience. Of
course not all of that job automation requires that we allow large numbers of
movement-capable drones and robots into our cities and onto our highways, but
automation of trucking, delivery and taxi industries certainly does. Few of us
would want the dullness of these careers to befall ourselves or our loved ones,
and for a reason. A qualitative ethical argument can therefore be had that the
automation of these trades is, ceteris paribus, a good to be sought after2.
Add to all these incentives the fact that these technologies are not coming from
a single research facility of some techno-superpower, but are developed world-
wide by a diverse network of thousands of companies, across tens of legal ju-
risdictions, perfected and adopted incrementally – and you see a process than
can hardly be stopped, yet alone reversed. I believe that an appeal to abandon
these technologies made on public safety grounds would – on a global scale,
required to make such a solution work – have no more chance of success than
telling contemporary societies that because of cybersecurity threats, the world
needs to give up the Internet.
THE THREAT – CHARACTER AND MAGNITUDE
Thus, I believe that for all practical purposes we are bound, both by insurmount-
able technological and economic trends and by ethical considerations – to share
2 There are, of course, well-grounded fears of automation induced mass unemployment, hyper-
inequality, social restlessness and lack of purpose for people who previously found meaning
in their jobs although Takayama et al. (2008) show not all forms of automation are looked
upon with such fears. I would argue that while a genuine and fundamentally important set of
problems, these are issues of wealth and meaning distribution within our societies that need
to be addressed at a social and political, rather than technological level.
63
our public spaces with large quantities of drones and robots. This is where a
very serious security threat enters the picture. As the sophistication and numbers
of drones and robots3 present around us at any given moment grow, human bi-
ology and the vulnerabilities inherent in it stay essentially the same. The impli-
cations of this are troubling. Every machine capable of navigating our streets
while carrying a few kilograms of payload is a potential weapon platform – one
only needs to imagine a drone-delivered Amazon package to contain a bomb,
or a remotely triggered sub-machine gun. Every machine that is itself harder
than human flesh – that is, all of them – and capable of speeds in excess of 50
km/h is not only a weapon platform, it is a weapon itself. Again – think an
autonomous car roaming the city streets in context of the car bombs of Middle
East and weaponized cars of Marseilles, Barcelona, Toronto terrorist attacks.
Unsurprisingly, there is already a precedent for the utilization of such a weapon.
In March 2017, a billion dollars worth of ammunition (sic!) exploded at Ukrain-
ian Balaklaya depot. Ukrainian investigation indicated a use of a small drone
armed with a single grenade as the most probable way of infiltration – and sim-
ilar attempts repeated themselves throughout the Donbas fighting (Mizokami,
2017)4. The attack, launched at minuscule cost with off-the-shelf equipment, at
no direct risk of own casualties, demonstrated how deadly the threat has already
become.
Attacks at soft targets, terrorist massacres, assassinations – all these may now
be done remotely and cheaply with the use of machines that have been only
slightly or not at all specialized for warfare (Card, 2018) (Gallagher, 2013)
(Shear & Schmidt, 2015). And the amount of harm that may be effected by a
single relatively capable individual will grow significantly, perhaps by a few
3 For the purposes of this article I will be calling all remotely-controlled platforms “drones”,
independently of whether they move on land, in or under water, in the air, or may transport
themselves via several or all of these environments. Similarly, I will call all platforms con-
trolled by AI of any level of sophistication “robots”. The importance of this distinction will
come into focus later on. 4 It has to be noticed that the Ukrainian investigation was not entirely conclusive as to the exact
cause of the incident, naming a use of a drone as the most probable scenario based on witness
reports and previous such attempts. Existence of drone-shot propaganda footage of the explo-
sion that has subsequently appeared on the Russian Internet indicates that there were indeed
Russian drones over the area. What matters for the purposes of this article is the fact that no
expert, Ukrainian or foreign, has disputed that an attack by commercial drone was a probable
scenario, indicating a universal consensus on the technology’s worrying potential.
64
orders of magnitude. Such an individual will no longer be sure to suffer either
capture or death, at least not immediately, and so the range of potential domestic
terrorists will no longer be limited to fanatics and lunatics, and may grow to
include those who are disgruntled enough to wish harm upon their countrymen
but not enough to accept harm to themselves. And, of course, forces much more
powerful than a single individual will be more than happy to take advantage of
this free force multiplication. Fringe groups of various provenience; terrorist
organizations; rogue states; finally, near-peer and peer competitors engaged in
hybrid warfare – all of these forces will most probably be more than willing to
turn the godsend ability to wreak large-scale havoc with off-the-shelf equipment
at any given point of the targeted country. And as drones and robots would al-
ready be roaming within the population centers and close to locations of import,
the mere sight of a group of them approaching a target would not raise alarm.
Hiding in the everyday crowd of their robot brethren, they would be able to
approach unnoticed up till the very last moment.
Imagine this scenario: a member of a fringe political group, an owner of two
trucks and collector of quadrocopter drones, quietly prepares to attack a large
music festival, just like the Las Vegas shooter of 2017 did. He programs his
twelve drones to autonomously hover over the targeted gathering, and to release
– where the crowd is densest – small containers of home-produced acid. This
causes quite spectacular, media-worthy injuries and panic. As the panicked
crowds gather at one of the exit gates, he remotely pilots his truck to exert max-
imum casualties, all of this while already outside the attacked country’s juris-
diction. Assistant software sends emails with his grievances and demands to
major newspapers six hours later, while his manifesto, published on his blog
and spread via screenshots on the fringe net, calls for other aficionados of his
extremist views, with equal access to the same equipment, to make a similar
attack a monthly fixture of the country’s life as long as the demands are not met.
Now imagine a more skilled and numerous adversary scaling such a plan up,
while coupling it with detailed intelligence on the tactically and strategically
important weak spots. It is not improbable that a small or medium sized nation
could be overwhelmed by a well coordinated series of such attacks alone, while
even a superpower like the US may have a short-term problem with weathering
a hundred of them on a single day or absorbing several of such month after
65
month. More than likely overreaction, inducing which could be the real goal of
the perpetrator, could still exacerbate the cost of such an attack.
COUNTERMEASURES THAT WILL NOT DO
It is not a stretch to claim that the challenge described above is unique in the
history of security efforts. Never before has any security agency been con-
fronted with the prospect of having to defend, in real time, every single target
in every part of the protected territory. The unprecedented levels of safety pro-
duced by modern homeland security arrangements relies on the fact that large-
scale threats can either be easily detected before they cross a country’s border
and then engaged or deterred by a threat of retaliatory violence. Agents that are
able to penetrate the borders are not numerous and do not carry effective enough
means of destruction to become an existential threat without a large degree of
popular support from native population. Commercial drones and robots change
that equation by multiplying both the number and efficiency of terrorism, sab-
otage and guerrilla attacks and by making the threat of retaliation much more
doubtful and certainly much less immediate. The unscrupulous attacker need
only to select several out of the multitude of soft targets at the time of his choos-
ing; the conscientious defender needs to protect all targets at all times.
Thus, three broadly understood strategic approaches seem available to the
homeland security apparatus – lowering the number and potency of threats, up-
ping its deterrence game or developing an ability to meet force with force at any
place of the protected territory and in real time. Let us discuss all three, starting
with the least promising one – that of deterrence.
To put things bluntly, deterrence will not be enough even in case of a power
such as US, let alone for countries like Ukraine which may not rely on NATO’s
nuclear umbrella or EU’s economic clout. Seventeen years of the American War
on Terror demonstrated beyond doubt that the West does not at present possess
the means to deter sufficiently determined non-state agents from trying to attack
it – and if the sole global superpower does not, neither does any other state. As
for state actors, consistently deterring them may require acting on the promise
of retaliation which may be very costly, and prohibitively so in case of nuclear-
66
armed agents. Relying solely or mostly on deterrence would further lower the
threshold of escalation to full-scale war or even to nuclear exchange and would
not, in any case, provide the defender with a desired level of control. It would
be akin to the policy of Mutually Assured Destruction being introduced into the
realm of conventional warfare. Such a costly mode of overreaction is to be cat-
egorically avoided.
Developing an ability to meet force with force at every point of the defender’s
territory, if understood as being able to physically destroy and/or capture drones
and robots within minutes (or even seconds) of them going rogue, even if
achievable, would constitute an enormous economic burden, likely to cost much
more than the benefits of Robotic Revolution in transport, and introduce an un-
precedented level of public life militarization. An additional problem is that
piecemeal solutions of these kind do not seem likely to work. Measures de-
scribed by USAF major Bryan A. Card, in the most up-to-date analysis of these
class of military countermeasures available short of putting an anti-aircraft tur-
ret on every public building (Card, 2018), such as limited protection by nets and
jammers focused narrowly on large public gatherings would not offer compre-
hensive enough protection from determined enough foe, or from one concen-
trated on producing mass casualties rather than striking at high stature individ-
uals. Getting out of drone and robot ubiquity conundrum is nowhere close to
achievable by reactive use of force, especially for a country with moderate de-
fense budget, such as Poland or Ukraine.
If what I said in the previous two paragraphs is true, then it appears that a sig-
nificant drop in the levels of homeland security would be inevitable were we to
allow commercial drones and robots to attain the number and capabilities that
would be the effect of significant automation within the transport and logistics
industries. That could lead one to a conclusion that such an automation may not,
after all, be desirable or ethically allowed. But that is too radical a conclusion
to draw. As already mentioned, one of the key issues is devising a good enough
solution at an acceptable cost, so as to retain the largely beneficial character of
the incoming revolution. One of possible modes of overreaction would certainly
be an effort to severely restrict or ban altogether the use of civilian drones and
robots. Even if ultimately futile, such a ban would carry, for reasons I already
mentioned, a huge opportunity cost in short- to mid-term.
67
The obvious solution lies in lowering the drones’ and robots’ capacity for harm
while retaining their fitness for serving humans in commercial and social set-
tings. The realization of this simple postulate requires, however, a great deal of
technological and regulatory effort, and beforehand some conceptual work.
Some of this work had already been done by Tung (2015) and Card (2018),
however, their regulatory proposals seem tentative and insufficient compared
to the scale of the problem. In the next section I intend to put forward a much
more extensive proposal.
FOUR CONDITIONS OF PROPER REGULATION
Safe-proofing civilian-use drones and robots will require the fulfillment of four
conditions, that is:
1. Sufficiently robust cybersecurity of every such device
2. Placement of a kill switch easily accessible to local law enforcement
3. Every platform being bound to a certain specific area of operations, and
automatically rendered inoperational outside it
4. Assuming fulfillment of 1) through 3), move away from remote control and
towards autonomy.
Condition 1) seems to be within the realm of wishful thinking, at least in the
present. After all, cybersecurity problems are a major homeland security con-
cern even apart from the issues being discussed here. Yet this also means that
they are an object of well-funded government and corporate research, and al-
ready very high on the political agenda. Similarly, the world’s armed forces are
increasingly relying on drone and robotic platforms, with the US Department
of Defense vowing to render a third of its force so in twenty years (Lin, Bekey
& Abney, 2008) (US DoD, 2013). The technological solutions needed to secure
these platforms from enemy hackers would not be very much sophisticated – in
fact, given the military-grade danger posed by commercial unmanned vehicles,
could not be very different from those the authorities should require to be placed
on all potentially harmful vehicles. The condition is very demanding in terms
of performance, but not in terms of setting any extra goals for the homeland or
68
national security systems. And it truly is a sine qua non – to coexist within a
single life-space with platforms that may be easily overtaken by a number of
malicious agents is not a proposition anyone should seriously entertain.
Assuming the attainment of 1) – a big assumption indeed – a serious system of
regulation should aim at implanting every such remotely controlled or autono-
mous device with a kill switch, this being an equivalent to a human citizen ca-
pacity to understand that he is being lawfully arrested and not to resist in such
a case. Law enforcement agencies should not have to rely on the use of force to
be able to stop an unmanned vehicle, especially in densely populated urban ar-
eas where they may not be capable on using such force without large amounts
of collateral damage. Upon receiving a certain kind of encrypted message from
an authorized law enforcement agent, the machine should be capable of imme-
diately ceasing whatever it is doing, making itself motionless in a safe enough
manner and remaining in that mode up until the agent who has used the code
will not release it. The proper placement and maintenance of the kill-switch
should be enforced in all manufacturing facilities and required of all the vehicles
entering a country, and any attempt at its removal should result in irreparable
damage to the vehicle itself and the authorities being informed of the attempt,
its time and location. I do not believe such a task to be too challenging, not for
the culture so enamored with planned obsolescence as ours.
The third effect that should be required consists of essentially tying the un-
manned platforms to a certain location, and having it automatically switch itself
off if it does saw without the authorities permission. This might be done in a
few different ways. One could require a platform – say, an autonomous cargo
truck – to stay within an area delineated by a set of beacons, perhaps placed
regularly by the side of a highway. If the truck ever ventured far enough from
the specific set of beacons it was assigned to, it would stop receiving the signal
and had its kill-switch activated. Alternatively, the same could be done by as-
signing it a set of geographic coordinates and having it check itself either with
the GPS or an inertial positioning system calibrated beforehand. In this way it
could stay within a zone that would be exclusively set aside for unmanned cargo
traffic and so would contain few if any people. Manned and unmanned zones
could then be so constructed that leaving the unmanned zone without authori-
zation would not be possible, much as it is not possible for a subway train to
69
come to the city surface. Naturally, the more low-tech the option, the more
costly it is likely to be.
Even within the bound of conditions 1) through 3), much remains to desire in
terms of safety from behavior of potentially deadly platforms controlled from
beyond the reach of immediate deterrence. Interim solutions are possible here,
like promotion and/or enforcement of standards for civilian remote control that
prohibit it to be effective above a certain range (which could vary from one
unmanned zone to another). Simultaneously work on robust but low-level, lim-
ited task range AI is to be continued. Autonomous platforms, paradoxically, are
more easily controlled by security services than remotely controlled ones. Anal-
ogy may be formed with otherwise law-abiding servants on one hand, and
blindly loyal militia on the other. Ultimately a hack proof, kill-switch equipped,
properly zoned autonomy seems much more resistant to foul play than drone
platforms.
IMPLICATIONS AND AVENUES FOR FURTHER STUDY
The implications of implementing the fou conditions outlined above go well
beyond their obvious and immediate consequences, such as the need to make
heavy, forward-looking investment in both transport and security infrastructure.
It is true that they seem to give yet more power to the already omnipresent Le-
viathan of the XXI century state. This power also needs to be regulated and
watched over, and, like with many other modern technologies, may not be con-
tainable without a major upgrade to the existing set of checks-and-balances.
Still, no matter how weary of potential abuses one is, the emerging technologies
simply create more power to go around, juxtaposed against the constant frailty
of the human body, cognition – and ethical character. It is probable that we may
need a whole new paradigm of private property, which will allow for certain
essential freedoms – like the freedom to travel or the freedom to freely experi-
ment and pursue technical knowledge – to flourish even though certain rights
that used to secure them, like a right to have complete control over each plat-
form one owns, may be partially abolished. While the Robotic Revolution car-
ries great promise if executed rightly, it may end up empowering the forces of
destruction, or the forces of semi-totalitarian control. It is the strait between
70
those that we need to navigate by creating technologies and regulations that are
safety promoting, transparent and within the firm grasp of public control. I sin-
cerely hope that some technological solutions outlined above fall into this cate-
gory, and that they may be pursued by technologists, scientists and policymak-
ers. Every step of the way, much careful work in applied ethics is to be done
along the more technical efforts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Bartsch, Coyne & Gray (2017) - Bartsch, R & Coyne, J & Gray, K.. Drones in
society: Exploring the strange new world of unmanned aircraft, Routledge, New
York 2017
2. Card (2018) – Bryan A. Card; “Terror From Above; How the Commercial UAV
Revolution Threatens the US Threshold”, Air and Space Power Journal, Volume
32 Issue 1, Spring 2018
3. Gallagher (2013) - Sean Gallagher, “German Chancellor’s Drone ‘Attack’ Shows
the Threat of Weaponized UAVs,” ArsTechnica, 18th September 2013, httpar-
stechnica.com/information-technology/2013/09/german-chancellors-drone-attack-
shows-the-threat-of-weaponized-uavs/.
4. Hanckock (2018) – Peter Hanckock, „Are Autonomous Cars Really Safer Than
Human Drivers?”, February 2nd, 2018, theconversation.com/are-autonomous-cars-
really-safer-than-human-drivers-90202
5. Kalra & Grooves (2017) - Kalra, Nidhi and David G. Groves, The Enemy of Good:
Estimating the Cost of Waiting for Nearly Perfect Automated Vehicles. Santa Mon-
ica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2017. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_re-
ports/RR2150.html.
6. Lin, Bekey & Abney (2008) - Lin, Patrick, Bekey, George and Abney, Keith “Au-
tonomous Military Robotics: Risk, Ethics, and Design,” Philosophy (2008)
7. Lele&Mishra (2009) - Ajay Lele and Archana Mishra, “Aerial Terrorism and the
Threat from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,” Journal of Defense Studies 3:3 (July
2009): 54–65
8. Mizokami (2017) – Kyle Mizokami, “Kaboom! Russian Drone With Thermite Gre-
nade Blows Up a Billion Dollars of Ukrainian Ammo”, July 27th, 2017,
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/news/a27511/russia-drone-
thermite-grenade-ukraine-ammo/
9. Rasmussen (2015) – Mikjel Vedby Rasmussen, „The Military's Business: Design-
ing Military Power for the Future”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2015
10. Shear & Schmidt (2015) - Michael D. Shear and Michael S. Schmidt, “White
71
House Drone Crash Described as a U.S. Worker’s Drunken Lark,” New York
Times, 27 Jan 2015, nytimes.com/2015/01/28/us/white-house-drone.html?_r=0
11. Takayama et al. (2008) - Takayama, Leila & Ju, Wendy & Nass, Clifford Beyond
dirty, dangerous and dull: What everyday people think robots should do. HRI 2008
- Proceedings of the 3rd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot
Interaction: Living with Robots. 25-32. 10.1145/1349822.1349827.
12. Tung (2015) - Tung Yin, „Game of Drones: Defending Against Drone Terrorism”,
2 Tex. A&M L. Rev. 635 (2015). Available at: scholarship.law.tamu.edu/lawre-
view/vol2/iss4/5
13. US DoD (2013) - U.S. Department of Defense, DOD Unmanned Systems
Roadmap: 2013-2038 (2013), defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DOD-
USRM-2013.pdf
Maciek Zając - doctoral candidate with the Department of Ethics, Institute of Philoso-
phy, University of Warsaw.
e-mail: [email protected]
72
Wojciech Jerzy BOBER
DO WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT AN ETHICS
INTO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES?
ABSTRACT:
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are thought to be one of major solutions to the problem of
traffic-related deaths (ca 1.25 million people worldwide per year). Unfortunately, this
kind of technology is not expected to eliminate them completely. Therefore, researchers
start to put questions about rules, including moral ones, that should govern the behav-
iour of an AV in face of emergency. At least three moral principles have been proposed:
utilitarian principle, principle taking the security of passenger(s) of a given car as most
important as well as the principle that I would call “legality first principle”, according
to which life of those obeying legal rules should be preserved in the first place. Faced
with this plurality, we have to choose between these rules. The task is demanding since
(1) we are not univocally decided about choosing moral rules and (2) the technology is
developed in such a way that enforcing strict rules of that kind may disable at least some
of its advantages. Therefore, a more pragmatic approach is proposed consisting in fo-
cusing on development of future infrastructure for AVs as well as of advanced means
to save human lives rather than imposing strict rules on machines themselves.
Keywords: autonomous vehicles, AI, moral rules, ethics, ethics of technology
On the Sunday, March 18th, 2018, at about 10 p.m., an autonomous vehicle (AV)
operated by Uber, with an emergency backup driver behind the wheel, struck
and killed a 49-year-old woman, Ms. Herzberg, on a street in Tempe in Arizona,
USA. The woman tried to cross the road with her bicycle when she was struck.
It is believed to be the first pedestrian death, although not the first fatality, as-
sociated with self-driving technology. The investigation should show if and to
what extend the woman was responsible for the accident. Nevertheless, the
driver had not his hand put on the wheel and was not focusing on driving
[Griggs and Wakabayashi 2018]. But the first and most widely discussed fatal
73
accident involving AV took place in Williston, Florida, USA, on the May 7th,
2016, when Tesla car was put into autopilot mode during highway driving. The
driver did not control the car properly and its sensors system failed to distin-
guish a large white truck and trailer crossing the highway. The car drove full
speed (9 mph above the limit) under the trailer so that the top of the vehicle was
torn off, but did not stop, veered off the road, and then crashed through two
fences and into a power pole [Yadron and Tynan 2016]. The driver died. Later
fatalities, as that of March 25th, 2018, a week after Ms. Herzberg’s death, in-
volving “only” car driver, caught much less public interest.
Fatalities are common feature in the development of cars from its very begin-
nings. According to WHO, the number of traffic-related deaths is about 1.25
million per year worldwide, with the highest rates in low-income countries
[WHO 2015]. Lowering these numbers is certainly one of important goals for
policy. AVs are thought to be one of possible solutions, with estimated reduc-
tion of the number of fatalities by up to 90% till the mid-century in the USA
[Bertoncello and Wee, 2015].
However, direct advantages of expected AV revolution include not only reduc-
tion of traffic-related deaths but making transportation easier for those incapa-
ble of driving themselves as, e.g., minors, disabled, elderly (a very important
feature for ageing societies), or temporarily incapable, e.g. drunk. Other ad-
vantages include also freeing drivers’ time for their chosen activities, less space
needed for parking (if AVs start to park themselves and communicate peer-to-
peer), and more indirect ones, as estimation that the broad penetration of AVs
will likely accelerate the development of robotics for consumer applications.
Besides, with rearrangement of transportation some further social and economic
changes caused by AV revolution are expected in areas such as car-service land-
scape (shift from independent service providers to original equipment manufac-
turers) and insurances, since “with driverless vehicles, auto insurers might shift
the core of their business model, focusing mainly on insuring car manufacturers
from liabilities from technical failure of their AVs, as opposed to protecting
private customers from risks associated with human error in accidents” [Ber-
toncello and Wee 2015]. Those changes may converge with already developing
forms of new mobility such as car sharing.
74
The technology exhibits also important shortages. First, it will not be available
soon for individual customers and its first applications will probably occur in
controlled environment such as mining or farming while at public roads first
AVs that appear will likely be on-highway trucks [Bertoncello and Wee 2015]
or autonomous taxis or buses that operate in select urban regions [Hars 2016, p.
3]. Further, the technology needs very detailed maps that are not available yet
and it is incapable of driving during bad weather conditions, such as heavy rain-
fall, snowfall, or fog [Hars 2016, p. 2]. Besides, it is expensive and may became
obsolete quicker than traditional cars [Anderson et al. 2014, p. 136]. We should
remember that today’s AVs are just serial cars equipped with additional radar,
sensors and cameras [Griggs and Wakabayashi 2018] and operate in environ-
ment suitable for human-driven cars rather than structured especially for them.
The minimal threshold of application of such a kind of technology is its per-
forming at least as good as humans do with the perspective to outperform hu-
mans. Therefore, such technology should e.g. properly discriminate between
various kinds of obstacles (say chickens and children) and behave accordingly:
a chicken’s death counts differently than a death or injury of a child. This means
implementing, or obeying on other grounds, various kinds of rules, including
moral ones, that usually govern human behavior. As lowering the number of
traffic-related fatalities does not mean their elimination, the AVs will face ne-
cessity to prove to behave in a manner comparable to that of human drivers.
With no human being at steering wheel, the kind of action performed by the AV
during normal drive or that undertaken in face of danger should be chosen by
the machine itself – including those leading to potential deaths or injuries of
either its passengers or any other people involved in an accident as drivers and
passengers in other cars, pedestrians, cyclists etc. Therefore, the question arises,
what rules should be implement into AVs and what is the best way of doing
that.
Delegation of important decisions, including moral ones, to artificial intelli-
gence (AI) is, therefore, an inevitable outcome not only in the case of AVs but
of any autonomous machines. An important voice against any such delegation,
which could be heard already tens of years before any suitable AI system ap-
peared, belonged to Joseph Weizenbaum, MIT professor and inventor of ELIZA
software, who, in his important book Computer Power and Human Reason of
75
1976, proposed some moral constraints on development of computer systems:
“I would put all projects that propose to substitute a computer system for a hu-
man function that involves interpersonal respect, understanding, and love in the
same category [i.e. that either ought not to be undertaken at all or … should be
approached with utmost caution]. I therefore reject …proposal that computers
be installed as psychotherapists, not on the grounds that such a project might be
technically infeasible, but on the grounds that it is immoral” [Weizenbaum
1976, p. 269]. Even if love is not necessary for driving a car, interpersonal re-
spect and understanding certainly are as a driver’s behavior may impact other
human beings.
In discussions about possible moral rules that should be implemented into AVs,
generally three kinds of rules may be found: (1) utilitarian principle, (2) passen-
ger’s safety first principle [Bonnefon et al. 2016] and (3) legality first principle
[Donde 2017]. All the kinds of rules deserve attention.
According to utilitarian ethics, AVs should be programmed in such a way as to
minimize possible fatalities and injuries, without discrimination between
groups of people involved in an accident. Therefore, if faced with possibility to
save more lives than those of passenger(s) in the car, as in case of a group of
pedestrians crossing the road, the car would rather swerve and crash (e.g. into a
concrete wall) than cause pedestrians’ injuries or deaths. If the technology will
develop further, the decision might be made not by a single vehicle but by a
network of them [Weinberger 2018]. We can think also about a kind of modified
utilitarian principle, that would focus on minimizing fatalities only to the effect
that injury of all involved in the accident would be considered a better result
than death of one person and safe rescue for all others; in that case the AV would
choose rather possibility of heavy injuries of all or many participants than would
risk life of anyone. Moral problems with adopting utilitarian principle may be
divided into general objections to utilitarian ethics, that I will not discuss thor-
oughly, as they are widely known, and specific ones, dealing with this specific
application of utilitarianism. Of the former kind, one can recall a rule of folk
morality that a person in danger has the right to promote one’s own life even at
the cost of other lives; utilitarian principle would deny the rule. Of the letter
kind, e.g., while doing our moral decisions, including those of utilitarian kind,
76
we usually take into account not only quantitative but also qualitative charac-
teristics (recall all the examples involving, say, two people on the raft, a com-
mon man and a genius, of whom only one may survive) that would be rather
impossible for machine(s). Other problems will be discussed later.
Passenger’s safety first principle, on the contrary, would promote such solutions
that would lead to minimal dangers, both as deaths or injuries, to passenger(s)
riding in the car at the expense of deaths or hurts of others. According to this
principle, the self-protecting car should protect both life and health of its pas-
senger(s), irrespective of greater loss on the part of pedestrians, cyclists or pas-
sengers of other cars or AVs. Additional utilitarian (or other) rule could be ap-
plied regarding health and life of those involved in dangerous situation who are
not the AV’s passengers. However plausible this principle may appear, it vio-
lates some common intuitions, particularly those in agreement with consequen-
tialist (utilitarian) rules: hurting both the passenger and a pedestrian may be
regarded a better result than killing the pedestrian with no injury of the passen-
ger. Besides, if utilitarian principle forces to perform self-sacrifice, passenger’s
safety first principle excludes it; irrespective of the frequency of self-sacrifices,
it would disable agents to behave in the noblest way.
Legality first principle, the third of principles proposed, may be summarized in
words of Jay Donde: “Minimize casualties, unless one party put itself in dan-
ger” [Donde 2017]. It corresponds to those ethical considerations that assume
the agent’s moral cooperation (at least minimal one, i.e. not-wrongdoing) with
other actors before the person may expect care and protection from others;
wrongdoing, according to some theorists, including Immanuel Kant, dismisses
the agent from moral community. Assuming that AVs should always obey the
rules, they generally would perform as in passenger’s safety first principle and
would deviate from it mainly in situation when the car would recognize its own
previous fault, e.g. an attempt at crossing on the red light; in such a case it
should protect legally behaving pedestrians, cyclists etc., even at the cost of life
or injury of its passenger(s). Such a rule seems to be just; contrary to utilitarian
principle, AVs should protect the “innocent” in the first place. This would apply
to minimizing casualties between all those who are not passengers as well: the
AV would, e.g., rather hit four people who illegally run into the street than one
pedestrian on the sidewalk. The principle could be used as additional rule to
77
passenger’s safety first principle governing the choice of action non-involving
death or injury of passenger(s). The problems with this principle are roughly
the same as in previous case with one important exception: it seems to be justly
applicable to sane adults but not so much to minors or disabled persons; we can
blame a careless adult for illegal run into the street, but in case of children the
blame is to be put rather on their parents or guardians. So, we can ask if such a
principle would not deny our commonly recognized obligations to take respon-
sibility for those vulnerable and incapable of fully responsible behavior them-
selves.
Having these three kinds of principles, we can deliberate, how should we choose
between them. It seems, that at least three approaches are possible. First, we
could investigate, what people would choose if in position to decide about adop-
tion of a principle. The other question consists in possibility of application of
such strict rules into algorithms governing the behavior of AVs. Thirdly, there
are some general philosophical objections, drawing at the existence of many
ethical theories and disagreement about moral principles.
Fortunately for the first approach, a great job had been done by Jean-François
Bonnefon, Azim Shariff and Iyad Rahwan [Bonnefon et al. 2016], who investi-
gated into people’s choices. In six experiments, they presented participants with
patterns of dilemmas involving deaths of either those riding in a car or pedes-
trians etc. According to the authors’ findings, people generally tend to agree
that everyone would be better off if AVs adopted utilitarian principles. These
same people, however, have a personal incentive to ride in AVs that will protect
them at all costs rather than in utilitarian cars. Therefore, if both kinds of AVs
were allowed on the market, few people would be willing to ride in utilitarian
AVs, even though they would prefer others to do so. So, enforcing regulations
that would make legal only utilitarian algorithms in AVs may paradoxically in-
crease casualties by postponing the adoption of a safer technology: adoption of
strict utilitarian principles may prove to be ineffective from utilitarian point of
view [Bonnefon et al. 2016, p. 1575-6].
If the preferences the authors found would persist, possible scenario is such that
there would be no strict regulations in favor of utilitarian cars but only some
incentives, perhaps of economic kind, to those buying them rather than self-
78
protective AVs. In that scenario, however, we can arrive at something like
“Kantianism for the rich, utilitarianism for the poor” principle (modelled after
Robert Nozick’s “Kantianism for people, utilitarianism for animals” [Nozick
1974, p. 39]), being certainly very bad, if not the worst, outcome from moral
point of view. In such scenario, those who could afford would buy cars protect-
ing them while the less mighty would be forced to buy utilitarian AVs. It would
mean that the new technology would add to already existing inequalities so that
the gap between the rich and the poor would broaden further.
All that said in previous paragraph assumes that the preferences of people will
persist. But do we have reasons to believe that? At the moment, people are not
accustomed with AVs and the technology itself had not been fully developed
yet, so the preferences may change with time, as it was with many others kinds
of technology. Besides, when a kind of technology proves to do well, majority
of people readily depend on “default” settings (as majority of users in computer
technology) and may be at ease with whatever will be chosen for them either
by car companies or by the governments. Additionally, in place of incorporating
general moral principles (that may prove neither easily applicable nor generally
agreed upon, these problems are addressed below), a more specific approach
may be adopted, based rather on average choices made by people, obtained due
to on-line experiments performed on detailed scenarios. In such a case, it would
be rather many specific rules that would be agreed upon and preferred to adopt
than general and universal moral principles. Therefore, findings by Bonnefon
and collaborators, though impressive and important now, may prove to be ob-
solete with further developments of both technology and social understanding
of it.
Another challenge to approach of incorporating ethical principles to algorithms
of AVs stems from the way the algorithms are created. Such artefacts as AVs
are not controlled by classical computer algorithms written by use of if-then
rules but heavily rely on machine learning and pattern recognition – approaches
from the field of AI [Hars 2016, p. 4-5; Weinberger 2018]. If developed in that
manner, the algorithms would rather learn moral rules from patterns than have
the respective rules incorporated directly. Therefore, strict moral rules (as any
other strict rules) may not be easily (or even may not be at all) incorporated into
AVs’ software. David Weinberger, a philosopher, in his paper Optimization
79
over Explanation [2018] goes further and insists that we should refrain from
forcing AI algorithms to be explicable to humans (how it comes up with its
decisions) since it would mean to make AI “artificially stupid”, i.e. disable what
its major advantage is: machine learning. Instead, the author proposes that we
should, with use of our existing policy-making processes, decide what we want
these systems optimized for. In short, the author proposes three principles: “1.
AI systems ought to be required to declare what they are optimized for. 2. The
optimizations of systems that significantly affect the public ought to be decided
not by the companies creating those systems but by bodies representing the pub-
lic’s interests. 3. Optimizations always also need to support critical societal
values, such as fairness” [Weinberger 2018]. In this approach, moral rules
should be introduced into AVs through optimization of their algorithms and
performance rather than in-build into the algorithms themselves.
I have already recalled Joseph Weizenbaum’s idea that we should refrain from
introducing AI where important human values such as “respect, understanding,
and love” are involved. But, are these objections sound? Weizenbaum wrote
his book tens of years before any suitable AI system had been developed. In
order to clear the problem, let us consider a few instances of AI misbehavior
that took place during last few years and attracted public interest. In 2015,
Google Photos application identified black people as “gorillas” what forced the
company to apologize [Guynn 2015]. In LinkedIn, a search for a female contact
may yield website responses asking if the searcher meant to search for a similar-
looking man’s name. According to the company, the gender bias resulted solely
from an analysis of the tendencies of past searchers [Day 2016]. Another widely
known example is Microsoft AI chatbot Tay that was corrupted by Twitter users
in less than 24 hours: starting from “innocent” position, the chatbot ended as a
racist and sexist and was switched off; it took place on March 2016.
These three examples, though unwelcome and violating important social values,
have only minor impact on humans and their wellbeing. It is not the case with
another example to be recalled. On May 23rd, 2016, ProPublica organization
announced that COMPAS (Correctional Offender Management Profiling for
Alternative Sanctions) software, provided by for-profit company Northpointe
and used across the USA to predict future recidivism, has bias against the blacks
and in favor of the whites (more false positive predictions of recidivism in case
80
of blacks and more false negative predictions in case of whites, including dif-
ferent outcomes for very similar cases) [Angwin et al. 2016]. The case is surely
worth of more detailed consideration than that I can present, as it caught much
attention. During the discussion, joined by third parties and involving mathe-
matical analysis, the findings by ProPublica have been challenged: higher ratios
of blacks’ false positives correlates to general higher ratios of their recidivism.
Besides, the race was not included into variables used by the algorithm. There-
fore, the problem seems to be not the algorithm itself but different understand-
ing of justice, deserving further concern and elaboration [Corbett-Davies et al.
2016]. However, recent study by Julia Dressel and Hany Farid shows, that
COMPAS software, operating on 137 variables, does as well (or: as badly) as a
group of people untrained in criminal justice matters considering two factors
only (race being not included): in both cases the bias is very similar [Dressel
and Farid 2018]. These findings undermine the reasonability to use such a soft-
ware in situation when human freedom is at stake. All the four examples lead
to conclusion that we should consider Weizenbaum’s warning still plausible.
Conclusion for AV technology must take into account the fact that machine
learning is performed on current patterns related to human decisions and behav-
ior that may be – and usually are – heavily biased; therefore, the bias is very
likely to be copied by machine learning. Therefore, some counterreaction is
needed, either in already discussed form of optimization or in some other kind
of “debiasing” [Greenwald 2017].
Now we turn to skeptical view that no definite principle is possible that could
be unquestionably written into AVs’ algorithms. This idea stems first of all from
ongoing ethical discussions between various kinds of ethical theories that seem
to be unable to agree on ultimate and most general principles but it may also be
reinforced by the fact that many examples used as patterns for moral decision
in the realm of autonomous vehicles are undecided both on the grounds of
many, if not all, existing ethical theories and common intuitions. Practically, it
may lead to conclusions already met: that we should leave AI to develop on its
own terms and then put the results under scrutiny (optimization) but without
imposing stricter moral rules. Two objections to this skepticism may be pro-
posed. First, the bottom-to-top direction of moral considerations is as plausible
as more usual top-to-bottom direction, preferred by ethicists in exposition of
81
moral theories. In such a case, we start from particular decisions and then, even-
tually, may arrive at general principles. Does existence of dilemmas difficult to
solve undermine the plausibility of such strategy? In the realm of AV technol-
ogy many such examples had been proposed, some of them hopeless (e.g.:
should the car hit four mothers or rather four women that are not mothers?
[Donde 2017]). We have no solution to such dilemmas in the realm of AV tech-
nology since we have no solutions to similar ones outside of such technology,
either. General answer to such objections is that because of their rarity, we can
take them as good topics for academic discussion but need not to incorporate
them into plausible moral theories, not to mention moral practice. Being a chal-
lenge to common moral rules they need not to undermine more abstract moral
theories, as many philosophers argued, including Richard M. Hare [1981, chap-
ter 8]. As it is impossible to predict all such rare dilemmas, we have no need to
incorporate them into AVs’ algorithms.
