THENEW SPIRITOFCAPITALISM LUCBOLTANSKIandEVECHIAPELLO TranslatedbyGREGORYELLlOTT VERSO LondonNew York OuvragepublieavecleconcoursduMinisterefran,likethe, referstositua-behaviour is deemed unsatisfactory by the city's values. But it also reference to general configurations which, while claiming to be inspired relevant status, fall down in such fundamental aspectsthat they embod y butapervertedstatus.Iftheinthe newcityappliestobad(individual)behaviourinaworldofprojects,the involvesunsatisfactoryrhizomorphousforms,'bad networks'. Thedescriptionofwhatcountsinthisworldisbasedoncategoriesof things- the- of humanbeings-. the - or of verbs - referringtofigures,objectsandmodesof relations,specifictoa " givenformofstatus.Eachofthese valuespheresthustendsto encompass a specificvocabulary,referring tothecategoriesthatembodystatusaccording to the city'scriteria.The presenceofthesecategoriesofthings,beings,qual-i.esor actions in anargument isan indexof the justificatory register adopted by the speaker. Thus, someone situated in an 'industrial' world will readily refer "to'instruments', 'methods', 'measures' or 'procedures', invoke 'enginee;s' and 'spetialists',and list'controlling'or 'organizing' asamong theactionsworth performing. On the other hand, it would be incongruous to find them evoking 'opinion leaders' or 'press attaches',who are subjects of the reputational world; 'propriety'and'good manners',whicharedomesticmechanisms;ortohear them using the verbs 'dream' and 'imagine', which point to inspirational status. Tofacilitatethe city's insertion into concrete situations and impart substance, asit were,tothe value hierarchy measuredbythe'commonsuperior princi-ple', weshallnow presentthesedifferent categoriesof words. Activity,Projects, Extensionof thenetwork, Proliferationofconnections In a projectivecity,the generalequivalent - what the statusof personsand thingsismeasuredby - isactivity.But incontrastto what weobserve inthe industrial city,where activity merges with work and the activearequintessen-tially those who have stable,productive waged work,activity in the projective titysurmountsthe oppositionsbetween work and non-work,thestableand theunstable,wage-earningclassandnon-wage-earning class,paidworkand voluntary work,that which may beassessed in termsof productivity and that which,notbeing measurable,eludescalculable assessment. Managementauthorstakeuptheideafloatedbytheir Englishcolleague CharlesHandy, in his book The Age ofUnreason,when he 110THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM proposestoreplacethetraditional notion of a job by the concept of a port-folio of activities that everyone manages forthemselves. At least five categories of work arelisted:waged work, remunerated in line with the timespent on it; workforoneself,remuneratedbytheresultsobtained;domesticwork, performed for theupkeepand maintenance of a home; voluntary work, per-formedforcharitableorganizations,thecommunity,friends,family,or neighbours;educationalwork,whichmakesitpossibletolearn,todevelop skills,toread,and toeducateoneself.(Aubrey,1994).6 Thesuggestionistoavoidbeingdependentonasinglecategory,especially the first, given that after the age of fortymany people will have to reconstruct their portfoliocompletely.'[Simultaneous]development ofallthe categories in the portfolio' isthereforeindicated:'Thanksto the multiplicityofclients, work for fees offers a certain guarantee of activity.Self-educational work helps improve the chancesof remaining active and voluntary work makes it possible toconstruct social networksoutside work,to participate activelyin progress towardsa better world and totransmit wisdomtoothers'(Aubrey,1994). Activity aims to generate pro/ects,or to achieve integration into projectsiniti-ated by others.But the project doesnot existoutsideof the encounter (not being integrated onceand for all into an institutionor environment, it presents itself asan action to be performed, not assomething that isalready there).Hence the activity par excellence isintegratingoneselfintonetworks and exploring them, so asto put an end to isolation, and have opportunities for meeting people or asso-ciatingwith things proximity to which isliable to generate a project. Activity expresses itself in the multiplicity of projectsall kinds that may be pursuedconcurrently and which,nowhat matter what happens,must be elaborated successively,sincetheproject represents atransient mechanism in this logi'c.Lifeisconceived asa successionof and themore they differ fromoneanother,themorevaluabletheyare.Characterizationofthese projectsaccordingtocategoriesthatareappositeinothercities(whether familial,affective,educative,artistic,religious,charitable,etc.),andaboveall their classification according to the distinction between that which pertainsto leisureandthat which relatesto work,isnot what mattersinthiscity'slogic, except in a very subsidiary fashion.What mattersistodevelopactivity - that isto say,never to beshort of a project, bereft of an idea,alwaysto have some-thing in mind,inthe pipeline,withother people whom onemeetsout of a desireto dosomething. When they engage in a project, everyone concerned knows that the under-taking to which theyareabouttocontributeisdestinedtolastfot alimited periodof time - that itnot only can, but must,come to an end. The prospect ofaninevitable,desirableend pointthusaccompaniesengagementwithout affectingenthusiasm.Thisiswhyengagementisconceivedasvoluntary. Havingtheoptionnottoengageinagivenproject,andhencechoiceover THEFORMATIONOF THEPROJECTIVECITY1 1 1 one'sprojects, isaconditionforthecity'sharmoniousfunctioning;andthis conditionisguaranteedbythemultipleactivitieseveryonedevelops. Furthermore, awarenessthat the project willcome to an end isaccompanied bythe hope that a new project willfollow,that it isalready in gestation in the fabricofcurrentconnections,even if it isnot yet known what formit will take.Accordingly,tensionbetweentherequisitecommitmentandtheindi-catedoutcomeappearssurmountable. Anything can attain thestatusof aincluding ventures hostile to cap-italism. Describing every accomplishment with a nominal grammar that isthe grammar of the project erases the differencesbetween a capitalist project and a humdrumcreation(aSundayclub).Capitalismandanti-capitalistcritique alikearemasked.Utterlydifferentthingscanbeassimilatedtotheterm 'project':openinganewfactory,closingone,carryingoutare-engineering project, putting on aplay.Eachofthem isa project, and they all involve the sameheroism.Thisisoneofthewaysin whichtheprojectivecitycanwin overforceshostiletocapitalism:by proposing a grammar that transcendsit, which they in turn will useto describe their own activity while remaining obliv-iousofthefactthat capitalism,too,canslipinto it. It isprecisely because the project isatransient form that it isadjusted toa networkworld:bymultipfyingconnectionsand proltferatinglinks,thesuccessionprojects hasthe effectofextending networks. The extension of the network islife itself, whereasany halt to itsextension iscomparable to death: 'the network spontaneously tendsto develop, but it is constantly threatened by the risks of internal ossification or degeneration that canresult indeath, whichmightconsist in itstransformation intoapyrami-dalorganization'(Landier,1991).Thosewithoutaprojectwhonolonger explorenetworksare threatened withexclusion- that istosay,in effect,with deathin a reticular universe.They risk not findinga waytoattachthemselves toprojects, and ceasing toexist.The development if oneself andone'semplqyabiliry ('being the agent ofone'sownevolution,takingcontrolof one'sfuture'[Le Saget, 1994]), which is the long-term personal project underlying all the others, willnot besuccessfully accomplished. Connection Connecting, Communicating, Co-ordinating, Adjusting toothers, Trusting In a connexionist world, a natural preoccupation of human beings isthe desire toconnectwithothers,tomakecontact,tomakeconnections,soasnot toremain 112THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM isolated.Tosucceed,theymusttrustandbetrusted,know howtocommunicate discussopenly,andalsobecapableof adjustingtoother people andsituations' dependingonwhat thelatterdemandofthem,without beingheldback b; timidity,rigidityormistrust.Thisisthepriceofco-ordinatingthemselvesin mechanisms and projects. Engagei,Engaging, Mobile Enthusiastic, Involved, Flexible,Adaptable, Versatile,Having potential, Employable,Autonomous, Not prescriptive,Knows how to engage others, In touch, Tolerant, Employability (providing) Knowing how toengagein a project,togetfullyinvolved in, it, isthemark of the . To engage,one must becapableof enthusiasm. Furthermore,giventhattheprojectisacomplex,uncertainprocess,which cannotbeconfined withinthelimitsofinvariably incomplete contracts,one must knowhow to trust those with whom connectionsareformed - connec-tionsthat aredestinedto develop asthe project develops.But sinceprojects areby their very naturetemporary,the abilityto disengagefroma project in ordertobeavailablefornew connectionscountsasmuchasthecapacityfor engagement, Even atthepeak of engagement,enthusiasm, involvement in a project,peopleateaseinanetworkworldremain'adaptable,physicallyand intellectuallymobile(HEC,1994),preparedforchangeandcapableofnew investments, in order to increase their 'ability to respond to a changing world' (Crozierand Serieyx,1994). Far from being attached to an occupation or clinging to a qualification, the greatmanprovesadaptableand flexible,abletoswitchfromone situation toa very different one,and adjust toit;andversatile,capableofchanging activity or tools, depending on the natureofthe relationshipentered into with others orwithobjects,It ispreciselythisadaptabzlityandversatilitythatmakehim employable - that is to say, in the world of firms, in a position to attach himself tonew projects. Flexibility and adaptability here are qualitiesthat donot derivefromobe-dience. The great man in a connexionist world isactive and autonomous.He is 'his own leader, leader in his relations with those above and those below, leader in hisnetworks'(Serieyx,1993).The great man in the projectivecity retains theinitiativeinhisprojects,andknowshowtotakensksinordertomake THEFORMATIONOF THEPROJECTIVECITY113 connections,to beforevermaking new contactsthat arefullof possibilities: 'ThuS,theideaofa linkseemsto pros rather likea vein or seamtoexploit, in tile manner of a gold prospecter, You never quite know what isattheend of it.It issometimesnecessarytoturn roundand goback,giveupenroute, goandlook elsewhere'(Bellenger,1992).Alwayson thelookout,great men refusetobe impeded by rigid plans,for tofollowsuchplanscould result in squandering the opportunity for interesting connections.Plansand strategies would diminish their ca pacity for local action.7 But they know how to take full . advantageofeachsituationinitsuniqueness.s Forthesamereasonsthey appearspontaneous, incontrasttostrategists,whosemanoeuvresareoverly conspicuous,and frightenpeople. Theyknow how tolocate sourcesofinformation('beingaradar'[Bellenger, 1992]),andtoselectbetweenconnectionswith alotofnewpotentialand thosethat revert to routine existing links.They arecapableof optimizing the usetheymakeoftheirscarcest resource- time- by selecting their relation-ships