指导老师|肖珺
翻译|闻叶舟 审核|杨家懿
Introduction: What is “Informationalized Capitalism”?
什么是“信息资本主义”？
Informationalized capitalism, also known as digital capitalism, first put forward by the American communication political economist, Dan Schiller, at the end of the 1990s, was published [P1] in the book of "Digital Capitalism: Networking the Global Market System".
信息资本主义，也称数字资本主义，美国传播政治经济学者丹·席勒在20世纪90年代末最早提出了这一概念，发表于《数字资本主义：全球市场体系的网络化》一书中。
In his new book "Digital Depression:Information Technology and Economic Crisis", Dan Schiller briefly pointed out that informationalized capitalism is a stage of capitalism. In this stage, "a capitalist system which is more prone to Information and Communication Technology intensive industries."
丹·席勒在其新作《数字化衰退：信息技术与经济危机》中简要地指出，信息资本主义是资本主义的一个发展阶段，在这一阶段中，产生了“一种更倾向于信息通信技术密集型产业的资本主义体系。”
Compared with the concept of "network society" proposed by Manuel Kast, Dan's "digital capitalism" theory "highlights the importance of communication and information: it has gradually become a new support point that can carry the evolving capitalist political and economic structure."
与曼纽尔·卡斯特提出的“网络社会”概念相比，丹的“数字资本主义”理论“凸显传播与信息的重要性：它逐渐成为能够承载不断演变的资本主义政治经济结构的新的支撑点”。
In fact, informationalized capitalism is a critical deconstruction of the modernized and networked capitalist system, and Dan Schiller's heavy dissemination of political and economic historiography makes his deconstruction extremely powerful and deep in the nature of capitalism.
实际上，信息资本主义是对现代化、网络化的资本主义体系的批判性解构，而丹·席勒深厚的传播政治经济史学观使得他的解构显得极为有力，并且深入资本主义的本质。
一
Development: from Information to Digitalization
发展：从信息化到数字化
Broadly speaking, informatization and digitalization are roughly equivalent, which means the course of datamation and networking of something or some processes.
从广义上来看，信息化与数字化大致等同，都意味着某些事物、进程的数据化与网络化。
But in a narrow sense of the word, the emphasis of informatization and digitalization is different, they also represent different historical processes.
但从狭义上来看，信息化与数字化的强调方面不同，并且二者也代表着不同的历史进程。
In early days, informatization is a management method (or "administrative control"). A more efficient information acquisition and transmission system is constructed through computer network: Transnational and monopoly capital and so on are all their fanatical advocates in such process.
早期的信息化是一种管理手段（或者称为“行政控制”），通过计算机网络建构起更为高效的信息获取与传递体系——在这一进程中，跨国资本、垄断资本等都是其狂热的鼓吹者。
With the improvement and popularization of information technology, informatization has become an internalized normal requirement. On this basis, digitalization will incorporate more realistic transactions into the "network capacities" and make incredibly efficient processing by information technology that is difficult to complete by relying purely on manual work.
随着信息技术的提高与普及，信息化已经成为一种被内化的常态要求，在这基础之上，数字化将更多的现实事务纳入到“网络容量”中，并通过信息技术作出依靠纯粹手工难以完成的高效处理
From the vertical historical perspective, it can be seen that the extension process of information and digitalization undoubtedly embodies the development of information technology and the process of its integration with the capitalist system, that is, the development process of digital capitalism.
从纵向的历史角度可以看出，信息化、数字化概念的延用过程，无疑体现出了信息技术的发展以及其与资本主义体系的融合进程，即数字资本主义的发展进程。
二
Reorganization: network, production and labor
重组：网络、生产与劳动
In his recent book Digital Depression, Dan Schiller tries to deconstruct digital capitalism from four dimensions: labor, production (commodity chain), finance, and military. We focus on the analysis of the first two dimensions.
丹·席勒在其新近的著作《数字化衰退：信息技术与经济危机》中，试图从四个维度解构数字资本主义，分别为：劳动，生产（商品链），金融，以及军事。本文试图着重研究前两个维度。
How does the network reorganize the labor and production process?
网络是如何重组劳动与生产过程的？
In the course of history, capital takes the lead in occupying the connectivity with the proprietary network. With the computer network, it supports the modern cooperative production mechanism and integrating the past independent labor division into collective production cooperation, directly docking with the more advanced labor process.
资本在历史进程中，率先占用与专有了网络的连接性，用计算机网络支撑起现代化的协同生产机制，将过往独立的劳动分工整合成集体协作的生产过程，并与更高级的劳动过程直接对接。
（The enthusiasm of capital to information technology can be partly reflected in that fact that they regard information technology as the core competitiveness of business success in 21st Century.）
（资本对信息技术的狂热可以部分体现于，他们将信息技术视为21世纪取得商业成功的核心竞争力）
The features of the mechanism are as following:
这一机制有如下的特点：
1.Improving productivity through information resource sharing and automational task.
2.Strengthening the supervision and intervention to the labor process.
3.Strengthening the association among the production processes which are unrelated before.
1.通过信息资源共享与任务自动化等形式，提高生产力；
2.增强对劳动过程的监管与干预；
3.加强以前互不连属的生产过程之间的关联。
The results of network restructuring of labor and production are as follows:
网络对劳动与生产的重组又产生了如下的结果：
1.The increasing number of information workers, such as the administrative positions represented by white collar workers, the information producers on the Internet, etc.