What all these considerations reveal for the main question about implementing
an ethics into autonomous vehicles? First of all, I would like to stress the neces-
sity of making new technology – any kind of technology – compatible with our
most important values and beliefs, including moral ones. But the process need
not necessarily take form of incorporating strict, general and universal princi-
ples as a part of AVs’ algorithms. Fortunately, we have much time to discuss
these problems as the technology will not mature soon. Looking at the problem
from the point of view of what I would call “pragmatic approach”, it may not
to be the best strategy to investigate into general and universal rules that the
machines should obey but it would be perhaps better to check further develop-
ments of the technology itself and shape it in such a way that it would agree
with our values. For example, assuming that life is certainly one of important
values for both individuals and societies, we should develop new means of sav-
ing passengers that would enable action in advance, e.g. launching airbags be-
fore the crash rather than as a result of it, means that would prevent deaths or
injuries of both passengers and pedestrians in place of tradeoffs between their
lives. Assuming that present casualties occur at least partially due to imperfect
means of environment recognition, we could focus on the development of such
infrastructure that would better suit AVs’ capabilities, i.e. generally interactive
infrastructure, e.g. in a form of machine-readable road signs and traffic guards
82
or other interactive elements in the environment, as transportation expert Ben
Pierce proposes [McMahon 2018]. Assuming that future AVs will be capable
of mutual communication, we can use the future net of cars not only to predict
jams and collisions, to adjust the speed for best performance of all etc., but also
for human security to the effect that the net should predict possible accidents
and adjust performance of all in advance. Instead of incorporating rules when
and whom the cars should kill, perhaps we should focus on reshaping the tech-
nology along the lines of human needs and desires including such rearrange-
ments that will change our infrastructure in a way more suitable for technology
itself. The widely-discussed idea of incorporating moral principles as a part of
technology, principles that are at least similar to those adopted by humans may
prove not to be the best solution of the problem: instead of making AI similar
to us, we can rather develop it in most efficient way and only then make it suit-
able for our needs. It is technology that should be adjusted to us, not the reverse,
but the way of such adjustments need not to copy our powers and weaknesses
into the artefacts. Therefore, the way of optimizing results of machine learning
proposed by David Weinberger seems to me necessary but insufficient: we
should rethink not only our values that we would like to impose on AVs but
also the ways technology should be allowed to interfere into our personal lives
and social interactions. It is obvious that proliferation of such technology will
mean acceptance of improvements, e.g. on the part of infrastructure, that will
have impact on our lives; but the degree and depth of such improvements can
and should be discussed and agreed upon before the technology becomes ubiq-
uitous. Certainly, it will not be the best development in our transport technology
if we end either in AVs as passengers, but wearing, for security reasons, some-
thing like spacesuits, or on the street as pedestrians or cyclists, but – again for
security reasons – chipped to be visible for AVs, though it perhaps would both
suit technology and our goal to prevent casualties. The golden mean lies some-
where between machines deliberately killing people in accordance with rudely
rendered utilitarian principle and debilitating idea of practical enslavement due
to security reasons. But advantages of new mobility certainly will impose on us
some constraints if all the benefits are to be achieved.
The future shape of the technology is not known yet. Its social impact may be
profound. Some topics related to the main subject of this paper have not been
83
discussed, as, e.g., the possible use of AV technology for terrorism. Making the
technology resistant to such uses may prove to lead to quite different forms of
control and different principles governing both the technology and its use (see,
e.g., Zając, 2018, in this volume) that will interfere with principles already pro-
posed. These matters certainly deserve further attention and elaboration.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. James M. Anderson, Nidhi Kalra, Karlyn D. Stanley, Paul Sorensen, Constantine
Samaras and Oluwatobi A. Oluwatola (2014), Autonomous Vehicle Technology. A
Guide for Policymakers, RAND Corporation.
2. Julia Angwin, Jeff Larson, Surya Mattu and Lauren Kirchner (2016), Machine
Bias, available at: https://www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assess-
ments-in-criminal-sentencing (accessed 19.05.2018)
3. Michele Bertoncello, Dominik Wee (2015), Ten Ways Autonomous Driving Could
Redefine the Automotive World, available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/indus-
tries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/ten-ways-autonomous-driving-could-
redefine-the-automotive-world (accessed 19.05.2018)
4. Jean-François Bonnefon, Azim Shariff, Iyad Rahwan (2016), “The social dilemma
of autonomous vehicles”, Science 352, 1573-6.
5. Sam Corbett-Davies, Emma Pierson, Avi Feller and Sharad Goel, A computer pro-
gram used for bail and sentencing decisions was labeled biased against blacks. It’s
actually not that clear, available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mon-
key-cage/wp/2016/10/17/can-an-algorithm-be-racist-our-analysis-is-more-cau-
tious-than-propublicas/ (accessed 19.05.2018)
6. Matt Day (2016), How LinkedIn’s search engine may reflect a gender bias, avail-
able at: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/how-linkedins-search-
engine-may-reflect-a-bias/ (accessed 19.05.2018)
7. Jay Donde (2017), Self-Driving Cars Will Kill People. Who Decides Who Dies?,
available at: https://www.wired.com/story/self-driving-cars-will-kill-people-who-
decides-who-dies/ (accessed 19.05.2018)
8. Julia Dressel and Hany Farid (2018), “The accuracy, fairness, and limits of predict-
ing recidivism”, Science Advances 4
9. Anthony G. Greenwald (2017), “An AI stereotype catcher. An artificial intelligence
method identifies implicit human biases such as gender stereotypes”, Science 356,
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10. Troy Griggs, Daisuke Wakabayashi (2018), How a Self-Driving Uber Killed a Pe-
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tive/2018/03/20/us/self-driving-uber-pedestrian-killed.html (accessed 19.05.2018)
11. Jessica Guynn (2015), Google Photos labeled black people ‘gorillas’, available at:
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/07/01/google-apologizes-after-photos-
identify-black-people-as-gorillas/29567465/ (accessed 19.05.2018)
12. Richard M. Hare (1981), Moral Thinking. Its Levels, Method, and Point, Oxford,
Clarendon Press
13. Alexander Hars (2016), “Top misconceptions of autonomous cars and self-driving
vehicles”, Inventivio Innovation Briefs, available at: www.inventivio.com/innova-
tionbriefs/2016-09 (accessed 19.05.2018)
14. Jeff McMahon (2018), 7 Ideas To Pave The Way For Autonomous Vehicles, avail-
able at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2018/04/09/7-ways-the-roads-
can-get-ready-for-autonomous-vehicles/#11029d8d43dd (accessed 19.05.2018)
15. Robert Nozick (1974), Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Basic Books
16. David Weinberger (2018), Optimization over Explanation, available at: https://me-
dium.com/berkman-klein-center/optimization-over-explanation-41ecb135763d
(accessed 19.05.2018)
17. Joseph Weizenbaum (1976), Computer Power and Human Reason, New York,
W.H. Freeman.
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cessed 19.05.2018)
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19.05.2018)
Dr. Wojciech Jerzy Bober - senior lecturer at the Institute of Philosophy of the Uni-
versity of Warsaw.
e-mail: [email protected]
85
86
III.
RESEARCH
AND
EDUCATION
ISSUES
87
Jan GONDEK
SIGN – TECHNOLOGY – SIMULATION REFLECTIONS
ON THE PROJECT OF JEAN BAUDRILLARD’S RESEARCH
METHOD
ABSTRACT:
Contemporary social reality is determined by the mode in which new technologies func-
tion. The mass media have become a factor instrumental in introducing a new social
order. Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulation may be interpreted as the basis for devel-
oping a research method explicating modern phenomena which are caused by an over-
flow of information. This refers in particular to communication detached from an object
reference. Against this background the author explains the process of sign transfor-
mation which leads to implosion of sense in communication and to an artificial “pro-
duction of reality”.
Keywords: Jean Baudrillard, sign, technology, simulation
INTRODUCTION
For present-day researchers the process of a rapid advance of new technologies
is becoming an area in which they seek a universal method aimed at elucidating
the workings of the most salient components of social phenomena. In the realm
of new technologies, a special place is occupied by various forms of communi-
cation. Among them, the predominant communication trends are based on a
creative transmission of information, most commonly in the form of an image.
This is best exemplified by social networking sites whose aim is to keep a soci-
ety in a state of constant communication readiness. The era of a passive receiver
of media transmissions is gone. Modern communication techniques are oriented
towards interaction and creativity. Creating short messages in the form of posts
and awaiting reaction lays the foundations of a virtual communication system
which substitutes direct social relations. Thus, an invisible layer of the network
88
society is being developed based on modern communication techniques.
Social studies of this phenomenon date back to the pre-Internet times. Commu-
nication sciences involve a current of technological determinism whose main
representative was Marshall McLuhan. He argued that the development of the
media affects social transformations. His thesis that the medium is the message
reveals relations that hold between the content and the medium. It does not in-
clude a division and distinctiveness in relation to information and the source by
which it is conveyed. This lack of distinctiveness results in neutralization of all
kinds of content. A medium in itself, through its capacities, but also through its
technical limitations, shapes the communication model. Jean Baudrillard adds
one more essential element to the above formula (particularly noticeable in
modern world), that of implosion of the medium itself. If one cannot talk of the
media in a classical sense, i.e. of a bipolar division into a transmitter and a re-
ceiver, then in this context the line between reality and virtuality is blurred1.
Against this background, there arises a fundamental problem of the image of
reality being created by the message. This provides the starting point for Jeana
Baudrillard’s theory of simulation to which we refer in our deliberations. How-
ever, our interest concerning this issue will concentrate on two threads. The first
one relates to artificial intensification and improvement of the message which
can be perceived as digitalism effects. The other one involves artificial message
production in the context of the phenomenon of implosion of the sense in com-
munication. Such references will be made against the background of the most
important aspects of the sign (message) transformation which has taken place
in historical space. This provides context for analyzing the phenomenon of con-
stant “production of sense” by the media as well as the accompanying infinite
“production of reality”. In our deliberations we delineate the factors shaping
simulation which may constitute methodological grounds for studying modern
social phenomena in the context of information technologies advance.
1 More on the subject see W. Merrin, Baudrillard and the Media: A Critical Introduction, Cam-
bridge: Polity Press 2005, pp. 45-62.
89
SIGN TRANSFORMATION
Jeana Baudrillard’s theory of simulation is based on observation of processes
taking place in modern consumption society. The most important novelty in his
theory is discerning crucial social transformations which assume the form of
reality creation. The basis for these transformations is the autonomization of the
sign. The process of simulation becomes a method of transforming the real
world by signifying it. Artificially produced and autonomized matrices, codes
and images (as the smallest elements of the message) result in a loss of cognitive
contact with the real world. Thus, new sign surrogates are created separated
from their real sources of existence. An artificial break with real reference re-
sults in triggering off a “machine” of self-reproduction of the sign. Simultane-
ously, there appears a field in which autonomous sign relations function hyper-
realistically and eventually realize themselves as copies. Baudrillard empha-
sizes the fact that signs as copies are capable of hampering social processes of
a real character2. This takes place by means of the new technologies based on
the phenomenon of virtuality.
At this juncture, there arises a question: why do messages formed as part of
communication technology not present what is real? In fact, the reason is they
themselves become reality. Thanks to the new communication techniques the
value of the message becomes more real than reality. Since it is given directly
as a sign in itself which conceals its object basis. According to Baudrillard,
when we introduce signs without reference into the social domain we stand at
the threshold of a new reality in which technology dominates facts and wields
control over them. That is why in a virtual world, the sign is responsible for the
“destruction” of the real but also, which is particularly significant and worth
emphasizing, concealing this fact “destroys”.3 Simulations are responsible for
the mechanism which is called “the peak of reality” i.e. the creation of a new
world based on virtuality.
Distortions or rather a disappearance of the real object reference gave grounds
2 J. Baudrillard, Simulacra and simulation, trans. by S. F. Glaser, Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press 2004, pp. 2-3; S. Kember, J. Zylinska, Life After New Media: Mediation as a
Vital Process, Cambridge: MIT Press 2012, pp. 38-39. 3 J. Baudrillard, The perfect crime, trans. by Ch. Turner, London-New York: Verso 2008, pp.
1-7.
90
to the emergence of simulacra or a special kind of products of simulation which
may occur in the form of signs, models, codes, film frames, that is of all infor-
mation. The sign as the smallest information element, technologically subjected
to an artificial transformation creates a world devoid of real reference. In the
historical context, one can discern a progressive transformation of the sign re-
lating to the way it is distributed and received by the society. Baudrillard posits
that since the times of the Renaissance there have been three orders of simula-
cra: imitation, production and simulation4.
The order of imitation was created together with the fall of the feudal society.
In feudalism, social classes and strata were subject neither to mobility nor to a
change of status. Against such referents the sign was perceived as something
permanent and constant. It referred directly to what it signified. The sign, there-
fore, functioned as transparent. Obviously, the number of signs was very limited
in those days. Also, the way in which they were distributed was strictly deter-
mined and a society perceived it as something inviolate5. These conditions nat-
urally enabled people to construct a message synonymous with a faithful depic-
tion of a profound reality.
Baudrillard, while tackling the problem of the genesis of the order of imitation
which occurred against the background of the fall of the inviolate (obligatory)
sign, argues that it originated at the threshold of the emergence of the bourgeoi-
sie class. The fall of strict divisions in the society led to a universality of signs
which, since that time, could be created and distributed without any limitations,
conditioned only by their demand. They commenced to emerge due to the ex-
pansion of the material they were produced of, which had hitherto been limited.
The sign begins to liberate itself from all conditions in social strata. It does not
have the quality of an obligation, however it continues to have a real referent.
As Baudrillard postulates, already in this era there appeared a certain fallacious-
ness of signs. Man dreamt of creating the world anew. Qualities such as a sense
of community and a lack of status differences provided the grounds for the idea
of creating a new society. An essential aspect was to unite the society after the
4 J. Baudrillard, Symbolic exchange and death, trans. by L. H. Grant, London: Sage 2000, p.
50. 5 G. Genosko, Baudrillard and Signs: Signification Ablaze, London-New York: Routledge
2002, pp. 44-45.
91
Reformation which preceded the epoch6. Uniting the world and society was
possible only thanks to simulacra and the instrument of the message was theat-
ricality. Theatrical and architectural performances constituted various kinds of
imitations which assumed the form of simulacra. For the adoption of such a
form of signifying both concealed and distorted reality in that epoch.
The order of production, which Baudrillard mentions as the second in the se-
quence of creating simulacra, was mainly present in the era of the industrial
revolution. It was the time when the value of technology was particularly ap-
preciated. This led to the production of signs on a large scale. Since then repro-
ducibility i.e. the possibility of producing multiple identical copies has become
the main instrument of the transformation of the sign. The original and natural
reference to the object was discarded. Technology became the sole source of
the sign. A feature of objects manufactured on a production line is their indis-
tinguishability which provides a possibility of creating several identical simu-
lacra. The simulacra were indefinitely reproducible which could be used as a
means of controlling the world. The relation between the prototype and a copy
was lost.
Baudrillard claims that the production order was not very ambitious compared
both to its predecessor (the imitation order) and to its successor (the simulation
order). There were attempts at realizing the vision of controlling the world
solely by means of mass production7. According to Baudrillard, a very im-
portant element of this order is the fact that simulacra represent the reality, mod-
ifying it by improving objects. This takes place within the confines of generally
accessible science and is the reason why inventions are developed. This type of
transformation of the sign comes down to increasing production capacity. Thus,
the order of production was the last era in which reality was replicated by im-
proving technical solutions8. Since then, in Baudrillard’s approach, the model
has taken a completely different direction, and namely, “it masks the absence
of a profound reality”9.
In the third order, called the order of simulation, a key change is introduced:
6 J. Baudrillard, Symbolic exchange and death, pp. 50-52. 7 Ibidem, pp. 55-56. 8 J. Baudrillard, Simulacra and simulation, pp. 121-124. 9 Ibidem, p. 6.
92
signs begin to be created based on their very reproducibility. The generator of
transformation of such sign forms is the model which results from the essence
of reproducibility. Simulacra are created here by modulating differences.
Baudrillard posits that the crucial feature of this era is the dominance of the
metaphysical code. Present-day metaphysics is understood as digitalism.
Baudrillard employs the notion of the “code” which he compares, in the order
of simulation, to a genetic cell (an elementary particle) which is the genesis of
simulacra. In a genetic cell, there exist exchangeability relations thanks to
which interactions happen. In this context, the code as the smallest particle of a
form of message is subject to artificial modification whose ultimate goal is to
conceal its reference10. Digitally programmed signs are characterized by a ca-
pacity for interrelating with other messages emitted. As a result of this, their
role is purely tactical since their only objective is to conceal true reality.
Transformed signs no longer constitute, in any aspect, a representation of the
real world but they themselves create it. Whereas the process of simulation
spreads in various directions and begins to freely modify models of reality. Con-
sequently, one cannot define what fiction is since the contact with the prototype
becomes distorted by the processes of simulation. It is possible to recognize
artificial phenomena only when we are able to refer to the real world as the
central reference point. Because of this, a message which has no longer any
reference to reality assumes the form of the ideal simulacrum, being a reflection
of itself. In the order of simulation there occurs an autonomization of signs
which is characterized by infinite reproducibility11.
IMPLOSION OF SENSE IN COMMUNICATION
The simulation process presented by Baudrillard is not only a theoretical point
of social discourse but may also be employed as a research method to elucidate
various types of social phenomena. By utilizing this method, allowing for the
dominance of technology over the real world, researchers are able to analyze
present-day sociological phenomena such as e.g. globalization, the impact of
10 J. Baudrillard, Symbolic exchange and death, pp. 56-58; G. Genosko, Baudrillard and Signs:
Signification Ablaze, pp. 47-48. 11 J. Baudrillard, Simulacra and simulation, pp. 6-7 and p.122.
93
politics on everyday life and on constructing the information society. To con-
firm this thesis, one may refer to Baudrillard’s analyses directly involving a
practical use of the simulation method. According to Baudrillard, in the modern
system, crucial events, even if they have their natural origin, are shaped based
on an artificial media message. He takes as the subject of his reflections J. F.
Kennedy’s killing, building Disneyland amusement park or the Watergate scan-
dal. Using the simulation method Baudrillard analyses students’ strikes in Paris
in 1968, the Gulf War in 1990 and the World Trade Centre attack in 2001. These
events are known to people mainly through media reports. According to
Baudrillard, they were constructed or created from scratch by means of simula-
tion whose aim is to construct a new reality which would have the character of
an absolute reality. The most important factor depicted by the examples pro-
vided is domination of an artificially improved sign (information) which, under
the influence of technology, has in itself become a virtual and digital event.
From this perspective, Baudrillard considers a great mistake the fact that most
people adopt the assumption that information is responsible for creating sense.
He claims that it is a myth which is artificially sustained so that the world should
not “fall apart”. Today, information is the factor on which most world econo-
mies are based. Man is incapable of taking action without information. It is an
integral part of the development of communication and the whole process of
new media creation. Baudrillard’s most important comment in this context is
that “information devours its own content”12. Why is it so? Baudrillard specifies
precisely his thought claiming: “Rather than creating communication, it ex-
hausts itself in the act of staging communication. Rather than producing mean-
ing, it exhausts itself in the staging of meaning”13. This sort of staging of sense
is what the simulation method in the media is based on.
Modern media use such information whose presentation to the public is not jus-
tified in itself. This information does not convey anything new or important,
nevertheless it has an essential technological objective: to keep people in a state
of sense or permanent reception of meanings. It is sufficient to mention media
communication broadcast 24 hours a day, journalist reports and the permanent
12 J. Baudrillard, Simulacra and simulation, p. 80. 13 Ibidem.
94
media identification of the viewer with the event. Information has to be attrac-
tive non stop that is why it needs to be artificially created. Media generate enor-
mous energy so that information may play the function of a simulacrum. Since
they do not want to allow the phenomenon of desimulation i.e. the moment
when the true reality emerges again. This is the reason why one creates simula-
cra which have a preventative character. Their goal is to control the process of
simulation.
While considering the simulation method in studying the condition of modern
world, it becomes necessary to adopt the principle of the impossibility of repro-
ducing the real world or of the true reality which had still existed before the
order of imitation. That is the reason why, according to Baudrillard, information
enters a sort of closed circuit. It goes around a “circle” on which simulation and
hyperreality interrelate14. People functioning in this closed circuit absolutely
believe in the truthfulness of the message. As a result of this belief they are
influenced by signs which do not reflect reality. However, according to
Baudrillard, trust for the media, which is sustained by people, has an ambiguous
dimension. Thus, on the one hand, people implicitly trust information, however,
on the other one, the phenomenon of the passivity of the masses intensifies,
which makes it necessary to produce an artificial sense. That is why there are
such frequent attempts at testing and surveying society which play the function
of social control.
Media communication functions in a society as artificially doubled that is why
reality cannot be presented in its intact form. Such a state of affairs has an enor-
mous influence on the condition of modern society. According to Baudrillard,
a loss of sense and creation of an artificial sense constructs a certain “nebula”
i.e. reaching a state of “total entropy”15. Baudrillard’s use of the term “entropy”
indicates a constant increase and intensification of implosive technological pro-
cesses. Similar phenomena may refer to the socialization process since the me-
dia have long not played this type of function. While looking more closely at
14 Baudrillard introduces this notion to define reality which has been artificially produced. Hy-
perreality consists in substituting the real world with simulacra and in perceiving them by
people as something real. (J. Baudrillard, Simulacra and simulation, p. 2; M. Lister, J. Dovey,
L. Grant, S. Giddings, K. Kelly, New Media: a critical introduction, London-New York:
Routledge 2009, p. 138). 15 J. Baudrillard, Simulacra and simulation, p.81.
95
the media, one may even draw a conclusion that they act in the opposite manner.
For they cause implosion in the domain of social life. The role of information
conveyed in the media is to create messages establishing a sense of meaning in
man. Since information creates interpersonal communication. There is a univer-
sal agreement that even if there is a certain loss of sense in reception, neverthe-
less the message itself is needed. He explicitly emphasizes on many occasions
that information functioning without any reference no longer has anything in
common with the real sense16. A similar phenomenon is observed in the case of
production of commodities, where numerous products are useless but they lead
to the development of innovativeness. In this way, Baudrillard endeavours to
show that today everyone is responsible for such a state of affairs.
Present-day technologies, and in particular the media communication based on
them, require apart from information itself, a supplementation in the form of an
image. Additionally, it would be ideal if one could interfere with pictures, film
frames or TV journalist reports. That is the reason why an important turning in
perceiving reality was a technological switch from analogue to digital content.
Actually, in the light of conclusions that can be drawn from Baudrillard’s re-
flections, the expression “in perceiving reality” should not even be used since
he wants to show the process of substitution, or even disappearance of the real
world. Creating an image recorded by means of a code, that is digital values,
opened up a possibility of constantly modifying it. In the analogue system, a
certain fragment of replicated reality was clearly visible. According to
Baudrillard, digitalism has its beginning and at the same time its end, in the
screen itself. It is perceived as perfect simulation since each image may be
freely altered and adjusted to any fragment of the world, without its real refer-
ence. The idea of setting the world free by means of an image, discerned by
Baudrillard, is an immensely topical phenomenon in this day and age. It triggers
processes which are characterized by a total disappearance of any reference to
reality and by man’s lack of influence on the possibility of replicating any ob-
jects or phenomena from the world17.
16 Ibidem, pp. 79-81; A. Lombardinilo, The meta-language of an absent world. Baudrillard,
McLuhan and the media consumption, “Mediascapes journal” 9 (2017), pp. 52-53. 17 J. Baudrillard, Why hasn’t everything already disappeared?, trans. by Ch. Turner, Seagull
2009, pp. 32-46.
96
The origin of the phenomenon of image simulation, and consequently of the
implosion of sense, is necessarily connected with man’s perceptual-cognitive
desire to comprehend the whole world. If the world in impossible to grasp in a
given area, appropriate technological instruments are introduced. Their involve-
ment is not only supportive but also mediating. Technological instruments are
becoming a non-transparent mediator which imposes an artificial layer on the
real world. A crucial function in the process of making the world real is played
by the image which, by means of virtual technologies, attempts to construct the
world anew and to fill all cognitive gaps. Present-day screens emitting a digital
image have renounced the symbolic dimension of an image and have fully en-
tered the order of seriality. However, seriality, which creates immense possibil-
ities of constructing media events, actually reaches zero degree of infor-
mation18. Therefore, in the system based on endowing imagines with sense, an
enormous impact in exerted on the replicated item. The image substitutes un-
recognised fragments of reality becoming something more perfect than the real
world itself. From this perspective, the process of substituting reality with the
image constitutes simulation in its pure form19.
CONCLUSION
Contemporary social relations are to a significant extent dominated by the new
technologies. Their contribution is particularly discernable in the development
of the mass media. However, technological advance has revealed phenomena
which introduce a new order according to which the society functions. And this
requires developing a research method allowing one to interpret ongoing social
processes in a reliable manner. The theory of simulation postulated by Jean
Baudrillard appears to be one of such solutions. Since it is a theory which elu-
cidates, both in the historical and systemic contexts, the media impact on shap-
ing the modern image of reality. Baudrillard argues that modern world has be-
come entangled in an overflow of information. A lot of information functions
18 Ibidem, pp. 49-56. 19 J. Baudrillard, The perfect crime, p. 4 and pp. 17-18. Baudrillard calls the abovementioned
processes of the image’s impact on creating modern social life “the violence done to the im-
age” (J. Baudrillard, The Intelligence of Evil or tile Lucidity Pact, trans. by Ch. Turner, Ox-
ford-New York: 2005, p. 91).
97
randomly, without any objective reference, which is an effect of the transfor-
mation of the sign taking place over the last centuries. A transformation of me-
dia communication has taken place in the historical and technological dimen-
sions. The basis of this transformation has been the sign. Originally, the sign
depicted something faithfully and clearly, which held true until the moment
when it became a simulacrum i.e. a sign without an objective reference to real-
ity.
A factor additionally intensifying systemically this process is implosion of the
sense which leads to narrowing down the information field and cumulating the
message. This results in media communication being detached from any objec-
tive reference. For the media, by constantly striving to improve image messages
and to create information, lead to the production of an artificial sense. Simulta-
neously, this sense may interact freely with other artificially produced images
and information. Thus, under the influence of information technologies, an im-
plosion of media processes occurs, creating a sphere of the hyperreal. In this
way, simulation is becoming the instrument continuing the dynamics of social
transformations in the era of the information society.
The abovementioned theoretical assumptions of the concept of simulation in
Baudrillard’s approach may be applied as a research method to analyse the im-
pact of modern communication technologies on the society. The expansion of
hyperreal phenomena in the social domain, intensifying together with techno-
logical advance, is no longer an isolated phenomenon today. However, it has
not been fully explained yet. Therefore, the ways of elucidating it seem to re-
quire a method which will be based on the simulation process which is crucial
to these phenomena. The text discusses only the factors which are significant
for developing the simulation method. Developing fully this method requires a
detailed presentation of research procedures and forms of applying it.
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Oxford-New York: 2005;
2. Baudrillard J., The perfect crime, trans. by Ch. Turner, London-New York: Verso
2008;
98
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4. Baudrillard J., Symbolic exchange and death, trans. by L. H. Grant, London: Sage
2000;
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8. Lister M., Dovey J, Grant L., Giddings S., Kelly K., New Media: a critical intro-
duction, London-New York: Routledge 2009;
9. Lombardinilo A., The meta-language of an absent world. Baudrillard, McLuhan
and the media consumption, “Mediascapes journal” 9 (2017), pp. 43-55;
10. Merrin W., Baudrillard and the Media: A Critical Introduction, Cambridge: Polity
Press 2005.
Jan Gondek - Ph.D. student in the Department of Social Microstructures and Modern
Sociological Theories, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Po-
land
e-mail: [email protected]
99
Joanna LORENC
Monika MICZKA-PAJESTKA
MAN FACING MULTIPLICITY AND DIVERSITY
AND RESPONSIBILITY AND RELATIONALITY
IN THE POSTMODERN EDUCATION
ABSTRACT
The following article presents and analyzes the problem of "being" of the child in the
world of multiplicity and diversity. The authors of the study consider the issue of the
search, of man in general, and in particular of teachers, for the way to adapt to the mul-
tiplicity, which is the domain of postmodernity. Attention has been also paid to the
problem of thinking about a human subjectivity, which in the context of the new edu-
cation is the basis of relationality on the ground of the education of tomorrow. Further-
more, the author pointed to the heterogeneity of the teacher-student relationship, and
the idea of self-responsibility that is important in the process of planning and imple-
menting such a relationship. The article also discusses the problem of a teacher’s re-
sponsibility for students' access to the symbolic culture, and thus the responsibility for
shaping in them skills and competences to "be" in the world of multiplicity. Moreover,
reference has been also made to the concepts of, among others, Wolfgang Welsch and
Charles Taylor, as well as considerations of Tomasz Szkudlarek and Hans Jonas.
Keywords: multiplicity, diversity, responsibility, subject entity
„The first and most general
condition of responsibility is causal power,
that is, that acting makes an impact on the world (…)”.
Hans Jonas (Jonas H., 1995, p. 74)
MULTIPLICITY AND DIVERSITY AS THE DOMAIN OF POSTMODERNITY
Interpersonal relationships are a delicate network of connections related to ex-
periences, emotions, impressions, ideas, symbols, meanings and searches for
100
meaning. Everything that appears in the relational space between the teacher
and the student, the educator and the student or care giver and the person under
their care, combines all possible aspects of the human experience, all spaces of
man’s "being" in the world.
However, the domain of the postmodern world turned out to be categories, the
scope of which significantly changed the way people perceive and understand
the world, and thus interpersonal relations. Most precisely, those categories are
multiplicity and diversity, manifesting themselves in all areas of human life,
actions, experiences, ideas or ways of thinking. All this translates into the fun-
ctioning of people in the educational space. Wolfgang Welsch has emphasized
that the search for a way to adapt to this multiplicity has somehow become a
standard today. Thus, in thinking about a subject entity in educational relations,
it appears incredibly significant – as he states – to notice the situation of "weak-
ening the prevailing image of the subject entity” (Welsch W., 1998, p. 437).
As subject entities, a child and teacher not only face modern and post-modern
pluralisation and differentiation of types of rationality, but are also perceived
through them. Hence, it seems important to think about the so-called "weak"
subject entity, who, in Welsch's understanding, "knows more, experiences
things more widely" and is sensitive to dissimilarity (Welsch W., 1998, p. 437).
This is related to the different that in the past perception of the human subjec-
tivity that results from far-reaching socio-cultural changes related to, as Andrzej
Kiepas writes, shaping the "culture of the real virtuality" (Compare: Kiepas A.,
2013, p.129-142). In it, along with the increase of the importance of technology,
problems related to the human subjectivity are revealed. Technology, becoming
a "field of mediation of interpersonal relations", as well as "relations between
man and the world" (Kiepas A., 2013, p.130), unveils - as the author emphasizes
- "the problem of intentionality of acting entities", and more specifically the
opaque nature of their intentions, as well as "non-transparent consequences",
the inability to control the effects (Compare: Kiepas A., 2013, p.130). This is
directly related to the responsibility of acting entities, and more specifically "to
the understanding of the terms of responsibility" (Kiepas A., 2013, p. 130). In
the intentional sense, it is necessary to define what it means to be responsible at
all, and in relation to the consequences and effects, one should assign responsi-
bility to someone. This applies to all possible social interactions, in which there
101
does not only reveal the element of mutual interaction, but also the formation
of the conditions of identity, and therefore the teacher-student relationship.
A HUMAN BEING AS A SUBJECT
Thus, it becomes important to strive to create a rational and responsible entity
that can control their own activities in the world of diverse needs and the mul-
tiplicity of external impulses. In the perspective of various challenges of the
human subjectivity, this seems a really complex task. A. Kiepas points to the
specificity and multiple directions of the formation of postmodern subjectivity,
and the significant change associated with making distinctions between subjec-
tivity and objectivity, which was clearly evident in traditional cultures. As he
states: "Subjectivity and human identity remain (...) under the influence of their
shaping areas, i.e. the network of >> flows<<", and at the same time they them-
selves achieve a fluid and unstable nature in this way” (Kiepas A., 2013, p. 140).
What in the perspective of multiplicity and diversity is associated with activities
marked by uncertainty and risk, as well as universal relativism.
Perception of the subject entity and its subjectivity through the prism of these
conditions forces us to look for valuable aspects of post-modern subjectivity of
man. Therefore, the proposal of Charles Taylor, who recognizes subjectivity as
the authenticity of moral subjectivity, appears to be significant. In his convic-
tion, the two basic categories of subjectivity, that is, "authenticity" and "iden-
tity", mutually condition and permeate, leading to the freedom of self-determi-
nation of a human being. A. Kiepas, when considering this concept, emphasizes
that in Taylor's thinking, "authenticity is the basis of differentiation and differ-
ence, however, distinctness itself is not a source of value yet. It can only be it
when it is a carrier of appropriate values" (Kiepas A., 2013, p. 140-141, also
compare: Taylor Ch., 2002). All this must be done along with the establishment
of sense and determination of meaning. Without giving it the meaning there
would be no genuine subjectivity. And this can only be done in relation to a
certain axiological horizon, and thus the entity recognizes its own responsibility
for both itself and everything around (Compare: Taylor Ch., 2002, p. 141).
Ch. Taylor’s view of the subject as authentic and intentional, marked by sense
102
can be regarded as the basis for validating thoughts about valuation on the edu-
cational ground. The subject in the educational relationship is after all the goal
of postmodern aspirations, reflected in many concepts and theories. Neverthe-
less, it is important to recognize the importance of axiological awareness of all
who undertake any educational or upbringing activities. As emphasized by
Mirosław Kowalski and Daniel Falcman, the axiological awareness that Ch.
Taylor writes about, "is not a purely theoretical construction", but has its prac-
tical dimension, associated with the imperative of "transmitting patterns of no-
ble, valuable action" (Kowalski M., Falcman D., 2010, p. 173-174, also com-
pare: Taylor Ch., 2001). Only man as a subject entity can take such action. And
the understanding of the subject by Ch. Taylor goes beyond the traditional con-
cepts of D. Hume, J. Locke or I. Kant, that is beyond self-awareness. The sub-
ject entity turns out to be something more than self-consciousness, "exists - as
Ch. Taylor writes - only in a certain space of questions, only thanks to certain
constitutive senses" (Taylor Ch., 2001, p. 100). These questions and senses are
related to the nature of good, towards which the subject is seeking orientation
and finds it precisely through moving in this space of questions, as well as "be-
ing" to other entities, "being" in the relationship (Taylor Ch., 2001, p. 67-68).
Considering correlation of education with the world of values and meanings, as
emphasized by the aforementioned authors (Kowalski M., Falcman D., 2010, p.
174), turns out to be indispensable in the world of the multiplicity and diversity
of events, signs, actions, ideas, choices and thoughts. This correlation deter-
mines the educational and upbringing path of the subject entity’s conduct lead-
ing to self-realization, as well as the subject entity’s axiological orientation in
the world (Kowalski M., Falcman D., 2010, p. 174).
It can be stated that everyone makes a worldview referring to both: different
types of rationality (economic, technological, ethical, aesthetic, media, etc.), as
well as different values. Furthermore, in the process of education and upbring-
ing, everyone is also a subject of education. Considering Taylor's thought, M.
Kowalski and D. Falcman assume that such an entity "(...) IS, EX DEFINI-
CIONE, A MORAL ENTITY: HE OR SHE CANNOT BE THEREFORE
CONSIDERED BEYOND THE SPHERE OF MORAL STANDARDS AND
VALUES" (Kowalski M., Falcman D., 2010, p. 175). Hence in education, the
"moral dimension of the student’s personality" (Compare: Kowalski M.,
103
Falcman D., 2010, p. 175), for which every educator takes responsibility, turns
out to be really important.
The postmodern perception and understanding of reason and rationality, espe-
cially in relation to activities related to education and upbringing, is equally
important. It is rationality that, being a criterion of human behavior, reveals
what is seen in another person and in relation to them. In the perspective of the
discussed multiplicity, that is the multiplicity of experiences, choices, possibil-
ities, etc., the issue of reason and rationality seems to be of key character, simply
because of the necessity to shape the way of seeing man as a subject. This brings
to mind the idea of Wolfgang Welsch, according to which in the postmodernity
man has to cope with transverse reason, existing across various types of ration-
ality, which gives the opportunity to see the various dimensions of human action
in a rational way, taking into account their differentness. He points to the fact
that in the present world man no longer functions in principle only as an subject
entity, but rather as a trans-subject entity. However, this is a completely separate
issue to consider.
It should be emphasized that transverse reason turns out to be not only "the
ability to think (überlegendes Vermögen)" (Welsch W., 1998, p. 420), but above
all - "the ability to make transitions [between the sectors of various types of
rationality - MMP] in a controlled manner" (Welsch W., 1998, p. 421), i.e.
"awareness and consideration of the appearing in each case relations between
identity and differences” (Welsch W., 1998, p. 421). Thus, it allows the subject
entity to operate across these various, different types of rationality, which favors
the perception of reality through multiplicity. The possibilities of transverse
reason refer to the practical sphere as well. As W. Welsch states, “In everyday
life transitions are not taken in a distracting and destructive manner, but are
made as reasonably explained and controlled" (Welsch W., 1998, p. 421-422),
and therefore "reasonable practice involves not only following the consistency
of one type of rationality, but also encompasses the environment and gives it a
regulative importance" (Welsch W., 1998, p. 422). The functioning of the rea-
son is not limited to one relation, but to the whole of man's relations and expe-
riences of the surrounding world. But, one can consider the discussed here
teacher-student relationship one of many situations embedded in a network of
connections and contexts that should not be considered in isolation , but rather
104
as an element of this network.
In this multi-context and based on transversal reason relation, subject entities
manifest themselves as "weak". It is the already mentioned weakening of the
subject entity in postmodernity. "In it [- as W. Welsch writes -] the right power
of rationality - its diversity – comes to the fore. Such entities may know more,
experience things more widely, be more accurate in their taking things into con-
sideration, but simultaneously remain sensitive to dissimilarity" (Welsch W.,
1998, p. 437).