with discrimination and, in particular, by avoiding linking up with people who occupy kindredpositions,and arethuslikelytocontributesuperfluous information and connections: 'Given that one can't do everything, what should one concentrate on? This is a question pros are familiar with' (Bellenger, 1992). In this city, the great man isa 'plunderer of ideas'(Serieyx,1993). For that, he must possess intuition and talent (in the sense in which we speak of an artist's talent). He 'scans the world around him in search of novel signs'(Sicard,1994), and knowshow toanticipate,sense,sniffout the linksworth pursuing. Thisistosaythat in a network worldthereisaclosecorrelation between the importanceofsocial capital and of information capital. Information isat once the result and the condition of multiplying connections,sothat inequal-itiesofinformationarecumulative.Tosucceedindiscoveringgood connections, such information must be integrated into a representation of the universe to be explored. In a network world, however, there can be no question ofanoverarchingrepresentation.Usefulrepresentationsarelocal,singular, circumstantial,ableto bedeployedfromonepersonto thenext,and bound up witha kind ofknowledgederiving from personal experience. But thoseofhigh status in the projectivecitydonotmerelyidentify con-nections.Theymustalsoshowthemselvescapableofbecoming established in them, by forging linksthat last aslong asisnecessary.Given that links pre-suppose the engagement of at least two people, they must avoid being rejected; on thecontrary,theymustattracttheattentionandsympathyofothers -interest them.9 Tothisend they must not betimid,or - whichboilsdownto the samething - soproud asnot totakethefirststepfor fear ofrejection. They write to people in the public eye to express their admiration and request adviceor ameeting.They regard everyoneascontact ableand any contact as possibleandnatural;theytreatwell-knownandobscurepeopleinidentical fashion.They tendtoignorethedifferencesbetween separatespheres- for 114THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM example,theprivate,professional,andmedia,ete.,universes.Forthemthe world isa network of potential connections.Inrespect of links, it'sallone. The great man in the projective city isnot a nowhere man. At ease whereYer he fIndshimself, healsoknows how tobelocal.In fact,since the network has nooverarching representation,actionsin it arealwaysembeddedinthecon-tingencyofa present situation.lo To adapt tothesituationsthat crop up, while preserving something unfamiliar that makes him interesting, connexionist man relieson hiscommunicationskills,hisconvivial temperament,hisopenandinquiring mind. But he knows also how to giveof himself, to be there asand when appro-priate, to exploit his presence in personal relations, in face-to-face encounters: he isalwaysavailable, even-tempered, self-assured without being arrogant, familiar withoutoverstepping thelimits,obliging,withmoretooffer than heexpects in return. Without hisdemanding information or going in searchof it,others give him the information he needs.ll He knows how tolisten,to giveanswers that are to the point, to echo people, to ask good questions. AsBellenger (1992) develops the point, he possesses 'a strategy for conducting relationships, a kind ofself-monitoring that resultsin anaptitudeforproducing signswhichcan facil-itatecontacts'.He knows how to 'beattentive toothers in order toidentify signsthat \vill make it possible to intervene advisedly in uncertain situations'; he possesses 'theabilitytocontrol andalter se!f-presentation,whichcanextend toacapacity forimprovizing appropriately,even for"lying withoutqualms"if necessary', aswell asthe'desireand ability to adjust hisown actions with ease, in order to adapt to different people'.Great men,past masters when it comesto self-monitor-ing, know how tojudge'otherpeople'semotionalstatesmore lucidly and are perceivedintheirturnasmore friendly,open,lessuneasy,lessanxious,less nervousintheir relationships'.Basically, they have'agood manner with people... [an]adroitness in the way they conduct themselves in the world, in making con-nections, in acting in sucha wayastoget whatthey want'(Bellenger,1992). They alsopossess'charm', in the sensethat they depart fromthestereotyped image one might have had ofthem before getting to know them. 12 They make itclear(withoutthisbeing attributabletostrategy or calculation)that they are not reducible to the statutory properties defIning them in their curriculum vitae. Faceto face,they arereal people, in the sense that, far frommechanically per-forming their socialroles-' in the way a programme isexecuted - theyknow how tostep back anddeviatefromtheirrole,whichmakesthemcaptivating. ButthesequalitiesdonotsuffIcetodefInetheconditionofgreatman, becausetheycanbeemployed inopportunisticfashion,as partof~purely individualstrategyforsuccess.Inthelogicofthecity,the greatarenotonly those whoexcelatexploitingthespecifIcresourcesconnected witha world, but alsothose who placethe capacitiesdisclosed in testsat the serviceof the common good.That istosay:intheprojectivecitytheyarenotonlythose who know how toengage, but alsothose who areable toengageothers,to offer involvement,tomakeitdesirabletofollowthem,becausethey inspiretrust, THEFORMATIONOF THEPROJECTIVECITYI15 they arecharismatic,theirvisiongeneratesenthusiasm.Allthesequalitiesmake them leadersofteamsthat theymanagenot in authoritarian fashion,but by listeningtoothers, with tolerance,recognizingandrespectingdifferences.13They are not (hierarchical)bosses, but integrators, facilitators,an inspiration,unifIers of energies,enhancersof life, meaning and autonomy. Theteam truststhem inasmuchastheyprovetobeconnectors,vectors,who donot keepthe informationor contactsgleaned in networkstothemselves, but redistributethem among theteam members.'Tomorrow's manager must ensurethat informationisshared,that itirrigatesthefIrmthoroughly'(Le Saget,1994). Insuch acontext,everyonecan'constantly andincreasingly improvetheir employability, both through these technical skills and their ability for teamwork, evenandespecially when theseteamsareflexible,neural,and rarelymadeup of the same individuals'(Lemaire,1994). The project headthus provzdesemploy-ability,anddevelops for others 'inthefum a network of personal relations that theycancounton intheeventofunforeseenproblems'(Landier,1991).In this way,'employability [can be guaranteed]- that isto say,a levelofskillsand flexibilityallowing each individual to fInda new job inside or outside the fIrm' (Aubrey,1993); employability isthus'a gift in return fromthefIrmto individ-ualswho areawareoftheir responsibilities in it'(Aubrey,1994). Mediator,PrOJect head Coach, Expert, Customer,Supplier, Innovator If everyone possessesthe capacity to relate, and thusto constitute a link in a network,somepeoplerealizethispotentialintheirpersoninexemplary fashion.In very generalterms,thisistrueof allthose who, playing an active role in the expansion and animationof networks, act asmediators, whether char-acterizedasstrategicbrokersableto'makestrategicexchangesoutsideof hierarchy andboundaries'(Aubrey,1994),as partners ~ fthethirdkind (Archier et al,1989), or astangential contributors. They possess theart ofreconciling opposites,andknowhowtobring verydifferentpeopletogether,andput them in contact. Such are,in thefIrst instance,pro;ect heads,'managers'(in contrast tothe old cadres),but alsocoaches,who stimulate,support thedevelopmentof managers and practise'the art of delivering minds'(Aubrey,1990). But such equally are customers,supplzersand subcontractors when they enter intorelationsof partnership. These innovators have scientists, and especially artists, astheir models.'The informal network. isthepreferredorganizationalmodeof writers,scientifIc 1 16THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM researchers and musicians, who develop in domains where knowledge is highly specialized, creative and personalized' (Aubrey, 1990). The intuitive manager,like theartist,'isaccompaniedbydisorder'(LeSaget,1992),is'inapermanent state of alert and doubt' (Vincent, 1990) and 'at ease inJluzd situations' (Archier et aL,1989). But the intuitive manager,thesourceofinspirationand thecoacharenot theonly modelsofexcellence.We sawinChapter1 that another figurealso liveson - theexpert,whose'leadership' is'based uponcompetenceand intel-ligence'(Arpin,1994),ona'highlyspecialized,creativeandpersonalized knowledge'(Aubrey,1994).Expertsalsoenjoyhighstatusintheprojecti,-e citybecausetheircompetence,whichisindispensable,iscomposednotof standardized knowledge but of personal, integrated knowledge.It is the fruit ofpast experience - that istosay,ofmultipleconnections, particularly with others possessing specific knowledge,formed during earlier projects, of which theypreservethememory.Dispensing withexpertswouldrequirebeing ina position torepeat their careers.Expertsareconsulted.But their image isless heroic than that of the prqject head,because they are deemed less adaptable.The project head isprecisely theone who provescapableofmaking connections between very different zonesof expertise. Whatalltheseexceptionalbeingshaveincommonisthattheyarein a positiontoexplorethelinkswiththerichestopportunities,thosethatwill extendthenetworkfurthest,whicharedefinedlargelybythedistancethey surmount.Not alllinksareofequivalentworth.Thestatusofa connection dependsupontheextent to which it hasestablished a mediationthat makes it possibletoabolishdistance.Insodoing,creatorsoflinkstemporarilyfind themselvesin thepositionofkeyholder,l4sinceallthose who inturn want to crosstheboundariesthey havetraversedwill,foracertainperiodoftime, haveto go through them.The most interesting linksoften consist,infact,in crossing zoneswheretherewere few,if any,mediations(structural holes,in the terminologyofRonaldBurt).15 This distance, the crossing 0r gradual reduction of which defines the quality ofthe links created, can bereferredto in different ways.Itcan bereferredto intemporalterms,whenold,dormantconnectionsarereactivated.It canbe alludedtoin.rpatial terms,wheneverthereisco-ordinationinrealtimewith otherswhoarespatiallydistant('[t]hestartingpointwillbetoignoregeo-graphical distances'[fapscott andCaston,1994])- particularly bytaking full advantageofmodern meansof communication(theInternet) - aswe see in the example ofthe'global laboratory', which isnot geographically located and allowsresearchers in thesamediscipline,but scattered throughout the 'world, to collaborate in solving thesameproblem.1GAnd above all,it can be evoked in institutional or sOlial terms,when thebeingsbetweenwhomsome transfer is established, and who are proximate in space and time, were hitherto separated byboundariesisolatinginstitutions,disciplines,domains,or(inPierre THEFORMATIONOF THEPROJECTIVECITY1 17 Bourdieu'sterminology)fieldsfromoneanother.Theformsinwhicha distanceisovercomedefinedifferent waysofpossessing highstatus.Thus, whereastheexpert isaboveallrich in linksofthefirst(temporal)or second (spatial)types, the prq/ect head or source inspirationexcelsin establishing con-nectionsbetweendomainsorfields:heestablishescollaborationbetween people fromdifferentdisciplinesor professions, belonging to variousdepart-rn'ents, institutions