1.信息工作者的不断增长，如以白领为代表的行政管理职务、网络上的信息生产者等；
2.Promoting fragmentation of production and the binding of production system, so as to promote the development of transnational capital and the globalization of capitalism.
2.促进生产的碎片化与生产体系的捆绑化，从而推进跨国资本的发展和资本主义全球化扩张；
3.The network of production has strengthened the problem of exploitation. Automation technology, while raising productivity and profit margins, has led to unemployment and wage stagnation, which, in turn, has dragged consumer’s demand. 【In fact, it is a rebalancing of class power 】
3.网络化的生产强化了剥削问题，自动化技术在提高生产率与利润率的同时导致失业问题与工资水平停滞问题，这又反过来拖垮了消费者需求。【实际上是对阶级力量的重新制衡】
t is important to note that the cooperative relationship formed through the computer network is not an inherent and unique mode of production of capitalism. Dan Schiller and the academia tend to view it as "an inherent and general feature".
需要注意的是，通过计算机网络形成的协作关系，并非是资本主义固有、独有的生产方式，丹·席勒与学术界倾向于将其视为“一种内在的、总体性的特征”。
Although in essence the computer network and capitalism are independent of each other, the core problem is that, nowadays, the capital is undoubtedly leading the network of cooperative relations, for profit purposes, following a new round of exploitation.
虽然在本质上计算机网络与资本主义相互独立，但核心问题在于，目前，资本无疑主导着网络化的合作关系，为了营利性的目的，进行新一轮的剥削。
三
Contradictory Hour: Depression Progressive Time
矛盾时刻：衰退进行时
For example, in the 2008 global financial crisis (also called the "subprime crisis"), the economic slowdown in 2007 made many people unable to continue to pay mortgage loans, so over-leveraged and fraudulent financial systems began to collapse.
以2008年的全球性金融危机（又称“次贷危机”）为例，2007年的经济放缓使不少人无法继续支付按揭贷款，所以过度金融杠杆化并充满欺骗性的金融体系便开始崩塌。
So far, America is still in the trend of economic decline, but the information and communications industry has become the relative contrarian growth pole. Dan Schiller named such phenomenon as "Digital Depression" and used it to expand the concept of "Digital capitalism".
迄今为止，美国依然身处经济滑坡的趋势之中，但信息与通信产业却成为了逆势而行的相对增长极，丹·席勒将这样的现象称之为“数字化衰退”，并用此拓展数字资本主义的概念。
Quoting Dan Schiller's insight in his Digital Depression as the epilogue:
借用丹·席勒在《数字化衰退》中的洞见作为结语。
1) the economic contribution of the information and communication industry to the contemporary digital capitalism makes the digital field a fundamental growth pole, similar to the consumer industry in 1930s;
1）信息与通信产业对当代数字资本主义的经济贡献，类似于1930年代初生的消费产业，使得数字领域成为根本性的增长极；
1) financial speculation, together with the capital, integrates the digital system into the current political and economic structure in all directions. Both of the two led to the current financial crisis.
2）金融投机行为，连同资本全方位地将数字体系整合进当前的政治经济结构之中，两者共同导致了当前的金融危机。”
How to understand?
如何理解这两点？
On the one hand, information and communication technology is integrated into the political and economic structure by investment from capital. The development stage of digital capitalism is built, which strongly promotes the re-accumulation of capital.
一方面，资本通过对信息通信技术的投资，将其整合进政治经济结构中，构建起数字资本主义的发展阶段——这一过程强有力地推动资本的重新积累；
On the other hand, the restructuring of the capitalist system has many complex and chaotic contradictions in production, finance and military affairs, so digital capitalism has been bankrupt in 2007-2008 years. Since then, the economic depression has continued to today, however, capital is relying on information and communication technology for a new round of exploitation and accumulation.
另一方面，重组的资本主义体系在生产、金融、军事方面存在许多复杂且混乱的矛盾，因此数字资本主义曾在2007-2008年间破产。之后，经济不景气的局面延续至今，但是资本却在依靠信息通信技术进行新一轮的剥削与积累。
It can be concluded that even the digital capitalist system, which has experienced a restructuring of information, is still entering a chronic, persistent recession, "Digital Depression", because of the inherent defects. Just as Dan Schiller said, "Once capitalism is reborn again, the seeds of the next crisis have long been buried in the political and economic structure".
由此可以得出，即使是经历了信息化重组的数字资本主义体系，也仍然因为存在的固有缺陷而进入慢性的、持久的经济衰退——“数字化衰退”之中。正如丹·席勒所言，“一旦资本主义再次重生，下一次危机的种子早已深埋于政治经济结构中”。
注：文中未详细注明来源的图片来自互联网可被允许使用的作品
参考文献
[1] 丹·席勒著. 数字化衰退：信息技术与经济危机[M]. 吴畅畅译. 北京：中国传媒大学出版社, 2017.8.
[2] Graham Murdock. The Handbook of Political Economy of Communications[C]. U.K: Wiley - Blackwell, 2011.
[4] Jeffrey A. Frieden. Global Capitalism:Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century[M]. New York:Norton, 2007:371.
[5] Dan Schiller, Digital Capitalism: Networking the Global Market System[M]. Cambridge:MIT Press, 2000.
[6] Dan Schiller. How To Think bout Information[M]. Urbana:University of Illinois Press, 2017:36-57.
编辑：方亚东
關鍵字: Capitalism 数字资本主义 Dan