In the postmodern perspective, it can therefore be assumed that a child, student,
or a teacher as subjects acting in many contexts reveal their openness and sen-
sitivity. The teacher's responsibility thus becomes a broadly understood respon-
sibility, not a one-way responsibility, but responsibility related to striving to
adapt to a multifaceted life and to experience it properly. Responsibility for ac-
cepting multiplicity and diversity, and noticing and accepting values connected
with them.
RELATIONALITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN EDUCATION IN VIEW OF THE
DETERMINANTS OF POSTMODERNISM
Taking into account the postmodern situation of the subject entity, both relativ-
ity and responsibility in educational and upbringing processes seem to be deter-
mined by socio-cultural factors, and especially by a large number of currently
occurring phenomena, such as hybridization, virtualization or convergence. The
perception of the essence and role of transversal reason seems to be well-
grounded, because it allows the teacher-student relationship to take a heteroge-
neous form. It requires awareness of the existence of a complex identity, the
perception of variety of contexts and aspects of one’s “being”, as well as the
individuality and subjectivism of the subject entity, and thus it requires the ne-
cessity of taking into account all elements of existence of man in view of the
other human being.
Challenges referring to human subjectivity also concern, as A. Kiepas under-
lines, "instrumental and cognitive competences", revealing themselves along
with problems related to "limitations of knowledge", as well as "axiological and
105
moral competences", which manifest themselves is the field of responsibility
(Compare: Kiepas A., 2013, p. 130). In his view, human life is never a set of
actions and experiences, it is associated with one’s subjectivity, and therefore
also with responsibility. Responsibility is one of the aspects of the self-authen-
tication of human subjectivity, and more specifically - as A. Kiepas writes re-
ferring to the concept of Ch. Taylor – an aspect of "making one responsible for",
that is, making yourself "responsible for yourself and the world" (Kiepas A.,
2013, p. 141).
This "making oneself responsible for" turns out to be a challenge for teachers,
because their actions are embedded in the situation of common changes aiming
- as A. Kiepas points out - "at the formation of the postmodern social and cul-
tural order" (Kiepas A., 2013, p. 136), manifesting itself among others in, the
formation of the risk society, the crisis of science and technology or the apparent
lack of identity (Kiepas A., 2013, p. 137). One of the main determinants sup-
porting these changes is the development of information technologies that stim-
ulate the dynamics of socio-cultural transformations. According to the cited au-
thor, the consequence of this state of affairs is the change in the relationship
between man and culture, as well as the change in the status of man’s subjec-
tivity (See: Kiepas A., 2013, p. 137), which is clearly visible in the sphere of
science, education and the space of upbringing.
However, it is difficult to fully determine what the postmodern "practice of cre-
ating subjectivity" (Compare: Szkudlarek T., 2009) is based on both in the re-
lational perspective and the context of responsibility. As Tomasz Szkudlarek
points out, the problems with specifying the subject entity, so widely discussed
in the field of postmodernist pedagogy, are "an expression of the theoretical
difficulty of this category in a relational perspective, taking into account both
the construction of individuality through the relationship of power and the re-
sistance of individuals and social groups against these relations" (Compare:
Szkudlarek T., 2009, p. 167).
In the author’s opinion, it is difficult to talk about the individual and their caus-
ative actions, taking into account the "constructive character of domination",
because resistance seems to be an act of a free and autonomous individual, and
in the meantime the individual turns out to be "constructed by the relationship
106
of power", which makes them determined through this relationship and hence -
as T. Szkudlarek emphasizes - " not autonomous" (Compare: Szkudlarek T.,
2009, p. 167). Furthermore, the author also states that in such a situation the
"danger of the lack of grounding for any causative actions (...) for which one
could take responsibility" is revealed (Szkudlarek T., 2009, p. 167-168), and
consequently, both relations and sense of responsibility cease to function in a
legitimate relationship. And this dependence seems to be of key importance for
shaping the personality and identity of the subject entity.
A. Szkudlarek believes, however, that it is possible to reconcile the thesis "about
the social construction of subjectivity with the thesis about the universality of
resistance against domination" (Szkudlarek T., 2009, p. 168), as he stresses "we
are able to create a conceptual model that supports the thesis about the active
character of the subject entity despite being subject to domination mechanisms
externally determining the sphere of making choices" (Szkudlarek T., 2009, p.
168). It will not be an ideal model, but will allow the subject entity for some
kind of self-creation. The author also points to the processes of mimicry, emu-
lation and resistance understood as a challenge to the relationship between an
individual and society, especially to the relationships of power, but not directly
affecting the agency of the subject entity.
In such a perspective, quoted at the beginning the words of Hans Jonas, stating
that "the condition of responsibility is the causative power, and that the action
has an impact on the world” (Jonas H., 1995, p. 74), slightly change their mean-
ing. They refer to a postmodern view of the world and man and the relationship
in which we are entangled. Since the levels and surfaces of relativity have been
varied and multiplied, the action has gained both the community and individual
character, every action is both autonomous and determined. The merge of the
spaces of everyday, social and cultural life has increased the number of entan-
glements and possibilities of functioning between different levels of the process
of creating human subjectivity. Responsibility associated with action must,
therefore, also refer to this multidimensionality.
The child faces these processes as a subject entity while still shaping relational
skills and open to accepting responsibility internally, as well as learning about
the "sense of being responsible for". In shaping the young mind, it is important
107
not only to indicate the way or the direction of thinking about what is its subject,
but above all to stimulate awareness related to the agency and ambiguity of the
concept itself.
Hence, it seems justified to draw attention to the distinction made by Hans Jonas
when describing the necessary conditions of responsibility in his theory of re-
sponsibility. He indicates the causative power, the action being subject to the
control of the agent, and the ability to predict the effects of actions as three
essential conditions of responsibility (Compare: Jonas H., 1995, p. 74). He em-
phasizes, however, that they can be fulfilled in relation to two different senses,
namely: in the recognition of responsibility as being "accounted >> for<< ones
actions”, and also in taking responsibility "for" specific objects that engage the
agent in specific actions regarding these objects" (Jonas H., 1995, p. 74). In the
first approach, the concept of responsibility is of formal character, in the second
– of the content one. With regard to this distinction, the image of a teacher as
one who is responsible and takes responsibility for is drawn in two ways.
Namely, "teachers are responsible for what has happened (without intention of
praising or condemning)" and "they are responsible people, who respect their
duties" (Jonas H., 1995, p. 74). Furthermore, being involved in various relation-
ship connected with their profession, they take - as H. Jonas says- established
"artificially", contractual responsibility for, which as designated " is condi-
tioned a posteriori by the fact and conditions" (See: Jonas H., 1995, p. 81) of
the currently occurring relationship. In this case also the causative power, which
is the source of responsibility "is generally created together with the obligation
by the contract" (Compare: Jonas H., 1995, p. 81). Thus, it becomes important
to stimulate the awareness of the relationship between relationality and respon-
sibility that coincides with the obligation manifested in the teaching and educa-
tional work, in the teacher-student relationship.
THE IDEA OF THE TEACHER'S SELF-RESPONSIBILITY AND THE PERCEP-
TION OF SUBJECTIVITY
Relationality and responsibility are bounded together regardless of changes oc-
108
curring in the field of education, but this does not mean that they remain auton-
omous. They are an important aspect of being of every human being as a sub-
ject, and they keep developing in relation to human reason and psychological
and social capabilities. Nevertheless, as W. Welsch acknowledges, the subject
entity and their subjectivity are determined by the conditions in which the iden-
tity and personality are shaped (Compare: Welsch W., 1998, p. 436-440). That
is why all the perspectives and dimensions of the subject’s functioning turn out
to be important, including the situational aspect, the space for building ties, the
type of ties, its scope, as well as the awareness of social and cultural participa-
tion. And what follows - ideas inscribed in the essence of reason - self-respon-
sibility and joint responsibility. Therefore, changes taking place in society and
culture, and thus in education, determine largely the ways of forming the subject
and their view of reality. They also reveal the possible conditions for the occur-
rence of educational and upbringing relationships.
Moreover, it is also worth paying attention to the subject itself and the idea of
self-responsibility, which, as suggested by Edmund Husserl, is related to what
is transcendental in cognition. In his understanding, "Supreme and ultimate re-
sponsibility emerges (...) in cognition from the transcendental attitude to ulti-
mately constitutive accomplishments of feelings and will" (Husserl E., 1995, p.
105). It applies to every individual who as a subject entity is a member of a
given community, and thus they participate in the formation of their own, indi-
vidual self-responsibility, and self-responsibility of the community. As pointed
out by E. Husserl, "the community can (...) be responsible for itself only in a
particular personal entity" (Husserl E., 1995, p. 108), and the self-responsibility
of the individual "also includes responsibility for (...) the modus of practical life
and constitutes (...) a certain responsibility for the community itself" (Husserl
E., 1995, p. 108). Both the individual and the community reveal the possibilities
of their own actions and interactions, in the context of which all self-responsi-
bility "extends into the depths of all others" (Husserl E., 1995, p. 108).
This indicates the mutuality and relativity of what we call responsibility, and,
in relation to educational work, it can function as a kind of synthesis, in which
individual self-responsibilities interweave, creating the "internal unity" (Com-
pare: Husserl E., 1995, p. 108). In every relationship, including the educational
relationship, each entity reveals their own self-responsibility, while striving to
109
broaden the scope of responsibility "for" and “to".
In this perspective, perceiving responsibility is itself the perception of subjec-
tivity, and - in the educational process -the broadly understood responsibility is
revealed and visualized as the responsibility of the subject entity/ teacher for
access to symbolic culture. It also includes one of the most important goals of
education and upbringing, namely: efficient dealing with multiplicity and shap-
ing an entity that is not afraid of it and is able to meet its requirements. This
may be favored by transversal reason, allowing us to move "between" various
types of rationality.
Entities with the ability to move within the rationality and perceive the idea of
joint responsibility are able to meet the normative requirements of postmodern
everyday life.
CONCLUSION
Summing up the presented considerations it is worth paying attention to the
necessity to locate the awareness of boundaries and care for the whole in the
relational activities. However, this cannot be done without the acceptance of the
horizon of multiplicity and diversity, both in the sphere of thoughts and ideas,
as well as in the sphere of things. This is a fundamental challenge for entities
participating in educational processes, resulting from a combination of respon-
sibility, self-responsibility, joint responsibility and "making one responsible
for" with the need to shape opportunities for full participation of next genera-
tions in culture.
One can conclude by adopting the concept and postmodern perspective of W.
Welsch that in learning, education and upbringing, it is important to defend
oneself against totalization and to show by practice that "the whole can be pre-
served when the horizon of elusiveness is left" (Welsch W., 1998, p. 451). Thay
means openness to changes and differences
Thus, analogically in relation to the sphere of education, education and upbring-
ing cannot be locked up in diagrams and methods. This can be prevented by
transversal reason, which allows us to be open to what is elusive (even in free
110
play or creative action), but also to what is revealed and visualized by the mul-
tiplicity and diversity. So far, in the education process the emphasis was mainly
on the systematization of knowledge, its orientation, acquisition and develop-
ment. Currently, particular attention is paid to the interdisciplinary and multidi-
rectional nature, multidimensionality as well as the multifaceted nature of de-
velopment, learning and education.
Nevertheless, in the postmodern view, responsibility for shaping the ability to
"be" in the multiplicity, taken up by teachers and other active and committed
into educational activities people appears to be incredibly important.
It is also worth noting that in relation to attitudes and approaches to relationality,
within the discussed area, there occurs openness to context and difference. It is
important, for example, to focus on the equivalence of science and wisdom, and
thus combine science with wisdom. Irregularity and unpredictability of the pro-
cess of education and upbringing are also taken into account, paying attention
to the essence of the adults’ responsibility for this process. Likewise, stronger
emphasis is also placed on the relationship between education providers, mov-
ing away from uniformity and problem-free content.
The basis for thinking about the future of the education sphere is the necessity
to see the multiplicity as a complex image, defining thoughts and feelings, man-
ifesting itself in the diversity of languages, threads, ways of thinking, being,
acting, shaping subjectivity and identity. This is an important step in the process
of opening up, not only the postmodern discourse about education that is al-
ready taking place, but also in the process of the practical appearing of the re-
lational opening in the process of designing the future.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Husserl E. (1995), O idei absolutnej samoodpowiedzialności (Eng. On the Idea of
Absolute Self-Resposibility, „Znak” no. 485, Kraków OCTOBER (10);
2. Jonas H. (1995), Teoria odpowiedzialności: pierwsze rozróżnienia (Eng. The The-
ory of Responsibility: First Distinctions, „Znak” no. 485, Kraków OCTOBER (10);
3. Kiepas A. (2013), Podmiotowość człowieka w kulturze „realnej wirtualności”
(Eng. The Human Subjectivity in the Culture of the Real Virtuality), [in:] Wirtual-
izacja. Problemy-wyzwania-skutki (Eng. Virtualization. Problems- Challenges-
Effects), ed. Lech W. Zacher, Poltext, Warsaw;
111
4. Kowalski M., Falcman D. (2010), Świadomość aksjologiczna i podmiotowość
etyczna. Analizy i impresje (Eng. The Axiological Awareness and Ethical Subjec-
tivity. Analyses and Impressions), Impuls, Kraków;
5. Szkudlarek T. (2009), Wiedza i wolność w pedagogice amerykańskiego postmo-
dernizmu (Eng. Knowledge and Freedom in the Pedagogy of the American Post-
modernism), Impuls, Kraków;
6. Taylor Ch. (2001), Źródła podmiotowości. Narodziny tożsamości nowoczesnej
(Eng. Sources of the Self. The Making of the Modern Identity), PWN, Warszawa;
7. Taylor Ch. (2002), Etyka autentyczności (Eng. The Ethics of Authenticity) ,
ZNAK, Kraków;
8. Welsch W. (1998), Nasza postmodernistyczna moderna (Eng. Our Postmodern
Modernity), Oficyna Naukowa, Warszawa;
Joanna Lorenc, M.A. – Department of Pedagogy, University of Bielsko-Biała, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
Monika Miczka-Pajestka, Ph.D.- Department of Pedagogy, University of Bielsko-
Biała, Poland.
e-mail: [email protected]
112
IV. NEW MEDIA
IN ACTION
113
Katarzyna KOPECKA-PIECH
INNOVATION OF NEW MEDIA CULTURAL PRODUCT –
THE CASE OF KONTAKT24.PL
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, new media generate new models of cultural production. In order to deter-
mine their potential and effectiveness, the issues of its innovation need to be taken into
account. The aim of this article has been to look at the culture management through the
prism of a cultural product, namely to capture the essence of innovation management
of a new media product. It is assumed that the cultural development results partly from
the development of specific products. Culture exhibits commercial aspects, hence it is
reasonable to consider the problems of its innovation. The problematic nature of the
indicated permanent creativity of the cultural sector (especially the media sector), and
implicitly its innovation, shall be suspended on the assumption that innovation takes
place when invention is being commercialised.
In the first place, based on the critical analysis of the existing findings, the specific
nature of a cultural product and its specific example - media product - will be deter-
mined. Then, product innovation, which stresses the so far overlooked product's per-
formative aspect, will be defined. Thanks to the analysis that assumes a gradual transi-
tion from the most general to the more and more detailed issues, the emphasis will be
put on the complexity of the phenomenon and the numerous contexts that should be
included in the research, in order to capture the innovative cultural mechanism. The
above-mentioned findings will allow the elements of the media product innovation
model to be determined, which has been our methodological goal. As a result of meta-
theoretical analyses1 of the current interdisciplinary research achievements, located at
the crossroads of various disciplines and areas of cultural practice, media product inno-
vation matrix will be created.
New media will constitute the subject of our detailed research and simultaneously will
1 Metatheories are "general theoretical constructs resting in part upon empirical evidence, but
which are not empirically verifiable in their entirety. Their function is rather to provide a
structure to which concrete research can be directed (...)", A. Hepp, Cultures of Mediatization,
Cambridge 2013, p. 49.
114
serve as a test for the developed tool. For the pilot analysis, Kontakt24.pl and innova-
tions introduced to the website during its redesign in 2014 were selected. The analysis
was carried out in the context of the hybrid, technological and content nature of media
product.
Keywords: innovation, cultural product, media product, media innovation, new media
INTRODUCTION. THE SPECIFICS OF CULTURAL PRODUCTION
The discourse on the issue of a cultural product has been a part of several re-
search fields. On the one hand, it is an element of the cultural economics, which,
due to its dichotomous nature, combines the material, commercial and symbolic
aspectsof the cultural product. On the other hand, a cultural product is of cul-
tural policy interest, especially the policy of supporting the cultural and creative
industries2 and a subject of management research3. Whereas treated as an arte-
fact and text, it is a subject of cultural analysis within the cultural studies4. Me-
dia studies can encounter foundations for developing media product theory in
the previous findings on the cultural production.
The tradition of research on the relationships between the culture and the market
is rich. The basic feature that has been noticed is the two-sidedness and synergy
of relationships. Culture, acquiring new cultural meanings, becomes commodi-
fied (e.g. a work of art at the stage of social circulation becomes a commodity
of a certain value) and goods are subject to strong aestheticisation, acquiring
new cultural meanings (e.g. products that are not works of art, but primarily
utility products, designed in such a way that they meet the customers’ expecta-
tions in terms of their visual qualities)5.
2 More: K. Kopecka-Piech, Creative and Cultural Industries Policy in Poland of 2012. Status,
Strategies, and Inaugurating Projects, "Transformations" 2013, No. 3-4. 3 More e.g.: Handbook of Research on Management of Cultural Products: E-Relationship
Marketing and AccessibilityPperspectives, ed. L. Aiello, Hershey 2014. 4 Cultural studies are part of a long tradition of research derived from the British tradition,
whose leading representative is Stewart Hall, and, on the other side, of the Australian-Amer-
ican tradition, represented primarily by John Fiske. More: S. Hall S., Encoding and Decoding
in the Television Discourse, Birmingham 1973; J. Fiske, Understanding Popular Culture,
London 1991. 5 L. Aiello, C. Cacia, The Cultural Product: Integration and Relational Approach. In Hand-
book of Research on Management of Cultural Products…, op. cit., p. 7, retrieved from:
115
From a methodological perspective, the complexity of the analysis of cultural
production, is explained by the Richard Johnson’s model, which takes into ac-
count both the individual and social conditions of the production and consump-
tion of cultural products and the course of their circulation6. The R. Johnson’s
model, although created in the 1980s, did not gain as much popularity as the
traditional cultural studies interpretations mentioned before, but it certainly de-
serves attention, perhaps even greater degree of attention than few decades ago.
Along with its update, resulting from the inclusion of a key cultural change at
the turn of the 20th and 21st century - the development of new media technol-
ogies – the model provides a comprehensive tool for analysing hybrid relation-
ships located at the crossroad of culture and market, which is where the issue of
media product and its innovation belongs.
According to R. Johnsons’ model the relationships between culture and eco-
nomics are multidirectional and synergistic. On the one side the economic pro-
cess of production can be observed; whereas on the other, cultural process of
"reading". The model also illustrates multiphase relationships between the flow
of capital, goods and commodities and the circulation of texts, forms and dis-
courses. The two spheres form the synergistic reservoirs extend between the
conditioning spheres: private and public sphere. Certainly the model needs to
be updated due to the dynamically growing prosumption7 and produsage8, en-
countered when dealing with the new media. However, what is interesting from
the product perspective and its innovation, is the fact that the creation and dis-
tribution of a cultural product is at the same time creating and sharing a cultural
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261134147_The_Cultural_Product_Integra-
tion_and_Relational_Approach. 6 R Johnson R., What is Cultural Studies Anyway, "Social Text" 1986-1987, No. 16, p. 47,
retrieved from: https://rhetwritcult.wikispaces.com/file/view/RichardJohnsonCulturalStud-
ies.pdf/40048130/RichardJohnsonCulturalStudies.pdf. 7 In the 80s XX w. Alvin Toffler developed the concept of prosumption as a growing self-
sufficiency of consumers, who finally become producers of goods and services for their own
use, in accordance with the "do it yourself" idea. A. Toffler A., Trzecia fala, Warsaw 1997.
More: K. Kopecka-Piech, Prosumpcja, produkcja przez użycie (produsage), praca przez za-
bawę (playbour). Zmiana relacji nadawczo-odbiorczych w Kulturze 2.0 In Postęp techniczny
a język i literatura, ed. B. Walczak, A. A. Niekrewicz, J. Żurawska-Chaszczewska, Gorzów
Wielkopolski 2014. 8 Produsage is a “collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing
content in pursuit of further improvement“, A. Bruns, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Be-
yond. From Production to Produsage, New York 2008, p. 2. More: K. Kopecka-Piech,
Prosumpcja ..., op. cit.
116
text that is consumed and read and has the chance to gain innovative properties9.
The innovation can be generated directly by either the producer or the con-
sumer, but the very fact that the cycle exists, makes the thesis that supports the
producer provenance of cultural innovation seem debatable. Thanks to the
model, the innovative potential of prosumption becomes visible.
The growing importance of the consumer in marketing innovation was noticed
by Elizabeth Hirschman as soon as in the eighties. In Hirschman's opinion,
when the consumer interferes with the product, he/she alters it, affects its new
"readings", applications, then, it is possible to speak about the symbolic inno-
vation he/she generates (“consumer-generated symbolic innovation”)10. Such
an innovation will not always be crucial. Groundbreaking innovation usually
requires integrated efforts of various subsystems, such as creative, managerial
and communications subsystem11.
In conclusion it could be said that both the production and consumption of cul-
tural products are complex processes, and the innovative potential can be seen
at each stage. However, creating innovation is equally complex.
CULTURAL PRODUCT
Defining the notion of cultural product is not an easy task. Due to the large
diversity of the cultural sector and its products, it is difficult to adopt a definition
so spacious that the specificity of an architectural design, a computer game and
an artistic event would fit in it. The cultural sector cannot clearly fit into the
9 Elizabeth Hirschman writes about symbolic redefining of products based on consumer activ-
ity, which prompts a new orientation in research on innovation, including marketing, i.e. the
return from a phenomenon dominated by marketers (marketer-dominated) to a phenomenon
dominated by the consumer (consumer-dominated). E. Hirschman, The Creation of Product
Symbolism, "NA - Advances in Consumer Research" vol. 3, retrieved from:
http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=6513. 10 Ibidem. 11 Ibidem. As E. Hirschman explains, creative subsystem is responsible for originating product
concepts. It includes, for example, authors of texts and playwrights. Managerial subsystem
operates in order to select products and implement their mass production and distribution. It
is formed by, for example, record or film companies. Communications subsystem is respon-
sible for providing consumers with information about products and it is created by e.g. adver-
tising agencies.
117
offering of services nor the production of goods12. For the pragmatic needs13
and analyses of the practice of the media sector, it is helpful to adopt the defi-
nition by UNESCO, a world-wide organisation whose aim is to provide practi-
cal support for the development of culture in all its dimensions14. According to
UNESCO's proposal: "Culture should be regarded as the set of distinctive spir-
itual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group,
and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of liv-
ing together, value systems, traditions and beliefs"15. The definition is capacious
and allows for categorising cultural goods. Starting from statistical catalogues
by UNESCO, it is possible to define cultural products of a specific field. The
list includes the following categories:
• Cultural and Natural Heritage,
• Performance and Celebration,
• Visual Arts and Crafts,
• Books and Press,
• Audio-Visual and Interactive Media,
• Design and Creative Services,
• Intangible Cultural Heritage (the so-called transversal domain16).
The listed domains are so diverse, also internally, that the analysis of their prod-
uct innovation based on one universal model can be difficult and sometimes
even impossible, hence the attempts to organise cultural products according to
classes that combine specific features. Using such divisions allows for compar-
12 L. Aiello, C. Cacia, op. cit., p. 6. 13 It has been stressed numerous times that the humanities and social sciences are rich when it
comes to culture definitions. Depending on the paradigm, theory, and research objectives, a
completely different perspective, scope, typology, etc. will be encountered. The purpose is
not to discuss on these definitions to analyses or to choose the best one, but rather to indicate
the direction of understanding culture, which has a chance to be useful in empirical research
on the innovation of a media product as a cultural product. 14 The choice of the definition proposed by the organisation focused on practical goals is related
to the practical goal of the research tool being constructed here: applying it to a specific area
of culture, namely the media. UNESCO situates media as one of the seven main cultural do-
mains. 15 UNESCO, UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, Paris 2001, p. 4, retrieved
from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001271/127162e.pdf 16 UNESCO, The 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics (FCS), General Confer-
ence, Paris 2009, p. 15, retrieved from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/im-
ages/0019/001910/191061e.pdf
118
ing the products belonging to various domains. Using the classifications devel-
oped by Tatiana Golubkova and Alla Iljina, cultural products can be divided
according to their:
• form of consumption (tangible, intangible, services),
• goals of production (commercial, non-commercial),
• time of consumption (unrestricted, restricted, simultaneous),
• original content (unique, replicated),
• definition of the audience (intended for the wide audience, intended for the
restricted audience)17.
Not only locating a product in a given category, class or group turns out to be
problematic. Its internal characterisation, isolation of elements that would be so
universal that they could be used as a basis for in-depth research is equally com-
plicated.
It may be helpful to analyse the specificity of a cultural product taking into
account the three dimensions indicated by Francois Colbert: referential, tech-
nical and circumstantial18. The first one organises the product within a specific
category, which allows for comparisons. The second concerns all technical
components and specifications. It is in the technical dimension where innova-
tive possibilities can be found. The third consists of: "the context in which the
product is located and consumer’s perceptions affected by the state of mind
during the act of consumption"19. Going back to the cultural placement of the
products, it can be concluded that it is impossible to isolate the product from
the social context or from the individualisation of its consumption. It is in the
socio-cultural sphere where the repercussions of innovations are placed. It is
also there, where the cultural (and not technological) innovation is placed. Con-
sequently, in this context, the cultural product analysis model turns out to be
very complex. Omitting one of the dimensions (referential, technical or circum-
stantial dimension) might deprive the analysis of completeness and contextuali-
17 T. Golubkova, A. Golubkova T., A. Iljina, The Role of the Product as an Element of Market-
ing Mix in the Field of Culture, "Advances in Economics and Business" 2015, No. 3 (4), p.
122, retrieved from: http://www.hrpub.org/download/20150410/AEB1-11803340.pdf. 18 F. Colbert, Marketing delle arti e della cultura, Milan 2004, as cited by L. Aiello, C. Cacia,
op. cit., p. 12. 19 Ibidem.
119
sation. On the other hand, Colbert's proposal, though universal and applicable
to the analysis of many different media products, seems too general. Therefore,
the question arises whether, willing to get to the heart of innovation, we should
use models that would represent products of specific fields or cultural sectors,
that would take their uniqueness into account. For example, the media industry,
museology and handicraft are too different from each other, also in terms of
their business models. The specific nature of both media industry and media
product itself implies that it cannot be analysed in the same way as other prod-
ucts. Therefore, an updated version of the media product model will be pro-
posed below, followed by models for its innovation.
MEDIA PRODUCT
A media product is a type of cultural product, the so-called information cultural
product20. It is characterised by its complex structure. According to the model
proposed by Tanja Schweizer, it consists of the content, shaped by core (theme
and message) and inner form (style); as well as of the outer form (re-production
technology, design and media).
The proposal, even though important due to the completion of the gap existing
in the research in the media product and its innovation21, is characterised by
narrow perspective (mainly industrial perspective) and its incompleteness. Ac-
cording to the model, based on the research on the publishing industry, media
product is devoid of a performative dimension, e.g. interactive dimension, typ-
ical of new media. Even placed within what has been defined as "design" in the
model (e.g. interface design, affordances etc.), it remains only a project that
allows for operation in a technical sense, which is insufficient for innovation to
take place. What is needed is a specific mechanism, which can be defined as an
innovative cultural mechanism. As it was mentioned in relation to R. Johnson's
20 In addition to the performance activity, the services of cultural institutions for the organisation
of production and consumption of artistic and literary works, performances and applied arts
as well as cultural tourism; A. A. Kazakov, Marketing v SKS, files.lib.sfu-
kras.ru/ebibl/umkd/1466/u_lectures.pdf (material in Russian) as cited by T. Golubkova, A.
Iljina, op. cit., p. 120.cit., p. 120. 21 The problems of defining innovations, the specifics of media innovations and their typologies
are discussed in detail in: K. Kopecka-Piech, Typologie innowacji..., op. cit.
120
model, specific consumer practice, placed within culture understood in a broad
sense is a core background. T. Schweizer's model is not universal, but proper
for traditional media. New media call for creating a new one, which would take
consumer activity - including prosumption practices or produsage - into ac-
count. Thanks to this, it will be possible to capture the innovative cultural mech-
anism that has been so far neglected.
MEDIA PRODUCT INNOVATION
Various areas of innovation potential (including context, outer form and user
actions), result from the model defined in this way. Innovation can be treated in
a narrow sense, being limited to a specific product, which is being analysed here
and now; or in a broader sense, where numerous socio-cultural aspects are taken
into account and long-term effects on many spheres of life are recognised. It
seems that the integration of both perspectives would be useful, hence the pro-
posal to divide innovation into innovation sensu stricto and sensu largo.
As media product innovation sensu stricto we understand the commercialisation
of technological, stylistic or social invention. Predominatingly the idea of media
change is implemented to the content and its success is measured mainly using
quantitative indicators such as readership, viewing audience, audience share,
page views, sales volume, profits etc. The product innovation understood in this
way is mainly of commercial nature, but innovation might be measured by other
indicators, e.g. a product reaching a specific number of people belonging to the
target group in order to generate e.g. a positive change.
Innovation understood in sensu stricto provides the basis for innovation sensu
largo. "When the term "innovation" is used to refer to a novel idea or thing,
innovation implies the creation of unique arrangements that will provide the
basis for the reorganisation of the way things will be in the future. Innovation,
in this sense, is about the shape of things to come. And although it is rarely
explicitly recognised in the popular literature on innovation theory, it is abun-
121
dantly clear to technohumanists that all the innovations literally rearrange cul-
ture"22. The innovation of the media product sensu largo means a far-reaching
transformation of the socio-cultural conditions for the functioning of media us-
ers. It means not so much a technological revolution or profit generated, but the
socio-cultural repercussions, "reconfugurating spaces of possibility" of human
existence23. Innovation understood in a broad sense alters human everyday life.
As an example of such an innovation, we could use mobile internet, which not
only led to transformation of individual spheres of life and industries, but also
generated a new paradigm of functioning - living in symbiosis with a mobile
device (mostly a smartphone), which is always to hand, potentially possible to
use in the majority of everyday tasks and activities. From the management per-
spective, seeking the effect of innovation sensu largo implies the need to create
new technological solutions - „hybrid social-cultural-technical interventions”24-
crucial, transforming and, ultimately, ground=breaking.
MODULAR INNOVATION MODEL
As explained before, new media do not fit well with product and innovation
models designed for traditional media. It is so due to their specific structure,
mechanisms of operation and the culture they generate. In their case, not all
typologies and tools for innovation analysis will be effective. However, the
model corresponding to their innovation can be derived using two sources: the
innovation typology proposed by Rebecca Henderson and Kim Clark and the
new media layered structure by Michael Cummings.
R. Henderson and K. Clark proposed a simple division of innovations based on
two factors:
• changes within elements, concepts, ideas and
• changes within the relationships between elements, concepts, ideas25.
22 A. Balsamo, The Digital Humanities and Technocultural Innovation In Digital Media: Tech-
nological and Social Challenges of the Interactive World, ed. M. A. Winget, W. Aspray,
Lanham 2011, p. 215. 23 Ibidem. 24 Ibidem, p. 218. 25 R. M. Henderson, K. B. Clark, Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Exisiting,
„Administrative Science Quarterly” 1990, No. 35, retrived from: http://dimetic.dime-
122
When the elements remain unchanged, or even strengthened, but what changes
is the way in which they are connected, we are dealing with architectural inno-
vation; when above-mentioned way is unchanged, incremental innovation takes
place. When the elements are changed, in other words overturned, a modular
innovation will take place. It so happens when the way in which the elements
bind together remains constant. The radical (or groundbreaking) innovation
takes place when both the elements and the relationships between them change.
The modular innovation model reflects the structure of new media innovation
sensu stricte. Due to digital media layered and modular structure26, this model
seems to be adequate for explaining, how its innovation is seen.
What modules and layers does a new media product consist of? Michael Cum-
mings justifies that looking at the new media from the user's perspective and
making use of linguistics. User Experience Design is viewed as a linguistic mix,
like a pidgin (simplified auxiliary language), "resulting from the integration and
synthesis of multiple discreet vocabularies, which are apprehended by a user
simultaneously as one"27. These individual "languages", or rather media layers,
were organised starting from the ones of which existence users were most
aware.
Table 1. M. Cummings, User Experience.UX Design, UX Design Defined,
http://uxdesign.com/ux-defined.
Written language English, Spanish, Mandarin etc.
Graphic design Shape, symbolism, line, colour, spacial composition, tex-
ture, dimension and other facets of visual rendering
Sound Music or spoken word (a.k.a. Voice Over/ V.O.) audio
Motion Animation, change, motion, time, rhythm, calculus
Information design Textual style, graphics, and composition for information
structure, meaning, relationship and user comprehension
Interface design Graphical and information design elements utilised to in-
dicate controls for data manipulation
eu.org/dimetic_files/HendersonClarkASQ1990.pdf.
26 More, e.g. L. Manovich, Język nowych mediów, Warszawa 2006. 27 M. Cummings, User Experience.UX Design, UX Design Defined, http://uxdesign.com/ux-
defined.
123
Interaction design Task flow, system flow/behaviour and human compre-
hensibility of controls provided by the user interface
Programming "Front end" (client executed) or "back end" (server exe-
cuted) code for data input, processing, and retrieval
Eight layers of a new media product (e.g. a mobile application or a traditional
website) are eight elements whose new variants may result in modular innova-
tion. The method in which they are connected will not change in relation to the
existing one28. By combining both tools (media product model and new media
layered structure model), potential innovation opportunities can be identified,
thus creating a media product innovation matrix that can be used as a tool for
analysing specific cases; and in media practice, can serve as an inspiration to
look for new innovative solutions.
Table 2. Media product innovation matrix (own elaboration).
Content Content
inner form Outer form
Cultural
mechanism
Written language
Graphic design
Sound
Motion
Information design
Interface design
Interaction design
Programming
KONTAKT24.PL - EXAMPLES OF INNOVATION IN THE NEW MEDIA
Locating new media within the models and typologies analysed above and using
28 Modular innovation sensu stricto in particular circumstances can be seen as modular innova-
tion sensu largo. Wikipedia, which completely changed the way of creating, distributing and
using encyclopaedic information, could be quoted as an example. It began to play an im-
portant cultural role, influencing for example the shape of academic discourse (Wikipedia as
a (non) scientific source), or historical-political role (deciding on the version of history or
biography shaped in the public discourse). It is these social repercussions and reconfigurations
of the space of possibilities that gave birth to this new source of encyclopaedic character that
led to specific rearrangements in various spheres of culture.
124
the media product innovation matrix, it is possible to analyse the innovation of
the selected website, which, over time, has implemented changes of different
nature. Kontakt24.pl is a part of the website TVN24.pl dedicated to interacting
with the viewers. Users can use it to provide material for the Internet platform
from which it can get on the air or hit the channel's website. In 2014 Kon-
takt24.pl was redesigned. Its redesign concerned the majority of layers indicated
by M. Cummings, and, the majority of its elements, looking at the website from
the perspective of the completed media product model. Basic innovations will
be analysed below.
CONTENT
Starting from the core, which is, at the same time, information design - new
content, or actually new ways of presenting aggregate content of certain kind,
have been introduced. This can be considered a modular innovation from the
perspective of graphic and information design (as it consists of adding a new
element to site), or an architectural innovation from programming perspective,
since new elements for combining content are introduced. A new module "On
the air", which displays user's information, currently presented on the air, has
been introduced (the users are referred to as "24Reporters"). In this way, the
currentness of the content and the relationship with the TV editors (content con-
vergence) have been stressed. The added module29 emphasised the website's
dynamism in terms of themes and ways in which they are presented. As the
implementers of the changes themselves emphasise, it has allowed for a better
exposure of materials30. In this way, the cultural mechanism engaging ordinary
people in creating news content and sharing it via a professional medium - is
also manifested. However, it should be said "professional-amateur" medium, in
which management and gatekeeping are of professional nature, and content is
created by amateurs (at least in principle).
Reception, search for materials and uploading them is facilitated by another ar-
chitectural innovation, the thematic segmentation, the so called "Hot topics",
29 It is even reffered to in this way by the authors of the changes, Witaj w nowtm Kontakcie 24!,
http://kontakt24.tvn24.pl/witaj-w-nowym-kontakcie-24,145111.html 30 Ibidem.
125
introduced. The topics can be searched through on the home page by scrolling.
Using the "Send" button, one can easily assign a given material to a specific
category.
Regarding the internal form, large photos, filling the major part of the screen,
have been introduced. It is only an incremental innovation, a change of format,
not a change that would concern module or relationship with other elements,
but still it is of great significance. The significance of the image is being ex-
posed again. This underlines the importance that visual layer has for Kon-
takt24.pl as well as for the TVN24 channel. Amateur photos, the variety of their
form, content and quality (including technical quality) strengthen the value of
media prosumption, on which the platform is based.
OUTER FORM
Turning to reproduction technology the changes in programming, which allow
for using the website on any type of device, without losing the materials' legi-
bility or ease of navigation. The content adapts to the device type, e.g. mobile
devices, while the same content is being displayed. This is an example of archi-
tectural innovation. The content is connected to the terminal device in a differ-
ent way that is specific to the device type. This is a step towards mobile users,
an action whose purpose has been to make the reception easier. The aim is to
create the content using a smartphone or a tablet, which seems to be natural and
desirable "in the field", where the so called "amateur news" are created.