or firms, and brings together, for example, two experts each of whom hasexperience, but in different domains. In a network world, where the more unpredictable and remote connections are,the more likely they are to prove profitable, the classhabitus,on which the spontaneousconvergenceoftastesreliesinpredominantlydomesticsocial orders, is no longer a sufficient support for intuition or flairY On the contrary, thegreatmanishewhoestablisheslinksbetweenbeingswhoarenot only removed from one another, located in different universes, but alsodistant from hissocialbackgroundandthe circleof hisimmediaterelations,This iswhy, unliketheoldbourgeoissociety,acapitalismthat incorporatesconnexionist justifications acceptsthose who, thanks to a rather erraticcareer path(at least in theiryouth),haveafundofexperienceandareacquaintedwithseveral worlds,endowing them withconsiderable adaptability. Theverdictdeliyeredon thequalityofalinkdoesnottakeintoaccount onlythedistance that it hasmade it possibleto bridge - that isto say,itsex-anteprobability(lesslikelylinksbeing more prizedthanvery likelyones).It also takes account of the degree to which the link, once established, has proved fruitful in the sense that its result isto refocus and extend the network bypromptingtheemergenceofnewlinks.Inthisway,wecandistinguish between(a)linksthat arehighly probable but largelyunproductive,suchas those established between the members of a clique, where the connections are compact and within everyone'sreach, but defineaself-enclosedset;(b)very probablebut nevertheless producti,-e links,in thesense that theyopenon to the outside world,suchasthe linksthat popularizers orjournalistsmake;(c) linksthatareveryunlikelybutalsoveryunproductive,suchasthoseestab-lished by the misunderstood forerunner or, worse, the crank or madman who, findingnoonetofollowhim,cannotoperateasakey holder;andfmally(d) linksthataresimultaneously unlikelyandhighly productive, which createthe statusofthe innovator or audacious project head. All theinstrumentsofconnection New technologies, Informal relations, Relationsoftrust, Partnership, Agreements, Alliances, 118THENEW SPIRITOFCAPITALISM Su bcon tracting, NetworksoffIrms, Network fIrms, Link,Loop, Synapses,Neurons, Projects In a world where the principal operation isestablishing connections, it isthus normal to fInda marked presence of new communication technologiesbased on computer science(Internet, interfaces, etc.). The characteristics of our corpus, composed exclusively of management texts,certainly entail an overrepresen-tationofinstrumentsofindustrialdimensions,tothedetrimentofmore familiardevices for making contact (such asvisiting cardsor addressbooks). Numerousinthedomesticworld,suchobjectsarereinterpretedinother contexts,sothattheycantaketheirplaceintheconnexionist ~ o r l dofthe projective city. Thesame may besaid of the mechanisms, primarily entrepreneurial mech-anismshere(subcontracting,flexible.rpeiialization,out-soureing,autonomousunits, franchises),whichcharacterizethe postmodern, post-Fordist,'re-engineered',network, etc., firm. Thedescriptiveterminologyoftheconnexionist worldispulledintwo differentdirections:eithertowardsathematicofactionwithoutasubject, where the only entity that counts isthe network, where what occurs isof the anonymousorderofthe id,ofselforganization(,theorganization increasesits capacity for self-organization'[Crozier and Serieyx, 1994]); or towards a neo-personalism, which emphasizes not the system, but human beingsin search ofmeaning.Thissecondorientation isdominantbecauseit ison itthat the normative,ethical dimensionoftheprojectivecity largelyrests.Hencethe importanceaccorded to face-tofacerelations,totakingresponsibility,totrust,to situationsexperienced in common,to givingone'sword (whichisworthallthecon-tracts in the world),to mutual aid,toco-operationin establishingpartnershzps,in setting up pro/ects, in constructing networks:'trust isestablished in time through theconsolidationofbehaviour involving reciprocal understanding,through a whole learning process' (Weiss,1994). Giyen that what matters most is intan-gible, impalpable,informal- a termthat characterizesboth relationsand therufes ~ rthe game, which are invented asone goes along - the most appropriate orga-nizationalmechanismsarethuslikewiseinterpersonaJ.18Innumeroustexts, thesetwo dimensions - thesystemicand the personalist - overlapto a great extent. Thegeneral natureoftherhizomorphousformisdeclinedbymeansof different meta phors, which ref er ei ther,in traditional fashion, to weaving (stitch, loop,knot);ortothedevicesin whichfluidscirculate(jlow,oil pzpeline,channel, electric cables);or, in more modern fashion,tothe biology of thebrain (synapses, THEFORMATIONOFTHEPROJECTIVECITY119 neurons,etc.).Thislastregisterisemployedinparticulartoemphasizethe autonomyandeventhe volitionofthenetwork,which isstronger than that of thebeings immersed in it,and whose propertiesarethen described inthe languageofselforgani'(fltion,self regulation,and .rpontaneous morphogenesis. Finally,theproject isindeed the central mechanism of the city that bears itsname.It 'hasat itsdisposalunityof time, but not unity of place.It must optimize internal resources,compare them with external resources,and make thebestuseof experts organized in network strutures'(HEC,1994). Unemployable Unadaptable, Doesnot inspireconfIdence, Authoritarian,Rigid, Intolerant, Immobile,Local, Rooted, Attached, Status(hasone),Security (prefers) In a projectivecity,the littlepeople arethose whocannotbeengaged,whoare notemployableonaproject,orwhoproveincapableofchangingprojects. Different grounds for non-engagement identify different types of little person. Given that trust and relational qualities are the cement of projects, the unem-ployableonesarethosewhodonot know howtoinspiretrust,orcannot be trustedbecausetheydo not deliverwhat isexpected of them, or do not cir-culatethe information they possessandare'out for themselves' - which isa form of dishonesty in their engagement (opportunism). The basic rule is'rec-iprocity:thebest-intentionedarediscouragediftheyreceivenothingin exchange for whatthey have given. Anyone who retains information that could beuseful tootherstohimself isa killerof networks'(Orgogozo,1991). Likewiseinferiorarethosewhodo notknowhow to communicate,because they are impervious or have fixed ideas,are authoritarian and intolerant, making them incapableif compromise.They resemble all 'the office "miseries", the sullen types, the individualists who withdraw into themselves, never go out, don't participate intheend-of-year drinks,shuncocktails,return to the hotelpronto, and plant themselves in front of the tele, that absolute "network-killer'" (Bellenger, 1992). Rigidity,which,astheconverseof flexibility,inthisworldconstitutesthe main failing of little people, can have different origins. It can derive from attach-menttoasingleprojectthatitisimpossibletolet goofwhenanewproject comes along;or from attachment to a place which, by rendering them immobile androotingthem in what islocal,confIneslittle peopletotheexisting circleof 120THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM links,andpreventsthemmakingnewconnections.Finally,itsorigincanbe foundin apreferencefor secun'tyeven at theexpenseofautonomy. Thus, in a projective city someone who hasa status isnot mobile.Someone who hasa statusknowswhat toexpect from life: what their dutiesare(what isexpected ofthem)and what their rightsare(what they can expect of others). Ifthedisadvantagesattachingtoastatusstemprincipallyfromthelimitsit imposesonpeople's inthelogicofthecitystatutory ad\'antagesaresuspectedofconcealing injustices.Forby establishing people inasituationofcontinuity,they make it possibletoavoidthequintessential testsrepresented by the momentsoftransitionfromoneproject toanother. ClosureofthenetJvork Corruption, Privileges, Buddy-buddy relationships,Mafia The city fallswhen the network isno longer extended and, closing in on itself, benefitssome people,but no longer servesthe publicgood. This isthe case when the networker keeps information to himself, weaves connections in secret, unbeknownst to histeam, in order not to share the links hehasestablishedandretainthebenefitsforhimself,avoidingasituation whereotherscanpursuethem without going through him('the most impor-tantadaptivefunctionofa networkconsistsinabsorbing and redistributing information'[Landier,1991]). This monopolistic conduct leadsfairly rapidly to the closure of the network on itself for two reasons.On the one hand, the activity of the networker, who actsaloneandwithoutothersknowing it,isratherquicklyrestrictedbyhis availability in time.On the other hand, maintaining hisconnections exclusively forhimself,hehasnoincentivetoconstructnewones- unlikethemajor mediator of the projective city who,redistributing his linksto place them in the service of the common good, must incessantly discover new contacts, and thus extend the network, in order to retain the comparative advantage on which hishigh status depends. Closednetworkspermit privileges.Inthemthetestsof connectionsare distorted:theyare'networksofprivileges'thatencourage'string-pulling',19 which predominantly benefit themembersof corporatebodiesclosed in on themselves,tothedetrimentof otherswhoare in factbetter endo\ved with connexionistskills.Thisisthecasewith largebodies:'Forlargebodiesare todayanti-networksinasmuchastheyexerciseauthorityovertheir members inorder to further their own objectives'(Bellenger,1992). Closed networks that call a halt to their own extension, and which are appro-priatedfortheexclusivebenefitof'thosewhoareinonthem',arealso THEFORMATIONOF THEPROJECTIVECITY121 dangerous:'It wouldbeamistaketothinkthateverynetworkautomatically favoursenterpriseanddevelopment,asisclearlyindicatedbythedramatic eventsmarkingItaly'sattemptstorestructureaneconomyengulfedby networksofcorruption.Itisimportanttosweepawaythenetworksof "buddies",bureaucracyorcorruptionthatobstructthepathofprogress' (Aubrey,1994). Formsof justiceintheprojectivecity The elementsof grammar we ha\'ejust laid out clarify the principle of equiv-alenceon whichthe projectivecityisbased,andthe way it can beemployed tocharacterize persons and things, and to definethe conditionsof great man or little person. But we also know that in order to be robust in the faceof tiquesbasedonasenseofwhatisjust,thisspecificordermustbegeared towardsthecommongood,andsubmittoacertain numberofconstraints. We have already seen that great men are not only versatile, engaged and mobile themselves, but that they cause others to benefit from these qualities by striving toadvancetheiremployabilityatthesametimeastheydeveloptheirown. They do not keepwhat they garner via their connections for themselves, with theresult that the good networkremainsopenand expandscontinuously,to themaximumbenefitofall.Thespecifiespreciselythe natureof the relationsbetween great rpen and little people and, in particular, the way in which the ,because it contributes to the common good, contains the. In the civic city,for example,itisviapoliticalrepresentationthatthegreatman,electedby uni-versalsuffrage,representsallthe little people. Redistn'bution connections Putting in contact, Redistributing information, Integrating into networks, Providing employability The relation between great man and little people isjust when, in exchange for thetrustthatthelittlepeopleplaceinthemandtheirzealforengagingin projects, great men enhance the value of the more hum ble, in order to increase their employability - that isto say,their capacity,once one project isfinished, to integrate themselves into another. Terminating a project without worrying about what becomesofthosewhohaveparticipated initisunworthyofa greatman.'Inplaceofthetraditionalcontract,whichguaranteedsecurity, promotion anddevelopment, it isnow appropriate tomakean agreement that 122THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM createsasenseofbelonging,whichhelpstheindividualtomaintainhis "employability"orthevalueofhislabour,andwhichexploitsthevarious opportunities to learn whileat work' (Aubrey,1994). To that end, great men must redistribute the scarce goods they ha\'e access to- inthefirstplace,information('eliminatingtherestrictionsthatLimit everyone'saccesstoinformation'[LeSaget,1994]),andintegrationinto networks,'whosecollectivefunction istosupport andenricheachmember's assignment'(Aubrey,1990).They must 'publiciz[e]peopleoutsidetheirown departments,and...