1、Networked society and new social movements【Introduction】 After the end of Cold War， the economic relations of different regions and states were becoming much closer. Not every individual is included in the world economic system， however， all of us are affected by it. And this also changed the organi
2、zation of our world： we are living in a society which is constituted by different forms of networks. As for Castells， A network is simply a set of interconnected nodes （Castells， 1999）. And it has three main basic characteristics： it has no center； this system operates mainly through inclusion and e
3、xclusion； and it is an appropriate organization with extreme flexibility （Castells， 1999）. The notes can be states， regions， or different individuals. They can be separated into different ranks， but the whole network has no center. Each actor has some degrees of autonomy and at the same time， no one
4、 can escape from others influence. All the actors included in the network can share information or products， and they are all producers. So in order to maximize the productivity of the whole system， network itself must be sensitive about the value of each actor. And this is enabled by its flexibilit
5、y. However， this flexibility also causes a series of social problems. The first form of inequality is overexploitation， which happens among certain groups of people who are easily to be discriminated in a particular social condition， like immigrants， ethnic minorities and female workers （Castells， 1
6、999）. They are disadvantage social groups because of social， cultural or historical reasons. And the second inequality is about the individuals who are excluded from the network because of various reasons. They are not able to provide valuable resources for the system because of their poor education
7、 level or limited technological knowledge. These people live in extreme poverty and do not have the capacity or method to change their lives. Moreover， the autonomic operation of the network itself causes some bad effects to the development of human kind， such as nuclear problems and environment pro
8、blems. People try to express their opinions towards these social problems through social movements. Compared with traditional social movements， the issues of new social movements are cultural instead of economical. Participates aim at changing peoples consciousness instead of struggling for more pol
9、itical power directly. Based on the change of social organization and the emergence of new problems， the movements also show some new changes in their power and form. 【Keywords】 “The media” development；Social movement；Networked society theory；Since the media；Democratic decisionmaking；The public will
10、 The power of new social movements As for Castells， power relations are the basic relations of a society. Power relationships are the foundation of society， as institutions and norms are constructed to fulfill the interests and values of those in power. （Castells， 2011： 773） And because we are livin
11、g in a networked society， so social power is primarily exercised by and through networks. （Castells ， 2011： 774） There are mainly four forms of powers： networking power， network power， networked power and networkmaking power. The inclusion and exclusion of a network exercise through networking power
12、. Actors which are included in the network are endowed with power to share the benefits brought by the system. However， they must be restricted by the norms of this network， which is called network power. According to the goals of a whole system， the dominant network has power over other networks. T
13、his is networked power. And this is never a onedimensional system， so it is more complicated to analysis the decisionmaking process. The last form of power concerns the two basic mechanisms of exercising the control over other networks： intervening the common goals of a network and controlling the r
14、elations of cooperation between different networks. The holds of these two positions are called programmers and switchers However， where there is power， there is counterpower， enacting the interests and values of those in subordinate positions in the social organization （Castells， 2011： 773774）. And
15、 the main aim of the movements is to struggle for more power and change the way of operation in a network. Traditional labor movement relies on party politics. They participate in politics and struggle for more power through election campaign and even violence. They try to be involved in the dominan
16、t political networks of a society and change the goals and rules of the whole social system. However， the result is disappointing. Most disadvantaged people can not benefit directly from the party politics and lose the trust towards the better future promised by them. In the era of globalization， ne
17、w social movements are able to make a change through other approaches. What they intend to do is to express their opinions， draw peoples attention and change peoples mind， because how people think about the institutions under which they live， and how they relate to the culture of their economy and s
18、ociety defines whose power can be exercised and how it can be exercised. （Castells， 2011： 779） In this sense， to what extent can they improve their influence among the people determines the effect of the movements. Media becomes an important approach to achieve this purpose. Traditional mass media s
19、uch as television and newspaper are controlled by elites or even governments directly in some countries. The ideas and opinions expressed through these mass media are shaped or screened by them. The only choice for most of us seems to accept and being convinced passively. In the era of globalization
20、， the function of media has also changed to a large extent .With the widespread of internet and wireless communication methods， most people are able to express their opinions to the public directly. People communicate and debate through the media. And it has become a public sphere which shows the op
21、inions from different groups. The public sphere is not just the media or the sociospatial sites of public interaction. It is the cultural/informational repository of the ideas and projects that feed public debate. （Castells， 2008： 79） In the era of globalization， the original superincumbent and cent