The design of the home page has changed when it comes to the information and
interface design, since from now the video materials can be watched directly
from the home page. This architectural innovation has made searching for and
receiving film materials easier. It is reinforced by the "Send" button located in
the upper right corner, hugely visible, which, on clicking, activates the possi-
bility to send a text, a photo or a video in few seconds time. The green rectangle
is really distinctive, encourages activity. It is based on sharing: the well known,
common, socio-cultural mechanism, which develops in the very special way in
social media.
126
CULTURAL MECHANISM
The model of the media product is complemented by performative mechanism,
without which the website wouldn't be able to operate. It is based on a series of
incentives for acting (the so-called affordances31), but primarily on the pattern
of sharing created materials well established in the social media. The innova-
tions introduced in 2014 were drawn from the functionality and cultural models
of social media. They are primarily modular in nature and fit into the interac-
tion, interface and graphics design.
First of all, the options to "follow" the other users' activity and send them private
messages32 were introduced, creating a social networking site out of Kontakt24.
Another element is adding the possibility of collecting badges33. This element
is used to enhance the users' self esteem, their self-promotion, as well as intro-
duce competition between them. The reporters are classified based on their ex-
perience, expertise and successes. The "Reporter of the month", "Meteo-expert"
or "Traveller" badges have been introduced. Some of them are evaluated quan-
titatively (users are awarded with them based on the amount of materials up-
loaded, posted on Kontakt.pl or shown on air, the number of followers, the level
of experience indicated by the number of stars etc.), others qualitatively (editors'
award for interesting material or expertise in a given topics, e.g. politics, suc-
cessful debut, outstanding activity within a given subject, e.g. travels, absurd
tracking). User segmentation, which has diverse effects, is a consequence of
introducing the badges. Engaged reporters, the ones that provide valuable ma-
terials, as well as the ones that can be counted on are awarded. On the other
hand the little experience of some of the users can be easily noticed, same goes
with the channel's or website's poor interest in their materials. It should be added
that the introduction of the award system required introducing the new graphic
design. Badges added to user profiles are a kind of modular innovation.
Both within the programming and interface design, there is a new functionality
available after logging in: the option of selecting "Hot topics" tracked, thanks
31 K. Kopecka-Piech, Afordancje mediów mobilnych In Nowe media i wyzwania współcze-
snosci, (ed.) M. Sokołowski, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2013. 32 These functionalities are typical of social media, e.g. Facebook. 33 An element typical e.g. of the Foursquare.
127
to which the main page view is subject to personalisation. Having logged in a
user receives a notification when a material that might possibly be of their in-
terest is uploaded. The website is the same for everyone, but at the same time
different for each user - this innovation fits well in the personalisation trend,
that is, adapting to each user's taste and needs. However, the hybrid, profes-
sional-amateur nature of the website should be emphasised. Personalisation
takes place within the framework set up by the website's editors - they are the
ones who define, open and close the "Hot topics", even though the content can
be provided by anyone.
CONCLUSIONS
Summing up, the innovations introduced in the case of Kontakt24.pl are of di-
verse nature. Architectural innovations are based mainly on the content seg-
mentation mechanisms and content adaptation to devices as well as to person-
alised user profiles. Modular innovations rely on introducing new website ele-
ments, such as graphical and informational elements; while incremental inno-
vations - on the elements' modification (their size, shape or format).
Kontakt24.pl is a professional-amateur service. Thanks to the innovations in-
troduced, it is becoming a professional media platform of a social nature. It
emphasises the importance of video and photo materials in a particular way. Its
visual focus seems understandable. Kontakt24.pl is characterised by its specific
"televisivity". Due to the convergence of its content, as well as of the media
practice, the ordinary users involvement results in the channel's TV content.
How do the innovations regroup the user's activities and experience, what op-
portunities do they create, and thus, what is their innovation in the broader
sense? New functionalities, design and information solutions, social features
etc. introduced, strengthen the cultural mechanism, typical of Web 2.0: creating
multimedia content, sharing it, letting others evaluate, modify and complement
it. What distinguishes Kontakt24.pl is the convergence of the website with the
TV channel, profiling its content as news, gradual transformation of traditional
and professional media into even more dialogue, open and subject to new con-
vergence processes, and offering increasingly personalised websites. It happens
128
thanks to the possibility of adaptation the selected and presented content to one's
unique interests and needs. In this case, innovation in the broader sense implies
mainstream media socialisation and the increasing integration of various web-
sites, mainly with leading social networks.
Going beyond the case analysed and returning to the comments on the media
product theory and innovation made at the beginning of the paper, it is necessary
to emphasise that pilot character of the presented research. The issue requires
further exploration and modifications of models in the light of the cultural and
social mechanisms observed on the Internet.
When it comes to research methodology, it appears appropriate to integrate dif-
ferent perspectives, including classical innovation theory as well as novel de-
sign methods derived from media practice, such as the User Experience Design.
The case study has resulted in realising the importance of innovative cultural
mechanisms that start to play a role as important, if not more important than,
changes to particular elements of media product: content and outer form.
Going beyond the media product, it is worth examining the usefulness of the
theory and developed analytical tools for the study of broadly defined cultural
production. Which cultural domains could benefit from the solutions proposed?
Which domains call for a different perspective? The variety of questions asked
justifies the need for further research in this area and for developing the media
innovation theory34.
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34 Part of the research results including in this article was previously presented during the con-
ference "Kultura od nowa. Badania – Trendy – Praktyka.", Uniwersytet Gdański, 30.06.2015.
The paper was translated by Elżbieta Rudnicka.
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w stechnicyzowanym swiecie. Wpływ postępu technicznego na język i literaturę
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Wielkopolski 2014.
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Communication, University of Wroclaw, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
130
Radosław SAJNA
THE MEDIA DECENTRALIZATION
AS A BASIS FOR RESISTANCE AGAINST HEGEMONY:
THE CASES OF POLAND, SPAIN AND MEXICO
ABSTRACT
In discussions about resistance and hegemony the problem of the media decentralization
seems to be very important, above all in transition societies aiming to build modern
democratic countries. Every authoritarian or totalitarian regime (including fascist, com-
munist and others) creates centralized structures in politics, administration, media and
so on. Although in such regimes could exist many regional or local media, they are
generally elements of the regime’s propaganda machine. While building democracy,
such propaganda machines are to be destroyed, and new media systems are to be cre-
ated. This does not mean that media systems in new democracies are not centralized. In
different countries the hegemony of the national (and international) media located in
big capital cities, and owned often by big media corporations or dominated by main-
stream political elites, limits the media decentralization, and – as a consequence – the
decentralized democracy. Nevertheless, the new media are new practical tools to create
a new decentralized democracy, not only in the geographical sense, contributing to re-
sistance against hegemony in centralized communication realities dominated by big me-
dia and political elites.
In this comparative study three cases of three countries are analyzed. The first is Poland,
a country that began transition after the collapse of the communism in the Central and
Eastern Europe in 1989 and next years. The second is Spain, a country that began to
build new democracy in 1976 after the death of general Franco and the collapse of his
regime. The third is Mexico, a country that experienced a long-term regime of the
mono-party – or rather coalition – PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) that fin-
ished only in 2000 when Vicente Fox of PAN (Partido Acción Nacional) won the pres-
idential elections. These three countries experienced different types of undemocratic
regimes and began transitions in different years, but they have also different political
and administrative systems. Poland is a unitary country, Spain is a ‘regional’ country
with broad autonomies of regions (comunidades autónomas), and Mexico is a federal
131
country (Estados Unidos Mexicanos). Poland and Spain are both members of the Euro-
pean Union and have similar populations (about 41 and 38 millions of people, respec-
tively), and Mexico – ‘New Spain’ in the past – shares cultural roots with Spain, as an
ex-colony of this Iberian country.
The main questions of this comparative system analysis are: Which of the analyzed
countries has the most and which has the least decentralized media system? Which fac-
tor (period of transition, the type of the past regime) influences mostly the media de-
centralization? Does the decentralization of the media system correlates positively with
the political/administrative decentralization? How the new media contribute to the me-
dia (and democratic) decentralization in these countries? And the final question of this
study: which of the analyzed countries has the strongest media basis for the resistance
against hegemony?
Keywords: hegemony, media decentralization, Mexico, Poland, Spain
INTRODUCTION
The term ‘hegemony’ is used in different contexts, depending naturally on per-
spectives of analysis. In political science the hegemony is a situation when one
element of the system dominates others, though Antonio Gramsci – perhaps the
most famous political thinker treating the hegemony problem – described it as
an ability of the ruling class to govern thanks to gaining acceptation of the sub-
ordinated classes that is an alternative of the pressure. The hegemony in this
context is a cultural or ideological process of distribution of the elite’s (bour-
geoisie’s) values among society, though it is possible to gain acceptation of the
classes also by economic or social reforms, for example (Heywood 2006: 253).
In international studies the hegemony is a situation when one country dominates
or controls others by political, economic or military means, and we could find
many different kinds of such hegemony in the history as well as in the contem-
porary world (see: Baylis & Smith, eds., 2008).
While analyzing media systems, one could find different kinds of hegemony
too. First of all, in the global context a strong domination of several global pow-
ers and multi-media corporations located above all in the United States, Japan
and the biggest countries of the European Union (mainly the United Kingdom,
132
Germany and France), such as TimeWarner, News Corp., Disney Corp., Google
Corp., Sony Entertainment, Bertelsmann, Vivendi etc. could be observed. Alt-
hough there are big multi-media corporations also in the global South (Globo
in Brasil, Televisa in Mexico or Naspers Group in the South Africa), the domi-
nation of several centers of the global North is obvious, not only in the economic
sense (see: McPhail 2006, Kishan Thussu 2006 Kishan Thussu, ed., 2007). The
hegemony could be observed also in the distribution of news and images of the
global issues, though nowadays there is stronger global competition than earlier,
when CNN was the main international broadcaster of news about international
conflicts to the international audience. Now there are many other international
news broadcasters, like EuroNews, France 24, Al-Jazeera, TeleSUR, Russia To-
day or the Chinese English-language TV, naming only the most important
which have broad international audiences (see: Paterson & Sreberny, eds.
2004). This global aspects of the domination should not be omitted in the anal-
yses of the national media systems too.
In every country there are different kinds of hegemony that could be observed
while analyzing the media systems. The hegemony is strongly related to cen-
tralization of the media, being of political, economic or even geographical/ad-
ministrative nature. When the majority of the media are in the hands of one
dominating political group (a party or a political elite serving to one person, a
dictator), it is a political centralization, a political hegemony. When the majority
of the media are in the hands of big multi-media corporations (national or
global), it is an economical centralization, an economical hegemony. When the
majority of the media are concentrated in one geographical/administrative cen-
ter (capital of the state, most often), it is a geographical/administrative central-
ization, a hegemony of the capital of the state (or other city as a media center)
in a country where the rest are only provincial regions in the media system.
These three kinds of the hegemony are effects of different historical events,
national or regional traditions or global trends, influencing the media centrali-
zation and the processes of decentralization in every country in different ways,
depending also on activities of the political and business elites on different lev-
els: local, regional, national and international. The media decentralization
should be treated, consequently, as a kind of resistance against the hegemony
in the media landscapes on different levels.
133
In this study the media decentralization in three different countries is analyzed
to compare them as countries that experienced in last years, or decades, transi-
tions after different long-term undemocratic regimes. In general, every author-
itarian or totalitarian regime creates centralized structures of power, controlling
the media system and using the media as transmitters of that power vertically
(from the rulers to the people) and in accordance with ideological and practical
purposes of the regime. Although in such regimes could exist many regional or
local media, they are generally elements of the regime’s propaganda machine.
While building democracy, such propaganda machines are to be destroyed, and
new media systems are to be created. Nevertheless, this does not mean that me-
dia systems in new democracies are not centralized, though a process of the
decentralization of political power and media systems is generally undertook.
Today, in the new media landscapes, these processes are even more dynamic
and complicated, because of the new media technologies – being the Internet
the main communication platform of the contemporary world – that are decen-
tralized ‘by nature’ (although often dominated politically and economically
too).
POLAND, SPAIN, MEXICO: DIFFERENT REGIMES, DIFFERENT TRANSI-
TIONS, DIFFERENT DECENTRALIZATIONS
The three countries analyzed in this study are Poland, Spain and Mexico. Poland
is a country that experienced a long-term communist or socialist regime (de-
pending on political interpretations) introduced in that and other countries of
the Central and Eastern Europe after the World War II, when Europe was di-
vided into two rivaling blocks. In Poland, like in other ‘satellite’ countries of
the USSR, the media functioned in accordance with the Soviet communist the-
ory of the press, as described by Wilbur Schramm who named several pillars of
that concept of the media:
• “Mass communications are used instrumentally – that is, as an instrument
of the state and the Party.
• They are closely integrated with other instruments of state power and Party
influence.
• They are used as instruments of unity within the state and the Party.
134
• They are used as instruments of state and Party ‘revelation.’
• They are used almost exclusively as instruments of propaganda and agita-
tion.
• They are characterized by a strictly enforced responsibility” (Schramm
1956/1984: 121).
After the collapse of the communism in the Central and Eastern Europe in 1989
and next years, transitions began and the liberal democracy was introduced in
Poland and other countries of the region (though not in all effectively). For the
media it was a ‘revolution’: many changes of political, economic or social kind
were undertook, the media became politically free, serving as “fourth state” and
“platform” for public debates, they began to compete in free markets, foreign
capital poured in, a lot of advertisements invaded everywhere, but also Polish
editions of “Playboy”, “Elle” or “Forbes” appeared, as well as more pluralism
for children, because of many new animated films were imported too, etc.
(Sajna 2007). Finally, in 2004 Poland became member of the European Union,
like Spain eighteen years earlier, in 1986 (see: Closa & Heywood 2004).
Spain – a country with similar population like Poland (about 41 and 38 millions
of people, respectively) – experienced other kind of undemocratic regime that
began after a bloody civil war (1936-1939), when general Francisco Franco Ba-
hamonde took power and ruled until his death in 1975. The Francoist regime
has been compared often with the Italian fascist regime under Mussolini and
even more with others, considered semi- or pseudo-fascist (like France of Vichy
or Hungarian and Romanian regimes), but rather not with the Germany under
Hitler (Tusell 2010: 22). The authoritarian regime of general Franco based on a
concept of nacionalcatolicismo (national Catholicism), but also repressed any
sort of regionalism or regional nationalism, including the Catalan and the
Basque, strong in the region where during that regime the terrorist organization
ETA was born to battle for independence of the less or more legendary Basque
Country called Euskadi in the Basque language (euskera or euskara) of enig-
matic roots. Spain began to build new democracy in 1976 after the death of
general Franco and the final collapse of his regime. Naturally, the media system
changed too, in accordance with the rules of the liberal democracy, so from state
control to freedom of speech, guaranteed in new Constitution of 1978 that also
135
guaranteed freedom of speaking Catalan, Basque or Galician languages. New
journals and newspapers appeared, like national widely distributed El País, cre-
ated by anti-Francoist ex-oppositionists, or Catalan-language Avui in Barce-
lona, new radio and TV stations began to broadcast, and big media groups
emerged on the more and more competitive media markets (see: Pérez López
1998, Sajna 2006). The effects of transitions in Spain and Poland have been
quite similar, both countries becoming liberal democracies with free media mar-
kets, but there have been differences in many details. In Spain, for example,
many old, private newspapers survived the regime of general Franco, like na-
tional daily ABC or La Vanguardia, edited in Barcelona, while in the communist
Poland private capital did not exist in the media system, so at the beginning of
the transition a problem of the media privatization appeared.
Mexico, called ‘New Spain’ during the colonization era, when the Spaniards
created there one of their viceroyalties, is another country that experienced in
20th Century a long-term undemocratic regime, but different from the Francoist
in Spain or the communist in Poland. Mexico of the first decades of the past
century was a battlefield for many political groups and leaders aiming to gaining
power in that country during the Mexican Revolution, a process that had many
aspects and goals (Matute 2002), and finally has changed dramatically that
country, inhabited in the past by, among others, the Olmecs, the Mayas, the
Aztecs, then the Spanish colonizers, and today by a racially mixed society. The
Mexican Revolution gave power to the Mexican Revolution Party (Partido de
la Revlución Mexicana, PRM) that in 1946 was substituted by a coalition PRI
(Partido Revolucionario Institucional) (see: Garciadiego 2006, Aboites Aguilar
2006). Since then the presidents of Mexico were exclusively representatives of
the PRI that practically (though not formally) monopolized the national political
scene until 2000, when Vicente Fox from PAN (Partido Acción Nacional)
gained the presidency. Nevertheless, in the case of Mexico it is not so obvious
the date of the start of transition, because Fox’s victory was not the finish of the
country dominated by the PRI. One of the last presidents of that long-term rul-
ing coalition, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, wrote about “lost decade” 1995-2006
in Mexico, a country between “neoliberalism and populism” (Salinas de Gortari
2008). While in Spain and Poland the transition periods could be easily indi-
136
cated, in Mexico we could only treat the start of the new millennium as a be-
ginning of the new period, after the break of the PRI’s presidential monopoly
in 2000. The media in Mexico, however, has changed from “an authoritarian
media institution to a hybrid system in which civic, market driven, and author-
itarian elements of the press compete and conflict (…)” (Hughes 2006: 208).
Poland, Spain and Mexico experienced different types of undemocratic regimes
and began transitions in different years, but they have also different political
and administrative systems. Poland is a unitary country, Spain is a ‘regional’
country with broad autonomies of regions, and Mexico is a federal country (Es-
tados Unidos Mexicanos). Poland during the communist era was strongly cen-
tralized, divided into 49 provinces (voivodeships), and only in 1999 an admin-
istrative reform introduced a new three-level division. Now Poland has 16 voi-
vodeships with regional and local authorities, controlled – in accordance with
the Polish Constitution (Chapter VII) of 1997 – by regional representatives of
the national government: 16 voivodes.
Spain was also strongly centralized during the Franco’s regime, but this Iberian
country that was born after the union of Castile and Aragon (as a consequence
of the marriage of Isabel and Fernando in 1469 in Valladolid) and following
conquests of another lands of the Iberian Peninsula has strong regional tradi-
tions. After 1975 Spain became strongly decentralized country: in the Spanish
Constitution of 1978 the Article 2 guarantees the right to autonomy of nation-
alities (nacionalidades) and regions, and the Article 3 the right to treat as offi-
cial different regional languages, being the Castilian the official language of the
state. Although Spain is not federal country, is often called a “federalizing”
state, divided into 17 regions, called Comunidades Autónomas (Autonomous
Communities). Every of them has – in accordance with the Sapnish Constitution
– its own Estatuto (a regional constitution), where not only the regional lan-
guage could be introduced as official, but also other important competences,
named in the Article 148 of the Spanish Constitution (in the Article 149 the
exclusive competences of the State appears).
Mexico is a federal country with an extensive constitution (Constitución Políti-
ca de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos) of 1917, where Título Quinto (Title Fifth),
with Articles 115-122, is dedicated to the States of the Federation (that are 31)
and the Federal District (that is México D.F., called also Ciudad de México or
137
in English: Mexico City). Every state has its own constitution, legislative, exe-
cutive and judicial independent powers, but the Constitution guarantees also ex-
clusive competences for municipalities without any intermediary authority bet-
ween them and the state. It should be added, however, that in the Título Primero
(Title First), the Chapter First is dedicated to the Human Rights, and, among
different subjects, guarantees the right to autonomy for the indigenous peoples
of Mexico, including self-determination and autonomy to decide their own
forms of social, economic, political and cultural organization (Art. 2, A. I.).
QUESTIONS OF THE STUDY AND METHODS
The main questions of this study are: Which of the analyzed countries has the
most and which has the least decentralized media system? Which factor (period
of transition, type of the past regime) influences mostly the media decentraliza-
tion? Does the decentralization of the media system correlates positively with
the political/administrative decentralization? How the new media contribute to
the media (and democratic) decentralization in these countries? And the final
question of this study: which of the analyzed countries has the strongest media
basis for the resistance against hegemony?
The three analyzed countries: Poland, Spain and Mexico have different founda-
tions for the media decentralization, though in every case it is needed to take
into consideration all the aspects of the problem – that are political, economic
and geographical – as common for all the cases, as well as the role of the new
media in the process. The analysis consists in three case studies that are pre-
sented in the following paragraphs of the article (firstly Poland, then Spain, and
finally Mexico). In every case study all the aspects of the problem were ana-
lyzed, however in the text of this article only the most important observations
are presented. Finally, a comparative analysis has been realized in order to an-
swer, in the conclusions, the questions of the study.
THE MEDIA DECENTRALIZATION IN POLAND
After the communist era the processes of the decentralization began, and the
138
freedom of the press has been implemented. In accordance with the 2015 World
Press Freedom Index, by the Reporters Without Borders, Poland occupies 18th
place, while Spain 33rd, and Mexico only 148th in the world (see: http://in-
dex.rsf.org/#!/, April 14, 2015). This suggests that in the political terms Poland
should be the most decentralized among analyzed countries. Although politi-
cians in Poland are not formally connected with the big media, the most popular
Polish media support currently the mainstream liberal ideology and a party that
promotes it. Nevertheless, there is political pluralism in Poland, and every Pole
could find different interpretations of the political realities in the Polish press,
radio or TV, as well as in many Internet websites, without censorship: a situa-
tion impossible to compare with the previous era of the politically centralized
communist country.
More difficult situation is in the case of the public media that were created on
the base of the state radio and television. While the radio in Poland began to
broadcast before the World War II, the television was established by the com-
munists in 1952-53. Although several regional state broadcasters were created
by the regime in different years, the Telewizja Polska (Polish Television) was
strongly centralized. After 1989 it became TVP SA, as a public broadcaster and
a treasury company, gaining strong position in the Polish TV market. Neverthe-
less, the new radio and television law gave politicians a possibility to control
indirectly the public media. TVP SA established several new regional broad-
casters, but all are centralized by the national channel TVP Regionalna (TVP
Regional) that gives only several hours daily to regional broadcasts. In every
region (voivodeship) of Poland there is one regional TVP’s broadcaster, de-
pending still on the central TVP. More decentralized is the public radio, Polskie
Radio SA. Its regional broadcasters (in every region too) have independent
structures and independent programs, not connected with national broadcaster.
In the regional and local radio and TV markets the public broadcasters have
strong shares, above all in the television the domination of the TVP is evident,
because private local TVs are few and weak. In the case of radio there are many
local private stations, but most of them are local branches of the national net-
works, owned by Polish media corporations: ZPR SA, Agora SA and others,
sometimes with foreign capital. In general, the radio in Poland is dominated by
a national private broadcaster RMF FM, owned by the German media group
139
Bauer that dominates also in the Polish press magazines market. The RMF FM
has national audience of more than 25 per cent (as national share), being the
most popular radio station in Europe. The second one, Radio ZET (owned by
the media group Eurozet with the French capital of Lagardère) has a share of
more than 13 per cent, while the third, the public first channel, less than 9 per
cent (see: http://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/rmf-fm-ucieka-radiu-zet-je-
dynka-z-rekordowo-slabym-wynikiem, April 14, 2015). Similarly, the Polish
TV market is dominated by two private, commercial TV groups (Polsat and
TVN, the first with Polish private capital, and the second owned lastly by
Scripps Networks from the USA), and the public broadcaster TVP SA.
Two out of three most popular Polish Internet web portals – WP, Onet and In-
teria – are owned by big media groups. The main owner of Onet is a consortium
of the Swiss Ringier and the German Axel Springer, while Interia is owned by
the German Bauer. WP (Wirtualna Polska) is currently owned by a Polish In-
ternet company Grupa WP. A network of popular local citizen journalism por-
tals MM (Moje Miasto that means ‘My City’) is owned by the Polska Press
Grupa, a Polish branch of the Verlagsgruppe Passau. This German media group,
after last acquisitions, owns currently a strong majority of the Polish regional
and local dailies, the regional/local market leaders of readership in almost every
region of Poland (see: Polska Press Grupa, http://polskapress.pl/en?set_lan-
guage=en, April 14, 2015).
In the geographical sense, the media decentralization in Poland is weak, being
the capital city of Warsaw the seat of almost all main national media, above all
nationwide press and television. Two exceptions one could find in the Polish
radio, because the market leader RMF FM has its main seat in Cracow, and a
nationwide, quite popular Catholic station Radio Maryja (Radio Maria) is lo-
cated in a small city of Toruń in Northern Poland.
The Internet is becoming more and more popular, above all among young gen-
erations. In accordance with the data of the Internet World Stats, in Poland 66,9
per cent of the population (data for June 30, 2014) have access to the Internet
(see: Internet World Stats, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats4. htm#eu-
rope, April 14, 2015). Although the main web portals are owned by me-dia
groups, there are many smaller websites, and almost 10 million Poles use Face-
140
book. The Internet and other new media contribute to the decentralization in
political sense (for example as a good communication means for antisystem
politicians, like in the case of a rock musician Paweł Kukiz or Janusz Korwin-
Mikke, known by his controversial statements, or for journalists who have in-
tention of “telling the truth”, like Mariusz Max Kolonko whose films posted on
the YouTube channel MaxTVNews are viewed by thousands of people every
day), in economic sense (new different websites have appeared, though the most
popular are Polish versions of the American, global websites or the above men-
tioned web portals) and in geographical sense (new local websites have ap-
peared, though the most popular are owned by media groups, like Polska Press
Grupa, mentioned earlier).
THE MEDIA DECENTRALIZATION IN SPAIN
Although the position of Spain in the mentioned above 2015 World Press Free-
dom Index is one of the lowest in the European Union, in this Iberian country
the political pluralism exists, as an effect of the political transition after the col-
lapse of the Franco’s regime. Freedom of the press is not in danger in Spain,
though some media were closed by a judicial decision, like in the case of the
Basque-language daily Euskaldunon Egunkaria, closed in 2003 because of its
connection with ETA (a separatist Basque organization responsible of many
murders, among other crimes). In accordance with Hallin and Mancini’s com-
parative analysis of the media systems, in Spain, like in other Mediterra-nean
countries, a “political parallelism” is at a high level, because of strong connec-
tions between the spheres of media and politics (Hallin & Mancini 2007: 98-
110).
There is a pluralism in Spain at the national level, above all in the nationwide
daily press (from conservative dailies ABC and La Razón to liberal-leftist El
País and Público), as well as at the regional/local level. There is a lot of regional
and local dailies in Spain, being the Basque Country the region (comunidad
autónoma) with the highest level of readership, and Catalonia as the region of
the biggest regional press market (Sajna 2006: 85-104). An old daily La Van-
guardia, founded in 1881, a nationalist Catalan-language El Punt Avui and El
Periódico de Catalunya – a daily edited in two linguistic versions: Spanish and
141
Catalan – compete for readers in that rich and strongly autonomous region of
Spain with Barcelona as a capital and a center of the Catalan media market. Of
course many local dailies in different cities of Catalonia are edited, as well as
in other regions, where we could find such prestigious regional dailies, like El
Norte de Castilla (edited since 1854 in Valladolid, Castilla-León), La Voz de
Galicia (edited since 1882 in La Coruña, Galicia), La Nueva España (edited
since 1936 in Oviedo, Asturias), the Basque (not nationalist, but with a high
level of readership) dailies El Correo (edited in Bilbao since 1910) and El Dia-
rio Vasco (edited in San Sebastian since 1916) or many dailies in the most pop-
ulated Spanish region Andalusia etc. Some of the mentioned above dailies
(among others) are owned by the Spanish media group Vocento, while others
by Editorial Prensa Ibérica or Grupo Zeta, both with headquarters in Barcelona.
Although these Spanish groups have strong positions in the regional press mar-
ket, the economic decentralization (and “resistance” to foreign capital) is mean-
ingfully stronger than in Poland, where the domination of one German group is
more than evident.
In contrast to Poland, the regional and local TV markets are strong in Spain,
and the decentralization of the public media is a fact. Almost every region (co-
munidad autónoma) of Spain has its own public media entity (radio and TV
broadcasters), completely independent from the national radio and television
public broadcaster RTVE (Radio Televisión Española). The private local TV
market in Spain is one of the biggest in Europe, with hundreds of local TV
stations, though many of them were closed after 2008 (like in the case of the
network Localia TV, owned before by the largest media group in Spain – Grupo
PRISA), because of the financial crisis. The radio and TV market in Spain is
dominated by several media groups: Grupo PRISA, Vocento, Grupo Planeta,
while the most popular private TV station, Telecinco, is owned by the Italian
media group Mediaset.
In the geographical terms, the media system in Spain is less centralized than the
Polish one. Although Madrid, as a capital and the biggest city of the country,
could be considered the national media center, where the Grupo PRISA, among
others (like the most important national dailies and other national media) has its
headquarters, Barcelona is still the second, being a seat of many big media
groups (Grupo Planeta, Grupo Zeta, Grupo Godó etc.), and in Bilbao the head-
142
quarters of the Vocento group is located, for example. Importantly, strong re-
gional identities (though not even in different Autonomous Communities) in-
fluence the media system in Spain, and therefore the regional media markets
are especially important.
Spain has the highest rate – among the analyzed countries – of the Internet pen-
etration: 74,8 of the population, with more than 17 million of users of Facebook
(see: Internet World Stats, http://www.internetworldstats.com/ stats4.htm#eu-
rope, April 20, 2015). The power of the new media in Spain was clearly visible
during mass protests of the Indignants Movement (or 15-M Movement) that
began in May 15, 2011, in Madrid and other Spanish cities. Thousands of peo-
ples were gathering, thanks to social networks, to demand radical changes in
politics and a “real democracy” (see: Movimiento15M, http://www.movimie-
nto15m.org, April 20, 2015). The Spanish politics are changing. A new politi-
cal, left-wing populist party “Podemos” (“We Can”, see: http://podemos.info,
April 20, 2015) has appeared in the aftermath of these protests and it is gaining
a meaningful support among Spanish citizens, who also voted massively for
other new ‘citizen movements’, like “Ahora Madrid” or “Barcelona en Comú”
during municipal elections in 2015. The Internet has contributed to the devel-
opment of the Spanish public sphere also because of new digital dailies, like
Libertad Digital (founded in 2000), El Confidencial (founded in 2001) or a Cat-
alan-language news website VilaWeb, founded already in 1995, and many oth-
ers.
THE MEDIA DECENTRALIZATION IN MEXICO
After 2000, a symbolical year of the beginning of a new era in Mexico, the
politics have changed, but old problems have not disappeared. Among the ana-
lyzed countries, Mexico has the lowest position in the 2015 World Press Free-
dom Index, meaningfully lower than Poland and Spain: only 148th out of 180
countries. Mexico is the deadliest country in the western hemisphere, the jour-
nalists are threatened, kidnapped, murdered, and the crimes go unpunished (see:
Reporters Without Borders, Year starts badly for Mexican journalists,
http://en.rsf.org/mexico-year-starts-badly-for-mexican-18-02-2015,47593
.html, April 27, 2015). Although the danger comes above all from armed groups
143
(cartels), the politicians are responsible for this situation, because of, among
other factors, corruption inherited from the years of the PRI’s political monop-
oly. Rick Rockwell (2002: 112) stated: “The PRI’s great success at controlling
a system with little prepublication restraint from the central government was
largely due to its multifaceted system of bribery”. Although no formal censor-
ship was introduced, the corrupted system of a government as the largest adver-
tiser survived. The biggest media mogul in Mexico (and the second in Latin
America), Televisa, supported PRI evidently, and its boss Emilio “El Tigre”
Azcárraga used to say: “I am a soldier of the PRI”. During the 2000 elections,
both Televisa and the second largest television in Mexico, TV Azteca, did not
support Vicente Fox, who finally won. In accordance with an analysis of the
daily newspaper Reforma, all the main candidates received comparable airtime
in both TVs, but Fox received the most negative coverage (Rockwell 2002: 116-
118). Televisa still supports candidates of the PRI, like in the case of the current
president Enrique Peña Nieto, who won elections in 2012, with a media scandal
concerning Televisa (see: Mexican media scandal: secretive Televisa unit pro-
moted PRI candidate, The Guardian, June 26, 2012, http://www.theguard-
ian.com/world/2012/jun/26/mexican-media-scandal-televisa-pri-nieto, April
27, 2015).
The power of Televisa could be seen also in the general context of the media
concentration and expansion of foreign media capital in the region of His-
panoamerica in a perspective of the global competition (see: Sajna 2013: 185-
236). Authors of a chapter about Mexican audiovisual space, published in a
book about television fiction in Ibero-America, state: “The Federal Commission
for Competition (Comisión Federal de Competencia) and the Federal Telecom-
munications Commission (Comisión Federal de Telecomuni-caciones), legisla-
tive bodies for the regulation of the media and telecommunications in Mexico,
have shown their support to Telmex, a quasi-monopolistic telephony company,
owned by the second most rich man in the world, according to Forbes maga-
zine, Carlos Slim, or the third, according to Triple Play. Televisa reigns over
the television world but not over telephony, while TV Azteca partially competes
on both fronts: television and mobile phones. Therefore, these three companies
are the most probable contenders for the digital future on a national scope; how-
144
ever, any further discussion about it has been frozen” (Orozco Gómez, Hernán-
dez, Huizar 2009: 193). If one considers the role of Televisa in the national
market of telenovelas (that are the main media export products of Latin Amer-
ica) and other fiction programs, the data show a monopoly: in the year 2008 all
the top ten of the most-watched programs in Mexico were produced by the Tel-
evisa Company (Orozco Gómez, Hernández, Huizar 2009: 205-213). 2008 was
not a “exceptional” year for Televisa whose domination is obvious, while TV
Azteca is still the second in the Mexican television, and the public television in
that country is weak, like in other Hispanoamerican republics (see: Sajna 2013:
237-242).
Although the economic centralization in Mexican television is strong, in the
press market the situation is different. The most prestigious daily newspapers
are owned by rather small editorial groups, like in the cases of El Universal
(founded in 1916), Reforma (founded in 1993) or Milenio that appeared firstly
in Monterrey in 1974 (as Diario de Monterrey), and in Mexico City in 2000,
becoming a national daily of modern layout. Naturally, there are a lot of regional
and local press in Mexico, a country of population exceeding one hundred mil-
lion and of a vast area, incomparably larger than Poland or Spain. Nevertheless,
in the geographical terms, Mexico’s media system – in spite of its federalism –
is strongly centralized, because most of the relevant national newspapers and
TV stations are located in the capital Mexico D.F. (see: Engesser, Franzetti
2011). The Mexican state, however, is obliged by the Constitution, mentioned
earlier, to guarantee the right to autonomy for the indigenous peoples. Therefore
there are many community radios in different regions of Mexico, with programs
in different indigenous languages (see: Cornejo Portugal 2002, Sajna 2013:
248-253).
The problems of the indigenous people are also crucial in the analysis of the
role of the Internet in the Mexican society, though only a half of it is connected
to the Web at the present time (see: Internet World Stats, http://www.internet-
worldstats.com/stats12.htm, May 1, 2015). The famous neozapatistas from
EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional) became, as Manuel Castells
(2004: 82) stated, “the first informational guerrilla movement”. Although at the
beginning of their actions in January 1, 1994, they had no Internet connection,
soon the new media helped them to attract international attention and to build
145
networks of solidarity with them as representatives of the poor and excluded
(see: Rovira 2009, Sajna 2013: 361-375). This informational guerrilla move-
ment contributed surely to the decentralization of the communication in Mex-
ico, though the traditional media have used the Internet for many years (see:
Navarro Zamora 2005), investing in the development of their own websites, not
necessarily for the decentralization purposes.
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS
Poland, Spain and Mexico have different traditions in decentralization of power,
and after transitions these countries have different democratic and economic
realities that constitute specific backgrounds for the media decentralization. Alt-
hough in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index Poland has the highest rating,
while Mexico the lowest, it is not enough to say that Poland is a country of the
best political situation to the media decentralization. In the case of the public
media, for example, Spain has the most decentralized system, while Poland only
partially (more in radio than TV), and in Mexico the public media system is
weak. The regional and local press is strong above all in the Spanish comuni-
dades autónomas, especially in those with the most developed regional identity,
like Catalonia and Basque Country. Most of the regional and local press in
Spain is owned by several Spanish media groups, while in Poland a domination
of one German press group is clearly visible. In geographical terms, Spain is
the leader too, because Poland and Mexico have media systems dominated
strongly by national capital cities: Warsaw and Mexico City, respectively. In
general, Spain has the most decentralized media system, Poland and Mexico
being equally weaker in this “competition”. Therefore, the first conclusion
could be that the longest period of transition (the case of Spain) could influence
the decentralization of the media system, though there is no clear evidence of
it, and more comparative researches (with more countries as case studies) would
be necessary.
It is not possible to conclude, however, that the media decentralization corre-
lates positively with political/administrative decentralization. Although Spain
has very decentralized system, with strong autonomies of regions, only Mexico
– among three analyzed cases – is a federal country, but its media system is less
146
decentralized than the Spanish. The case of Poland could confirm that weak
political/administrative decentralization correlates positively with a weak de-
centralization of the media system, though the problem does not seem obvious.
Nevertheless, the third conclusion could be that the kind of the past regime (the
communist/socialist in the case of Poland) would influence the economic de-
centralization, because of the shortage of private capital. In Poland foreign me-
dia groups have dominated the media markets (although more in the press than
in the television), while in Spain and Mexico the national capital is stronger. In
the case of the regimes in Spain and Mexico, private businesses were possible
and therefore strong national capital groups existed at the beginning of the tran-
sition periods, and they did not allowed foreign media groups to dominate the
media markets in such a way like in Poland.
The most difficult to answer is the question how the new media have contrib-
uted to the media and democratic decentralization in the analyzed countries.
