Editing Manuel Castells (section)

== Critical responses to Castells ==

Over the years, Castells' work has been met with several noteworthy critiques. Some criticisms of Castells' work compare his ideas to [[Functionalism (anthropology and sociology)|functionalism]], in that they include some “abstract system-building.” In other words, there is a certain level of inattention to individuals, while sweeping generalizations are made about society.<ref name="Mann, Douglas 2008. Pp. 274-275">Mann, Douglas. 2008. “Postmodernism: Political Economy and Communications.” Pp. 274–275 in Understanding Society: A Survey of Modern Social Theory. Canada: Oxford University Press.</ref> Additionally, Castells' work includes observations about the intense global influence of informationalism. There is some discrepancy about how much of the globe is truly “dominated” by expansive informational networks. The global population is so diverse that there are many exceptions to the idea of complete global domination. These information networks have the potential to be useful “[[ideal type]]s” for studying global relations, but one should exercise caution when using them to model the real world.<ref name="Mann, Douglas 2008. Pp. 274-275"/> Castells has also been criticized for the conservatism that appears within his theories. He has noted that there is “little chance of social change” within the network society. This reveals a thought process that supports the status quo, which can be a problem for social change and justice movements.<ref name="Mann, Douglas 2008. Pp. 274-275"/> Related to this criticism, some scholars have found it peculiar that while Castells' theorizes quite a bit about global connection, he does not explore the potential of those global connections to establish an international system for the protection of human rights and cultural difference.<ref>Stevenson, Nick. 2003. “Manuel Castells.” Pp.95 in Key Contemporary Social Theorists, edited by Anthony Elliott and Larry Ray. Blackwell Publishers Ltd.</ref>