CUTTING THE NETWORK

New technologies have stimulated the rehearsal of old debates about wh at is new and what is old in descriptions of social life. This article considers some of the current uses to which the concepts of 'hybrids' and 'networks' are being put. It could be seen as following Latour's call for a symmetrical anthropology that gathers together modern and n onmodern forms of knowledge. In the process, the article reflects on t he power of analytical narratives to extend endlessly, and on the inte resting place that property ownership holds in a world that sometimes appears limitless.