Although in every of them one could find examples of such contribution, there
is no evidence of meaningful results. In this case, however, also Spain should
be considered as leader, because of the highest rating – among the analyzed
countries – of the population connected with the Web, and some results visible
already in the politics (in lesser degree in Poland too) in the aftermath of the
actions of the indignados. In Mexico, despite the famous neozapatistas as pio-
neers of the Internet in the social/political campaigns, the majority of the indig-
enous people are excluded from the world of the modern communication,
though the Mexican state organizes community radios for them.
Although it seems that Mexico has the strongest political and social reasons to
battle against hegemony, the comparative analysis of the three countries leads
to the conclusion that Spain is the country with the strongest media basis for the
resistance against hegemony. This is because of the strongest decentralization
of the media system, parallel to the strong political/administrative system, and
the highest rates of the Internet penetration in its population, while the freedom
of expression is guaranteed (low rating among the EU’s countries in the 2015
World Press Freedom Index seems not very relevant).
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e-mail: [email protected]
150
V. NATIONAL CASES
AUGMENTED
151
Valeriy NIKOLAYEVSKYY,
Victoria OMELCHENKO
Vladas TUMALAVICIUS
ENSURING SOCIAL SECURITY
IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY:
PROBLEMS, INSTRUMENTS, TRENDS IN THE CONTEXT
OF UKRAINE AND LITHUANIA
ABSTRACT
The authors follow structural functionalism and neofunctionalism as dominant method-
ology for interpretation of social security as a social institution (mechanism) controlling
homeostasis and sustainability of the social system (society). Security in the contempo-
rary society is a very complex, ambiguous matter. It is a synthetic, integrative unlike
many other types of security, since it accumulates, on the one hand, partial processes,
relevant data and at the same time allows to focus on the main directions of search.
Because of the plural problems (challenges, threats, dangers, etc.) The paper leaves for
analysis only those that threaten stability and sustainable development of society as
such. Crime is one of such problems, which are rather acute in both (ukrainian and
lithuanian) societies are analyzed. The authors stressed the importance of trust in the
public and social institutions fighting crime, presenting and analyzing relevant data.
The analysis of problems related to counteraction to crime is provided by authors in the
context of society's reforms and also based on statistical data as well as on the results
of public opinion polls.
Keywords: security, social security, public security, crime, reforms in society
The increasing of the importance of security, its ensuring and maintenance is
determined by many reasons. Contemporary society, apparently more than ever,
faces many problems, which threaten its sustainable development and even ex-
istence. Obviously, it actualizes (should actualize) the focused research interest
152
in their study by using of methodological tools of many social sciences and
humanities, in particular sociology, as the main, central in their search. The
problem of security, is one of such problems, the importance of which both in
the theoretical and practical dimensions can’t be exaggerated. So, on the one
hand, it is not surprising that this concept (and phenomenon) is actively ex-
plored by political scientists, economists, philosophers, media scientists, psy-
chologists, environmentalists, etc. as well as practical specialists in relevant
fields. On the other hand, it is surprising that sociologists are significantly less
active in the study of security, which, among other issues, negatively affects the
integrity, complexity of its study.
Securing security is a priority value, of which nowadays society is becoming
more aware. Growing number of political, economic, social, information, eco-
logical, military etc. dangers and threats of both traditional and new type, which
needs new mechanisms, tools and culture to react; the further development of
society, its quality of life (especially in more developed countries) is more in-
fluenced by various opportunities for stability and security rather than economic
factors; securing security becomes influential, weighty factor in global, interna-
tional cooperation, because effect the formation of qualitively new society, etc.
are among them; globalization (first of all, political and economic) in the last
decades has made an impact on crime globalization as well. A free and open
market as never before incited an economic growth and simultaneously opened
unlimited opportunities for incidence of shadow business. Organized crime it-
self is being diversified and globalized, and organized crime groups are becom-
ing a problem and a threat to security (national and international). Transnational
organized crime at the same time provokes corruption and becomes infiltrated
into business and politics, and thus threaten the stability of society.
Security, security maintenance in the contemporary society (global as a whole),
as well known, is a very complex, ambiguous and paradoxical matter. It requires
constant and consecutive research, which is determined by various factors, such
as, for instance, new issues related to transformation (political, economic, so-
cial, legal system, etc.) which bring quality features, changes of society, world.
Another important issue is the following: main political, social, economic, etc.
transformations have been successfully implemented in different countries of
Central and Eastern Europe (Lithuania is among them), but reforms are still on
153
the way and are far from complete in others (like Ukraine).It seems that the
advantage of sociological research’ focus on security could be the analysis of
the concept of social security. The concept of security as well as social security
has not yet received the proper level of comprehension, conceptualization in
sociology, other Social sciences and Humanities (it’s quite true for Ukraine and
Lithuania) as, say, national, economic, informational or public security, and
therefore it is one that, among other things, provides broad horizons of the very
scientific search, as well as development of relevant indicators and its measure-
ment.
Studying it, it is likely that one should focus on the concept of security and,
therefore, engage in the analysis of various concepts, categories and terms like
risk, danger, threat, disaster, stability, well-being, quality of life, fear, freedom,
human rights, globalization, crisis society, modernization, state security policy,
etc.
Social security is such a condition (and trends in its changes) in which the state
provides stability and sustainability of the processes of the population’s repro-
duction, decent living conditions of the person. We may say that security re-
flects the functionality, and, accordingly, the functional state of the social sys-
tem (social institution, social subsystem, society as a whole). It is a mechanism
(complex of mechanisms) of maintaining the balance, system stability (in more
detail, please, see [Nikolayevskyy 2014]).
In other words, social security is a synthetic, integrative unlike many other types
of security1, since it accumulates, on the one hand, partial processes, relevant
data, results in various areas, spheres of the society, and on the other hand –
allows to focus on the main directions of search. Also, because of the plural
problems (challenges, threats, dangers, etc.) the paper leaves for further analysis
only those that threaten stability and sustainable development of society as such.
In our opinion, it is natural that the specific structure of social security in dif-
1 In this context among various approaches to the security it seems interesting to distinguish sev-
eral (at least three) approaches to the concept of social security in connection with social
protection: «minimalist» (social security is understood as protection of socially unprotected
groups of the population (social welfare), «socio-state approach» when social security equals
the protection of all (groups) of the population; and «societal» as the comprehensive protec-
tion of the societal community from a wide range of threats.
154
ferent societies is different, thus, it depends directly on the type and nature of
society.
However, unlike analogous strategies of developed countries that can be de-
fined as strategies for sustainable development, in Ukraine, such a strategy
should be defined as a strategy not only for sustainable development, but, first
of all, one (strategy) of transformation and reform, that is, a development strat-
egy aimed at the effective solving of a number of political, economic and social
problems. And more, in the list of Ukraine's priority national interests social
interests should occupy a special place.2 That’s why, it seems important to un-
derline, that one has to rely also on the concept of social and focus on social
problems. In this context (social security) among the problems, which are the
serious threats to contemporary society, are various ones (quality of life, first of
all the level of material well-being, health, demographic problems, as well as
human rights, military threats, stability of society and many others). Many of
them are also relevant for the Lithuanian and Ukrainian societies. [Ryzyko-
henni... 2016, Politychni... 2016, Pres-reliz... 2017, Yatskyavicius 2016, Stand-
ard Eurobarometer... 2017]
At the same time, one of such problems, which are rather acute (objectively and
according to subjective perception of the population) in both societies analyzed,
2 Obviously, in our turbulent time, reforms are the reality (or should become the reality) of any
society, regardless of its level of development. Lithuania is the country where fundamental
transformations of main spheres of society have been implemented during almost thirty years,
but even at present reforms are continuing or are actual and waiting for their realization (for
instance, higher education reform, forestry state economy reform, tax reform, state service
reform). As well known, Ukraine is literally in the process of reforming of all most important
and security sensitive spheres of society. We can say about more than twenty reforms which
are launched in a country during last three years, caused by Euromaidan (Revolution of Dig-
nity) and started (restarted) in 2014. Anticorruption, judicial, constitutional, public admin-
istration, local self-government reform and decentralization of power, election law, law en-
forcement bodies, national security and defense, tax and budget, reform of financial sector
and pension system, e-governance, healthcare system, educational reforms are among them.
The truth is also that this process is very ambitious, and, on the other hand – is highly contro-
versial, inconsistent, ambiguous, painful and faltering. By the way, high-ranking officials of
EU member states repeatedly emphasized the problems of reforms in Ukraine, noting that
during last three years Ukraine has moved in reforming more than in previous twenty years,
but, at the same time stressing the importance of their acceleration, the strengthening of the
fight against corruption. Mention, for instance, High Representative of the Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the Commission F.Mogherini, the British For-
eign Secretary B. Johnson, Ambassador of France to Ukraine I.Dumont and Ambassador of
Lithuania to Ukraine M.Yanukonis. [Ukraine Reform... 2017, Posol Lytvy... 2017, Ukraina
zа... 2017, Antykoruptsiynyi... 2017, Sydorenko 2017]
155
from our point of view relate to crime and connected issues (violent crimes,
corruption, juvenile delinquency, crimes against property, etc.). Crime is a reg-
ular and inevitable phenomenon. It is, however, evident that crime remains the
most relevant problem of public security.
For instance, in the case of Ukraine, an increase in crime in 2017 is among the
most weighty fears (43%), that is even more than the fear of the attack by an
external enemy (38%). According to the data of survey (2017), conducted by
«Dragon Capital» and EBA (European Business Association), respondents on
a 10-point scale of importance evaluated corruption in 8.5. Previous year
(2016), compared to 2015 year, the biggest changes in public opinion were
noted in the crime situation (47% of the population noted the deterioration in
2015, compared with 62% in 2016). [Politychni... 2016, Corruptsia... 2017,
Pres-коnferentsiya... 2017]
Crime is not only one of the key factors, exerting an effect on social security,
as well as public security as its subelement, the security system as a whole, but
also a common human problem. Commission of a crime violates both a victim’s
and public interest. Priority of crime prevention primarily is related to the West-
ern values of democracy. Therefore, it’s natural that special attention is devoted
to this area at the EU level. Crime prevention in the Lisbon Treaty is referred to
the key building blocks to establish and maintain an area of freedom, security
and justice. Also, the Stockholm Program reiterated the importance of crime
prevention, and by Council Decision 2001/427/TVR, which was repealed by
Council Decision 2009/902/TVR, the European Crime Prevention Network was
set up aiming at facilitating cooperation, maintaining contacts and exchange of
information and experience in the field of crime prevention. [Tumalavičius
2017]
However, the declarative reiteration of prevention importance is not enough to
achieve the targeted results. In Eastern Europe, unlike West European countries,
possessing long-term democracy traditions, crime prevention was accorded tra-
ditionally less attention. Also, should be understood that the effectiveness of
counteracting crime directly depends on the strength, «power» of those public
institutions that are responsible for this direction of activity, and by that, de-
pends on trust in them.
156
The data in the Table 1 show more or less well-balanced levels of trust to one
of the most important institutions – the police – in Lithuania and also in 8 of 9
EU member states and simultaneously the neighbours of Lithuania and/or
Ukraine (the «countries of the region»). Moreover, in Lithuania the level of trust
to police has even increased over a year and is higher than the EU average.
[Public... 2017, Public... 2016, Stavlennya... 2017, Оtsinka...2016] In Ukraine
the levels of trust to both institutions – National police and Patrol police, which
are in the process of reforming, are significantly lower.
Table 1. Trust in police* in some EU member states and Ukraine (%)
2017 2016
tend to
trust
tend not
to trust
balance (+/-
)**
tend to
trust
tend not
to trust
balance
(+/-)**
Estonia 80 14 +66 80 15 +65
Finland 95 4 +91 91 9 +82
Hungary 67 32 +35 64 34 +30
Latvia 61 31 +30 59 34 +25
Lithuania 78 21 +57 74 23 +51
Poland 54 42 +12 63 31 +30
Romania 54 42 +12 49 48 +1
Slovakia 43 53 -10 46 50 -4
Sweden 87 11 +76 78 21 +57
EU 75 23 +52 71 25 +46
Ukraine 1 39 46 -7 25 64 -39
Ukraine 2 41 43 -2 37 44 +7
* in case of Ukraine we say about trust in National police (line Ukraine 1) and trust in Patrol
police (new) (line Ukraine 2)
** the balance is calculated by the formula: balance = “tend to trust” – “tend not to trust”; except
for Ukraine, authors’ calculations.
Of course, there are different levels of trust to public and social institutions in
Ukraine. Among the public and social institutions, volunteers’ organizations,
Church, Armed forces of Ukraine, volunteer battalions, the National Guard of
Ukraine, The State Emergency Service of Ukraine, NGO’s, State Border Guard
Service of Ukraine, Ukrainian Mass media the amount of Ukrainians, who trust
to them is more compared those, who don’t trust. But at the same time (and in
157
the context of our analysis it is crucial) the levels of trust to many other institu-
tions (Prosecutor’s office, Judicature, Security Service, Parliament, Govern-
ment, President), which are at the forefront in counteracting crime in Lithuania
and Ukraine differ. In Lithuania we can talk about higher levels of trust, as well
as a positive balance of trust-distrust to many of that institutions, in Ukraine the
situation is much worse, which (in Ukraine) dramatically complicates their ac-
tivities. [Stavlennya... 2017, Pasitikejimas... 2016]
Accordingly, penal policy by the duration of imprisonment and the number of
prisoners is somewhat stricter than in Western Europe, since it is traditionally
deemed to be a proper reaction to crimes. One can see (please, look at Table 2)
that in Ukraine, Lithuania, in other Baltic States as well as in Hungary, Poland
and Slovakia a level of imprisonment is one of the highest in Europe. For in-
stance, Lithuania is on the 52 ranking place (6 from the highest value), Ukraine
is 42nd (resp. 16th3) among 57 European states in the ranking list. A few moments
are attracting attention also. Here are some of them, which are eloquent enough.
Overall, the prison population trend in the period 2000-2017 points to a decline
in Lithuania and Ukraine, which is mostly related to the «countries of the re-
gion» and corresponds to the trend for the EU. [World... 2017]
Table 2. Prison population trend (year, prison population rate) in some EU member
states and Ukraine
2017
ranking
place*
2017 2016 2000
Estonia 48 208 204 343
Finland 5-6 57 - 55
Hungary 44 184 180 152
Latvia 50 218 224 370
Lithuania 52 235 254 410
Poland 47 195 189 184
Romania 29 124 140 215
3 A sharp reduction in the number of prisoners in Ukraine in the context of the radical (and
sometimes highly controversial) reform of the police in the among with the background of
the minimum level of disclosure of crimes in the transition period of the police reform may
change by increasing in crime rate, or the corresponding systemic reaction of law enforcement
bodies in the form of «tougher on crime». [Yagunov 2016]
158
Slovakia 45 188 183 129
Sweden 5-6 57 - 60
Ukraine 42 167 - 443
EU 131* 137**
* calculated by the authors; the minimum score of “prison population rate” is the first ranking
place, range of values – 1-57.
** calculated by the authors; in some cases data are not available for estimated period (year 2000),
therefore, indicators for another period were taken into account. It’s about Albania (2001), An-
dorra (2001), Liechtenstein (1999) and Malta (1999).
It is evident that the existing situation is not compatible with the priorities of
Lithuania and Ukraine as first one is an integral part of the EU and second state
(Ukraine) in its reform as a whole is guided by the rules, practices and values
of EU. In the contemporary doctrine and practice it is still more acknowledged
that application of the penalty of imprisonment is not only ineffective but also
has a negative impact on the individuality of convicts, and it is difficult to neu-
tralize such impact both by the internal procedures established in the imprison-
ment facilities and by resocialization programs.
A high level of imprisonment witnesses not only the high recidivism of crimes,
but first of all the inadequate reaction to crime when focus is towards fighting
consequences rather than causes. What is more, a high level of imprisonment
reflects not only the improper methods for ensuring the fight against crime and
security of society, this being one of the key obstacles in the prevention effec-
tiveness (since persons after serving the imprisonment term experience stigma-
tization and get resocialized with much more difficulty), but also the ineffi-
ciency of prevention per se since it is related to high crime recidivism.
This predetermines the need to be in search of opportunities for optimizing
crime prevention, first of all, by identifying the problems in this field.
Concluding, we can say, that at the lawmaking stage, the most important prob-
lem is too weak control of compatibility and efficiency of the sub-statutory im-
plementing legal acts. At the stage of law application, ineffectiveness of control
over criminal processes is conditioned by the poor quality of institutional activ-
ities, due to which distrust in institutions and crime latency get enhanced. Ef-
fectiveness of control over criminal processes depends on the prevention effi-
ciency; therefore, as much as possible attention should be devoted to the social
159
prevention measures of social assistance and persuasion type, purposeful and
focused on specific problems. Even though in Lithuania as well as in Ukraine
the perception of renovating a mandatory crime prevention system is observed,
however, it is possible to indicate the following obstacles in prevention effec-
tiveness, like the absence of the structural centre; legal regulation of crime pre-
vention, hindering to ensure the efficiency of prevention projects; lack in the
control of the real prevention activity efficiency; subjective standpoints and ap-
proaches of prevention actors and lack of self-education.
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Victoria Omelchenko, PhD (Sociology) - Docent of the Department of Philosophy,
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162
M.S. KVARATSKHELIA
TENDENCIES OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT OF GEORGIA I
N THE EPOCH OF GLOBALIZATION
ABSTRACT
The modern post - communist epoch is characterized by special properties. The unprec-
edented pace of the scientific and technological revolution in various spheres of public
life has caused the expansion, change and diversity of the phenomenon of globalization.
This, naturally, gave rise to various points of view about its historical character, the
driving force and from the aspect of assessing the results of its influence on various
spheres of life.
Keywords: post Communist epoch, globalization, public life, diversity
Globalization is a process where social ties are separated from territorial and
geographic ones, so that the life of mankind proceeds in a single, whole and
indivisible world, when national states and their sovereignty are covered by
transnational factors and subject to them (Bek, 2001), despite the fact that in the
opinion of globalists, more than one state cannot close into its shell and cannot
separate from others, since the world community is the unity of social relations
not determined by the national state policy. We believe that for countries with
a small open economy, the national state, the national economy and culture and
consciousness are the greatest values. Therefore, it is necessary to soften the
confrontations and resistance and the constant efforts of these countries to pre-
serve statehood, as it must acquire a new content.
Globalization, without reservations, determines the progress of mankind.
Among the positive properties that are characteristic of the process, we should
denote the current world tendencies of socio-economic relations and the phe-
nomenon of free trade. Free trade in different countries enables creation of new
163
products and services for the market. If one takes into account that no country,
especially with a small economy, is able to create an ideal industrial complex.
For this it needs various institutional and financial supports from the both mul-
tinational producers and also from partner countries; namely this type of support
and the development of global shifts help "a small miracle of Singapore" happen
- as a result of the country's prudent economic policy, starting from zero. The
financial growth, according to 2014, reached about 7%, which is an excellent
indicator (World Bank 2015).
In this respect, Hong Kong, the representative of the most globalized economy
in 2011-2013, is also an example. Which was the first in the world ranking by
categories of technological innovation and ideas, capital flow and cultural ex-
change (SCMP 2013)?
It is interesting that in the index of economic globalization of the countries of a
large economy do not occupy high positions, despite the fact that in these coun-
tries per capita income is higher. This can be explained by the fact that for their
economic development a high level of economic globalization is not mandatory,
since they have a large domestic market and a significant amount of their own
capital. Nevertheless, one cannot find a small country where per capita income
is high and occupies low positions in the index of economic globalization. In-
ternational trade, foreign capital and labor migration have become a prerequisite
for the development of small countries with poor natural resources.
Georgia is ranked 19th on the basis of the 2012 data on the index of economic
globalization, and on the whole on the level of globalization - on the 63rd.
By the level of economic globalization, 19th place (81 points) of Georgia, in
fact, is paradoxical. According to 2014 in Georgia, the average annual per capita
income is 3.700 US dollars. In this index to the 19th place (Georgia), the lowest
per capita income is in Mauritius - $ 10,500. Countries with a low income level
than Georgia are distributed below the 50th place (World Bank, 2015).
The 19th position of Georgia was conditioned by the liberal policy of interna-
tional trade and the possibility of free entry of foreign capital. Georgia's high
position reflects, most likely, the prospect of economic growth, rather than the
level of development achieved.
164
The rapid rise of Georgia in the globalization index began in 2006, as a result
of the reforms carried out in 2004-2007. In those years, the foundation was laid
for the current business environment in Georgia, which survived the war, the
economic crisis, political crises and, in fact, continuous Russian aggression. To
the listed challenges it is necessary to add problems of protection of the rights
of private property and the judicial system. Against this background, it is para-
doxical how the Georgian economy is developing, the growth of which in recent
years in spite of (2013-2015) slowing down, still reaches an average of 4%
(Kabuli N., 2016).
The experience of the past years has shown that the emerging state of Georgia
was not ready to get rid of the negative influence of internal and external factors
of the country's socio-economic development tendencies in favor of national
and state interests (Nodar Chitanava, 2009). The vector of development of pro-
cesses is aimed at determining the assessment of the current situation of the
country as a single, inseparable system. One of the main tasks is to provide a
solid foundation for socio-economic and sustainable development.
Such a country with a small open market economy, like Georgia, largely de-
pends on many external factors. Therefore, its trends in socio-economic devel-
opment should be based on scientifically calculated concepts.
The problems of social and economic development of Georgia express the abil-
ity to avoid or minimize the prevention of internal and external threats against
the independence of the national economic system, identity, sustainable devel-
opment. Its provision is a constant and most important duty of the state.
Trends in socio-economic development have many requirements. These include
the provision of challenges and threats to historical development, the definition
of long-term strategic goals and interests, compatibility with national and inter-
national interests.
The national interests of Georgia mean national interests in the economic
sphere. It includes the well-being of the population and the improvement of the
quality of life, the ability to operate the economy in an expanded mode of re-
production, maintaining a single economic space, achieving a high level of so-
cio-economic efficiency, and ensuring the country's competitiveness. At the
same time, it is necessary for Georgia to become a subject of active international
165
economy and move to the path of sustainable and safe development.
Georgia, like all countries, has a strategic goal that includes preserving territo-
rial integrity, strengthening the independence of the state, establishing and im-
proving civil society, ensuring the self-development of every person and nation
on the basis of a high level and quality of life.
Georgia has a historical task of systemic management of conceptual innova-
tions, which is reflected in ensuring its spatial expansion to preserve its identity
and meet the challenges of globalization. The economic development and pro-
gress of Georgia depends on the development and implementation of the con-
ceptual innovation of the global economy. An important factor is that under the
conditions of the traditional economy, the production of goods for commodities,
with the help of fixed capital, was the main thing, and in the global economy it
is important to produce knowledge using human capital, human production and
expanded reproduction. Hence, we can conclude that the strategic priorities for
the sustainable and secure socio-economic development of Georgia are: the
achievement of intellectual security, the implementation of the most important
conceptual innovations, the establishment of threshold values for the sustaina-
ble development of education and science in the coming decades and the estab-
lishment of a knowledge economy.
Tendencies of social and economic development for Georgia are connected pri-
marily with demographic problems. In recent decades, this process has deterio-
rated sharply. Obviously, the decrease in the rate of absolute number and pop-
ulation growth. At the same time, the trend is worrisome, as its share in the
South Caucasus and in the world's population is falling.
It should be noted that for the past 40 years the population of Georgia has de-
creased by 1.2 million people, which is a great danger for a small country (Cop-
yright: 2010 GEOSTAT).
In this respect, the situation is completely different in the Central Caucasus. It
should be noted that for 1975-2000, the population of Armenia increased from
2.8 million to 3.8 million, i.е. by 36%, and the population of Azerbaijan - from
5.7 million to 8.7 million, i.е. by 53% (Nodar Chitanava, 2003). According to
the forecast, for these countries there is a tendency of population growth, and
for Georgia - a decrease. From this it is obvious that the Georgians were in the
166
minority in the region. A sharp deterioration in the demographic situation is the
greatest threat to the existence of Georgia. The state is obliged to take effective
measures to prevent this fundamental threat.
According to Georgia's statistics, it is obvious that the dynamics of the impov-
erished population is characterized by a growing trend. If this indicator in 2007
was 6.2%, in 2010 - 9.7%, by 2014 it has reached 11.6% that is, increased by
2.4 percentage points. And in 2016 it reached 23% (??). This trend poses a se-
rious threat to the welfare of the population of Georgia. The problems of income
inequality are important. In recent years, there has been a downward trend,
which is a positive development. If in 2003 only 1.1% of the population had an
income of more than 1500 lari (GEL) ($ 680), in 2013 this figure increased to
13.9%. The fact that the income of more than 80% of the population did not
exceed 500 lari (GEL) clearly indicates a low standard of living for the popula-
tion until 2005, and in subsequent years a sharp downward trend in income dif-
ferentiation (Geostat.ge) is observed.
From the indicators of the economic security of the country should be noted the
dynamics of indicators of relative poverty for 2004-2016, characterized by high
stability. Thus, the proportion of the population below the 60 percent median
consumption in the past 11 years has decreased only by 3.2 percentage points.
The dynamics of these indicators in urban and rural areas is important. The
share of the population below 60 percent of the median consumption in the city's
population decreased from 23 percent in 2004 to 15.1 percent in 2014, which
can be considered a positive trend. But the same indicator for the rural popula-
tion, respectively, increased from 26.2% to 27.4%, which clearly demonstrates
the increase in poverty of the rural population. It follows that these processes
point to the level of life of the Georgian population below the average. The
tendency is clearly evident that the living standard of the rural population is
much lower than the urban one, which is one of the reasons for internal and
external migration in the country. In order to avoid this security, the govern-
ment's economic policy, along with economic and sustainable development,
should be aimed at improving the business environment, creating new jobs and
increasing the incomes of the population. One of the painful challenges of social
and economic development should be considered the problem of the currency
system of Georgia. The process of depreciation of the national currency – lari
167
(GEL) begins in the second half of 2014. The reason may be the strengthening
of the US dollar. It should be noted that due to the high level of dollarization of
the economy, this process more or less sharply affected the emerging markets
(Roubini N., 2015). Naturally, Georgia is no exception. One of the main sources
of maintaining the exchange rate is the waste of international reserves. But there
are more powerful factors. Such as the growth of the country's economic devel-
opment, its export potential and investment attractiveness. Without them, re-
serves are not inexhaustible and this does not end the problem.
CAMARI. GLOBALIZATION AND GEORGIAN ECONOMIC SECURITY
The process of globalization has become a phenomenon of the modern world
concomitant. Thus the depth of the small open economy of the countries do not
strive for preservation, because they could face the loss of even a statehood.
Process of Globalization has positive and negative sizes. Increasing of integra-
tion processes, free trade ability to create goods and service market. At the same
time it’s also important indexes of economic globalization, which is relatively
high in countries which got a small open economy. It is noteworthy that the
index of Georgia was ranked 19th in 2012, and at all levels of globalization
according to the 63-th place.
The globalization process is important for a small open-market economy coun-
tries for economic security problem. Here is a non-traditional threats, which
include such issues as economic growth, poverty and living standards. In this
case, the most important global, regional and local problems of the relationship
between, focus groups and civil relations among peoples. In the era of emphasis
on the security of the citizens. In this regard, the country's important strategic
aim, which is to include the preservation of the territorial integrity, the inde-
pendence, the improvement of the civil society, of every man and nationality
self-assurance and quality of life to the highest level.
The country has its own economic security indicators. From here, first of all, it
should be noted, of Georgian demographic security. This indicator is a threat
that needs radical measures. No less important is the poverty rate, which is the
increasing tendency. The relative poverty rate is also characterized by stability
168
and the trend is insignificant.
It is also important for the national currency of the depreciation of the problem,
which is characterized by increasing and negative impact on the living level.
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170
Lech W. ZACHER
OBSTACLES TO SUSTAINABILITY
– IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE
(the Case of a Transitional Economy – Poland)
ABSTRACT
Requirements for the sustainability in economy and society should be tailored to a given
country or region. General models which often dominate in academic discourse are an
important part of necessary social knowledge (of decision makers, media, NGOs etc.).
They are formulated in universally relevant categories; they constitute a kind of pream-
ble of the sustainability ideology. This framework adopted by politicians in the form of
the UN SDGs does not automatically ensure a smooth sustainability transformation.
Implementation of the SDGs is dependent not only on diverse contexts of countries in
question, but also on an evaluation of these goals (their feasibility, costs, urgency, pri-
oritization etc.) and their mutual conditioning (not easy to recognize and forecast). Strat-
egies and policies are not clearly evident and should be a subject of public debates (there
is also a substantial diversity of type and level of democracy, public engagement, citi-
zens’ activism, media actions and the like) and public participation in determining them.
This is not rarely overlooked in the Western scientific and political debates. A good
case is such country as Poland with its transitional economy and changing political sys-
tem. Poland’s problems with sustainability transformation are substantially different
from the highly developed Western democracies (which is not necessarily manifested
in media and politics). This difference is often underestimated, in spite of that it explains
well difficulties, failures and ineffectiveness on a way to sustainable development.
The paper will analyze the state of sustainability ideology (in education, media, politics,
religion), strategies and policies (of government and businesses), human behaviors (at-
titudes, convictions, lifestyles, models of consumption). The analysis will be conducted
to recognize and interpret the barriers and obstacles in order to join a sustainability wave
propagated by the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development.
There are many factors, conditions and contexts, and activities (e.g. foreign businesses,
trade unions) and actions of citizens (consumers, NGOs) to be investigated. The list is
171
long. Below are exemplary issues (emerging partially, often biased, in media and polit-
ical discourse):
• history and heritage (historical peripherization, role of religion, opposition to Pope
Francis, political nationalism)
• path dependence (agriculture, industrial structure, coal mining , employment struc-
ture)
• shallow modernization hypothesis
• structural problems (domination of SMEs – not producing and not demanding in-
novation)
• clashes of different rationalities (government, business, civil society, national vs
local, the EU integration and crisis)
• small and poor public sphere (overprivatization of environment – new regulations,
saint property right)
• R&D sphere poorly financed (0,7% GDP) for decades (lack of interdisciplinarity),
few innovations and patents, lack of eco-innovations, weak TA research
• education not environmentally-oriented; religious interpretation of life, subjugation
of nature to man (Bible), animals as things
• public media conservative-controlled by government (environmentalists treated as
public enemies – leftists, anarchists, vegetarians, animal laws defenders)
• media reporting “both sides” – pros and cons (not clear solution)
• traditional lifestyles – outgoing from the poverty, meat diet, waste not important,
not really segregated, water not saved, quality of life not important
• priority of growth (and individualism) and its ideology and idea of becoming rich
(environment just a source)
• lobbies (in parliament, in media, in trade unions) of old industries (coal, energy,
hunting) and nomenclature management (anti-market)
• weak civil society (short traditions, lack of money)
• populistic policies (further coal dependence, alternative energy not supported –
prosumption), nationalistic attitudes to the European integration and environmental
international cooperation (e.g. in climate policy, CO2 emission, migration).
Considering the aforementioned issues one can construct a kind of descriptive model
comprising them and investigate imaginatively all mutual feedbacks and influences.
Such map of factors, mechanisms, conditions and contexts can be prospectively evalu-
ated and transformed into a kind of impact model.
Then strategy and policy actions model-based on descriptions and impacts – can be set
up with supplementing recommendations from SDGs program.
172
Of course some changes connected with the Poland’s transition and functioning within
the EU should be especially underlined, not to mention international surroundings and
generational change; globalization (role of FDI and TNCs) and the Internet are to be
included as values and/or challenges for the sustainability transformation. Parameters
of time and costs accountability as well as socio-cultural dimensions, often disregarded
in political discourse should be stressed to make this transformation real.
Keywords: sustainability, economy, human behaviors
Requirements for sustainability in economy and society should be tailored to a
given country or region. General models which often dominate academic dis-
course are an important part of necessary social knowledge for decision makers,
media, NGOs, etc.. They are formulated in universally relevant categories and
constitute a kind of preamble to the sustainability ideology. This framework
adopted by politicians in the form of the UN SDGs does not automatically en-
sure a smooth sustainability transformation. Implementation of the SDGs is de-
pendent not only on the diverse contexts of countries in question but also on an
evaluation of these goals related to their feasibility, costs, urgency, and priori-
tization, and their mutual conditioning (not easy to recognize and forecast).
Strategies and policies are not clearly evident and should be a subject of public
debates (there is also a substantial diversity of type and level of democracy,
public engagement, citizens’ activism, media actions and the like) and public
participation in determining them. This is not rarely overlooked in the Western
scientific and political debates. A good example is the country of Poland with
its transitional economy and changing political system. Poland’s problems with
sustainability transformation are substantially different from the highly devel-
oped Western democracies, which is not necessarily manifested in their media
and politics. This difference is often underestimated, and in spite of that it ex-
plains well the difficulties, failures, and ineffectiveness of its way to sustainable
development.
173
Public discourse in Poland concerning a transition to a sustainable
economy has many dimensions and orientations in recent years. Par-
ticipants in this discourse are multiple and differentiated: public declarations,
speeches, programs delivered by government officials, various academic groups
and university units, students’ debates and actions, NGOs, and media messages
and reports in the press, TV, and social media. It seems that in recent decades
the public consciousness has radically increased. However, public attention was
directed towards environmental issues: environmental protection, environmen-
tal losses, and possible dangers.
Priorities of the transitional economy were different from sustainability require-
ments. Getting out of a Communist type economy (called by J. Kornai a short-
age economy) was difficult and focused on privatization, deregulation, opening
economic borders, and anti-inflationary policies. The so-called “shock therapy”
(Balcerowicz plan based on IMF recommendations) basically directed a fast
economic change and economic growth (social costs were rather neglected).
Social costs of this transformation were high: bankruptcies, unemployment, so-
cial exclusion . The country had no experience in such a transition – from a
centrally-planned economy to a private open capitalist one. People were neither
prepared, nor ready.
The geo-political and economic location of the Polish economy drastically
changed. A pro-Western orientation started not only in economy, trade, coop-
eration, tourism, and media. The country’s priorities were economic growth
(not really development which is a broader goal), short term stabilization, liq-
uidation of ineffective branches and companies, and stimulation of FDI, which
were more effective, modern, and somewhat more environment friendly. The
aforementioned de facto revolutionary changes were politically important. On
the surface both the Western countries and Poland seemed to be quite connected
and similar. However, socio-cultural changes connected i.a. with economic
knowledge, management, international cooperation, entrepreneurship, demo-
cratic procedures were delayed and neglected to some extent. Technological
changes – in accordance with W. Ogburn thesis – were ahead of socio-cultural
and mental changes. It was not and still is not properly recognized and was
underestimated. Moreover multidimensional and complex transitional pro-
cesses are not completed yet. Convulsions of change, often seen as temporary,
1.
174
are still vivid. Their consequences are unexpected (recalling Taleb’s “black
swans” phenomena), but costly.
It seems that new insights, new language, and new knowledge should shape
social imaginary in public discourse. This discourse is controversial and often
not transparent and conclusive not only because of contradictory interests of
different subjects (representing politics, business, citizens, also science sphere
and media), but also because the present day world and communication is full
of post-truth and fake news, not to mention manipulative post-politics. Many
disputes are based on different data and conflicting interpretations (e.g. con-
cerning environmental or health safety) and evaluations.
This situation generates a need of careful and insightful analysis of the state of
emerging sustainability ideology (in education, media, politics, religion), and
elaborated strategies and policies (of government and businesses) and human
behaviors (attitudes, convictions, lifestyles, models of consumption). The anal-
ysis should be conducted to recognize and interpret the barriers and obstacles
in order to join a sustainability wave propagated by the UN Agenda for Sustain-
able Development.
There are many factors, conditions and contexts, and activities (e.g.
of foreign businesses, trade unions) and actions of citizens (of con-
sumers, NGOs) to be investigated. The list is long. Below are exemplary issues
(emerging partially, often biased in media and political discourse):
• history and heritage (historical peripherization, important role of religion,
emerging opposition to Pope Francis’ teachings, reviving political nation-
alism),
• path dependence (agriculture, traditional industrial structure (small hi-tech
sector), coal mining, coal energy use, employment structure),
• shallow modernization hypothesis (late changes, not equally effective, poor
networking),
• structural problems (domination of SMEs – not producing and not demand-
ing innovations, brain drain, youth emigration),
• clashes of different rationalities (government, business, civil society; na-
tional vs local, the EU aid and requirements, TNCs),
2.
175
• small and poor public sphere (overprivatization of environment – new reg-
ulations, “saint” property right; housing development devastates nature),
• R&D sphere poorly financed (less than 1% GDP) for decades (lack of in-
terdisciplinarity), few innovations and patents, lack of eco-innovations,
weak TA research and applications,
• education not environmentally-oriented; religions interpretation of life,
subjugation of nature to man (Bible), animals as things (environmental eth-
ics refused),
• public media conservative and controlled by government (environmental-
ists treated as public enemies – leftists, anarchists, vegetarians, animal laws
defenders),
• environmental movements fragmented and weak,
• media reporting “both sides”- pros and cons (not clear solution message for
public),
• traditional lifestyles – outgoing from the poverty, meat diet, waste not im-
portant, not really segregated, water not saved, quality of life not important
(e.g. toleration of smog),
• priority of growth (and egoistic individualism) and its ideology, over-
whelming desire of becoming rich (environment just a source),
• powerful lobbies (in parliament, in media, in trade unions) of old industries
(coal, energy, hunting) and nomenclature management (anti-market),
• weak civil society (short traditions, lack of money, NGOs financially con-
trolled by government),
• populistic policies (further coal dependence, alternative energy not really
supported limited presumption); nationalistic attitudes to the European in-
tegration and environmental international cooperation (e.g. in climate pol-
icy, CO2 emission, migration); environmental policy based on short term
economic criteria (e.g. carving the unique Bialowieza forest),
• legislation not protecting properly environment (e.g. infrastructural under-
takings as e.g. highway devastating “Natura 2000” areas),
• government’s plans and rhetoric are declaratively pro sustainability, in
practice limited implementation (economic short term thinking dominates).
