Richard Sennett On Flexibility, Difference and Withdrawal

Urban sociologist Richard Sennett explores the conditions of contemporary capitalism. I see in this an essay a foundation for network culture. Contemporary flexible employment, he observes, discourages temporary workers from putting down roots or engaging with their communities. Difference, Sennett recognizes, is not the same thing as [[alterity]]. Today, whether under the guise of identity politics or as a part of the cultivated eccentricity of consumption that makes up the Long Tail, Sennett writes, we are retreating behind a wall of difference and disengaging from our environment. See his essay on Capitalism and the City. Technorati Tags: capitalism, cities, network city, network culture, publics

Urban sociologist Richard Sennett explores the conditions of contemporary capitalism. I see in this an essay a foundation for network culture. Contemporary flexible employment, he observes, discourages temporary workers from putting down roots or engaging with their communities. Difference, Sennett recognizes, is not the same thing as [[alterity]]. Today, whether under the guise of identity politics or as a part of the cultivated eccentricity of consumption that makes up the Long Tail, Sennett writes, we are retreating behind a wall of difference and disengaging from our environment. See his essay on Capitalism and the City. Technorati Tags: capitalism, cities, network city, network culture, publics