Last Updated on January 2, 2026 by Karl Thompson

Over the last half-century, sociology has been forced to confront a rapidly changing social world shaped by digital technologies, globalisation, and information flows. Few sociologists have been more influential in making sense of these changes than Manuel Castells.

Castells argues that we have entered a new historical phase — the Information Age — in which networks of information, capital, and communication have become the dominant way of organising societies. His concept of the network society helps explain how power, inequality, and social relationships operate in a globalised, digitally connected world.

This article explains Castells’ ideas in depth, focusing on the shift from industrial society to the Information Age, the rise of networks, and the implications for power and social inequality.

The Unleashing of Productive Capacity by the Power of the Mind

The last fifty years have seen enormous advances in science and, in particular, Internet-based and digital technologies. According to Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells, these developments have fundamentally reshaped how societies are organised, how power operates, and how economies function on a global scale.

Castells’ work focuses on the rise of what he terms the network society, a new form of social organisation associated with the Information Age. Strongly influenced by Karl Marx, but adapting Marxist ideas to contemporary capitalism, Castells argues that information, knowledge, and communication networks have become the central drivers of productivity, power, and social change.

The Network Society Explained

At the heart of Castells’ theory is the idea that modern society is increasingly organised around networks rather than hierarchies or bureaucracies.

The network society can be understood as:

• An interconnected global community of interests
• A society in which access to networks — what Castells calls the “space of flows” — is no longer restricted to a single dominant social group
• A world where almost anyone, anywhere can use telecommunications-based technologies for economic, political, or creative purposes

This marks a significant shift away from earlier forms of social organisation based primarily on the nation-state.

From Industrial Society to the Information Age

During the 1970s, US sociologist Daniel Bell introduced the concept of post-industrial society to describe the transition from manufacturing to service-based economies. Castells builds on this idea, arguing that the rise of Internet-based technologies has pushed capitalism even further — towards a system centred on information and knowledge.

According to Castells:

• Human societies have moved beyond the Industrial Age
• We now live in the Information Age
• The social-structural expression of this new era is the network society

In advanced capitalist societies, networks of financial capital, information, and communication now lie at the heart of productivity and competitiveness.

A Networked World

The Information Age is defined by the creation, processing, and dissemination of specialised knowledge — such as financial data, global market movements, and real-time information flows. As a result, social life has been profoundly transformed.

Castells argues that:

• The dominant mode of organising interpersonal relationships, institutions, and entire societies is now networks
• These networks are open-ended, flexible, and malleable
• Because of this flexibility, networks easily span the globe

Classical sociologists such as Marx, Durkheim, and Weber largely understood “society” as something bounded by the nation-state. In contrast, Castells suggests that this model no longer applies. The world of relatively autonomous nation-states has been replaced by overlapping and intersecting global networks.

Global Connectivity and the Space of Flows

The idea of a fully connected world, wired through the Internet, conjures up images of people across the globe engaging in constantly shifting social, economic, and cultural relationships.

In the network society:

• Social interaction is no longer constrained by geography or nationality
• Information can be accessed 24 hours a day
• Communication is increasingly instantaneous and global

Search engines, online forums, and digital communication platforms allow individuals separated by thousands of miles to interact as if they were in the same physical space.

Networks, Technology, and Power

Castells places particular emphasis on microelectronics-based networks, which he argues define contemporary society. These networks have increasingly replaced bureaucracy as the main way of organising social life.

Networks operate across multiple domains, including:

• Economic networks (global finance and capital flows)
• Political networks (such as transnational institutions)
• Interpersonal networks (email, social media, and online communities)

The network state includes transnational political bodies such as the European Union, while interpersonal networks are enacted through platforms like email and social networking sites.

What Is a Network? Castells’ Definition

Castells defines networks in several key ways:

• Networks have no centre
• They consist of interconnected nodes of varying importance
• All nodes are necessary for the network to function
• A network’s power depends on how much relevant information it can process
• Networks deal only with information relevant to their function
• Networks are open structures, capable of expanding and contracting without limits

Because of these characteristics, networks are particularly effective at managing complexity in modern societies.

Social Dynamics in the Network Society

One of Castells’ central concerns is how networks shape power and inequality. Whether individuals or institutions are included in, or excluded from, key networks has major consequences for their social position.

Castells concludes that:

• Networked social relations have transformed the structure of society over time
• Power increasingly lies with those who control key nodes and flows of information
• Early on, this power was concentrated among a technocratic-financial-managerial elite working within global financial networks

These groups occupy the key positions of command and control within the global system.

Why Manuel Castells Matters for Sociology

Castells’ work remains highly influential because it helps explain:

• Globalisation in the digital age
• The decline of traditional bureaucratic organisation
• The rise of networked forms of power and inequality

As Castells famously argues:

“Networks have become the predominant organisational form of every human activity.”

Summary (Castells)

Key concepts to remember:

• Network society
• Information Age
• Space of flows
• Nodes and networks
• Technocratic-financial-managerial elite

One-sentence summary:
Castells argues that modern societies are organised around global networks of information and communication rather than nation-states or bureaucracies, reshaping power and inequality in the Information Age.

Castells vs Marx vs Giddens (Comparison)

Signposting

This material is mainly relevant to theory and methods and debates on globalisation.