• lack of comprehensive, holistic and systemic long term strategy leading to-
wards a multidimensional sustainability.
176
The aforementioned problems constitute a complicated and unclear context of
public discourse and of policies and citizens’ actions (called often eco-terror-
ism). Ideologization and politization of this discourse is excessive and is what
prevents consensus on facts and evaluations.
Civil society is the only hope, but conservative government, parliament, and a
big part of society are not apt to accept and implement practical SDGs (this is
not the case only of Poland, e.g. see Trump policy on fossil fuels, or German
Volkswagen scandal). Some optimism can be provided by the knowledge sec-
tor, progressive media, and international organizations (UN, NGOs, EU etc.).
Some new ideas (e.g. of N. Klein or J. Rifkin), concepts, and experiments in
life styles are slightly influencing the Polish youth, which is generally right
wing ideologically. Hopefully, the consciousness of society and decision-mak-
ers will be changing toward sustainability and positively modifying the econ-
omy, politics, education, consumption, and lifestyles.
The discussed above obstacles to multidimensional sustainability
should be precisely presented, measured, analyzed, and evaluated (a
multicriterial approach and democratic procedures are primordial). To have a
good public discourse – with appropriate data, transparent, and not ideological
and manipulative – it is necessary to use rational arguments, long term perspec-
tive, and just social distribution criteria.
Considering the aforementioned issues one can construct a descriptive model
comprising them and investigate imaginatively all mutual feedbacks and influ-
ences. Then such factors, mechanisms, conditions, and contexts can be prospec-
tively evaluated and transformed into an impact model (especially important for
badly impacted subjects by costs of transformations or exclusion). Then a strat-
egy and policy actions model – based on descriptions and evaluated impacts –
can be set up with supplementing recommendations from SDG programs.
Of course some changes connected with Poland’s transition and functioning
within the EU should be especially underlined, not to mention international sur-
roundings and generational change. Globalization (role of FDIs and TNCs) and
the Internet should be included as values and/or challenges for the sustainability
transformation. Parameters of time and costs accountability as well as socio-
3.
177
cultural dimensions, often disregarded in political discourse, should be stressed
to make this transformation real.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Barnett C. et al. (2011), Globalizing Responsibility – The Political Rationalities of
Ethical Consumption, Malden, MA, Wiley – Blackwell.
2. Brown L.R. (2011), World on the Edge – How to Prevent Environmental and Eco-
nomic Collapse, New York – London, Norton.
3. Defila R. et al. (eds.) (2012), The Nature of Sustainable Consumption and How to
Achieve It, München, oekom verlag.
4. Dobson A., Bell D. (eds.) (2005), Environmental Citizenship, Cambridge, MA,
MIT Press.
5. Edwards A.A. (2005), The Sustainability Revolution – Portrait of a paradigm shift,
Gabriela Island, BC, New Society Publishers.
6. Feiler K. (ed.) (2004), Sustainability Creates New Prosperity – Basic for a New
World Order, New Economics and Environmental Protection, Frankfurt/Main, Pe-
ter Lang.
7. Gardner G. (2002), Invoking the Spirit – Religion and Spirituality in the Quest for
a Sustainable World, Washington, DC, Worldwatch Institute.
8. Grin J., Rotmans J., Scott J. (2010), Transitions to Sustainable Development – New
Directions in the Study of Long Term Transformative Change, New York – Lon-
don, Routledge.
9. Loorbach D. (2007), Transition Management – new mode of governance for sus-
tainable development, Utrecht, International Books.
10. Mulder K. et al. (eds.) (2011), What Is Sustainable Technology? Perceptions, Par-
adoxes and Possibilities, Sheffield, Greenleaf Publishing.
11. O’Neill J. (2001), Sustainability: Ethics, Politics and the Environment, in: J.
O’Neill et al. Ethics and Philosophy, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar.
12. Weber M., Hemmelskamp (eds.) (2005), Towards Environmental Innovation Sys-
tem, Berlin – New York, Springer.
13. Zacher L.W. (ed.) (2017), Technology, Society and Sustainability: Selected Con-
cepts, Issues and Cases, Cham, Springer.
14. Zacher L.W. (1998), Modernisation in Eastern Europe, and Post-modern Restruc-
turing in the West: Looking for Compatibility, in: J. Manniche (ed.), Searching and
Researching the Baltic Sea Region, Bornholm, p. 81-88.
15. Zacher L.W. (2003), Business-driven Sustainability – a moderately skeptical view,
in: S. Karner et al. (ed.), Corporate Sustainability, conf. mat., Graz, p. 303-312.
178
16. Zacher L.W. (2008), On Crises and Sustainability – Toward Crisisology, Transfor-
macje, Spec. Issue 2005-2007, p. 141-157.
17. Zacher L.W. (2008), Some Repetitive Reflections on Visioning the Future, in: S.
Sharma, P. K. Sharma (ed.), Transformative Pathways: Attainable Utopias, Jaipur,
Prateekasha Publications, p. 83-106.
18. Zacher L.W. (2009), Models, strategies, conditionings and contexts of sustainable
development, in: B. Poskrobko (ed.), Sustainable Development versus Knowledge-
based Economy, Białystok, Wyd. Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku, p. 15-30.
19. Zacher L.W. (2012), Technological vs. Political Modernization – Interactions and
Feedbacks, in: I. Modi (ed.), Modernization, Globalization and Social Transfor-
mation, Jaipur, Rawat Publications, p. 90-101.
20. Zacher L.W. (2013), Human and Societal Potentials for Transcending the Crisis of
Civilization, in: A. Targowski, M. J. Celiński (ed.), Spirituality and Civilization
Sustainability in the 21st Century, New York, Nova Science Publishers, p. 59-96.
21. Zacher L.W. (2014), Reflections on Government’s Accountability in Complex So-
cio-Economic Realities (in the Post-Political Era), w: S. Sharma et al. (ed.), Gov-
ernometrics and Technological Innovation for Public Policy Design and Precision,
IGI Global, Hershey, PA, p. 302-324.
22. Zacher L.W. (2015), Underestimated Assumption and Contexts of TA Theories
and Practices, in: C. Scherz et al. (ed.), The New Horizon of Technology Assess-
ment, Prague, p. 279-286 i 439-440.
23. Zacher L.W. (2016), Innovations for Socially Creating a Sustainable future, in: M.
Runiewicz-Wardyn (ed.), Innovations and Emerging Technologies for the Prosper-
ity and Quality of Life, Warszawa 2016, PWN, p. 15-32.
Prof. dr hab. Lech W. Zacher – Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
179
VI. TRANSFORMATION
CHALLENGES
(SELECTED)
180
Aleksandra KUNCE
THE POST-FACTORY:
ON THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF PLACE
ABSTRACT:
The author of this interpretation focuses on the post-factory from the anthropological
point of view. How can we transform the post-factory into a place? The post-factory is
a place of unique reconciliation. It is where a ritual has taken place, one involving not
only the material aspect of existence (architectural, renovating, animating, anesthetiz-
ing, popularizing and other activities), but also the social (the behaviour and active en-
gagement of people who have visited the place, wandered around or been on a pilgrim-
age) and the spiritual (the place, already uprooted and often vandalised, has been re-
stored to its proper order and function, which has helped to reinstate the relationship
between a human being, nature, industry and the place). To transform the post-factory
into a place is to open it again to the infinite and to make it part of the community.
Keywords: post-factory, transformations of place, design and home, post-industrial re-
gions
A SENSE OF LIVING IN THE POST-INDUSTRIAL TIMES.
A sense of living in the post-industrial times marked by the presence of the
services that make us live among other people is the reason why, as Daniel Bell
puts it, we “live more and more outside nature, and less and less with machinery
and things” (1976, p. 148). At stake in retreating from this position is something
much more profound – the restoration of the experience and uneasy knowledge
related to the post-industrial place. Former factories, mines, steel plants, com-
modity exchanges and goods stations appear both to lure and bother us. They
have been converted into something else: a museum, a heritage park, an art gal-
lery, a café, a meadow, a path on the tourist trail, a golf course, a loft apartment,
a terrain redesigned for sports or other cultural activities, or a lost-in-space and
181
abandoned monument of industrial architecture. It looks as if a sandstorm had
surged through, burying the place together with the previous experience of a
human mass who once lived there in the disciplined way by humbly following
the rhythm of work and rest within the allotted time and striving to persist, en-
dowed with a sense of responsibility for the communal work, and with an un-
derstanding of the need for planned solutions and routine activities being per-
formed with high precision, day in day out.
Business and military empires are based on the sense of service and devotion.
There is also a lot of suffering behind them, yet the story of a plant has never
been that of individual fulfilment translatable into self-congratulation. Fulfilling
one’s duties was closely connected to the sense of communal being of those
who had come to the centres of civilization in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, to factories, steel plants and mines, in order to experience the urban
way of living, its freedom and prosperity – though defined otherwise than today.
Fulfilling one’s obligation was ultimately understood as the service in the place
and for the place, a notion extended to include one’s plant, home, environment,
landscape and region. This obligation, due to politics and capital management,
sometimes turned into slave labour for the property owner, family, state or ide-
ology, but these larger references were somehow less significant than the eve-
ryday commitment to the place and home, to what was immediate and close at
hand.
Owing to the addition of the “post-,” post-industrial places have been restored
from social oblivion. After the sandstorm has surged through, after the hustle
and bustle of factories has long been silenced, after the former rhythm of the
place has all been forgotten, the stumps of the previous life-experience are start-
ing to protrude from post-industrial places. And these are the places that always
remain bruised and inert, even though they seem to flourish again with tourist
life and impress us with their design, as in Essen, Ostrava or Zabrze. Strolling
through the new lustrous museums and tacky shopping centres, built on the ter-
ritories of former large industrial facilities, one may ponder for a moment how
easy it is to reach their hidden substratum, which is the sense of an end, also an
end to being-at-home. Are we thus destined to view a mere spectacle of posthu-
mous existence, following the end of what was once so carefully raised and
cultivated? Or can the post-industrial places be inhabited anew?
182
THE POST-FACTORY AS AN IDEA.
To make a post-industrial place inhabitable again, what is needed is a distanced
look at and renewed experience of the factory – if we allow the notion to en-
compass not only former production and steel plants, but also mines, railway,
goods station, and commodity exchanges: all the areas that once contributed to
the making of the industrial epoch in our history. It is thus essential to render
the former factory symbolic, to relate to the idea anew, to regain the sense of
being part of something great again. Scattered somewhere in space, strolling
around, encountering or passing other people, in passages and flows, we dis-
cover again that what invigorates our being is the gravity of the place. Having
replaced the gravity of things with immaterial services, knowledge and infor-
mation, we suddenly realize that we are in need of a palpable material scene.
The loss of a machine means a painful loss of the sense of materiality. We al-
ways gravitate towards some place even if it seems to be evanescent, ever mov-
ing or flowing. We need the force of gravitation. In this way we feel that we
again keep our feet on the ground. The post-factory, construed as the space of a
former factory that has been subject to material, functional and experiential
transformation, would be such a place that brings to us back a lost sense of
gravity. It does so not just by redescribing and redefining the former plant –
which may not be serious enough – but by bringing the place back to our expe-
rience, by recovering its palpable presence in that it makes us repeat some
movements, put our feet on the very ground, touch the machines, fill the space
with our activity and inhabit anew the idea that we have just called into being.
The post-factory is an already transformed experience that still pervades us and
an idea that we wish to relate to in order to make it inhabitable.
As Juhani Pallasmaa reminds us, architecture locates us in space and time by
operating at a human scale: “It domesticates limitless space and endless time to
be tolerated, inhabited and understood by humankind” (2005, p. 17). In relation
to the architecture of houses or cathedrals we have no difficulty in connecting
the form of a building to a sense of home. Yet we may have more difficulty with
reference to the spatial coordinates of former factories, despite their sometimes
elaborate functional designs. It may seem that their purpose was not to make us
feel at home, as they were mainly aimed at producing profit. If we have a closer
183
look, though, we will observe that behind the operation of factories there was a
notion of connecting a human being to a place, which found its expression in
the fit between the architecture and the place, in the activity of shaping the en-
vironing space of working-class residential areas and public buildings used
every day by the local community (such as railway stations, schools, hospitals,
department stores, post-offices, shops, gardens, parks, restaurants, inns, bath
houses and laundries), but also in sharing the responsibility for the place be-
stowed upon people geographically and historically by shaping the common
way of living, the place’s cultural imaginary and its repertoire of aesthetic and
moral values. The factory is not just about architecture and urban planning, it is
a complex cultural reality that is able to produce motion, to usher in new behav-
iour and thinking, to impose meanings, to establish social relationships, to con-
nect and separate people, things and localities, and to introduce some principles
of coexistence, or the art of living, by teaching the discipline of staying in the
place. The factory embraces people and binds them to itself even though they
may be dimly aware of this overarching framework.
We turn to the post-factory having undergone an essential transformation which
has removed us from the industrial experience. We make an effort to forge a
bond with what is distant and even already alien to us. We perceive the post-
factory not just as an area which has been subject to ongoing erosion but also
as a factor in redeeming our sense of being-at-home in space and time at the
moment when our home and our memory are at risk. The post-factory allows us
to understand who we are to escape the formlessness of the incessant flow of
reality and its evanescence. Wandering around the space of a former factory,
present experiences mingle with past images, photographs, family stories, press
reports and radio broadcasts. In the post-factory memory and imagination have
been coupled. Reminiscences and evocations, acts of creating and conjuring up
the past constantly contribute to the erection of this immense place which is
filled with our presence but also maintained by the mighty framework of a for-
mer plant. There is no possibility of unfounded experience here. In the post-
factory we find a solid foundation by looking into the depths.
184
EUROPE AS THE CONTINENT OF POST-INDUSTRIAL REGIONS.
There are many useful activities that stem from penetrating the depths of expe-
rience – one of them consists in following the Industrial Monuments Route,
which documents the culture of industrial heritage and creates links between
monuments, values, industrial art and the art of living. The Industrial Monu-
ments Route in the Silesian province was the only such route in Central and
Eastern Europe to become, in 2010, part of the European Route of Industrial
Heritage (ERIH).1 This tourist and cultural trail connects industrial facilities as-
sociated with the industrial heritage and is a well-recognized tourist brand, as
its originators write on the project’s official website.2 It presents the facilities
related to mining and steel industry, power and textile industry, railroading, tel-
ecommunications, water management and food industry. Former industrial fa-
cilities very often amount to real works of art, like the 1806 metallurgical build-
ings of Königshütte (Royal Steel Plant), where the elements of Gothic style can
easily be spotted and which, as Henryk Waniek puts it, could be assumed to be
a palace or abbey were it not for the smoke. The same applies to other industrial
facilities to be observed on the photographs featuring landscape views of Silesia
produced throughout the 19th century by the Reiden & Knippel lithographic
company in Schmiedeberg (currently Kowary): “Steel plants, mines and other
facilities were all modelled on medieval strongholds or temples” (2013, p. 11).
The trips recommended as part of the Industrial Monuments Route, which help
people rediscover post-industrial places in Tarnowskie Góry3, Bytom or Gli-
wice, are aimed at raising the inhabitants’ and visitors’ awareness of the rich-
ness and variety of the region but also at expanding their receptivity to the civ-
ilizational and ethical values behind the industrial places. Referring to another
1 http://www.erih.net. Currently the European route is made up of eighteen regional trails (one
in Austria, eleven in Germany, one in Holland, one in Spain, three in Great Britain, and one
in Poland – Upper Silesia). The European trail includes 1410 postindustrial facilities, with 74
located in Poland [information obtained on July 14, 2017]. 2 On the project of the European Route of Industrial Heritage see
http://www.zabytkitechniki.pl/Pokaz/27320/opis-szlaku [accessed April 10, 2017]. 3 In 2017, 28 facilities in Tarnowskie Góry were included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage
List – these are lead, silver and zinc mines together with the underground water management
system in Tarnowskie Góry. Post-industrial buildings of Tarnowskie Góry joined the
UNESCO sites of the Royal Salt Mine in Wieliczka (entry in 1978) and in Bochnia (entry in
2013).
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such place, Liverpool, similarly based on the foundation of industrial revolu-
tion, Erik Bichard wrote that it is vital to pay attention to “the innovative way
in which Liverpool has used its legacy of culture and celebration to help visitors
and its own population rediscover the value of the city” (2016, p. 152). From
our perspective, however, something more important and deeper is at stake –
the narrative of the city becomes transcended by the story of the region and
home, one that is truly receptive to cultural values.
Looking at the recommendations offered by the Route we can for example
choose the 68-kilometre trail by following in the footsteps of two eminent ar-
chitects, the cousins Emil and George Zillmann, who carried out most of their
projects in Upper Silesia. The route includes: the District Disability Health Care
Unit in Rokitnica (established in 1902-1904, since 1948 part of the Silesian
Medical Academy), the buildings of two mines based in Gliwice: Sośnica and
KWK Gliwice, the latter also housing the Branch of the Artistic Casting Mu-
seum, the workers’ housing estate called Giszowiec, a unique settlement com-
bining a town and a garden (built in 1906-1910 for the workers of the Georg
von Giesches Erben mining company) and Nikiszowiec (a housing estate estab-
lished in 1908-1919, with unique redbrick blocks of flats surrounding inner
courtyards and connected to each other by batten plates). By visiting them, we
develop a sense of being subjects of the cultural territory which exists for us,
but also for other people, those who lived before us and those who will succeed
us.
Another travel recommendation of the Route is equally interesting in terms of
its complex layering of time and space. What the less-than-7-kilometre trail un-
folds before our eyes is a set of industrial gems in Zabrze. The first stop on the
way is the Guido Historic Coalmine, founded in 1855 by Count Guido Henckel
von Donnersmarck and including the deepest underground post-office in Eu-
rope, 3 kilometres of underground excavation areas and passages, a restaurant
and performance and concert hall, all located 320 metres underground, and the
possibility to experience the mine as a rough, dark and silent place 355 metres
below the ground level. The second stop en route is Zabrze Museum of Coal
Mining, located in the former office of the county administration which houses
an eighteenth-century water drainage system, the only one preserved complete
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in Europe. The last part of the journey is a visit to the Municipal Botanical Gar-
den established in 1938, and to the Maciej Shaft which prides itself on the still
operating and more than 70-year-old powered winding machine.
In this way we have found ourselves in the centre of civilization and its strategy
of taking roots. Still more, we are now located in the centre of the familiar
postindustrial Europe: it is enough to have a look around. The projects aimed at
the revitalization of old water and paper mills in the Italian province of Salerno;
the idea of building a housing estate in the old Ford factory in Bucharest; the
conversion of the former textile warehouses, together with cotton and corn ex-
change buildings, into the docking and transport centre in Manchester; the Gug-
genheim Museum in Bilbao which has adapted old industrial areas for its pur-
poses; the Silesian Museum in Katowice erected on the site of the former Kato-
wice coalmine; the complete regeneration of the former mine and coking plant
within the Zollverein industrial complex in Essen; the revitalization of the
world’s oldest glassworks in Harrachov together with the brewery set up on the
spot; several well-considered adjustments of the Guido Historic Coalmine or
the Silver Mine and Black Trout Adit in Tarnowskie Góry to the needs of tour-
ists; interesting projects of making unused mines available to visitors in the
Březové Hory district (Příbram) or in the Landek Park complex in Ostrava
(Petřkovice); the adaptation of the Wieliczka Salt Mine for tourist purposes; the
project of developing the postindustrial areas of former Norblin’s plants in War-
saw; the conversion of Karol Scheibler’s spinning mill in Łódź into loft apart-
ments; the Rye Mill in Szamotuły (near Poznań) which has been converted into
a family residence; the project of arranging lofts in the former paper mill build-
ings in Wrocław; the planned revitalization of the Powiśle heat and power plant
facilities in Warsaw; the planned adaptation of the brewery in Wrzeszcz; the
planned adaptation of the brewery in Cracow for commercial and residential
purposes; the reconstruction of Peterson’s mill in Bydgoszcz for residential pur-
poses; the adaptation of the weaving mill in Zielona Góra; the project of estab-
lishing the Wzorcownia showroom in Wrocław, transforming the space of the
former pottery factory into the facilities for shopping, commerce and recreation;
the revitalization of the former Julia Mine in Wałbrzych by establishing the Old
Mine Centre for Research and Art; the adaptation of the former boiler room in
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Gliwice or the lamp room in Bytom for residential purposes; the planned con-
version of the former china factory in Katowice into a technology park – this is
just a handful of examples of recent post-industrial design and artwork. As ev-
idenced by these initiatives, there seems to be a distinct community of experi-
ence in Europe as the continent of post-industrial regions.
A POST-INDUSTRIAL PLACE AS A MORALITY STORY.
A post-industrial place which has again become animated, regaining its peculi-
arity due to the establishment of a new art gallery or an education institution,
provides a sort of a morality story. It teaches us about the imminent decline of
things, people and factories but, at the same time, it offers a prospect of future
regeneration. The future existence is not just about “making things happen” and
“having fun” in the place which used to connect life and death through hard
work. Instead of merely providing the venue for consumption, entertainment or
carefree aesthetic display, the place itself should be subject to radical transfor-
mation which will bring it to light anew by emphasizing the value of many peo-
ple existing in one place, one person after another, succeeding previous gener-
ations and giving place to whoever comes next. In this way, the post-factory
gives rise to an uncanny exchange of experiences. Our emotions, experiences,
responses and stories are imposed on the place, which is grasped already in its
post-dimension. And the other way round: the place undergoing post-industrial
transformation stimulates our thoughts and actions by intertwining them with
its own history and spatial organization. The post-industrial place, properly con-
strued, makes us conceive of ourselves as human beings in existential terms.
Our bodies appear there to substitute the countless bodies of those who, prior to
us, filled and co-shaped the place with their presence, marking it with sweat,
fatigue, and memory of repeated sequences of gestures, perhaps also stigmati-
zation, exhaustion and injury. To put it in Pallasmaa’s words, architecture con-
nects us with the dead (2005, p. 52). To recall the argument of the theoretician
and practitioner of the field, not only does architecture make us experience our-
selves in the urban space, but it makes us confront the city with our bodies: it is
thus the city that exists through our bodily location and embodied experience,
not the other way round (Pallasmaa 2005, p. 40).
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What we are concerned here with is however the connection to a place that
transcends the urban spatial organization. The place connects us with the dead
in the most poignant way: it is what moves us truly and deeply. In the post-
factory the bodily dimension is highly significant. Everything here is related to
the actual movement in space and observation of what is going on in the place:
listening to the noise in the background, touching the surface of machines,
floors and walls, and detecting the smells of the factory (there are differently
localized smells, those of home, harbour, perfumery, confectioner’s shop – and
the factory also has their own). The factory is an area dominated by smell, touch,
sight and hearing: it is a realm of sensual and intellectual imagination. We are
told to take precautions, to move along the marked routes, to take a train, to
follow the instructions of mining experts, to put on a protective helmet, to duck
the head in some situations, and so on.
The post-factory, so fragmentarily experienced, has to be imagined even fur-
ther. The visitor’s body no longer needs the same expertise and alertness to
danger as was necessitated of the body of a former factory worker, but it still
feels an inner compulsion to humbly follow the discipline, even in the partial
way it is required within the post-industrial space. The post-factory is excep-
tional in that it binds our corporeality to those who came before us. We are thus
made to retrace their steps in order to reflect on the community of time and
place. The post-factory becomes our common reality and not just a mere chi-
mera. In this sense, the place that makes us realize that we exist “one after an-
other” marks a return to the notion of home.
The sense of space that the post-factory projects and imposes upon us reinforces
our subjectivity, producing a feeling we would be devoid of substance and
meaning without it. The post-factory also projects the sense of space onto our
urban experience of time and space, as if we were lacking in the power of ex-
pression. What we come to post-industrial places for is not their obvious bene-
fits: a theatre performance, shopping, a museum exhibition, educational work-
shops, wine tasting, a sports event or a music concert 300 metres below the
ground level. Instead, we come to experience the hidden post-industrial quality
consisting in the originary knowledge of home and universal evanescence, one
that disturbs us and leads us beyond ourselves towards the unknown and inex-
189
plicable. What is the purpose of living one after another and fulfilling our obli-
gation of staying in the place and for the place? What aim does it serve? Where
does the disturbing element come from? The thoughtful way of existence in the
post-industrial place always implies a sort of journey to the origin. We visit such
places as we visit homes but also cemeteries. The visits are celebrated as some-
thing extraordinary, respecting the distance that has arisen between us and the
site. The journey to post-industrial places, which is very often a hazardous ex-
ploration of those mysterious areas and facilities, becomes a sort of pilgrimage
to what is inconceivable within our own abode.
A PLACE CONSTITUTED BY ACOUSTIC AND VISUAL ROUGHNESS.
The work which comes to a standstill means an end to the standard order of
existence. Everything goes silent – a system of work which is sometimes over-
exploitative and at other times simply aimed at unearthing the best part of the
human being or matching the rhythm of a human life which is in need of being
endowed with its individual form and value. It is not always the case that work
leads to utter devastation so accurately captured in the picture of the industrial
Coketown in Charles Dickens’s Hard Times. A human being whose life used to
be defined as that of a worker in the local community, has suddenly been thrown
into the existence at the end of time. The space and time that previously drew
the contours of reality, its values and the self-evident sequence of events, have
become marked by a loss. As a result, the human sense of loss is imposed upon
the space and time which are left void, without work and “people of good
work,” announcing demise and distance. The place is now constituted by acous-
tic and visual roughness. It is indeed poignant to visit a former forge in the mine
which is immersed in complete silence or to see an unused winding machine,
once contributing to the industrial symphony of sounds which resounded across
the European landscapes. This sense of loss, as well as the sense of belonging
to the industrial heritage, are further reflected in the project aimed at recording
and storing the sounds of work and everyday life, undertaken by major Euro-
pean museums (such as the Museum of Labour in Norkköping, Museum of Mu-
nicipal Engineering in Cracow, Technical Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana,
Westphalian Museum of Industry in Dortmund, La Fonderie: Brussels Museum
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of Industry and Labour, Finnish Labour Museum Werstas in Tampere).4 The
loss is, however, even more powerfully sensed in the experience of visiting an
old factory immersed in total silence.
The former factory shafts, once towering majestically over the surroundings and
seen from afar by visitors, were like medieval cathedrals: they somehow sanc-
tified the space and provided directions to wanderers seeking food and welfare.
Today an alienated former mine shaft tentatively overlooks the urban environ-
ment, which is instead dominated and defined by glass skyscrapers housing of-
fices and apartments. Yet these lonely factory buildings, water towers or shafts
are what still lure us from afar like holy towers directing ever new groups of
pilgrims who set off on a journey for some other purposes. A water tower at-
tracts us because it is a disturbing presence, radiating its metaphysical aura all
over the place. It is part of a closed architectural system, impenetrable to ob-
servers due to the loss of its experiential quality, but still inviting a glance from
afar. The time and space of such places need to be brought to light again. The
end of a factory, the end of a machine and the end of the cultural order they
belong to seems to be the last stage of the post-place’s existence, one curiously
capable of being transformed into something new and living. Yet this living is
differently conceived: framed by a critical distance, irony and even playful at-
titudes on the one hand, and by the real desire to take root in the place again on
the other.
It is thus simply wrong to reduce the post-place to the leisurely exploitation of
history, a place marked by consumption, enjoyment and simulated activity. A
caricature of a factory is no more than a caricature of real life. A post-factory
should not be a parody of industrial and cultural power that has irrevocably been
lost. The sense of loss stems from the replacement of former gravity by mere
entertainment or naïve environmental narratives. In the latter case, an exclusive
concern with the environmental transformation of a post-industrial place is a
waste of its potential. From the perspective of cultural anthropology, it is not
sufficient to come up with notions such as the SynergiCity which highly appre-
ciate what is insignificant, harmless, fragile, healthy, green and communally
shared, leading up to courageous projects of social transformation (Florida
4 On the museum project see http://www.mim.krakow.pl/work-with-sounds [accessed
10.07.2017].
191
2012, pp. 171–182). We cannot be content with the mere transformation of post-
industrial cities undertaken with the environmental synergy in mind, directing
our attention to sustainable development, green urban projects or innovative
economy where pure air, green commons, restricted traffic or small, environ-
mentally-friendly industry are used as arguments to support the idea of trans-
formation. It should be stressed that such activity is also vital, yet the place can
only be constructed and raised from within.
The “post-“ should instead be able to rewrite the gravity of the place and to
become a powerful gesture in space, connecting what is nowadays only super-
ficial with what is hidden deep underneath and constitutes an expansive under-
ground foundation of the city. Today’s post-industrial ever-growing cities owe
their magnitude and distance to unused mines because the latter delineate a hori-
zon line which does not overlap with the contours of office and apartment build-
ings or meadows. The three-dimensionality of the “post-“ does not allow us to
forget about the genuine foundation of the city. It is only after one has lost an
old place that one can open his or her mind to the place again. The place that
has ceased to be conceived in functional terms can be related to anew, which
makes people aware of the relationship and belonging to what has so far gone
unnoticed or been belittled. In the post-place we discover again the tension be-
tween the myth of the place and that of the factory, between our Heimweh and
our acute sense of alienation. The old factories, with their trust in machines, in
what is tangible and permanent and what yields concrete results, do not seem to
correspond to the current cybernetic times and their passing fads. Still, the
lonely production halls or machines made shiny again appear to power the place
with new energy. What at first glance appears inessential and useless, fills the
place with new essence.
A PLACE AS THE QUINTESSENCE OF SUFFERING.
The post-industrial landscape should be approached with the metaphor of a scar
and similar tropes: with the notions of marking, scarring, mangling, and being
terrified by what has been left. This is the narrative offered by Anna Storm,
when she writes that the scars on the post-industrial landscape refer to complex
pasts where the reality of loss, wound and fear coexists with that of survival,
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resilience and courage (2014, p. 1). This image, combining memory, experi-
ence, and economic and political projects, can most easily be applied to the
Chernobyl disaster and its scarred landscape – one that recalls loss and the twi-
light of utopia and that is the quintessence of suffering (Storm 2014, p. 82).
However, in tracing the suffering that binds a human being to a place as a com-
plex reality where people and their experience are placed at the very centre, we
have to trust the anthropological as that which is able to highlight both individ-
uality and community, together with the notion of staying humbly in the place,
of listening attentively to what is around and of inhabiting the world. We should
again listen to Rilke, who in his Notes on the Melody of Things, while describing
the gathering of relatives at the deathbed of a family member, points to their
indifference and confusion which is followed by suffering that unites them:
“Their words pass each other by, knowing nothing of each other. Their hands
miss each other at first, in the confusion. – Until the pain behind them broadens
out. They sit down, sink their foreheads, and say nothing. It rustles above them
like a forest. They are close to each other, as never before” (2017, xix). And the
author adds that most people listen only to the fragments of a melody in the
background or are only starting to listen attentively because “They are like trees
that have forgotten their roots and now think that the rustling of their branches
is their power and their life” (2017, xx). The silent understanding of subtle con-
nections between people is not just an emotionally charged moment that be-
comes inscribed in memory but one that leads to the realization of a deeper
attachment to the place, a sense of being connected to what was before and what
is still to come in the future. The silence arising in the face of the unspeakable
is accompanied by a sense of obligation to the place that scorns abundant ex-
pression and focuses instead on the very living.
The post-industrial place is thus about listening attentively to the melody of
space and time that does not merely belong to what is visibly present and useful,
but one that treats human beings, to quote Rilke’s phrase again, as “initiates of
life” (2017, xxi). The post-industrial place has the power of a waterfall: it strikes
us with its roaring noise and energy. By accumulating the layers of thought and
action, it throws a human being into the very heart of home-making. A lonely
tower of the former mine shaft, former post-industrial ponds filled up with soil,
as well as a dazzling neon light which encourages us to visit a place that is no
193
longer what it used to be, are all parts of the powerful force that immerses us in
the locality, close to the roots and the notion of home-making. United in the
suffering which stems from the loss of the old shape of the place, we slowly
proceed to conceive of it as a rooted centre, still emanating the power to bring
the world into being, to create the environment around us ever anew and to
constitute the local community of those who keep the world going, in its
rhythms of life and death.
POST-INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND HOME.
Design practices present in our culture are conventionally associated with ar-
chitecture, clothing, computer graphics, interior design, consumer goods, items,
games and so on, but also with the making of military equipment, plant machin-
ery or transport vehicles. They have become highly influential in disseminating
ideas, values, patterns of behaviour and ways of juxtaposing things.
Design is closely intertwined with the history of humankind; in Charlotte and
Peter Fiell’s words, an object created by a human being is already a designed
item, and by applying it we come to experience the world (Cf. 2013). Design
involves both the planning stage and material effect of human creation. It is
derived from the Latin verb designare (meaning ‘to designate, ponder and
choose’) and, as the authors explain, even though it referred to the making of
artistic patterns or building plans until the 17th century, in most cases designers
carefully balanced the artistic and technical aspects of work.
This coupling may be of interest to us insofar as it may lead us to examine
different representations of the difficult relationship between art and technol-
ogy, as well as artistic versus utilitarian elements of human work, by tipping the
scales in favour of one of them. However, what is here more significant in an-
thropological terms is that design can actually transform the place, revitalize its
image and formulate its future novel conception by defining new functions, new
users, new meanings, new activities, new lifestyles, new ways of looking at an
old place, and new notions of one’s location. But it is not just about design
shaping our awareness: what is at stake is the realization that the idea of a place
is prior to the gesture of the designer and practitioner of culture, that thinking
194
precedes “thinging.” To make sure that this is the case, not only do we need to
find out how to address the connection between technology and art, or the util-
itarian and the artistic, in a non-conventional way, but also to focus on and bring
to light the very experience of the place. Anthropologically conceived, design
should be more than just a way of combining artistry and functionality, or
beauty and ergonomics. It should seek to marry purposefulness and faith in the
existence of a masterpiece – also in the machine-made objects, and to view the
trust in the democratization of reality as underlying the production of beauty for
the masses. Finally, it should foster faith in “better” solutions. From the anthro-
pological point of view, the word “better” means something different from what
the designer has conceived and planned; “better” does not indicate more re-
sourceful, sophisticated and functional, but deeper in its way of thinking which
consciously revolves around the place and its quotidian existence and remains
rooted in “homely” values.
Design may give a new lease of life to the place by turning towards the depth,
to what constitutes the place’s identity and has perhaps been forgotten. In this
sense, it may be able to revive and transform old values by turning them into a
stimulus to develop a new, rejuvenated way of thinking. We can similarly treat
design with reference to the rhythm of living or rules of composing image, dec-
orating, distributing features, establishing connections, and so on. The spectac-
ular and well-planned design in the urban space was able to thoroughly trans-
form the Basque Bilbao (Bilbo in the native language) by locating the city in
the network of events, providing a boost to the enterprise of building the me-
tropolis with a flourish and engraving itself in the social and scholarly memory
as the “Bilbao effect” (Cf. Alayo, Henry, and Plaza 2016, pp. 142–152). The
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, designed by Frank O. Gehry, remains a point
focalizing our ideas of the centre, one that sends the waves of transformation
further on. Still, it is essential to point out that transformation and revitalization
projects embrace a number of social and cultural spheres of the city and the
region and thus cannot be reduced to this single gesture made by the architect
in space.
If design is treated as a mere artifice or trick of art, it remains a spectacle show-
ing off the designer’s skills, which has nothing to do with the place in a broad
sense – with a region conceived as a realm of cultural thinking, with a local
195
community, with its particular space- and time-conditioned understanding of a
human being, with the contextual notion of time or freedom, with the local at-
tachment to a specific rhythm of living and so on. It is only a flash that can
dazzle us as a single phenomenon or offend us with its incongruity. The design
of post-industrial places should direct us back to the ways of taking root in the
place, to what is basic and has perhaps been squandered in memory. Its task is
to give the place a new lease of life by reintroducing order or to push it in a
totally new direction; however, this should always be done with the cultural
knowledge of the place in mind.
In the story of the spectacular success of the Bilbao project, we often neglect
the role of a local context, that of the country of Basques with its distinct set of
values, style of living and other elements of identity, with its peculiar under-
standing of time and space, with its notion of sedentary and nomadic life, or of
the relationship between individuality and commonality, or of the readiness to
change what can be changed and reluctance to alter what is truly essential. For-
eign design may work miracles for the place, like the Derridean graft in which
the alien interferes with the homely (1986, p. xxv), but it is only the case, we
could add, when “home” is a well-conceived construction and not just some
watered-down waste substance. Revitalization projects will only then translate
into a social and commercial success when they are able to strengthen what is
vital to the place and local community. Otherwise, they may breed problems. It
is obviously worthwhile to examine the stories of the transformation of
postindustrial cities such as Rotterdam, Turin, Essen, Buffalo, Detroit, Milwau-
kee, Pittsburgh and New Orlean (see the chart representing the analysis of post-
industrial cities in: Carter 2016); but the lesson they teach us should be comple-
mented by an anthropological observation which most often evades the scholars
discussing the places. The relationship of a human being and a place cannot be
reduced to the analysis carried out within social and economic parameters or
with regard to the ways of stimulating artistic and tourist activity.