[plug]peopleintoorganizationalandprofessional networks' (MossKanter,1989). More generally, great men must inspire in otherstheir own dynamism, and awakenthemtothemselves,by liberating'theirtastefor thinking andacting with their talents', by 'making them collaborators, authors' (Serieyx, 1993), and byhelpingthemtopublicizetheirresultsinsucha way astoenhancetheir reputation. W/estill havetoclarify twoelementsthat arecrucial for theimplementa-tion of justice in a rhizomorphous world - what the grammar we are employing callstheaswell asthe. The isamajorcondition for the city's harmony, for byLinking accesstDthe tDa sacrifice, itarranges thingssothatbenefitsare'balanced'by costs.Highstatusprocuresbenefits forthepersonwhoaccedestothat condition.Butthecustomarysenseof justice also has it that 'you can't win on all counts': that people deserved access to high status on account of specific sacrifices which have, moreover, been of universalbenefit or,moresimply,useful to societyasa whole.It isthenjust that someone who isso deserving, and w ho has done so much for the common good, should be recognized as great, and enjoy the advantages bound up with thiscondition. Adaptability Being streamlined, Flexibility, Tolerance,Renting' Ina projectivecity,accesstotheconditionof great man presupposessacri-ficinganythingthatmightimpedeavailability- thatistosay, theabilityto engage in a new project. The great man renounces having asingleproject that lasts a lifetime (a vocation, a profession, a marriage, etc.), He is mobile, Nothing musthamper his movements.He isa 'nomad'.20 In thissense, all the sacrifices that are made have the effect of enhancing the streamlined character of entities - of persons, but alsoof things - in order to favour their reorganization when thenext project comesalong.Thus,'[tJheleaner organizationthat contracts THEFORMATIONOFTHEPROJECTIVECITY123 outforservicesdependsonthesuppliersofthoseservicesandtherefore benefitsfromcloseco-operation \\'ith them'(MossKanter,1990). The requirementtobestreamlinedfirstofallassumesrenouncingstabil-ity,rootedness,attachmenttothelocal,thesecurityoflongstandinglinks. \V'hen it comes to l.inks,to invest effort isto give up what one already hasfor anuncertain alternative:not toshut oneselfawayin pre-established links,so that one isavailable to tryout new connectionsthat might fail.In the knowl-edgethat time islimited, it isinfactadvisabletocarveout thetime to forge links with different persons and universes, rather than alwaysremaining in the same circleof people:'Being a pro means revising one'saccessibility in quasi-strategic fashion,Time can'tjustbe invented and soit is a question of making choicesanddaring to takedecisions,Apro'sappointments arehandled with extremecare'(Bellenger, 1992).Extension of the network thusdemandsthat people renounce friendship or, rather, that when assessing the quality of a link they abandonthedistinctionbetweendisinterestedbondsoffriendshipand professional or useful relations: [a]network is always based on strong interpersonal relations,situated beyond work in the strict sense., .. Depending on the case, such trust can be, founded on situations that were experienced in common in the past,on belonging to thesameinstitution,on theexistenceofa commonobjective or project,on relationsoffriendshipor,mutual respect,evenon merecomplicity derived frombeingconnectedtothesamecommunicationsnetwork.(Landier, 1991), Thus, it can be said of 'social and family networks' that 'this capital represents relations which, in addition to satisfaction on a human level,offer a potential contributiontotheenterpriseenvisaged'(Aubrey,1994).But whileconnec-tions with members of the extended family,assimilated to a network, can prove profitable,therestricted family,like thegroupof'oldmates'or thecliqueof 'officeneighbours',preservesthetietoold,supersededconnections,and by that token representsa burden, a handicap. Great men in the projective city arealsostreamlined in that they are liberated from the burden of their own passions and values:open todifferences(unlike rigid,absolutist personalitiesattached tothedefenceofuniversal values).For the same reasons,they arenotcritical(except when it comestodefending tol-eranceand difference).Nothing must get theupper hand over the imperative ofadjustment,or hamper theirmovements.Theyaredeterminedexclusively byfactorsderiving fromthesituationand connectionsthey arecaught up in, which completely definethem.21The tolerance required to adjust to others can alsobeexpressedintermsofemancipationfrom'bourgeoismorality',The streamlined human being haslearnt from psychoanalysis- and,more gener-ally,fromthe diffusionof'interpretation asexerciseof suspicion'22 - that one 124THENEW SPIRITOFCAPITALISM mustknowhow to freeoneselffrommoralismby castingsuspicionon the hidden motives involved in moralizing ventures andacknowledging the validity of ambivalence.The numeroustoolsofanalyticalprovenanceintegrated into the projective city thus aim to developrealism:they serveto look reality in the face - including (or especially) the reality of desire, treated asone datum among others - but also,by thesametoken,torecognizethe limits placedon desire by reality.In a network world, it isthus realistic teibe ambivalent(incontrast tothebosswho isallof one pieceinthe hierarchical world),becausethesit-uationspeople havetoconfront arethemselvescomplex and uncertain. According tothesame principleof eliminating anything that might hinder mobility,the streamlined human being must not be attached to a burdensome patrimony, and should prefer to ownership other formulas that provide access totheenjoymentofobjects,such asrenting.Inthisinstance,distancewith respect to ownership does not derive from some ascetic contempt for material goods, which it isperfectly licitto haveatone'sdisposalandtoenjoy,but is simplytheresultoftheneedtostreamlineoneselfsothatonecanmove aroundeasily. For thesamereasons,connexionistmanlikewisetendsnot tolethimself betrapped by institutions, with all the various obligations that entails, and not to allow himself to become entangled in a web of responsibilities towards the other people or organizations he has responsibility for.That is why he prefers torenounce official power in favourofnetwork formsofpower,23freedof the constraints of supervision, invigilation, management, representation, and respectforthestaterulesregulatingtheuseofgoodsandthemanagement of human beings. He leaves that to others. For he prefers autonomy to security. Great meninthe projectivecitylikewiserenounce exercising anyformof domination over others by taking advantage of statutory or hierarchical prop-ertiesthat would vouchsafe them readyrecognition. Their authority depends exclusively on their competence. They do not impose their rules or objectives, but agreetodiscusstheirpositions(principleoftolerance). Underlying thesedifferent formsof renunciation we find a morebasicsac-rifice:thatof personality,inthesenseofamannerofbeingthatexpresses itself in similar attitudes and conduct whatever the circumstances. 'The image ofthechameleonisatempting one fordescribing thepro,whoknowshow toconducthisrelationshipsinordertoreachotherpeoplemoreeasily'" adaptabilityisthekeytothenetworkspirit(effortshavetobemadetotake thefirststep),(Bellenger,1992).Streamlinedpeople sacrificea certain interi-ority and fidelity to the self, thebetter toadjust to the people with whom they come into contact and to the ever-changing situations in which they are obliged toact(thisalsoassumesrenunciationofthe hubrisofcalculationinfavour ofa limitedrationality). Consequently,streamlinedpeoplecan root themselvesonly in themselves (,the self-enterprise') - the sole instance endowed with a certain permanency THEFORMATIONOFTHEPROJECTIVECITY125 in acomplex,uncertainandchanging world.However,thequidditythat is recognizable isnot the resultofa pre-existing endowment, or even ofa tra-jectoryorexperience.Itderivesfromtheconstellationofestablished connections. They are themselvesonlybecausetheyarethe 1l11ksthat con-stitutethem. arejust asnecessary for fulfilling the requirements of justice, and for their inscription in thefabricofeveryday relations.Thesearesitua-tionswhen the statusofpersonsand things isrevealed with especialclarity. Disagreement overaclaimtostatuscanberesolvedonlythroughatest on which assessments can converge, and which for that purpose must be wholly uncontaminated- thatistosay,directedtowardsmeasuringstatusand nothing else.Thispresupposesthatanyriskofcontamination byformsof statuspertaining to alternative worldshasbeen excluded.Thetest provides proof of status. It must be amenable to demands for renewal since, asa res.ult oftheabilityformallyaccordedeveryonetoaccedetocondltlonsofhigh status and theof a definitive status to persons(which would be at variance with the existenceof a human community), people must be in a position toreveal changes in theirconditionand havethem recognized. As for the , it characterizes the manner, different in each city, in which theoutcomeof the test ismarked. The isthe mode of knowledge peculiar to the world under con-sideration.Thesecategoriesaim todefinethequalitiesandtheactsofthe personsengagedin a test.So-and-so will beadjudged great if hedoessome particularthing and inferior ifheexhibitsa particular kind of behaviour. Theenda project and thebeginningif another People cannot be judged on the basisof asingle project, becausetheir status revealsitselfin the modeltest andthis,aswealready know,isthetransition from one project to the next. It iswhen a project isfinishedthat the key hold-ersare revealed and anappraisal isconducted. Appraisal ispositive in the case of those who,having enhanced their reputation in the course of the project theyareleaving,succeedinintegratingthemselvesintoanewone. Contrariwise, it isnegai:ivewhen an inability tomaintain or develop linksand to liaise with others disqualifiesthe applicant. In fact, links are a form of capital that doesnot belong to those who have theuseofthem.By way ofsanction, linkscan alwaysbeunilaterally withdrawn bythose with whom they are made. Ifthemoment ofthetransitionfromoneprojecttoanotherconstitutes thetest par excellence,inthelogicofaprojectivecitytheworldisthemore testing _and hencealsothe morejust - theshorter,the more numerous, and themorechangeable projectsare. 