22、ralized communication has become horizontal， autonomous networks of communication （Castells， 2008： 86）. Common people control their power of discourse and capacity to make some changes to the world. This is one of the most important foundations of the rise of new social movements. Based on this foun
23、dation， some social activists or even common people who are more aware of the severity of some social problems are able to express their opinions through the internet， when these opinions are accepted by larger amount of people， then the collective actions are more possible to happen. That is to way
24、， the approach of social movements has transformed from changing the networking power to changing the networkmaking power. First of all， because the ideas generate programs （Castells， 2011： 776） and the communication between different groups can reflect their ideas， then the influence of the ideas d
25、etermines their power to intervene the final program of the whole network. Secondly， social movement intents to decrease the cooperation between media network and political network through participating in producing their own discourse and eventually influence the decisionmaking process. Accordingly
26、， the traditional social movements intend to make a change through being involved in political network and change the norms and principles of the whole social network. And the new social movements do not intervene the political network directly， they try to change peoples mind and make use of their
27、power to increase their influence through the media. And through struggling for more networkmaking power， people have more capacity to participate into the decisionmaking process and change the society. Two characteristics of the form of new social movement The networked society enables people who s
28、hare the same cultural and social identity to communicate and built connections with each other. This promotes the value of individuation and autonomy. Individuation means the interests of individual should be regarded as the most important factors to consider when making decisions about public affa
29、irs. Many sensitive cultural issues and private stuff are catching peoples attention and being debated in public， such as gender differences， age and disability. It seems that everything is political （Wieviorka 2005： 6）. People are asking to solve these problems directly. As for Castells， Autonomy r
30、efers to the capacity of a social actor to become a subject by defining its action around projects constructed independently of the institutions of society， according to the values and interests of the social actor （Castells， 2012： 230） . And the possibility of autonomy depends on two basic factors，
31、 if the interests of every individual are not subject to any higher institution； and if the individuals have the capacity to protect their interests. Even though the power of an individual is limited， it is still the basic foundation for the persons who share common identities and interests to achie
32、ve their own autonomy through networks. And because of the rise of some new values and concept， the form of new social movements shows some new characteristics compared with the traditional labor social movements. First of all， because there is no power delegation in new social movements， then they
33、are decentralized and antiinstitutional movements. The decisions of participating and withdrawing are all made by individuals instead of a superior governing leader. One of the most important aims of new social movements is the realization of real democracy and equality， and the best way of achievin
34、g the goal of a task is to practicing the ideas of it in the organizational procedure of the movement （Castells， 2012： 225）. And this is enabled by internet and wireless communication methods in globalized society. It replaces the function of traditional decisionmaking group and improves the real de
35、mocracy. Everyone has the right to react and make a comment towards events and topics. And in this process， people are able to share the same information and emotion， which helps to build a connection with each other. The braveness of making a change through the action comes from the support of ever
36、y individual who share the same ideas. From the first beginning when an event or a topic draws peoples attention to the end when the last decision was made， the occurrence of a movement does not rely on any superior institution. That is to say， the close connection between the network and peoples mi
37、nd and action determines the power delegation is not in need for the social movement. Thus social change results from communicative action that involves connection between networks of neural networks from human brains stimulated by signals from a communication environment through communication netwo
38、rk （Castells， 2012： 219）. Even though the traditional social activists hold the view that a strategic and efficient central institution is necessary for a successful movement， this is not agreed by the participants of new social movements. The establishment of institutions means the centralization o
39、f power. It increases the efficiency of decisionmaking process， but at the same time， it also causes the abuse of power and corruption， which in turn decrease the possibility of the success of achieving the goal of the movements. Moreover， because there is no central institution， then everyone is re
40、sponsible for the movement directly， which also decreases the possibility of successful repression of opposite faction （Castells， 2012： 222）. And another obvious characteristic of the form of new social movement is that， there are not any boundaries for the movements. A movement can happen among peo
41、ple with different religious beliefs， social class or ethnic identities. And it can also happen across the borders of different countries and continents. All the participants are connected with an idea or value， such as human rights， social justice and global environment. This is also possible becau
42、se of the rise of networked society in the era of globalization. As for Castells， networks are within the movement， with other movements around the world， with the Internet blogosphere， with the media and with the society at large （Castells， 2012： 221）. Even though the widespread of new social movement is determined by peoples recognition towards the ideas and values of a movement， the success of it also relies on mass communication. Messages and