Post-industrial design cannot mean violence to the place or a sophisticated
mechanism capable of taming its powers. In design we should be able to per-
ceive the contours of home, an essential task awaiting a human being. The old
factory, which abounded in architectonic details, ornamental patterns, sophisti-
cated plans, monumental gates, dazzling bas-reliefs, well-designed towers,
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doors and windows, was itself an embodiment of design, not just in its reference
to the neo-Gothic style but in the attempt to illustrate the relationship between
the human, place, power and authority. The story of classical physics and its
basic categories such as work, power, force, mass, charge, path, trajectory, time,
heat, energy, potential and motion, velocity, momentum, acceleration, pressure,
vibration, wave, intensity, voltage, resistance and so on, was translated here into
the narrative of a multitude of dynamic, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic
or thermodynamic laws governing culture. The design of former factories was
not just an aesthetic product but an integral philosophical and cultural story
which placed a ‘handy human’, Homo habilis, in the very centre, together with
the power (s)he possessed to couple nature and culture.
The post-factory has to be attentive to this design of thought. For its task is to
find a way back home by demonstrating unthought-of relations between humans
and landscape or between people and things, and by uncovering unexpected
distance in what constitutes human environment and neighbourhood. Good de-
sign is about posing questions about the place. It does not show everything in
detail because a well-designed place should not provide us with a finished pic-
ture, or it does not trigger any activity. It should instead confront us with the
task of finding our way back home by developing a new metaphysics of life. In
this regenerative gesture that is design one should transcend the despair follow-
ing the demise of a factory and replace it with pensive sadness (for we do live
amid fragments, surrounded by ruins, having experienced a loss), combined
with the need to “kindle the flame” again. The work of post-industrial design
should be preceded by an attempt to read the place precisely in regional terms.
In this sense, design is not transferrable to other contexts, regardless of the sim-
ilarity of cultural narratives. It springs from a particular place, attached to the
periphery and focused on the local centre. Indeed, one should always hold on to
where one is.
THROWN INTO THE PLACE.
Frau Schwientek, a great character in Janosch’s novel Cholonek, oder Der liebe
Gott aus Lehm was right when she expounded her view that “nothing comes
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from nothing” (2011, p. 27) The philosophical phrase, echoing Melissus of Sa-
mos’ and Lucretius’ ex nihilo nihil fit, in the Silesian context does not so
much serve the purpose of showing the contradiction inherent in the no-
tion of becoming, as indicating the posture of existential humility in the
face of what there is. Of significance here is not the logical meaning of
the sentence but a desperate lament behind it, one that emphasises a con-
nection between the interaction of things and its consequences, and ex-
presses the view that people and things are bound to each other with the
chain of actions, words, and effects of their work, and that they are fas-
tened to the ground. Thus, the treaty on nature is also a treaty on culture.
We are attached to the ground even though we are as restless as we can
be in contemporary times. We plan our lives, continually coming and
going, beginning something and abandoning it, each time letting the fresh
air in and closing the door behind. We may seem self-sufficient and un-
related to the place, capable of adapting to the changing conditions of
living, standardized, internationalized and similar, but we still suddenly
realize at one point that the idea of home is about permanence and has to
be taken it into consideration as such.
In the ruins of the post-factory there is something lyrical but also deeply upset-
ting. A home that is both solid and turned upside down, powerful and full of
glory on the one hand, while being fragile and easily destroyed on the other,
shows how strong our foundation is. We have accommodated ourselves to the
landscape. We follow obediently the routes available to visitors and touch the
machines in order to identify all the significant and insignificant reasons why
we have come to visit the place. Thrown into the place, we keep trying to reach
it from afar. The post-factory offers us such a journey which is perhaps a pas-
sage to the heart of darkness. The disintegration of buildings corresponds to the
mortality of those who formed the substance of the city before us and worked
hard for the sake of the factory’s development, only to fill the common soil with
their bodies. We exist in the vicinity of people and things, and the post-factory
makes us deeply aware of the layering of human and non-human lot. It exposes
a limitless foundation beneath. It also inscribes our existence in the larger event
of dwelling.
198
The post-industrial landscape we immerse ourselves in anew by consciously
following the processes of its reconstruction, reconfiguration and revival, fi-
nally enters our very being, which results in establishing a new order based on
reintegration and mutual belonging. We are now subjects of the places we have
never really outgrown; we have become part of the location by participating in
its dynamics of life and death. The imagination which is set free in post-indus-
trial places lets us descend into the depths of thinking that old mines or steel
plants keep alive. One generation after another, we keep guard in the place by
both exploiting it and caring about it, inflicting wounds and then letting them
heal.
TO TRANSFORM THE POST-FACTORY INTO A PLACE.
The post-factory is a place of unique reconciliation. It is where a ritual has taken
place, one involving not only the material aspect of existence (architectural,
renovating, animating, anesthetizing, popularizing and other activities), but also
the social (the behaviour and active engagement of people who have visited the
place, wandered around or been on a pilgrimage) and the spiritual (the place,
already uprooted and often vandalised, has been restored to its proper order and
function, which has helped to reinstate the relationship between a human being,
nature, industry and the place). To transform the post-factory into a place is to
open it again to the infinite and to make it part of the community. What once
used to be a realm of humility and discipline, or loyalty and devotion, after the
fall of the factory and the experience of its end has become an unmarked space,
most often disliked and rejected as mediocre and alien. It is only the post-indus-
trial gesture of extracting the value from what is distant that can make the place
existentially open to the unknown and re-establish its position with all the rigour
that is needed.
In this way the space may become home again. However, the reconciliation is
not just about the re-instatement of the sacred dimension to a vandalized and
desecrated place, but has also the deeper sense of reconciling the sinner with
the church (2011, p. 186). Reconciliatio conceived as reinstatement allows us
to stress an interesting anthropological (not just legal and theological) aspect of
199
the process: what is meant here is the reconstruction of a community and inclu-
sion of a person in what is going on “between us.” Not only in the sense of
interpersonal relations but also in terms of what the place is, what brings us
together, what stretches between us and locates us where we currently are. We
visit post-industrial places by including them in the itinerary of our pilgrimage,
by experiencing again the anxiety about our roots and by making a conscious
effort to dwell here again. This is why the reconciliation that takes place in post-
industrial spaces has so much to do with homecoming. The process of reconcil-
iation is only possible when the discrepancies between us and the space we in-
herited are fully experienced and overcome. We reconcile ourselves with the
place by creating connections between what has so far seemed irreconcilable.
The more time we devote to the precise reconstruction of the details of work,
the more effort we make to closely read and experience the place, the more we
are able to immerse ourselves in the homely space that we now treat with re-
spect. As subjects of the place, we are duly respectful of the ongoing eternal
mystery of transfiguration and redemption that we are being involved in here.
We have the feeling that we are part of something profound.
The anthropological reading of a post-industrial place demonstrates the need for
an experiential approach to the location where dwelling becomes possible
again.
REFERENCES:
1. Alayo, J., Henry, G. and Plaza, B. (2016): ‘Bilbao: Case Study’, in: Remaking Post-
Industrial Cities: Lessons from North-America and Europe, ed. D. K. Carter, New
York and Abingdon: Routledge.
2. Bell, D. (1976): The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, New York: Basic
Books.
3. Bichard, E. (2016): Liverpool: Case Study, in: Remaking Post-Industrial Cities:
Lessons from North-America and Europe, ed. D. K. Carter, New York & London:
Routledge.
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America and Europe, New York and Abingdon: Routledge.
5. Derrida, J. (1986): ‘Fors: The Anglish Words of Nicolas Abraham and Maria To-
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6. Fiell, Ch. and P. (2013): The Story of Design, London: Goodmann Fiell.
7. Florida, R. (2012): ‘Conclusion’, in: SynergiCity: Reinventing the Postindustrial
City, ed. P. H. Kapp and P. J. Armstrong, Champaign: University of Illinois Press.
8. Janosch [Eckert H.] (2011): Cholonek, czyli dobry Pan Bóg z gliny, trans. L. Bielas,
Kraków: Wydawnictwo Znak.
9. Pallasmaa, J. (2005): The Eyes of the Skin. Architecture and the Senses, Chichester:
John Wiley & Sons.
10. Rilke, R. M. (2017): Notes on the Melody of Things, xix, https://pen.org/notes-on-
the-melody-of-things/ [accessed 15.10.2017].
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lan.
12. Waniek, H. (2013): “Rozszarpany krajobraz,” [“A Landscape Torn Apart”], Fa-
bryka Silesia, no. 3 (5).
13. Teinert, Z. (2011): “Odpusty i kary doczesne w świetle dokumentów Soboru
Trydenckiego” [“Indulgences and Temporal Punishments in the Documents of the
Council of Trent”], Teologia i Moralność, vol. 9, 2011.
PROJECTS AND WEBSITES:
1. http://www.erih.net
2. http://www.zabytkitechniki.pl/Pokaz/27320/opis-szlaku
3. http://www.mim.krakow.pl/work-with-sounds
Dr. hab. Aleksandra Kunce – Institute of Cultural and Interdisciplinary Studies, Uni-
versity of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
201
Mirosław GEISE
Maria Ewa SZATLACH
HOW MONOCULTURE ECONOMIES WORK
IN THE CONDITIONS OF GROWING TENSIONS
IN NATURAL RESOURCES MARKETS
ABSTRACT
The article is an attempt to verify the concept of Jeffrey D. Sachs and Andrew M.
Warner`s about „the curse of natural resources”1. According to the researchers, if the
country has abundant natural resources that create a monoculture structure of economy,
it reduces the supply of capital needed to run other productive economic activities and
therefore, it affects the decline in the long-run economic growth. The aim of the article
is to assess the impact of changes in prices of crude oil and natural gas on the economic
situation in Russia and Norway, two countries with a monocultural economic structure.
The methodology is based largely on the analysis of economic data of these economies
and some selected companies. The comparisons between countries and corporations
require the use of index methods. Financial reports of Gazprom and Statoil, two com-
panies of strategic importance for economies of Russia and Norway, were also used in
the article.
Keywords: monoculture structure of economy, natural resources markets, crude oil,
gas, Norway, Russia, corporations
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, Russia and Norway experienced a significant strengthening of
the role of mining industry in the increasing of national product, that led to gen-
eral improvement of the economic and social situation in both countries. The
share of Russia and Norway in creating a global product significantly increased,
1 J. D. Sachs, A. M. Warner, The curse of natural resources,”European Economic Review”,
Volume 45, Issue 4-6, May 2001, pp. 827-838.
202
and the national economies generated substantial budget surpluses and high net
exports. Such a course of events in these countries created a considerable com-
fort in managing of social and economic issues. A sharp decline in energy com-
modity prices in world markets at the end of 2014, however, caused some com-
plications in the economic situation in these countries.
STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE WORLD'S LARGEST CORPORATIONS
Since the beginning of a new century, the world economy has recorded a sys-
tematic increase in prices of energy resources. The pace of change accelerated
significantly at the turn of 2007/2008. From August 2007 to June 2008, prices
(in US $) per barrel of crude oil increased by 80%, while a cubic meter of natural
gas by 84%2. The companies from a fuel and energy sector in the period of rapid
growth in oil and gas prices multiplied their income, accumulated their increas-
ing profits, and created a lot of new jobs. In 2004, in a group of 100 of the
largest corporations in the world, classified according to an annual turnover,
fifteen companies with high efficiency were from the fuel and energy sector.
These corporations participated in 26% of total profits of one hundred top com-
panies in the world. This could indicate an increasing ability of the sector to
raise capital and to further enlarge production capacity. The dominant part of
surpluses (about 93%) was in the possession of companies from the Euro-At-
lantic Area. One of them was Norway's Statoil. In 2004, the corporation reached
the turnover of 45.4 billion USD and generated $ 3.7 billion profit, which gave
it an above-average level of efficiency (profitability) in the largest firms3. In
2004, Statoil produced almost 20% of Norwegian GDP.
By 2004, the importance of fuel and energy companies from the countries of
rapid growth in global economy was not too significant4. Gazprom (the Russian
largest company in terms of resources and turnover) in the classification of the
2 http://stooq.pl/q/?s=sc.f, http://stooq.pl/q/?s=lf.f, access 10.05.2016. 3 http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_fil-
ter:All%20industries_filter:Russia_filter:All%20states, access 10.04.2016. 4 Among fifteen largest corporations of the world from the fuel and energy sector, only four
were from outside the Euro-Atlantic Area (three were Chinese and one was Mexican).
203
world's largest corporations was out of the first hundred of such companies5.
After 2004, the rapid economic growth in the world, especially in countries with
major corporations from a fuel and energy sector, resulted from the strengthen-
ing of the position of this sector in global economy. The dynamics of positive
changes accelerated with each passing year. In 2007, in a group of one hundred
top corporations in the world, eighteen were from the fuel and energy sector
(three more than in 2004). Their strong position was emphasized by the dy-
namic growth in the share of total profits, that reached 36% in 2007. The turn-
over profitability of fuel-energy companies was 9% and it was higher than the
rate calculated for other key world's corporations by nearly three percentage
points. The high efficiency of this sector encouraged further investments, which
increased production capacity and created a lot of new jobs in the sector. The
boom in natural resources markets was primarily connected with extremely high
prices of all raw materials in 2006-2007. High oil and gas prices resulted from
the rapid development of Chinese economy (the growing demand for all raw
materials) and the intensifying of worldwide speculations in the area of future
contracts. The "bubble" in property markets encouraged banks to increase their
economic activities6.
In three years (2004-2007), the structure of key corporations from the fuel and
energy sector significantly changed (by the country of origin). During this pe-
riod, companies outside the Euro-Atlantic Area gained a strong position. Their
share in the total turnover and profits of the fuel-energy sector was at the level
of about 30%. In 2007, Gazprom and Lukoil (Russia), Petrobraz (Brazil) and
Petronas (Malaysia) had the highest turnover and profitability of assets, and the
greatest ability to raise capital for further investments. Norwegian Statoil held
a high position among the key companies of the fuel and energy sector from
West Europe7. In 2004-2007, economic changes in Russia and Norway were
characterized by a high growth of GDP, which was completely in line with the
5 http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_fil-
ter:All%20industries_filter:Russia_filter:All%20states, access 10.05.2016. 6 M. Geise, Krajowe rynki pracy w praktyce współczesnego kapitalizmu, Wydawnictwo Uni-
wersytetu Kazimierza Wielkiego, Bydgoszcz 2015, pp. 60-62. 7 The company was the fifth in the group in terms of turnover and profits behind Shell, BP,
Total and ENI. http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:
_filter:All%20industries_filter:Russia_filter:All%20states, access 10.05.2016.
204
boom in natural resources markets.
In the mid-2008, global markets recorded a decline in prices of all raw materi-
als. This process accelerated in the fourth quarter of that year, when stock mar-
ket indexes were clearly overvalued in financial markets. Oil and gas prices fell
to the end of the first quarter of 2009. Unexpectedly, from the second quarter
of 2009, a rapid increase in prices of natural resources was again registered. A
large amplitude of price fluctuations did not influence on a long-run effective-
ness of corporations from the fuel and energy sector. The reduction of economic
activity (drop in sales) due to a fall in prices was noted in the first quarter of
2009. As a result, companies from the fuel and energy sector started their cor-
rective actions, which enabled to maintain positive financial results. Thereby,
the decrease of efficiency in these companies proved to be small. It is worth
noting that Russian companies, including Gazprom, maintained a very high
level of efficiency.
In 2009, Gazprom was the most effective company from the fuel and energy
sector with turnover profitability of 26%. The corporation generated 24 billion
USD of its profit, and it was more than 16% of the total surplus for the biggest
eighteen companies from the sector in the world. At the same time, the effi-
ciency of corporations from the US and Western Europe decreased. In 2009,
Statoil achieved a turnover profitability of 3.9% and it was less than the average
level of this indicator for top companies in this sector8. A clear decrease in the
efficiency of Statoil contributed to the reduction of economic growth in Norwe-
gian economy9.
In 2010, the share of key companies from the fuel and energy sector in total
turnover of the 100 largest companies in the world increased to 30% (in 2007 it
was 25%). The turnover profitability of corporations in the sector was still
higher than in other key companies in the world. The financial crisis, centered
in the United States and Western Europe, greatly accelerated the process of re-
building the structure of key companies from the fuel and energy sector in the
world. In 2012, the share of companies outside the Euro-Atlantic Area in the
8 http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_filter:All%20
industries_filter:Russia_filter:All%20states, access 10.05.2016. 9 http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-kra-
jach-wedlug-tematow/rachunki-narodowe, tab. 15.1., access 17.03.2015.
205
turnover and profits of the leading corporations in the sector came to 50%. Rus-
sian companies (Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil) and the Malaysian company
Petronas still had high efficiency. In a group of the most effective companies
from Western Europe was Norway's Statoil. What is more, the US companies:
Exxon Mobil and Chevron, joined this group. The presence of the American
most important corporations in the group of the most effective companies was
directly associated with the shale revolution and rapid increase in the production
of liquid fuels from the slate mining. The change in the ways of acquiring crude
oil and natural gas caused the beginning of a long-run process of decline in
prices of crude oil and natural gas in world markets10.
ECONOMIC CHANGES IN RUSSIA AND NORWAY IN 2000-2014
Russia and Norway in 2000-2014 were among a few countries where basic mac-
roeconomic phenomena proceeded without major disruptions. Although a neg-
ative GDP growth rate occured in both countries during the global economic
crisis (2009), a noticeable increase in the unemployment rate and excessive
budget deficit were not observed11. Russian and Norwegian banking sectors
were not involved in the trap of housing loans with lower standards, thus they
could maintain a satisfactory level of macroeconomic stability. The important
problem in the economic situation in Russia was clear jumps in inflation
(throughout the transition period)12.
2.1. The economic situation in Russia
In 2000-2014, Russia experienced a rapid economic growth. Its GDP - accord-
ing to purchasing power parity - increased in those years by 276%, which was
right after China the fastest increase in the group of 20 largest world econo-
mies13. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, there was no indication that
10 http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_fil-
ter:All%20industries_filter:Russia_filter:All%20states, access 10.05.2016. 11 In 2009, in Russia, the decline in GDP in constant prices, if compared to 2008, was - 7.8%,
and in Norway respectively -1.6%. 12 http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-kra-
jach-wedlug-tematow/ceny, tab. 5.1.1., access 15.03,2015. 13 In 2014, the country in terms of GDP (calculated at current prices, according to purchasing
206
in just a few years it would be such a positive change in the course of economic
events in Russia. In the last decade of the twentieth century, the country expe-
rienced a deep economic depression resulted from a shock transformation and
then the financial crisis14. The Russian economic depression – measured by the
drop in industrial production - was deeper than after the WWII15. An additional
problem of Russian economy was a sharp fall in prices of oil and gas16. The fall
in export revenues of these natural resources hampered the implementation of
state policy. What is more, a predatory privatization and a widespread corrup-
tion multiplied negative effects of the crisis17. As a result, an unsuccessful eco-
nomic transformation in the country sharply raised the level of poverty and so-
cial exclusions18.
The government undertook the implementation of reforms at the beginning of
a new century which led, after a few years, to improve the economic situation
in the country19, and significantly accelerated the growth in household con-
sumption and investments of domestic enterprises. The boom in natural re-
sources markets since 2003 also promoted positive changes. The long-run
(2003-2008) increase in prices of crude oil and natural gas caused the situation,
that in a relatively short time, Russian authorities managed to improve signifi-
cantly the financial situation of national economy. The total public debt de-
clined from over 50% (in % of GDP) in 2000 to 8.5% (in % of GDP) in 200720.
The improvement of economic situation resulted also from a further rapid influx
of direct investments from Western Europe and a stronger position of national
companies in global market. Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy dominated
power parity) was ranked as the sixth in the world (the first one was the US, then - China,
India, Japan and Germany) - http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-
miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-krajach-wedlug-tematow/rachunki-narodowe, tab. 15.1., access
13.03.2015. 14 In 1998, the value of the ruble fell by 70% against the US dollar - http://stooq.pl/q/?s=usdrub,
access 10.03.2015. 15 In1940-1946, the decline in production was 24%, while in 1989-1999, it was about 60% - J.
E. Stiglitz, Globalizacja, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2005, p. 135. 16 http://stooq.pl/q/?s=cl.f, access 15.03.2015. 17 Russian Economic Report, The World Bank, October 2002. 18 In 1989, only two percent of Russian population lived in poverty. At the end of 1998, there
were already 23.8% of Russians, if we assume that the indicator is 2 dollars per person daily
– J. E. Stiglitz, Globalizacja, op. cit., p. 142. 19 Prace Ośrodka Studiów Wschodnich, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich, Warszawa 2003, pp. 5-
25. 20 http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock, access 13.03.2015.
207
among direct foreign investors in Russia. The German automotive industry had
the largest increase in expenditures. Volkswagen and BMW invested hundreds
of millions of euros in the constructions of new factories and distribution21.
Also, German Siemens, BASF, Bayer and ThyssenKrupp widely and heavily
invested in Russia22. Together with Germany, a key investor in Russia became
the Netherlands. The main part of Russian exports to the Netherlands was oil
and gas23. Gazprom dominated utterly as a supplier, and Shell as a recipient.
The Italian oil company ENI also invested heavily in the sector of oil and gas
in Russia. The company, in cooperation with Russian Rosneft, exploited oil and
gas in the Arctic Sea and the Black Sea24.
An important factor of economic growth in Russia after 2000 was the growing
economic activity of the largest national corporations. At the beginning of the
twenty-first century, the share of Russian companies in trade and financial sur-
pluses of the world's largest corporations was marginal. Among the world's
largest corporations, there were six from Russia with little significance for
global market25. After a few years, in 2005, fourteen companies were from Rus-
sia in this group. Their main asset was their excellent efficiency. In 2005, a total
turnover profitability of Russian main companies was 15.4% and it was one of
the highest outcome in a group of other corporations classified by the country
of origin26. The high level of efficiency of Russian companies was mainly due
to a very good financial situation of the mining sector and heavy industry.
At that time, most Russian companies from these sectors belonged to the most
effective world's corporations. Among them were: Norilsk Nickel, Severstal,
Novolipetsk Steel, Mechel, Gazprom, Novatek and Surgutneftegas. Their total
turnover profitability oscillated around 30%. This high level of efficiency was
21 http://autokult.pl/8439,nowa-fabryka-silnikow-volkswagena-w-rosji-umowa-podpisana, ac-
cess 15.12. 2014. 22 http://wyborcza.biz/biznes/1,100896,12873917,Lokomotywy_niemiecko_rosyjskiej_gospo-
darki.html#ixzz2wsxRTOph, access 20.12.2014. 23 Gazprom dominates absolutely as a supplier, and Shell as a recipient. 24 http://wyborcza.biz/biznes/1,101562,11617204,Rosja_otwiera_zloza_w_Ark-
tyce_dla_wloskiego_ENI.html#ixzz3LxvovXco, access 12.01.2015. 25 The article assumes that the largest corporations in the world are the first two thousand com-
panies in the world classified according to the amount of their annual turnover. The list is
published in the economic journal „Forbes” – http://www.forbes.com/lists/2000, access
20.03.2015. 26 http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/18/06f2000_The-Forbes-2000_Rank.html, access
20.03.2015.
208
the incentive for investors to invest capital, which created a favorable outlook
for domestic economy. The financial market very highly estimated the assets of
Russian enterprises due to the increase of their activity and high efficiency. In
2005, the market valuation of corporations from the fuel and energy sector and
heavy industry was almost twice higher than their accounting value. That fact
indicated an enormous growth of the potential of Russian enterprises.
In response to such optimistic forecasts, between 2000-2007, the value of stock
index of the Russian stock exchange (RTS) increased almost forty times27. The
inflow of capital to the Russian stock market quickly and positively corrected
the situation of financial sector and stimulated greater economic activities of
other sections of national economy. The experience of Russian economy in
2000-2008 indicated that monocultural economic structure did not limit the sup-
ply of capital for other productive economic activities, and therefore, for almost
a decade, Russian economy managed to maintain its high growth. Certainly,
such a great success of Russian economy - and many others of monoculture
economic structure - was largely due to extremely high prices of energy re-
sources in world markets, especially in the last two years of economic boom
(2006-2007). The global financial crisis of 2008 led to a significant discount of
stock market indicators in Russia, and also contributed to the decline in energy
commodity prices in 200928.
As a result of the global crisis, the economic activity of Russian fuel and energy
companies fell, which contributed to reduce their effectiveness. Despite many
interferences, from the second quarter of 2009, the Russian stock index started
to increase again. To a large extent, it was a result of recovery in financial mar-
kets after a deep global financial crisis. The improvement of situation in the
Russian stock exchange did not last too long, because at the beginning of 2011,
the long-run process of decline in stock indexes began29.
Despite these disruptions, the number of Russian corporations with a global
scope continued to increase. In 2012, in the list of two thousand largest compa-
nies in the world (classified according to an annual turnover), twenty-eight were
27 http://stooq.pl/q/?s=^rts, access 19.03.2015. 28 http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-kra-
jach-wedlug-tematow/ceny, tab. 5.3., access 19.03.2015. 29 http://stooq.pl/q/?s=^rts, access 12.06.2016.
209
from Russia. In this group, there were not only companies from the fuel and
energy industry, but also companies of the financial sector (Sberbank, VTB
Bank) and new technologies (Sistema, MegaFon, Rostelecom, Mail.ru Group
Ltd). They all had a high dynamic of economic activity30. However, the main
asset of Russian super-companies still was a very high level of efficiency. In
2012-2013, the total turnover profitability for these companies was the highest
in a group of corporations from countries with the largest percentage of trans-
national companies (Table 1).
Table 1. Indicators of turnover profitability for the world's largest corporations classi-
fied by the country of origin
Country turnover profitability
Country turnover profitability
2012 2013 2012 2013
Russia 16,6% 12,1% The Netherlands 5,3% 5,0%
China 9,4% 9,6% Great Britain 4,9% 7,0%
Indie 8,7% 7,7% Germany 4,6% 4,1%
Canada 8,7% 7,3% France 3,3% 3,1%
USA 7,8% 9,9% Japan 2,3% 4,7%
Brazil 6,6% 6,6% Italy -0,8% 0,2%
Switzerland 6,0% 6,8% Spain -1,2% 5,5%
Total for 2000 corporations 7,3% 7,6%
Source: http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:2_direction:asc_search:_filter:
All%20industries_filter:All%20countries_filter:All%20states , access 27.05.2015.
For all that time, Gazprom had a dominant position among Russian companies,
and in 2013, its annual turnover was about 8% of Russian GDP. In 2013, the
company achieved the highest profit among all corporations in the world (ex-
cluding those from the financial sector). The financial surplus of Gazprom
amounted then to 39 billion USD31. It is worth noting that in terms of accumu-
lated assets (in the same group of companies), Gazprom was the second com-
30 http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:cc1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_fil-
ter:All%20industries_filter:Russia_filter:All%20states, access 20.03.2015. 31 For comparison, the American Exxon generated $ 33 billion profit, the British BP nearly $ 24
billion, and the Dutch Shell - $ 16 billion - http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/
#page:1_sort:4_direction:desc_search:_filter:Oil%20%26%20Gas%20Operations_filter:All
%20countries_filter:All%20states, access, 20.03.2015
210
pany in the world just behind Volkswagen32.
The rapid economic growth in 2000-2014 led to a clear improvement of the
situation in domestic labor market. The unemployment rate in Russia at the be-
ginning of 2014 fell to 5.5%33. The internal balance supported the management
of public finances. Russia was among the countries with the lowest level of debt
in the world34. A very good situation in public finances was assisted by a long-
term external balance35. Russia was able to accumulate large foreign exchange
reserves amounting to 561 billion USD (at the end of the period) due to a high
and positive balance of foreign trade36. A clear improvement in the average
standard of living in Russia was seen in a rapid increase in household consump-
tion37. At this point, it is worth noting a significant increase in investment in
domestic enterprises. Due to the high rate of investment in national economy
and rapid growth of new investment projects, Russian companies, especially the
largest ones, obtained high surpluses. The rapid increase in financial accumula-
tion of companies raised tax revenues to the state budget. The macroeconomic
stability enhanced a continuation of large-scale social projects. The economic
prosperity had a positive impact on social development in the country. A sig-
nificant improvement in labor market and generous welfare programs had a
positive impact on the course of demographic processes in the country38.
32 http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_filter:All%20
industries_filter:All%20countries_filter:All%20states, access 20.03.2015. 33 In Europe, the unemployment rate at that time was lower only in Switzerland, Norway, Aus-
tria, Luxembourg and Germany - http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-
miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-krajach-wedlug-tematow/rachunki-narodowe, tab. 3.6.1., access
17.03.2015. 34 In 2014, the value of public debt in relation to GDP was less than 8% - http://www.econo-
mist.com/content/global_debt_clock, access 17.03.2015. 35 Since the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century, Russia was the third net
exporter in the world (behind Germany and China). In 2014, the balance of foreign trade
turnover at current prices amounted to over 211 billion USD - http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-
miedzynarodowa/porownania-miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-krajach-wedlug-tematow/ra-
chunki-narodowe, tab. 13.4., access 17.03.2015. 36 http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FI.RES.TOTL.CD/countries?display=default, access
17.03.2015. 37 In 2000-2013, in Russia, the growth of private consumption was 150% and it was four times
faster than in the world - http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-
miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-krajach-wedlug-tematow/rachunki-narodowe, tab. 15.4., access
17.03.2015. 38 The processes of depopulation and the high level of deaths in the country at the beginning of
the transformation, began to weaken significantly, especially at the beginning of the second
decade of the twenty-first century. In 2000, Russia had one of Europe's lowest rates of live
211
In a period of rapid economic growth, in Russian economy some drawbacks
were noticed. Amongst them, the most serious was too high inflation. The con-
sumer price index in 2000-2014 was one of the highest in Europe39. The perma-
nent trend of the ruble depreciation against the dollar and the euro in 2017-2013
influenced on the rise of prices, particularly of goods from imports. Between
2007-2013, the ruble depreciated 34% against the dollar, and 28% against the
euro40. The Ukrainian crisis and the slump in natural resources markets in 2014
accelerated negative trends, and there was a further depreciation of the ruble.
2.2. Structural adjustment in Norwegian economy
Over the last 30 years, Norway significantly rebuilt the structure of its economy.
In 2000, the share of crude oil and natural gas in Norwegian GDP was some-
what above 25% and was almost twice higher if compared to the end of the 70's.
The high dynamics of economic changes was visible even more clearly if com-
pared the structure of exports according to commodity groups. In the 70's, the
share of exports of crude oil and natural gas in total exports amounted to about
10%, while in 2000 - 46%41. Norway based its economic growth on production
of crude oil and natural gas, which resulted in the rapid growth of national in-
come per capita. For the revenue from exports of minerals was significantly
higher than the current needs and investment opportunities of the country, the
Government Petroleum Fund was created (1990). The fund was to support the
economy during economic downturns.
The sharp decline in prices of crude oil and natural gas in world markets at the
end of the twentieth century, only slightly reduced the economic growth in Nor-
way. The GDP growth rate in 1998-1999 was slightly lower if compared to
previous years. The decline in industrial production was registered only in
births, while in 2014, this statistics was one of the highest in Europe. A higher rate of live
births per 1,000 population had only Iceland, France and the United Kingdom -
http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-kra-
jach-wedlug-tematow/rachunki-narodowe, table 1.2.1., access 17.03.2015. 39 Rocznik Statystyki Międzynarodowej, tab. 1(180). Wskaźnik cen towarów i usług konsump-
cyjnych, Główny Urząd Statystyczny, Warszawa 2012, pp. 219-220. 40 http://stooq.pl/q/?s=usdrub&c=10y&t=l&a=lg&b=0, access 19.03.2015. 41 E. R. Larsen, The Norwegian economy 1900-2000 – from rags to riches. A brief history of
economic policy making in Norway, “Economic Survey of Statistics. Norway”, No. 4, 2000.
212
199842. Interferences in the course of Norwegian economic growth were much
more smaller than in Russia. Additionally, in contrast to Russia, Norway main-
tained a budgetary discipline and inflation stability43.
In 2003, a better situation in natural resources markets influenced on reinforcing
a generally good economic situation in Norway. The increase in prices of crude
oil and natural gas contributed to a continuous growth of the share of fuel and
energy sector in national product. In 2006, it amounted to 27.2%, while reve-
nues from exports of oil and natural gas accounted for 50% of total exports44.
The financial situation of the country was increasingly dependent on economic
activity and the efficiency of fuel and energy sector. The comfortable situation
of the state budget was mainly a result of rapidly growing revenues from exports
of liquid fuels. A growing importance of fuel and energy sector in the national
product accelerated this trend of changes. For comparison, in 1999, the share of
revenues from the oil and natural gas sector in total budget revenues was 15%,
while in 2006 it was 30%45. It is worth noting that the Norwegian budget would
be negative if the income from fuel and energy sector was not taken into ac-
count. The stable public finances stemmed only from a growing position of the
mining sector in national economy. The boom in global markets quickly in-
creased the revenues from exports of crude oil and natural gas. In 2005, the
authorities - aware of a specific financial situation in Norway - decided to trans-
form the Government Petroleum Fund into the National Pension Fund. Its main
task was to secure a proper standard of living for future retirees and to create
budgetary reserves needed to finance a scientific and technical progress in the
fields of management alternatives, such as renewable energy and pro-ecological
agriculture.The National Pension Fund is certainly an innovative tool of trans-
formation that converts the income from natural resources into the capital46.
In 2014, the growth of GDP if compared to 2000, was 76.3% and it was the
fastest (besides South Korea) among high developed industrial countries. As a
result, the unemployment in Norway was at a very low level. In 2000-2014, the
average unemployment rate was 3.3% and it was one of the lowest in the
42 J. W. Moses, Open States in the global economy, Macmillan Press Ltd., London 2000. 43 Further in J. E. Stiglitz, op. cit., p. 142. 44 Statistisk årbok av Norge, Statistisk Sentralbyrå, Oslo 2006. 45 The national budget – summary, Ministry of Finance, Oslo (2000-2006). 46 http://www.folketrygdfondet.no/?lang=no_NO, access 10.07.2016.
213
world47. The low unemployment rate was at the same level despite a rapid in-
crease in the number of people of working age, including a substantial influx of
immigrants. The average net migration per 1,000 people in Norway in 2010-
2014 was one of the highest in Europe48.
The global financial crisis of 2008 did not impede the high efficiency of Nor-
wegian labor market. An active fiscal policy was effectively used to conduct a
policy of "full employment", without harming the budgetary balance. The pub-
lic sector in Norway generated a high budget surplus (the average annual excess
of revenue over the public expenditure in 2000-2014 was 12% of GDP). In a
result, public debt (from the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first
century) did not exceed 30% of GDP.
The high annual balance of international trade and rapid growth rate of invest-
ment in national companies were additional advantages of Norwegian economy.
The annual surplus of exports over imports ranged from 50 billion USD in 2005
to more than 80 billion USD in 2014. In relation to the national product, they
were among the highest in the world. The high growth rate in business invest-
ment was achieved at a relatively low level of inflation49. The key factors stabi-
lizing a course of economic situation were: a rapid increase in prices of crude
oil and natural gas and the structure of national economy with a dominant role
of mining industry. Norway's exports in almost 2/3 based on mineral fuels. In
2013, Norway was the second in the ranking of natural gas exporters in the
world (Russia was the first) and the seventh in oil exports.
High prices of mineral fuels to the end of the third quarter of 2014, with a short
break in 2009, systematically raised the revenues from exports of these raw ma-
terials and assisted to conduct economic affairs. The key company of Norwe-
gian economy was Statoil from fuel and energy sector50. The ratio of total turn-
over of the company to the current value of GDP for Norway in 2011-2014 was
47 http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-kra-
jach-wedlug-tematow/rynek-pracy, table 3.6.1., access 10.07.2016. 48 http://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/RS_rocznik_stat_miedzynarodowy_2012.pdf, table
11(52), p. 98, access: 11.09.2013. 49 In 2000-2014, in Norway, the average price increase was about 2% -
http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_11283_PLK_HTML.htm, table 5.3.1., access 12.07.2016. 50 http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/snapshots/6406.html, access:
10.09.2013.
214
about 20% each year. Apart from Statoil, small and medium-sized national
companies dominated in Norwegian economy, mainly in sea fishing, fish pro-
cessing and renewable energy production51.
To summarize, it should be noted that also in the case of Norway, its monocul-
tural structure of economy was not an obstacle in achieving a high level of social
development. The concentration of national capital in the fuel and energy in-
dustry did not hamper its long-run growth.
DEFLATION IN NATURAL RESOURCES MARKETS AND ITS CONSE-
QUENCES FOR RUSSIA AND NORWAY
After the financial crisis, it seemed that a return of high prices of energy re-
sources would be a long-lasting element shaping conditions for national econ-
omies. But the slate revolution and accelerated technological changes in major
automotive companies caused the reduction of demand for oil and gas. The de-
mand for crude oil and gas was less than the growing supply of these raw ma-
terials. What is more, the rise of stocks of raw materials also resulted in a de-
cline in prices of gas and oil52.
Till 2013, the financial situation of key corporations from the fuel and energy
sector was good. Norwegian Statoil, despite a decline in sales and profits, re-
tained an above-average level of turnover profitability and assets. However, if
compared to previous years, these indicators were clearly lower53. At the same
time, Russian Gazprom registered new records in its annual financial surpluses.
Its net profit in 2013 amounted to 35.8 billion USD. The turnover profitability
of Gazprom exceeded the level of 20%, which gave it, as in 2012, the second
place (Microsoft was the first) in the ranking of one hundred of the most effec-
tive non-financial companies in the world54.
51 B. Jeliński, Skandynawski model gospodarki rynkowej (Przypadek Norwegii):
https://www.google.pl/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Skandynawski+model+spo%C5%82ecznej+gospo-
darki+rynkowej, access 12.07.2016. 52 L. Denning, Oil’s black swans on the Horizon, „The Wall Street Journal”, 16 February 2015. 53 The Annual Report on Form 20-F is our SEC filing for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2015, as submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Statoil 2016. 54 http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:2_direction:asc_search: : asc_search
:filter:All%20industries_filter:All%20countries_filter:All%20states, access 27.05.2015.