126THENEW SPIRITOFCAPITALISM Being called onto participate Inserting, Causing to participate, Speaking of, Avoiding,Keeping at a distance, Ignoring,Rejecting,Excluding Peopleareappreciatedifotherswanttomaketheiracquaintance,tomeet them,calluponthem,or work with them.Thosefromwhomnothing isto beexpected areavoided,kept at adistanceor,more simply,ignored.One of thepeculiaritiesofnetworkformsisthat,unlikewhatoccursintotalities definedby an inscription of spatial order in a territory (nations, districts, etc.), oftemporalorder inahistory(lineage),oroflegalorder inaninstitution (administrations,churches,etc.),thosewhoaredepreciatedloseallvisibility and even, in a way, any existence. For in thelogicofthis world,existence itself isa relational attribute:every entity, and human persons by the sametoken as therest,existstoagreateror lesserextent depending upon thenumber and valueoftheconnectionsthat pass via it. Thisiswhy suchaworldhasnosanctionsother than rejectionorexclu-sion,which,indeprivingsomeoneoftheirlinks(,disaffiliation',inRobert Castel'sterminology),24expelsthemtothemarginsofthenetwork,where connectionsareatoncebothsparseandworthless.Theexcludedpersonis someone who dependson others,but on whom no oneanylongerdepends, who is not wanted by anyone, who isno longer sought after, no longer invited, who,evenif hisaddressbook isfullofnames,hasdisappearedfromother people'saddressbooks. It follows that in such a world the mechanisms of justice are essentially pre-ventive. They must anticipate the possibility of failure by relying on predictive indicators. Anthropologyandnaturalnessinthe projectivecity Thequestionofa city's anchorage in a definitionofnature isa crucial one. First of all, it is important on the level of justice that all human beingshave theabilitytoachievebetterconditions,andonlyadefinitionofhuman nature guaranteesthe sharing ofthisability by the wholeofhumanity.The referstothis dimension in each city; it iswhat makes forequalityandpointstowardsthenaturalhumanpropertiesthatgive everyonethesameopportunitytoachievegreatnessiftheydowhatis required - inparticular,iftheymakethe indicatedsacrifices(comparethe 011 vol6 'SRIdSBrt'ModelsofNetworkStructure',Annua,evzew0; oao 0"",.,21eeona.u, Freud and Philosopby,trans. Denis Savage, Yale University Press,New HaVen and London 1970, pp.32-6.Ifl'nGroups'A 23SeeNoahFriedkin,'StructuralBasesofInterpersonalnuenceI61-72' LongitudinalCaseStudy', AmericanSociologcal Review, vo!.58,Decemberpp.8. 24Robert CastelLe.r Metamorphosesde laquestionsoczale,Fayard,Pans..jI '.EECapitalism'Amencanourna25SeeDavid Stark,'Recombinant Property 1!las turopean, oj Sociology,':;.101,for"Lemons":Quality,Uncertainty and theMarke; 26Seeeorge,.I841970pp.488-500; and An EconomIc Theon.rts Ih.'Qrterly journal of EconomIcs,vo.,,._,l\ ecanlsm,ua.b'd1984' LKarpik'L'economie de la quahte , Bookof Tales, Cambridge University Press, Camnge,., Revue frantaisedesociologe, vo!.30,1989, pp.187-210. 158THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM 27Liberalanalysesofcorruptionandillegaltransactionsthusshowhowtheyared blbbI.1Ifrnae POSSleY0stac es, parucu ary 0a regulatory or state order, curbing the formation of a trans_ parent market: see Jean Cartier-Bresson'De ladefinition d'un marche de la corruption'1"..)aetude des sesformesorganlsatlOnnelles:un premier bilandesanal}'seseconomigues de lacorr., ...upuon, commumcaUontotheseminaron'Lacorruptiondanslessystemespluralistes',Poitier November 1993.' 28Adam Smith,TheWealthof Nations,Penguinedition, Harmondsworth1976, pp.232-3. 29See Brian Uzzi,'The Sourcesand Conseguencesof Embeddednessfor theEconomic Performance of Organizations: The Network Effect', American So,iologjcaIReview, vol.61,August 1996,pp.674-98. 30SeeEymard-Duvernay, 'Conventions de gualite et pluralite desformesde coor-dination', Revue economique,no.2,March 1989,pp.329-59. .31Thisisthe kindofchangethat the conceptoftranslationrelatestoinMichelCallon, 'Elements pour unesociologie delatraduction.La domestication descoguillesSaint-Jacgues et desmarin-pecheursdanslab"iede Saint-Brieuc',L'.r1nnliesodologjque,no.36,1986, pp.169-208. 32See Eymard-Duvernay andEmmanuelle Marchal, Fafons derecrutel:Le)ugement descompetencessur lemarcM dutravail,Metailie, Paris1996. 33Not knowing exactly what they aresearching for,left to themselvesinnovators arefaced with a corpus of texts, articles, works, patents that isoften vast and farremoved fromtheir own competences,wheretheselectionofpotentiallyusefulinformationforsomerecombination demandsknowledgeand,moreprecisely,asenseoforientationthat isacguiredonlythrough longexperience.Whyexploreonedirectionratherthan another? And select one work in library cataloguesratherthananother?Theinformationtransmittedinapersonalrelationship\vith someone trustworthy can entail a very significant economy in terms of time and effort. But there ismore.It isintherelationshipand personalexchange - in conversation - that informationis conveyed with the determinations or,by analogy with music, theharmonicsthat give it meaning (thisisthegualitythatjustifiestheexistenceofteachers).That istosay,moreprecisely,that it orientatesit inthedirectionoftheexpectationsandinterestsofthe personreceivingit,who, without thisformating,wouldnotbeableto'intuit'how it might beofuse. 34'Even with competitors, it seems indispensable to create opportunities and zones for co-operationthatmakeitpossibletolearnfromoneanother.Inthisway,possibilitiesfor development ina widersystemwillbeoffered,withouttherebyeliminatingorevenreducing competiton, but directing it towards a non-zero-sum game'(Crozier,1989).'[B]usinessathletes must know how to"compete" in a way that enhances rather than undercuts cooperation. They must be oriented toachievingthehigheststandardofexcellenceratherthantowiping out thecompetition.In the new game, today's competitors may find themselves on the sameteam tomorrowand com-petitors in onesphere may also becollaborators in another'(MossKanter, 1990).' 35Burt, Structural Holes. 36,[Olneofthe characteristicsofa network existence isthat it privilegesindividualcom-munication or proximity and ignoresmasscommunication' (Bellenger,1992).'Patagonia, which doesnot do publicity or promotion, useslobbying.Thanksto itsactivitiesindefenceofforests and endangered species,it hasa network of some250ecological associations, which aresome-times very active,todevelopits350sales points' (Ettighoffer,1992). 37'Our elites aretrainednottohear.But the development ofevermorecomplextotali-ties,thedeclineoftraditionalhumanistconstraintsandreferencepoints,andlastlythe accelerationofthemediawhirlwindtendincreasinglytoobscurerealityasitisexperienced' (Crozier,1989). 38SeeElisabethClaverieandPierreLamaison,L'impossible71lariage. Violenceet parenteen Gevaudan)xviif)xviii")xix' siixles,Hachette, Paris1982. 39SeeBernardLa ProtestationdansI'usineetsesmodesd'ob/ectivation:desgraffitiaux tracts,Souology DEA, Ecoledeshautesetudesen sciencessociales,Paris1984. THEFORMATIONOFTHEPROJECTIVECITY 159 40'In a familyfirm nobody kids anyone. Too much is known by all about all' (Toffler, 1990). 41SeePierreBourdieu,LucBoltanskiandPascaleMaldidier,'Ladefenseducorps', Irrformation sur Ics sdencessodales,vol.X,no.4,1971, pp.45-86... 42Sabine Chalvon-Demersay, 'Une societe elective.ScenarlOs pour un monde de relatlons .hoisies', Terrain,no.27,September1996, pp.81-100.. c43MarkGranovetter,'The Strength of WeakTies', Amerit'ClnJournalif Soczology,vol.78, 1973,pp.1360-80..,.. 44The following list of the changesthat have to occur accordmgtoSerreyx(1993)IS suf-ficientindicationofhow the network worldcontrasts with the industrial world:'from guantity production toguality production, from pyramid to from terntory to flow;from Sllnple delegation to the principle of subSldlant)',fromcentralrzedorgamzauonto self-organ1zauon.:. frompersonnel to persons...from reduction toorder at any cost to recogruuon of the dynanllc virtuesoftheparadoxical,thecontradictory,the ambiguous,fromregulationsto therule' . 45SeeIrene Thery,LeDe71laliage,Odile Jacob, Paris 1994. 46See Chalvon-Demersay, 'Une societeelective'. 47See Burt, 'Models of Network Structure'; Callon, ed., Ces Rliseaux que laraison ignore;Alain Degenne andMichelForse,LesReseauxsocz'aux,ArmandColin,Paris1994;andStanley Wasserman and Katherine Faust,SociaINetworkAna!ysis, Cambridge University Press, Cambrrdge 1994. 48It isthus,forexample,that the model fromDela justificationthat we haveused here to giveshape to the projectivecity, and whose original, purely descriptiveaim wasto contribute to ananthropologyofjustice,canbemisappropriated tosupport amoralorrentaUontailoredto the activity of networkers, if one regards the possibility - with which thismodel endows people _ofchanging ethicalprinciplesand legitimacydependingonthesituationsor worldsexperi-encedasa markofhumanexcellenceor the basisforanew morality:the 'best' arenot'rigid'; they know both how toengageand toalter their engagements; to adjust tothe situation and to adapttonewsituations,andsoon.Asafurtherexampleoftherapidity withwhichthenew model isvulgarized, weshallcite the advice proffered bya familyspecialist recently explaining, on the airwaves of a nationalchannel, that contrary to what had hitherto been believed,the new familiesofdivorceeswere farfrombeing unfavourableforchildren'seducation,becausethey developedtheir capacity for adaptation in a complex universe,foradjustment, and forthecon-structionof diversified links, which isprecisely the capacity they willneedtomake their way ill life and, inparticular,tosubmit tothe operations of the labour market. 49Thefollowingmanagement authorsaretheonlyonestodeploy comparativelyrecent referencesfromthehumansciences:Herve Serieyx,Omar Aktouf,Lionel Bellenger, Philippe Cruellas,IsabelleOrgogozo,Hubert Landier,Edmond Adam, covering only 11text-fliesout of 66.Asforreferencesto contemporaryscientists,theyareused in two-thirdsofcasesby the sameauthors:HubertLandier,BobAubrey,PbiJippeCruellas,HerveSerieyx,Claude-Pierre Vincentand Lionel Bellenger, involving3 text-filesout of66.It will neverthelessbeobserved that the 1990s authorsaremore open to thescientific worksof theirtimethanthosefromthe 1960swhoconfined themselvestoa few management authorswhen they felt theneedtocite. 50Thus, for example, Aktouf cites Crozier, Peters and Serieyx; Aubrey cites Landier, Serieyx andPeters;LandiercitesAubreyandSerieyx;OrgogozocitesAubrey;SerieyxcitesAubrey, Crozier,Genelot,Landier,Le Saget, Orgogozo, andsoon.The network ofcitationsneverthe-lessextends beyond the authorsofthe corpussince,of the 63management authorscited, only 15belong toourcorpus.For the most part, the others involve writings predating our corpusor untranslated Anglo-American authors, who for thisreasondonot feature in the corpus. 