215
In the middle of 2014, a decline in prices of crude oil and natural gas was ob-
served. Such a situation quickly reduced the revenues from sale of natural re-
sources, which affected the size of financial surpluses. The volume of net profits
of Norwegian Statoil in 2014, if compared with 2013, decreased by approxi-
mately 50%, while Gazprom decreased by almost 90% (in 2014, the ratio of
gross turnover profitability fell to less than 3%). The Russian company de-
creased its economic activity and production potential (the decrease in value of
total assets in 2014 if compared to 2013 amounted to nearly 40%). Such a course
of economic events influenced the reduction of the role of Gazprom in the de-
velopment of Russian GDP55.
The rest of largest corporations from the oil and gas sector in the world also
recorded a clear deterioration of their financial situation. For the first time in
the twenty-first century, the importance of corporations from that sector in the
creation of added value decreased. These trends were recorded in the decline of
the index of corporate share prices from the sector56.
Among "victims" of a market slump in the natural resources sector were Russia
and Norway. They experianced a depreciation of national currencies and a de-
cline in growth rate of GDP. The Russian ruble from the fourth quarter of 2014
devaluated. As a result, at the beginning of 2015, one ruble cost twice of value
of the dollar at the beginning of 201457. The Norwegian currency also clearly
depreciated and it lost about 1/3 of its value against the dollar58.
In the case of Russia, the negative course of events was multiplied by the crisis
in Ukraine. Its escalation in 2014 caused a rapid deterioration in the situation
on the Russian stock exchange. During the second half of 2014, the RTS index
lost 42% of its value. Interventions of the central bank decreased a negative
atmosphere on the Russian stock market. At the beginning of 2015, stock prices
of Russian companies again started to increase and as a result, they were able
to partly restore their value of 2014. The RTS index (closing of exchange rate)
on January 30, 2015, until June 30, 2015, grew by 27.5%59. At the same time,
55 Gazprom-annual-report-2014-en, p.6. 56 In 2014-1015, Chevron share price fell by 30%, Exxon by about 20%, while Shell - nearly
50% - http://stooq.pl/t/?i=500, access 15.07.2016. 57 http://www.morningstar.com/stocks/PINX/OGZPY/quote.html, access 17.07.2016. 58 http://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/sto/quote.html, access 20.07.2016. 59 http://stooq.pl/q/d/?s=^rts&c=0&d1=20140901&d2=20150320&i=w, access 23.03.2016.
216
the ruble strengthened its value against the dollar, and it recovered about 40%
of its lost value (in July 2014). The process of restoring the financial balance
was broken in July 2015, when there was another devaluation of the ruble due
to another decline in prices in natural resources markets60. The Moscow Stock
Exchange slumped again. Until the end of 2015, the RTS index lost nearly 30%
of its value, and one dollar (in January 2016) cost more than 85 rubles61. At the
end of 2015, the value of Gazprom shares accounted for only 25% of its value
from 2012. The negative occurrences in financial market were reflected in the
course of economic situation. In 2012-2015, Russian GDP per capita (in pur-
chasing power parity) decreased by 3.4%62.
At the first half of 2016, the economic situation in Russia slightly improved. Its
economic depression decreased in intensity, the rate exchange of the ruble re-
turned to its value from early 2014, and the stock market recorded increases in
its major indexes. It was due to an improvement in financial condition of major
Russian corporations. In the fourth quarter of 2015, Gazprom achieved a dy-
namic growth in its financial surplus and its above average turnover profitability
(table 2).
Table 2. Gross turnover profitability in Gazprom
Year Value of indicator in %
2011 29,0
2012 25,4
2013 22,2
2014 2,8
2015 13,3
2016* 11,9
Source: http://financials.morningstar.com/income-statement/is.html?t=OGZPY®ion=usa&
culture=en-US
* (I semester)
60 http://stooq.pl/q/?s=usdrub, access, 2.08.2016. 61 http://stooq.pl/q/d/?s=^rts&c=0&d1=20150615&d2=20150731, access 2.08.2016. 62 http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/porownania-miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-kra-
jach-wedlug-tematow/rachunki-narodowe, table 15.1., access 25.07.2016.
217
As a result of this positive change, prices of Gazprom shares began to grow
again from the beginning of 2016. From January to August 2016, the value of
the company increased by 40%63. According to its financial director, Andrei
Kruglov, despite the drop in prices of natural gas and crude oil, its planned in-
vestments will be realized64.
In the first half of 2016, in Norway, its macroeconomic situation slightly im-
proved due to the increase of the efficiency in fishing and shipbuilding indus-
tries, not in the fuel and energy sector. In 2015, Statoil obtained a financial loss
of 37.3 billion of Norwegian currency. It was accompanied by a sharp decline
in its economic activity. In 2015, its total turnover compared to 2014 decreased
by 22.5%65. Since mid-2014, the price of Statoil share remained in a downtrend.
As a result, at the end of December 2015, its share was at the level from 200266.
The difficult financial situation of Statoil and its significant role in Norwegian
GDP influenced on the course of economic situation in the country. In 2012-
2015, GDP per capita (in PPP) decreased by about 6%67.
CONCLUSIONS
Economic changes in the world in the last several years were significantly
shaped by the increase in the price changeability in markets of commercial
goods, mainly energy resources. The ups and downs in prices of natural re-
sources influenced on conditions in many economic sectors and individual
countries. In 2006-2008 and 2011-2013, prices of crude oil and natural gas came
to an extremely high value, which resulted in a significant increase in financial
surpluses of enterprises from the mining sector. The countries that largely based
on the mining industry, received high surpluses from exports of natural re-
63 http://www.morningstar.com/stocks/PINX/OGZPY/quote.html, access 16.07.2016. 64 http://www.cire.pl/item,106739,1,0,0,0,0,0,gazprom-nie-boi-sie-taniej-ropy-ani-sankcji-i-
prezentuje-nowe-plany.html, access 15.07.2015. 65 http://financials.morningstar.com/income-statement/is.html?t=STO®ion=usa&cul-
ture=en-US, access 18.07.2016. 66 http://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/sto/quote.html, access 18.07.2016. 67 The fall in GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) in Europe in 2012-2015 occurred also
in Ukraine (- 6.6%) and Cyprus (- 3.7%) - http://stat.gov.pl/statystyka-miedzynarodowa/por-
ownania-miedzynarodowe/tablice-o-krajach-wedlug-tematu, tab. 15.1., access 30.07. 2016.
218
sources and achieved significant tax revenues. Russia and Norway were among
these countries. The rapid development of oil and gas sector in Russia caused
an increase in economic activities in other economic sectors. This trend was
noticed, inter alia, in the financial sector and new technologies. A favorable
addition to this transformation was an intense inflow of direct foreign invest-
ments into Russian economy. In the first decade of the twenty-first century,
Russia effectively used the boom in natural resources markets and direct foreign
investments from Western Europe to improve its economic situation. After
2014, the economic situation in Russia began to complicate. The decline in
prices of crude oil and natural gas and the conflict with Ukraine led to a slump
in its stock market, the devaluation of the ruble and the economic recession. Its
foreign exchange reserves, that were accumulated during the boom, and its
strong economic links with China, gave Russia advantages in overcoming its
financial and economic difficulties. Certainly, the strengthening of fuel and en-
ergy sector during the boom did not weaken Russian economy. On the contrary,
it gave the country a strong competitive positions in global market, and stimu-
lated developments of other sectors of its economy.
Alike, in Norway, an increased concentration of capital and technology in the
mining sector did not limit its opportunities for further development, even in
the case of declining in oil and gas prices in world markets. Although the cost
of crude oil and natural gas in Norway were higher than in Russia and signifi-
cantly higher than in Arab countries, the deliberate actions of the Norwegian
parliament and government to increase reserves in the Norwegian Pension
Fund, created the possibility of taking actions in case of further fall in natural
resources prices in world markets. Signs of these activities were: starting up
new areas of business, strengthening technological progress in other business
activities, and the protection of current level of life for people on retire.
In our opinion, the hypothesis of Jeffrey D. Sachs and Andrew M. Warner that
the monocultural economic structure limits the supply of capital needed to start
other productive economic activities, thereby, affecting on the decline in GDP
growth in the long-run, is false. In the described economies, the boom in natural
resources markets caused the launching of chain processes (in Russia, it was the
development of other business areas) or protecting actions (in Norway, the
219
transformation of the capital coming from oil and gas into the Norwegian Pen-
sion Fund), which significantly strengthened the foundations of these econo-
mies, giving them better competitive positions in global market.
REFERENCES
1. Denning L., Oil’s black swans on the Horizon, „The Wall Street Journal”, 16 Feb-
ruary 2015.
2. Geise M., Krajowe rynki pracy w praktyce współczesnego kapitalizmu, Wydaw-
nictwo Uniwersytetu Kazimierza Wielkiego, Bydgoszcz 2015.
3. Larsen E. R., The Norwegian economy 1900-2000 – from rags to riches. A brief
history of economic policy making in Norway, “Economic Survey of Statistics.
Norway”, No. 4, 2000.
4. Moses J. W., Open States in the global economy, Macmillan Press Ltd., London
2000.
5. Prace Ośrodka Studiów Wschodnich, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich, Warszawa
2003.
6. Rocznik Statystyki Międzynarodowej, tab. 1(180), Główny Urząd Statystyczny,
Warszawa 2012.
7. Russian Economic Report, The World Bank, October 2002.
8. Sachs, J. D., Warner A. M., The curse of natural resources,”European Economic
Review”, Volume 45, Issue 4-6, May 2001.
9. Statistisk årbok av Norge, Statistisk Sentralbyrå, Oslo 2006.
10. Stiglitz J. E., Globalizacja, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2005.
11. The Annual Report on Form 20-F is our SEC filing for the fiscal year ended De-
cember 31, 2015, as submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission,
Statoil 2016.
12. The national budget – summary, Ministry of Finance, Oslo (2000-2006).
Prof. Mirosław Geise - professor of Economy, Kazimierz Wielki University, Byd-
goszcz, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Maria Ewa Szatlach - professor of Political Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki Univer-
sity, Bydgoszcz, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
220
Monika Dorota ADAMCZYK
MODERN FORMS OF PREPARATION TO RETIREMENT-
SELECTED RESULTS OF THE ERASMUS+ PROJECT BALL
BE ACTIVE THROUGH LIFELONG LEARNING
ABSTRACT
Alongside with the development of social activity of older people, the process of in-
creasing the educational activity of this group should follow. This type of activity makes
it possible to not only to broaden knowledge and acquire new skills and competencies,
but also to update the skills or knowledge already possessed, which specifically refers
to the ability and willingness to take an active and skillful attitude to preparation for
retirement. Educational activity plays also an important role in creating social bonds,
and thus is crucial to a successful, active and happy life in the old age. The activity of
the Polish population in the area of education has recorded an upward trend, but the
situation looks much different when this type of activity is analyzed according to age
groups. Age, in this case turns out to be a very important variable differentiating partic-
ipation in various forms of education. As it turns out, the older a person is, the less likely
they participate in improving / changing education. For obvious reasons, this applies
primarily to formal education. Lifelong learning (especially in the age group 50+) is
a key element of active aging, because it enables to develop new skills till the end of
a professional career and during retirement, thus promoting social functions of seniors
and their well-being. The educational achievements of adults are regarded as an indica-
tor of knowledge and skills available in the economy. Education also strengthens the
potential of older people to participate actively in society through paid employment,
volunteering, active participation in civic life and the resourcefulness of independent
life. Selected results of the survey conducted within the BALL Erasmus + Project will
be presented. The degree of preparation to retirement is going to be discussed in the
following dimensions: the perception of retirement and attitudes towards it; degree of
preparation to retirement in four main areas: finances, learning, personal development
and active retirement; preferred forms of action to prepare for retirement.
Keywords: active ageing, preparation for retirement, lifelong learning
221
INTRODUCTION
For years, European societies have been subjected to escalating processes of
demographic alterations, moving towards advanced social aging. Also in Po-
land, there are significant changes in the population in particular age groups,
which are the consequence, among others, of the decreasing number of births
and lengthening of the average life expectancy. With the dynamics of these
changes the necessity to improve already possessed competences and develop
new ones emerges not only among young people, but also among people aged
over 50. Another important issue is conscious preparation for retirement, which,
in the context of demographic changes, seems to be highly significant. Older
adults may need to retrain to acquire new qualifications, which would result in
a more conscious and effective preparation for post-productive age. Retraining
involves undertaking efforts in the field of education1. In the era of a steadily
increasing proportion of older people in developed societies, lifelong learning
has become a necessary condition to make the knowledge and competences pre-
viously acquired by older people a significant part of a developing society’s
potential.
Lifelong learning is one of the essential elements of active aging, and the defi-
nition of this concept adopted by the European Commission assumes that it em-
braces all forms of learning undertaken throughout life, aimed at improving,
deepening knowledge, skills and competences from a personal, civil, social or
professional perspective (Commission of the European Communities, 20001).
Lifelong learning includes improving basic skills as well as advanced learning
opportunities and should be available to all citizens.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The practical goal of the BALL Project was the attempt to identify the most
1 One of the basic forms of extracurricular education of adults is training. In the era of
knowledge organization, training has become not only a traditional form of instructing, at the
foundation level of vocational training to acquire practical skills and modeled on school
forms. It aims, above all, at improving continually the competences of working people to
adapt to the changing civilization and technological requirements and enables re-qualification
adequate to the current market needs.
222
sensitive areas from the point of view of preparation to retirement. The mapping
conducted allows, on the one hand, to test and work effectively on the recom-
mended forms of engaging people aged 55+, and on the other hand it can sup-
port the labor market and social policy institutions in creating a friendly envi-
ronment that stimulates the learning process, as well as the intellectual and cul-
tural development of people from this age group. Empirical data - necessary to
assess the situation in Poland in terms of preparation for retirement and entering
the "third age" - was obtained by conducting a quantitative research using the
questionnaire survey technique. The studied sample group established for the
needs of the survey amounted to 3,000 people. The questionnaire was available
in both paper and on-line versions. The study was conducted between February
and March 2015. Two versions of the survey were prepared, for the two sub-
groups studied: the retired and non-retired. Each version contained questions on
the same issues: preparation for retirement, the role of the state and the em-
ployer in this preparation, and issues such as individual, social and economic
planning for retirement. The survey was addressed to two categories of people:
retired people and persons of immobile productive age, i.e. over 45 years of age.
FORMS OF ACTIVITY OF THE RESPONDENTS OF THE BALL SURVEY –
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, THE USE OF MOD-
ERN TECHNOLOGIES- THE RETIRED GROUP
In the survey conducted2 it was assumed, that preparation to retirement can take
the form of learning new skills and acquiring knowledge in the field of issues
related to retirement and preparation for it. According to these assumptions, re-
spondents who already retired were first asked whether preparation for retire-
ment was necessary. Over half of the respondents (58%) answered that it was
necessary, but more than 41% did not recognize the need to take any action in
2 The main cognitive objective of the research conducted was the assessment of the state of
preparation for retirement of people aged 55+. At present, you can find publications on the
subject of retirement planning, however, most of them, if not all, focus on planning this stage
in life from the economic side, or emphasize the aspect of healthy aging. The present study
does not deal with either aspect, although both are important to be able to enjoy the "third
age" and are discussed in the work.
223
this area. Respondents who admitted that preparation for retirement was neces-
sary, were asked an additional question about whether they took any steps to
prepare to their own retirement and the next, how they did it. As many as 74%
of respondents replied that they did not prepare for retirement. In order to create
a list of possible ways to prepare for retirement, all respondents were asked to
indicate all the opportunities they had used from the list given. As it turns out,
the most common way to prepare, among people undertaking activities in this
field, was preparing by themselves - 23.5%. 11% of respondents used individual
advice from other pensioners, family and friends, and 8% read books on the
subject.
The process of preparing for retirement, similarly to the aging process that ac-
companies it, is very individualized (J. K. Wawrzyniak, 2014). To identify the
possible preferences concerning the forms of activities aiming at preparation to
retirement, respondents from the group of pensioners were asked about the form
of learning they would prefer during training. Nearly 60% of them chose the
answer to learn from other active retirees. 41% of respondents generally men-
tioned courses as their preferred form of learning. Nearly 40% would turn for
help to a coach or use other forms of personal counseling. Over a quarter of
respondents indicated online courses as the preferred form of learning. It may
come as a surprise that only such a small percentage of interviewees expressed
interest in e-learning, considering that over 80% of respondents use a computer
or other technical devices, and 83% have access to the Internet 3. In order to
deepen the knowledge about the pensioners' use of new technologies, they were
asked whether preparing for retirement in the form of online courses would be
convenient for them. In total, 37% of respondents opted for that. It should be
noted that quite a significant percentage of respondents were unable to take a
stand on this subject - almost 37%.
Individual development is a process that can take place at many levels: personal
and professional. In the professional sphere, it means stepping forward and
overcoming the next levels of a professional path, acquiring new skills, abilities,
competences, and a professional identity that can be helpful in achieving spe-
cific goals. In the personal sphere, it is a form of self-improvement, broadening
3 The study was carried on among students of universities of the third age, who have access to
computers during classes and workshops.
224
of horizons. The study assumed that the personal development process is also
related to preparation for retirement, that is why respondents were asked a few
questions in this field. First of all, they were asked whether they thought that
preparation for retirement would facilitate their social integration after retire-
ment. Over half of the respondents - 58% - stated that they did not. However, it
should be remembered that 66% of the retirees surveyed did not undergo such
preparations. Respondents were also asked what thematic areas were the most
important in their own preparation for retirement. Respondents attributed the
greatest importance to the health area (54.6%), time management (46%), leisure
and culture (37%), family and social relations (34.4%). In the block of questions
regarding personal development, an enquiry about who should organize the
preparation was included. Nearly half of the respondents assume that they are
responsible themselves for this preparation (47%). Every third respondent
points to the employer as the subject responsible.
FORMS OF ACTIVITY OF THE RESPONDENTS OF THE BALL SURVEY –
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, THE USE OF MOD-
ERN TECHNOLOGIES – THE NON-RETIRED
In total, 68% of the respondents from the subgroup of the non-retired believe
that preparation for retirement is necessary and intend to undertake such prepa-
rations. When asked about what form they would choose, to a much greater
extent than respondents from the retirees subgroup, they opted for active forms
of preparation. Answering the question about the form of education they would
chose to prepare for retirement, nearly half of the interviewees would decide on
individual counseling / coaching (48%), 44% would learn from other active re-
tirees, and 43% would participate in courses. Only one in three respondents
would study online.The low level of interest in on-line courses and classes may
be surprising, compared to the very high level of the declared access to Internet
(94%) and the use of a computer or other technical devices (96%). There is a
striking discrepancy between the declared form of learning, in this case on-line
(32%), and the answer to the question: Would preparing for retirement in the
form of online courses be convenient for you? In total, 45.6% of people declared
that it would be a convenient form of learning for them. As in the case of the
225
retired subgroup, the non-retired respondents were asked questions about per-
sonal development. The set of indicators measuring the degree of preparation
for retirement are activities undertaken in the field of personal development. In
the survey conducted, the respondents were asked several questions in this field,
among others, whether preparing for retirement could facilitate social integra-
tion after retirement. The vast majority of respondents (73%) answered, that the
actions undertaken to prepare for retirement could facilitate social integration
after the end of professional career. Preparation for retirement covers many ar-
eas of life. Respondents were asked to indicate which areas they consider the
most important in their own preparation for retirement. The vast majority - 71%
of respondents - mentioned health, followed by family and social relations
(42.5%). The so-called economic area came only third (35%). Both profession-
ally active and already retired respondents consistently advocate that everyone
is responsible for preparing for retirement by themselves. In total, 36% of re-
spondents mention the employer, 28.7% public administration, and 27% non-
governmental organizations.
FORMS OF ACTIVITIES OF THE RESPONDENTS OF THE BALL SURVEY –
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, THE USE OF MOD-
ERN TECHNOLOGIES – NON-RETIRED VS. RETIRED -COMPARISON
It needs to be observed that online learning is the least popular form of personal
development (retired 26%, non-retired-32%). The employed, similarly to pen-
sioners, are much more willing to learn through contact with other people, alt-
hough in the case of retirees, those are mostly other active pensioners, whereas
in the case of the non-retired- experts involved in personal consulting - coach-
ing. Both groups of respondents have access to the Internet, use computers and
other technical devices. In the case of the employed, only a small percentage of
people declare not using a computer (3%) and having no access to the Internet
(6%). The ability to use computers, the Internet, usually necessary in the pro-
fessional, intellectual or cultural development of a human being, has become a
condition for full participation in social life. Older adults, what is worth remem-
bering, were born, raised and educated in times when there were no computers,
no Internet, mobile phones, etc. That is why, together with the growing role and
226
importance of modern technologies in various spheres of life, the number of
people at risk of social and economic exclusion is increasing. It affects people
without access to a computer or the Internet, those who have access, but do take
advantage of it, as well as users who lack competences and are unable to use it
properly. In the case of issues related to Internet access, the use of computers
and other technical devices, it should be remembered that although there is no
threat of digital exclusion in the surveyed subgroups of working people and
pensioners, among almost 13 million Poles in the 50+ age group, more than half
(52%) is still in working age. According to Social Diagnosis data from 2009,
only 21.6% (2.8 million) people aged 50+ used the Internet, although as much
as 40% had access to the network at home. At the same time, in the group of
people aged 16-49, the percentage of Internet users amounted to 71% (Social
Diagnosis 2009). Thus, the intergenerational difference is very large (up to
50%). According to the World Internet Project (WIP) research, in June 2010,
24.6% of people aged 50 and over used the Internet in Poland. Meanwhile, there
were as much as 75.3% users aged 15-49 (Between Alienation and Adaptation,
2011, 8-10) Among the countries of the European Union, Poland belongs to the
countries with the lowest percentage of network users, and the main indicator
of digital exclusion in our country is age. Over 200,000 Poles retire each year.
This number is systematically growing, which is why the key task in the coming
years will be to increase the number of Internet users in our country. The space
for educational and promotional activities is vast: Poles aged 50+, who do not
use the Internet, amount to more than 10 million people, including 3.9 million
aged 50-59 and 6.26 million aged 60+ (Social Diagnosis 2011, Between Alien-
ation and Adaptation 2011). In the case of the surveyed population, 83% of
pensioners declared to have access to Internet (17% of the surveyed subgroup
have no access), and 94% of the non-retired (no access is declared by only 6%).
However, in the case of the surveyed group of pensioners, only for 37% of re-
spondents preparing for retirement in the form of on-line courses would be ac-
ceptable. It should be noted here that in the case of Poland, people aged 50 and
over relatively rarely participate in trainings aimed at improving computer and
Internet skills. Lack of competence in the proper use of computers, search en-
gines, or forms of communication offered by modern technologies, including
the Internet, may prevent the use of online courses or discourage them. The
authors of the report Dojrz@łość w sieci” (M@turity in the Net), referring to
227
the GUS data from April 2007, indicate that only 11% of people in this age
group participated in such training at least once in their life, while younger peo-
ple declared as much as 50% participation. By narrowing the group of people
surveyed only to computer users and the Internet in Poland, it can be stated that
only 45% of older users took part in courses embracing the use of modern in-
formation and communication technologies (Between Alienation and Adapta-
tion 2011). On this basis, it can be assumed that this form of preparation for
retirement requires an appropriate training offer, tailored to the needs and capa-
bilities of older adults. When analyzing the preferred forms of learning, differ-
ences in three areas are noticeable. 40% of pensioners and 48% of profession-
ally active respondents chose a form of training based on personal counseling
or coaching. Online learning was indicated as a possible form of training by
26% of retirees and 32% of non-retired people respectively. The most important
difference can be observed in the option of learning from other active retirees.
59% of retirees and 44% of working people chose this form of learning. It is in
the area of knowledge transfer passed between generation groups - learning
from other active pensioners – that the biggest difference between the surveyed
subgroups is noted. In the case of Poland, we must remember that the difference
between generational groups is not only due to the well-known laws governing
such changes4, but also to the systemic transformation: social, political and eco-
nomic, which Poland experienced after 1989. The transition from a centralist
economy and a one-party system of communist power to a free market economy
and a democratic system, as well as permanent changes impressed by the total-
itarian system on Polish society, make these differences much more complex.
It is worth relying on two classic concepts – of H. Klages and R. Inglehart. Ac-
cording to them, the transformation of values is done mainly through genera-
tional change, combined with a change in the social context. The hypothesis of
the scarcity and socialization of R. Inglehart indicates that the structure of the
preferred values of a given generation depends on the socio-economic situation
4 According to K. Mannheim's distinction between the generation and the real generation, the
generation is formed by members of society born in a similar time, who are connected by
social and cultural conditions of their childhood and youth. However, it is only the collective
and conscious participation in the common destiny, ideas and concepts connected inextricably
with the development of the generation that can lead to the use of its potential and the emer-
gence of a lasting generational relationship characterized by the fact that members of this
generation represent a similar way of thinking and attitudes towards certain values. (K. Mann-
heim, 1992, p. 156.)
228
prevailing in the period of this generation's growth. It gives the highest value to
objects to which access was limited during the growing period. It can therefore
be assumed that the so-called post-modern values, referred to by R. Inglehart as
post-materialist, and by H. Klages as self-realization values, are more strongly
felt by younger generations of Poles (M. Adamczyk, 2013). Perhaps this is why
searching for advice and information from the older generation is not very pop-
ular. In the case of personal development issues, there is a clear difference be-
tween the surveyed groups. More than half of people who were already retired
(59%) stated that the preparations for retirement did not facilitate their social
integration after retirement. The working people view this problem differently.
Overall, 73% of them think that such activities will help them to integrate so-
cially in the future. Less visible differences can be observed in the area of de-
termining thematic areas that are important from the point of view of preparing
for retirement. For 36% of the employed, the area of economic issues is im-
portant from the point of view of the future retirement, while the same area is
important for 18% of pensioners. The health area is important for both groups,
but in the case of retirees it is 55%, and in the case of the non-retired it amounts
to 16% more (71%).
The difference in the perception of preparation to retirement can be noted be-
tween the surveyed groups also in the area of issues related to knowledge about
rights and obligations, as well as knowledge in the field of new technologies. In
the case of the first area, the indications differed by 14% (18% retirees, working
people 32%), in the second area it was 8% (19% retired, non-retired 27%). In
the case of entities that should organize preparation for retirement, both groups
in the first place pointed to preparing by themselves (47% pensioners, non-re-
tired 45%), the employer came second in the ranking (34% pensioners, the em-
ployed- 36%). The most commonly chosen answer to the question how many
years before retirement such a preparation should be available, was the period
between 3 months and a year. And so, 18% think that they should be ready 3
months before retirement, 15.6%- 6 months before, and 47.5% of respondents
indicate the period of one year before retirement. Only 13.7% of respondents
believe that such activities should be possible to take three years before retire-
ment, and nearly 5% more than three years before retirement.
Alongside with the development of the social and professional activity of older
229
people, the process of increasing the educational activity of this age group
should proceed. This type of activity allows not only to broaden knowledge and
acquire new skills or competences, but it also allows to update the skills and
knowledge already possessed. Moreover, educational activity plays an ex-
tremely important role in creating social bonds, thus constitutes an indispensa-
ble element for a successful, active and happy experience of old age. Retirement
is a phenomenon that can turn out to be a crisis. Crises in the old age phase are
understood as turning points, difficult situations, in which the elderly person
must put in a lot of effort and activity (J. K. Wawrzyniak, 2014).Retirement is
sometimes called "social death" because it implies a withdrawal from profes-
sional roles, loss of the prestige associated with it, loss of duties, but also the
rights and privileges that were associated to them. Adaptation to the new situa-
tion is easier if there are plans for implementation and interest that can be de-
veloped: gardening, travel, learning new skills. The problem begins when a per-
son, apart from their professional duties, did not perform any social activities,
had no interests, did not perform other roles. In this situation, adaptation to re-
tirement is more difficult.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. A Memorandum on LifeLong Learning, Commission Staff Working Paper, Com-
mission of the European Comunities, Brussels 30.10.2001, http://tvu.acs.si/doku-
menti/LLLmemorandum_Oct2000.pdf.
2. Adamczyk M., Wprowadzenie do teorii kapitału społecznego, Wydawnictwo
KUL, Lublin 2013
3. Diagnoza społeczna 2009. Warunki i jakość życia Polaków. Raport. Ed. J. Czapiń-
ski, T. Panek, http://www.diagnoza.com/pliki/raporty/Diagnoza_raport_2009.pdf.
4. Diagnoza społeczna 2011. Warunki i jakość życia Polaków. Raport. Ed. J. Czapiń-
ski, T. Panek. http://www.diagnoza.com/pliki/raporty/Diagnoza_raport_2011. pdf;
5. Mannheim K., Ideology and Utopia, Test, Lublin 1992, p. 156.
6. Między alienacją a adaptacją: Polacy w wieku 50+ wobec Internetu. Raport Otwar-
cia Koalicji Dojrz@łośćw sieci, Warszawa 2010, http://dojrzaloscwsieci.pl/ra-
port.htm.
7. Wawrzyniak J. K. , Starość i starzenie się, in: A. Chabior, A. Fabiś, J. K. Wawrzy-
niak, Starzenie się i starość w perspektywie pracy socjalnej, Centrum Zasobów
Ludzkich, Warszawa 2014, p.19- 29.
230
Dr. Monika Dorota Adamczyk – associate profesor at the Faculty of Sociology of
Knowledge and Education, Institute of Sociology,
the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
e-mail: [email protected]
231
VII. REVIEWS
232
Włodzimierz CHOJNACKI
MONOGRAPHY REVIEW ENTITLED:
“POTENTIAL AND RELATIONS OF STRENGTHS IN DIGI-
TAL KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY“
PUBLISED BY POLTEXT, WARSAW 2018 P. 274 UNDER
SCIENCE EDITION, BY PROF L.W. ZACHERA
The subject of review is the collect work published by prof L.W. Zacher. A
deep study of contained text provides grounds for the opinion that it constitutes
an essential science input in theory and research development concerning inter-
disciplinary and multi-dimensional, social, economic and technological prob-
lems. According to prof. L. Zacher, these approaches supplement each other,
penetrate and generate new archetypes of thinking and perceiving the dynamics
of changes undergoing in structures, processes and attributions, shaping the net-
work societies. Perhaps not in far-future knowledge of societies. The driving
force of these changes is, first of all, the need and expectation generated by
people satisfied with solutions of many existential, cognitive and practical prob-
lems. The solutions of these problems generate the streams of flows, both the
planned and organized, as well as non-designed interactions of the matter, en-
ergy, information, knowledge, innovation and finances in form an organization
related to the level of socio-economic development. As a result of supplement-
ing these two streams, appear barriers, risk and threats for widely understood
personal and structural security. For this reason, they demand permanent and
flexible designing, modeling, monitoring, standardizing and normalizing in or-
der to limit their negative interactions. These streams shape strength and rela-
tion between socio-technical and socio-economic systems. They accept differ-
ent forms from state and government power as well as ending with organized
criminal groups. They operate according to accepted politics, business strategy,
violence, law manipulation and finally medial propaganda.
The presented in this monography, interesting research result of 14 authors,
from well-known science and research centers in Poland, USA and Canada,
233
where digital studies are conducted.
At the very beginning, one can make suggestion that this kind of research fea-
tures interdisciplinary, multidimensional and multilevel character indispensably
needed for social practice and development of cognitive sphere related with
readers. This collected monography constitutes platform, which connected
many points of view at potential and distribution of strength in presently created
knowledge society. This monography reflects, to a large extent, and enriches
contemporary science output both of Polish and foreign researches dealing with
analyses of networking and digitalizing process in social space as well as their
influence on individuals and social groups. This monography may excellently
serve to identify and evaluate micro and microsocial structure network focused
around defined values. Moreover, they may serve for designing exchange net-
works and tightening cooperation between researchers from leading centers in
country and abroad.
The interesting materials presented in this monography, also entitled the re-
viewer to state that that all authors whose results of the research were in this
assembly of articles having professional science and research competence and
experience in the area of description and explanation technical, technological,
social and cultural problem connected with functioning network society. These
articles feature a high level of theoretical and practical considerations close to
systemic analysis, what reveals in presentation of solutions and formulating
conclusions and proposals.
It`s a pity that authors did not take advantage of occasion for formulating more
deeper syntheses and comparisons of their own research results conducted by
West European countries and the US.
It is worth emphasizing that the authors excellently connected the network the-
ories with the methods in social studies and with empirical study workshops,
like looking for the answer on difficult and extremely complex problems:
• elaboration of methodologically cohesive network conceptions enabling
long term studies and interpreting trends and their development and their
structural elements of power and relations;
• elaboration of theoretical platform for research and measurement of
strength potential leading to social integration and disintegration;
234
• identification of power sources needed to created and impose legal rules as
well as to enable negations of the imposed limitations.
It is worth mentioning that it is consecutive important monographic elaboration
about digital society elaborated by prof. L.W. Zacher. Presently reviewed
monography stands out both multidimensional and analytical-to-synthetic way
of presenting complexity power interacting at knowledge from one side and
professionalization of individual and occupation groups on the other side.
Moreover, underlining the significance of informatics rule-out of the part of
society having low professional qualification and competence.
The research result involved in this monography about changes undergoing in
the society based on informatics networks constitute extremely variable contri-
bution to knowledge having a unique descriptive –explaining, research, didactic
and practical valor.
The authors of each part were assigned to seven chapter of monography. They
are well-known scientist researchers in Poland and all over the world. It is evi-
dent in multidimensional and complex relations and strengths occurring be-
tween functional and dysfunctional power elites as well as those which occur in
relations between liberty and power in network society.
I would like to take into consideration the proposal that this kind of monography
should be placed at the end each article: photo and bio-gram of the author as
well as his science achievement, but not only his affiliation and e-mail. It results
from more and more greater interesting, but only the researchers with science
titles by students of different faculties and specialties. This situation would cre-
ate a possibility of making connections with prominent researches in the area
of theoretical, methodological and empirical aspects.
From a perspective of reviewer I can highly evaluate the cognitive, research,
science and practical aspects of the reviewed monography. At present it is ex-
tremely important each interdisciplinary elaborated monography having a dy-
namical potential information of socio-economic transformation. For this rea-
son the contents of these articles contained in a reviewed collect work I regard
and evaluated as excellent achievement a specially important for person inter-
ested in this kind of interdisciplinary problems.
235
The authors of this monography are were known as very competent and inquir-
ing researchers enabling to apply quantitative and qualitative methods, histori-
cal-comparative analysis and secondary analysis of research results.
The Polish and foreign literature subjected to in-depth analysis, interesting re-
sult of research fully justify the conclusion that the reviewed monography pub-
lished by prof. L.W. Zacher introduces an essential contribution to deeper epis-
temology of complexity problem in the society of knowledge based on science
and technology achievement including the social capital.
To summarize the above velour, it is necessary to state that it is the outstanding
monography directed both to theoretical and practical researchers as well as
readers, teachers and students.
Prof. Włodzimierz Chojnacki – Higher School of Finances and Management in War-
saw, Poland.
e-mail: [email protected].
236
Instructions to Authors
Invited are scholarly articles which address interdisciplinary issues on the broader im-
pacts of science and technology on society as well as future studies. Examples of topics
covered include (but are not limited to): risks, dangers, disasters – models of analysis
and management, non-economic dimensions of e-society, from information society to
knowledge society, perspectives and assessments of new radical technologies (ICTs,
biotechnology, biomedicine etc.), socio-cultural aspects in the age of the Internet and
virtual reality, globalization – perspectives and multicriterial evaluation of impacts; sus-
tainability and the coming new world – looking for solutions.
Guidelines for Authors
• All papers should be submitted in electronic version only.
• The volume of submitted papers should not exceed 42 000 characters (including
spaces and footnotes).
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entry forms.
• Papers should be linguistically and stylistically correct, and all quotes and refer-
ences should be documented.
• Only footnotes should be used in submitted texts.
• Submitted articles should be accompanied by:
o information about the author, in particular his or her name, degree or aca-
demic title, e-mail address, an indication of respective home university (for
academic staff) and a separate note about the author up to ¼ page,
o a summary in English; the length of the abstract should not exceed 500
words,
o keywords with regard to the content of the article (3-10 terms),
o a statement confirming that the proposed text is original and was submitted
exclusively to Transformacje (Transformations) and has not been previously
published.
• The editors reserve the right to edit submitted papers.
• Submitted material will not be returned.
237
Review Process
• Scientific papers submitted to Transformations shall be subject to review:
o the evaluation is performed by two reviewers (independently),
o the identity of the Authors is not disclosed to the reviewers,
o the identity of the reviewers of individual materials is not disclosed to their
Authors.
• The editors are making all possible efforts to ensure that reviewers are appointed
from outside the research unit affiliated by the author of the publication.
• In debatable cases (e.g. inconsistent or contradictory reviews) the editors decide if
the paper is to be admitted for publishing. The editors may decide to appoint an
additional reviewer.
• Any detected breaches of ethical and scientific misconduct (in particular, ghost-
writing and guest authorship) will be exposed and documented.
Reviewers (2017):
Prof. Peter BOŁTUĆ, University of Illinois, Springfield, IL, USA
Prof. Piotr CHMIELEWSKI, Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Włodzimierz CHOJNACKI, School of Finance and Management, Warsaw, Po-
land
Prof. Andrzej KIEPAS, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Prof. Filip PIERZCHALSKI, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, Poland
Prof. Ewa POLAK, University of Gdansk, Gdańsk, Poland
Prof. Ryszard STĘPIEŃ, Pultusk Academy of Humanities,Pułtusk, Poland
Prof. Jan SZMYD, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland
Prof. Bogdan ZELER, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Members of the International Scientific Council and Editorial Staff
have also been reviewers.