51 Theparticular geniusof Ivan Illicharguablyconsistsinshifting theangleof visionin ordertoadopt aviewpointon the most effectiveandmost modernarrangements- thoseon whichcapitalism seemsmost justified inpriding itself- which isthatofthoseforwhom these arrangements ;'vere not made, who are invariably still excluded or impoverished by them: that is 160 THENEW SPIRITOFCAPITALISM to say,the standpoint of the poor. Thus, for example, he observes the motorwafrom. pomt oftheMexican peasant whohasto gotosellhispitkdYthe Vlew_ th'(g amaret,anassessesthesPedf e Journeyverylow,inthe event)entailedbythistech'l',e 0 1(TnlCamstrumentexammedfrothi ang eoolsfor Conviviality,Calder &BoyarsLondon 1973)Ithfff'.ms th'h' d,. 1steeectothlsswltchof" at rrugtilleed bedeclared revolutionaryBtfth.VIS10n bymanagement literature..uore samereasons,It cannot be recuperated 52Thus, we could take asan example Daniel Parrocchia'sbook Ph 'I h'J U'.,dIOSop le aes reseaux (Pr ruversltaueseFrance, Paris1993)whih.'d"eSSes ,d''c, COmcImg toaconsiderableextent withth c1te1!l La Planete relatzonnelle (PrigogineVarelaBatesont)11 auors rtff',, ec.,aows usto complete the staciad 1S 0reerencesassociated with theconstitutionofth'd'b"nr fhi]h(W'IS paraIgmy extendmg It on theid oposopylttgenstein,Deleuze,Lyotard)or thedisciplinesofcom"se coo-ruti.(W,mUlllcat10nandthe ,,- vesCienceseaverandShannonWT (B..'lener,urner,etc,),ormathematicalmd11'enzecn, Mandelbrot, Thom),or finallytowardsgeographyandthestudf0,emg systems.y0commulllcatlOn 53'Expatriateworkforcestcloat findthemselvesinthemostcor places in the world are already familiar with this feeling:a feeling thatItan ;topoversand fromtheitoriginalcommunityinfavourofa.eImeslstancesthem (Ettighoffer,1992).verystrongrelatIOnshipwithoneanother' .154 The role of the UnitedStatesand Great Britain inthe creationof internationalfi:: ;arke;sthelegislationand financialcontrolsdeveloped after the great crisisof.es noutteremonstratton. Allowmg Britishbanks from the1960sto developthk 111 eurodollarswhichIe maret rI', .grew very strong y especially after 1973, when the Americans lifted certain begu atoryrestnctlllons,thegovernmentsofthetwocountriesunleasheda processthat rapidl}' ecame uncontroableAll fi.Ih liftanytI'cl nanClacentresave progressively had gradually to deregulate and conro smorertowithstandthecompetitionoftheCityofLd. Chesnais, La .i10ndialisation du capital,Syros,Paris1994..onon.SeeFran\:Q1S TheInternetwasinitiallyconceivedasamediumofabsolutefree.. tehnecowuoralgdeddits verbY rapid development in the United Statesbefore itrWI ewewasspundhh'.. much mdiffi1.' anteanarclC creatIOnofsiteserected into asystemit was borelCU ttoexerCIseanycontrol whatsoever over the networkwith the' ausesthat weareaWarftd(,,consequent .,e 00ayterronst and Nazi sites, sitesfor trafficking of childr tltutton, etc.).en, pros-,55'[)Jamsinthecommunicationnetworks'(BlakeandMouton1969)',[tJhedalif functtonalankdoperational,meansthat thewiresarejoined at ISslonnetworsTheft'Ik. '.....unclOnanetworIS no moresubordinatetoth. netwerkthanItIS superiortoit'(Bloch-Laine1963)''thh'I.eoperattonal ,h),e otlzontaandvertIcalcom. tlonscaracteristicof work in a "network" dI'(1\1.mUnlca-56'Rhh'eve opaurlceetal.,1967). , _thatertanregardmg formal organization as an instrwnent for realizing the firm'sob'_ tt\ es,.eystressthemformalrelationshipsthatintersectwiththeformalstructuref orgamzaoonmsuchawaythatth'k0e ,.. ,IS networcanserveasasupport fortheoranization's goals(Monsen, Saxberg andSutermeister1966)'Ntkhd"g 1I',. e worstat areeJure but which arecos: y connected Withrealities,areconstructed'(Aumont,1963). 57Soph1eCOlgnardand Marie-ThereseGu'hdLeb.." rfseaux d'influence,Grasset,Paris1997.IC ar,sonnes ,FequentatlO1ZS:h,stolresecretedes 58Theirtarget isan articlepublished inLe Alonde,14May 1996inwhichMikeBk' soclOlegt.stwho studies cadres',declares that networks are no Ioner 'oleLst -leure,a Slve,Withsystemsof string-pulling'but'Iaterall[.]Ig .)clans, closed, exclu-centresofcorn'"yUnltepeopefromdifferent department,in mon mterest.. 59SeeParrochia,Philosophiedes rfseaux. I60SeeJacobLevyMoreno,WhoShallSurvive?ANew ApproachtotheProblem01'H nterrela/lOns,BeaconHouse,NewYork1934and'L.hd'..vuman )amet0esocl0mettlqueensociologie', THEFORMATIONOF THEPROJECTIVECITY161 Cahiminternationauxdesociologie,vol.2,1947,pp.88-101.It istotheseworks,focused onthe issueof 'influence' and'leadership'deemed central in a period markedbythemobilizationof the masses behind the words of a leader,that weowe notions which arestill at the heart of the contemporary sociology of social networks, likethoseof clique(individualsconnected in a more or lessstablefashion,formingasubsystemof commun.icallon withinthegeneral system);of bridges(individuals who, while belonging to one clique, make links with another clique);of con-nections (individualswho alsobuild bridges,but without belonging toany clique);and soon. 61An anthropologist pupil of Gluckmann,Jeremy Boissevain (PnendsofP,iends: Networks, ManipulationsandCoalitions,Blackwell,Oxford 1974)hassystematized theapproach tothestudy ofMediterraneansocietiesintermsofnetworks,onthebasisofthesenlinalworksofthe ManchesterSchool,particularlythoseofBarnesandMitchell(seeJamesClydeMitchell,ed., Social Netlvorks in UrbanSituatl'ons,:VfanchesterUniversity Press, Manchester 1969).Hisresearch has been particularly focusedon phenomena of clientelism in southern Italy and thentheisland ofMalta.Hehasbrought outtheimportanceof whathecallsbrokerr,intermediariesand go-betweensbetween different networks. This term and thedescriptionswith which it isassociated havesince been widelyadopted, especially byhistorians. 62Thesemodelsareoftentransposed today,more orlessmetaphorically,tothestudyof humansocieties.Moreover,it isthisreference,implicitbutfrequent,that justifiesthe usewe makeof the adjectiveconnexionist, einorder to referto some of the most specific characteristics of the new spirit of capitalism with one word. 63Vincent Descombes, Philosophie pm'gros temps, l\1inuit, Paris 1989, p.169. As a result, struc-turalismmay indeed,asDescombesindicates,be regarded asthe'latestmanifestation'ofthe modernist project: that of a 'unified science' which 'succumbs to the temptation of the grandiose programme',a phrase which(according toDescombes)Putnam usestodefinethe projectof Carnapand the ViennaCircle.With identical enthusiasmCarnapbelieved inEsperanto,social-ist planning and the ideal language of science, which islikea cite radieuse of the spirit [anallusion to the radiant citl' built by Le Corbusier, an expression of the modernist project in architecture] . ...That iswhy andheandtheViennaCirde neverstoppeddeveloping vast programmesor provocativemanifestoes:soon, human knowledge would bereduced to physics,soonphysics wouldbetranslatedintopurelyfactualobservationsconnectedbypurelylogicalrelations.' Similarly, for structuralism, 'it would one day be shown that the structures of representation are thoseofthe mind, that the structures ofthemind arethoseofthebrain,andfinallythat the structuresofthebrain,whichisa material system,arethoseof matter'(ibid.,pp.165,169). Such programmes are reduetl'onist in that they aim totranscend phenomenal appearances in order tounveiltheforms(structures)which aresimultaneously deeper,more originaland more realthan thephenomena,vis-a-vis which they play the role of generating matrix. 64Ibid., p.170. 65See:Vfichel Serres, Hermesoulacommunicatl'on,Minuit, Paris1968. 66Michel Serres, HermesII.L'intciffrence,Minuit, Paris1972, p.128; Parrochia, Philosophie des rfseaux,p.59. 67'Inthesepointsofconnexion,it isa questionof receivingamultiplicity of channels, whatever they might be,of flows, whatever they carry,of messages, whatever their content,of objects,whatevertheirnature,etc.,andredistributingthismultiplicityinanyfashion.Inthe totality of exchanges that flow in the network, such and such a node,specificcrest,starred centre or pole,performstheroleofa receiverand redistributor,synthesizesand analyses,mixes,clas-sifiesand sorts,selectsand emits.It imports and exports':Serres, Hermes n, pp.130-31. 68SeeDeleuze, Spinoza. 69They make it possible to describe'socio-technical networks', composedof collectionsof 'human'and'non-human'beings(naturalentities,animals,technicalor legal constructs,etc.), whereinthe connexions - definedasso many 'tests' where what isat stake isthe possibilityof one network being speaking for or representing another (being its'spokesperson' or 'translating' 162THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM it)- would lead to thecreation of more or lessstabilized associationsno longer subject to inter_ pretationorcontroversy('blackboxes').Inparticular,thisisthecasewith'scientifictruths' which arepresented astrue statements once they have beenaccepted and no longer arouse troversy.See,forexample,MichelCallon,'Reseauxtechnico-economiqueset irre,-ersibilite',in Robert Boyer,ed.,Riversibilite et irreversibiliti eniconomie,EHESS, Paris 1991, pp.195-230; and Ces reseauxque laraisonignore;BrunoLatour,Les J1icrobes,gtlerreet paix,suivide Irreductions,Merailie Paris1984;and Science in Action, Open University Press,Milton Keynes1987.' 70Chapter12,'Treatise on Nomadology: The \'>;'ar Machine', of Deleuzeand Guattari's A ThousandPlateausthusopens with acontrastbetweenthegameofchessandthe gameof go. The image of chess - which,aswehave seen, wasused by structuralism to underscore the rela-tionalcharacteroftherelevantconstructions- isstilltooponderousfromthisstandpoint, becausethe chesspieces have a fixed,legal identity, since it is written into the rulesof the game. Thisrestrictstheirmm-ementsand givesthemtheponderousnessof astlbjectendowed with a substantial identity.Contrariwise,thepiecesinthe game of go areempty units, which arefilled or characterized onlybytheir position inanarrangement of a reticular kind. 71Here we arethinking in particular of the ,-ersionsof Althusserianism that invaded soci-ologicalthought in the firsthalfof the1970s - for example, in anauthor like NicosPoulantzas, whoseinfluence wasfor someyearsconsiderable,beforethe suddenoblivionofthe1980s. 72Without subscribingtothe marxisant oversimplificationofbaseversussuperstructure, wecannot ignore the obvious analogy between thesetwo formsof dualism:the critique in man-agement of hierarchical, planned organizations in the name of the fluidity of networks, and the critiqueinepistemologyofsystemsinthenameofmultiplicityandchaostowhich Jacques Bouveresse refers:'The secretof successseemstoconsist intheconsistent applicationof pro-ceduresof thefollowingkind:ononeside,aseriesof notionsthat areconnoted negatively -suchasreason,system,order,unity,uniformity;law,determinism,necessity;repetition,ete.;on theotherhand,theiroppositesconnotedpositively- (poetic)intuition,fragmentation,chaos, multiplicity,polymorphism,anomaly,chance,accident,invention,ete.It will betakenasestab-lished thatthe concepts of the first category, which have obviously served their time, have always been dominant andthatthose ofthe second category have been scandalously undervalued, neg-lected, ignored,suppressed,concealed,repressed,ete.Fortunately, themoment of revengeand reparation,whichopenslimitlessperspectivesforscience,thought andhumanity,hasfinally arrived'('LavengeancedeSpengler',inLeTempsdelarijle:xion,vo1.4,Gallimard,Paris1983, pp. 387-8). 73OswaldDucrotand Jean-MarieSchaeffer, Notlveatldictionnaireencyc!opediqtle dessciencesdu langage,Seuil,Paris1995, pp.180-81. 74'In social network analysis...[r]elational tiesamong actorsare primary and attributes of actors are secondary.Employing a network perspective, one can also study patterns .of relational structuresdirectly without referencetoattributesof the individualsinvolved':\'>;'assermanand Faust,SOtiaINetworkAnalysis, p.8. 75Granovetter, 'The Strength of WeakTies'. 76Very explicit in this respect isthe founding article, now some twenty years old, published in 1976 by White, Boorman and Breiger. Sociology, they say in the preamble to this long method-ological \vork published intwo successive issues of the American journal of SOtiology,conlffiues to articulatenotionslike'category'or'class'thatarelegaciesofthenineteenthcentury,whence they conveythearchaicvisionofacompartmentalized,closedworld.It istime,theyadd,to dispense with tlus outmoded image in order to fashion new descriptive toolsattuned to the open characterof modern societies:'[a]1Isociologists'discourserestson primitiveterms - "status," "role,""group," "socialcontrol,""interaction,"and "society" donotbeginto exhaust thelist-whichrequireanaggregation principle inthat their referentsareaggregatesofpersons,collec-ti,-ities, interrelated "positions," or "generalized actors." However, sociologists ha,-e been largely content to aggregate inonly two ways:either by positingcategoricalaggregates(e.g.,"functional THEFORMATIONOF THEPROJECTIVECITY 163 .1.",otpm"." "classes") whose relation to concrete social structure hasbeen tenuous; or bycross-according totheir attributes(e.g.,lower-middle-class Protestants who live areas and vote Democrat) .... In contrast to the standard wisdom, there isa growing empiricalfindingsregarding the effect (andfrequency)of "accidents" and "luck" in the ">;"ctual functioningofsocieties[i.e.thedistancebetweenthe categoricalmodel, whichalinsto : identifythespecificeffect of'''-ariables'',and reality],(HattlsonC.Whlte,ScottA.Boorman and1. Breiger, 'Social Structure fromMultiple Networks.1. BlockmodelsofRolesand ..positions', American journal ofSodology,vol.81,no.4,1976, p.733). 77See Degenne and Forse, Le s Riseallx satiaux. 78Themost influentialoftheseworksasregardsour subjecthasdoubtlessbeen Jiirgen Habermas'sTheTheoryofCommtlnicativeAction(published in1981andinFrenchtranslationin 1987).Abulky and not readilyaccessible work, itsdiffusionwasfacilitatedby numerouscom-mentaries.In our 1990scorpus, it isreferred to by Orgogozo(1991). 79See White, Boorman and Breiger, 'Social Structure fromMultipleNetworks'. 80See Padgett and Ansell,'Robust Action andtheRiseof the Medici,1400-1434'. 81Our managementauthorsdonot missthe opportunitytomobilizethisvery reference todemonstratethatbusinesshasalwaysbeenconductedwithnetworks:'Organizationinto networksinfactlargelycoincideswiththehistoryofeconomicdevelopment.Wespeakof "trading networks", "banking networks"and, more recently, of "television networks". The sitionintheWestfromthefeudalperiod,dominatedby warlords,tothemarketeconomym whichwelivetodayoccurredgradually,through acontinual effort tocreatenewlinks.It was necessary to transport merchandise from far-Dff lands, and that requited reliable correspondents who could be entrusted with one'sinterests.A key word:trust. Such,moreover, ISthe ongm of the billof exchange. Thedescription Fernand Braudel givesofsixteenth-century practicesis striking in thisregard'(Landier,1991). 82SeeGary Becker, 'A Theoryof the Allocation of Time', The Economicjournal, vol. Lxxxv, no.299,1965,pp. 493-517. 83See Kiyokazu Washida,'WhoOwns Me?Possessing the Body,or Current Theoriesof Ownership',IichikoIntermltural,no.7,1995, pp.88-101. 84'Infeudallandownershipwealreadyfindthedominationoftheearthasofanalien power over men.The serf isan appurtenance of the land.Similarly the heir through primogen-iture,thefIrst-bornson,belongsto the land.It inherits him.... In thesame wayfeudallanded property givesitsname to itslord, asdoesa kingdom toitsking.Hisfamilyhistory,the history of hishouse,ete._all this individualizeshisestate f or him, and formally turns It mto hishouse, intoaperson':Karl Marx,'Economicand Philosophical Manuscripts', in 1\1arx,EarlyWritings, Penguin/NLR, Harmondsworth 1975,p318. PART11 THE TRANSFORMATIONOFCAPITALISM AND THENEUTRALIZATION OFCRITIQUE 3 1968:CRISISANDREVIVAL OFCAPITALISM Bow wasthenew spirit ofcapitalism,and theprojectivecityfromwhichit drawsjustificationsintermsofjustice,formed?\X'eshallseekananswerto thisquestionby starting out fromthedynamicofthespirit of capitalism in sofar asits mainspring iscritique. \X' e shall show how the opposition that cap-italismhadtofaceattheendofthe1960sandduringthe1970sinduceda transformationinits, operationandmechanisms- eitherthroughadirect responsetocritiqueaimingtoappeaseit by acknowledging itsvalidity;or by attemptsatcircumventionandtransformation,inordertoelude it without havingansweredit.Inamorecomplexfashion,asweshalldemonstrate, evadingacertaintypeofcritiqueoften occursat thecostofsatisfyingcriti-cismsofadifferentkind,sothatopponentsfindthemselvesdisorientated, evenmakingcommoncausewith a capitalism they earlier claimed to becon-testing.Oneofour objectiveswillalsobetounderstand how thelarge-scale social mobilization that embodied critique at the end of the 1960sand in the 1970scould,in thespaceof afew years,disappear "\vithout amajorcrisisat the beginning of the 1980s. Infact,onecannotfailtobestruckbythe contrast betweenthedecade 1968-78andthedecade1985-95.Theformerwasmarkedbyasocial movement on the offensive, extending significantly beyond the boundariesof theworkingclass;ahighlyactivetradeunionism;ubiquitousreferencesto social class, including in political and sociological discourse and, more gener-ally,that of intellectuals who developed interpretations of thesocial world in termsofrelationsofforceandregarded violenceasubiquitous;adistribu-tion of value added that shifted in favour of wage-earners, who alsobenefited fromlegislationaffording greater security;and,at the same time,a reduction inthequalityofproductsand afallin productivity gains that wereattributa-ble, at least in part, to the inability of employers, directorates and management tocontrol labour-power. Thesecondperiodhasbeencharacterizedbyasocialmovementthat expressesitselfalmostexclusively in theformof humanitarian aid;adisori-entated trade unionism that has lost any initiative for action; a quasi-obliteration 168THENEW SPIRITOFCAPITALISM of reference to social class(including in sociological discourse), and especially the working class, whose representation isno longer guaranteed, to the extent that somefamoussocialanalystscanseriously assert that it nolongerexists; increased casualization of theconditionof wage-earners;growth in income 'inequalityandadistributionof valueaddedthat isonceagainfavourableto capital;and a reassertion of control over labour-power,marked by a very sig-nificantreductionindisputesandstrikes,adeclineinabsenteeismand turnover, and an improvement in the quality of manufactured goods. Order reignseverywhere. The main objective of political action in Europe sincethefirstcrisisof modernity attheendof the nineteenth century! - the construction of a political order in which the capitalist economy could expand withoutencountering too much resistanceor bringing too much violence in its train - seems finally to have been achieved. And this has been done without havingtocompromisewithsocialclassesrepresentedatthepoliticallevel, unlikethesolutionnegotiatedbetweentheendofthe1930sandthebegin-ning of the1950s. How couldsuchachangehave come about in suchashort time-span? It isdifficulttoanswerthisquestioninasmuchastheperiod underconsidera-tion isnot marked by any'sharp political breaks - a change of political power in an authoritariandirection(like a military coupd'etatwith the proscription of unionsand imprisonmentof militants),forexample,or anultra-liberalturn (as with Thatcherism in Great Britain) - but,on thecontrarY,by comparative continuity.Thiswasassured,in particular,bythearrivaloftheSocialistsin gm-ernmentin1981,whichseemedtoextendandentrenchtheMay'68 movement politically.Nor can weevokeclearlydefinedeconomiceventsof majorsignificance,liketheWallStreet crash of1929,forexample.Andthe term 'crisis', used to refer to the yearsthat followed the firstoilshock, proves inapposite if, as issometimes thecase,oneseeksto apply it to an entire period that wasin fact marked by a massiveredeployment of capitalism. OurinterpretationtakestherevoltofMay'68anditssequelsseriously (rather than stressing the symbolicaspectsof what a nU11?-berof commenta-torshavetreatedasa'psychodrama');andweshallregarditasamajor phenomenon from two contrasting angles.On the one hand, we are dealing, ifnot with a re,-olution in thesensethat it did not leadto aseizureof polit-icalpower,thenatleastwith aprofound crisisthat imperilledtheoperation ofcapitalismand which, atallevents, wasinterpreted assuchbythebodies, national(CNPF)or international(OECD),charged with itsdefence.On the other hand, however, it wasby recuperating some of the oppositional themes articulated during the May events that capitalism was to disarm critique, regain theinitiative,anddiscoveranew dynamism.Thehistoryoftheyearsafter 1968 offers furtherevidence that therelationsbetween the economic and the social - toadopt theestablished categories- arenotreducibletothedomi-nationofthesecondbythefirst.Onthecontrary,capitalismisobligedto 1968:THECRISISANDREVIVALOFCAPITALISM169 offerformsofengagementthat arecompatible withthestateofthesocial worldit isintegrated into,and with theaspirationsofthoseofitsmembers who areabletoexpressthemselvesmost forcefully. I.THE CRITICAL YEARS The worldwideconflictsthat marked the year1968 werethe expression of a very significant rise in the level of critique directed at Western societies.Forms of capitalist organization, and the functioning of firmsin particular, were the targetsoftheprotestersand,asweshallshow,thiscritiquewasnotmerely verbal but accompanied by actionsthat entailed a not insignificant disruption of production.Acrude indicator of the level of critique,at least in termsof work,canbefoundinthestatisticsforthenumberofstrikedays,which averagedfour million in theyears1971-75. By comparison, thisnumber was to fallbelow halfa million in 1992. Thecombinationof thesocialcritiqueandtheartisticcritique Animportant featureoftheperiodaround1968isthatthecritiqueof the timedevelopedfromthefoursourcesofindignationweidentifiedinthe Introduction. The firsttwosources are at the heart ofwhat can becalledthe artisticcritique,whilethelasttwoarecharacteristicofthesocial critique.These two typesof critique(which,aswe haveseen,are not automatically compat-ible)arefrequently combined in the revolutionary movements of thesecond halfof the nineteenthcentury and the first half of the twentieth,especially inFrance.Butwhereastheartisticcritiquehadhithertoplayedarelati,-ely marginal rolebecause itsinvestigators - intellectuals and artists - were few in numberandperformed virtually no role in thesphereof production,it was to find itselfplaced at the centre of protest by the May movement. The French crisisofMay had thedualcharacter of astudentrevolt and a working-class revolt.The revolt by studentsand young intellectualswasin fact extended to cadresor engineerswho had recently left theuniversitysystem,andservedas atrigger for a very widespread working-classrevolt.2 The workers, mobilized against the threats posed to them - especially wage-earners in traditional sectors(mines,shipyards,the iron andsteelindustry)-bytherestructuring andmodernizationoftheproductiveapparatusunder-taken in the1960s, wouldspeakthe languageofcapitalist exploitation,'struggle againstthegm-ernmentofthe monopolies',andtheegoismofan'oligarchy' that 'confiscates the fruitsof progress', in the tradition of social critique.3 The working-classrevoltcanthusbeinterpretedastheresultoftheeconomic policypursued sincethearrivalof theGaullistsin power,andasa response totheprolongedexclusionofunskilledandsemi-skilledworkersfromthe benefitsofgrowth,andtoanunequaldistributionofthecostsofgrowth 170THENEW SPIRITOFCAPITALISM borne by differentcategories.4 Moreover,theemployers'reportof1971on theproblemofsemi- and unskilled workers wouldrecognizetheexceptional character of the French situation when it came to the wage inequalities suffered byblue-collar workers.5 Students(and young wage-earnersrecently graduated from universities Or the grandes ecoles),who had seen their numbers increase significantly during the previousdecademarked by the universityexplosion(the number ofstudents enrolled in faculties virtually quintupled between 1946 and 1971, from 123,313 to 596,141),6 but had simultaneously seen their conditions deteriorate and their expectationsof obtaining autonomous, creative jobsdiminish,7instead devel-oped a critiqueof alienation.It adopted the main themesof the artistic critique (already pervasive intheUnited Statesinthehippiemovement):on theone hand,thedisenchantment,theinauthenticity,the'povertyofeverydaylife', the dehumanization of the world under theswayoftechnicization and tech-nocratization;ontheotherhand,thelossofautonomy,Stheabsenceof creativity,andthedifferentformsofoppressioninthemodernworld. Evidenceof this in thefamilysphere wasthe importanceofdemandsaimed atemancipationfromtraditionalformsofdomesticcontrol(,patriarchal control')- that istosay,inthefirstinstance,women'sliberationandyouth emancipation. In the sphere of work and production more directly of interest tous,thedominant themes were denunciation of 'hierarchical power', pater-nalism,authoritarianism,compulsoryworkschedules,prescribedtasks,the Tayloristseparationbetweendesignandexecution,and,moregenerally,the divisionof labour.9Their positivecounterpoint wasdemandsforautonomy and self-management, and the promiseof an unbounded liberation of human creativity. Theformsofexpressionofthiscritiquewereoftenborrowedfromthe repertoireofthefestival,play,the'liberationofspeech',and Surrealism. it It wasinterpretedbycommentatorsas'an irruptionofyouth'(EdgarMorin), asthe manifestationof'a desireto live, to expressoneself,to befree',!!ofa 'spiritualdemand'(MauriceClavel) ,ofa'rejectionofauthority'(Gerard Mendel),ofcontestationofthebourgeoisfamilyand,moregenerally,of domesticformsof subordination. Thesethemes, whichrevivedtheoldartisticcritiqueby translating it into an idiom inspired by Marx, Freud andNietzsche,aswell asSurrealism, were developed inthesmallpoliticalandartisticavant-gardesofthe19 50s(one thinks in particular 0f5 ociaiisme ou bm'barie and I nternationale situati onniste) , !2 long beforeexploding intobroaddaylight inthestudent revoltofMay'68,which wasto givethem an unprecedented audience, inconceivabletenyearsearlier. Theyansweredtotheexpectationsandanxietiesofnewgenerationsof students and cadres,and spoke to the discrepancy between their aspirations to intellectualfreedomandtheformsof work organization to whichtheyhad tosubmit in ordertobeintegrated socially.!3 1968:THECRISISANDREVIVALOFCAPITALISM171 Nevertheless, wemust guard against inflating the divergencesbetweenthe ;o'nfHcIlLcontestationandtheformsofprotestexpressedinfirmsintoan opposition. Themes pertaining to both critiques - thesocial andthe artistic- weredevelopedconjointly in theworldof production,particularly py technicians,cadresor engineers in hi-tech industriesandby theCFDT.The , .Iatter,competingwithaCGTthatwasfirmlyimplantedamongmanual . workersandskilled workers,sought tomobilizeboth intellectual workers and semi- and unskilled workers. Inthecontextoffirmsinthe1970s,thetwocritiqueswereformulated primarily in termsof a demand for security (asregards the social critique) and a demandforautonomy (asregardsthe artisticcritique). In those of its aspects directly related to work at least,the critical movement ineffectchallengedtwotypesofdivision.Thefirstfocusedon powerand, more particularly,the distribution of the legitimate power ofjudgement. Who hasthe right tojudge whom?According to what criteria?Who isto give the orders, and who is to obey? Its point of attack was most of the tests that involve thefacultyofappraisalanddecision-making at work,especially makingdeci-sionsfor others.It wasexpressed in achallengetothosein command andto hierarchy and by a demand for autonomy in the tradition of the artistic critique. The second division o:;oncerned the distributionof risks and, more specif-ically,ofthe ups and downs in lifeexperiencedirectly or indirectly connected withmarketdevelopments.Thecriticalmovementaimedtoincreasethe securityof wage-earnersand, inthefirst instance,ofthose who, possessing neithersavingsnoraninheritance,werehighlyvulnerabletotheimpactof changedeconomic circumstances or modesof consumption on the produc-tiveapparatus.Inparticular,itappliedtotestsinvolvingtimeand,more especially, those that define the kind and degree of solidarity linking the present to the past and future:for example, in cases where it is agreed to make holding a certain typeof postdependent on obtaining a particular educational quali-fication,paying on a monthly basis,calculating apension,or definingalevel ofunemploymentbenefit.The constructionofstableintertemporallinks(if Ipossessaparticularqualification,Iwillbeentitledtosomeparticular post; IfIoccupy that post for so many years, Iwillbeentitled to a particular level of pension)mustensurepeople'scontinuitybetweentheir current condition andpotentialfutureconditions.Peopleat work being eminently changeable (they age,theircapacitiesdiminishor,on thecontrary,grow withtheir expe-rience),thisoperationcanbeperformedonlybystabilizingidentitywith categorial instruments(acategorybydefinitionincluding anumberof indi-viduals,collectively),henceguaranteeingpeopleanoJficialstatusthat isitself dependentontheirattachmenttoacategory.Challengingthejustcharacter oftestsassumesadifferentmeaningdependingon whether wearedealing with atestofperformanceorstatute.In thefirstcase,'it isn'tjust'signifies thatthe relativereward,or the rankingofstatus,isnot aligned with relative 172THENEWSPIRITOFCAPITALISM performance.In thesecond,'it isn'tjust'signifiesthat people havenot been treated in accordance with their statute(there wassomespecial dispensation privilege,etc.).Furthermore, weusuallyreferto'justice'inthefirsti n s t a n c ~ and 'socialjustice' in the second. The way in which tests are resolved concerning power and distribution of thecapacitytodeliverlegitimatejudgementson theone hand, securityand the distribution of risks originating in the market on the other, affects the cap-italisttest par excellence:profit.Where theformer isconcerned,anincrease in demandsforautonomy,intherefusaltoobey,inrebellioninallitsforms, disrupts production and has repercussionson labour productivity.\Vhere the thelatter isconcerned,protectingwage-earnersagainstrisksoriginating in markets has the effect of increasing firms' vulnerability to market fluctuations and increasing labour costs. The demands for autonomy and security, which originally derived from dif-ferent sources, converged in the yearsafter1968 and were often embodied by thesameactors.Ontheone hand, itwasobviously in sectors whereprotec-tionwasbestguaranteed,andwheretheneedforaveragelyorhighly academically qualified personnel was great, that demands forautonomy could beexpressed with most vigour - that istosay,instudy or researchservices, teaching or training, belonging to the publicsector, the nationalizedsector, or largehi-techfirmswheretheCFDThappenedtobeparticularlywell implanted. On theother hand,those who did not have a statute often backed up their demands for autonomy with equivalent demands for protection. The young graduateswho,facedwith what theycalledthe'proletarianization'of their positions, demanded moreautonomous, more interesting, more creative, moreresponsiblework,didnottherebyenvisagequittingthewage-earning class.They wanted more autonomy, but within theframework of large organ-izationsthat could offerthemjoband careerguarantees. The conjunction of these two typesof critique,simultaneously aiming for more autonomy and more security, posed problems. In effect, critiques focused on the fact that judging forothers isunjust,contesting the command struc-ture,anddemanding autonomy - theseleadtoanemphasisonindividual performance(peoplemustbeasautonomousastheirabilitypermits). Contrariwise,critiquescentredontheunequaldistributionofmarketrisk, which demand a strengthening of security, incline towards testsof a statutory variety. To press these twotypesof demandssimultaneously, and radically, can pretty rapidly lead todemanding a world without tests - without professional testsintheusualsense,atleast - which hassomefeaturesin common with the communist stagein Marx(which,aswe know,assumed a societyof abun-dance).Insuchaworld,securitywouldbeguaranteedtocompletely autonomous producers whoseappraisal by a third party would never be legit-imate(aswesee,for example, in thedualdemandfor a student wageandthe abolitionofexaminations). 1968:THECRISIS ANDREVIVALOFCAPITALISM173 Thedisruptionof production May 1971, a meeting of employment experts from various West European the United Statesand Japan washeld in Paris under the auspicesof the OECD. The rapporteur was Professor R.W Revans, adviser tothe Belgian IDdustry/University Foundation. This group conference wasprompted by the "'phenomenonofadeteriorationin workers'behaviourtoday',bya'harden-. ,iugofattitudes'and'flaggingmotivationinindustry'.The'industrial economies.. ,areundergoingarevolution'that'crossesallculturalbound-;ries'. Occurring simultaneously in alltheOECD countries, it 'is not restricted to workers', but isalso'influencingthe conceptionsand reactionsofcadres'. This'revolution'takestheformof a'challengeto authority'.It isprevalent, sothereportinformsus,'eveninnationswheretheProtestantethicwas expressed with thegreatest moral vigour and materialsuccess'(forexample, Germany,theNetherlands,Great Britain ortheUnitedStates,wheresome young people' go so far asto prefer poverty or begging to factory work'). The crisisofcapitalism was deemed especiallyacute in 'industrial France', which 'endlessly debatesthe need toconstruct asociety"without classes, hierarchy, authority orregulations'''; and in Italy,acountry where'the effectsof indus-trialconflictsand social malaiseare constantly combined',and 'minor details oftechnicalprogressinworkplaces...provokeconflictswhoseviolenceis outofallproportiontotheircauses'.Inthesetwocountries,butalsoin Germany,'established authority hasbeendemolishe