OUT OF UTOPIA - THE PARADOX OF POSTINDUSTUIALIZATION

An important segment of writings on postindustrialization is distinctl y utopian in stressing the greater mastery and control made possible b y recent innovations in information technology. The utopian theme unde rscores the technical outcomes of innovations and highlights their ben efits for ameliorating social problems. By contrast, our work suggests that many of the social problems in contemporary society are a conseq uence of recent innovations in information technology. We argue that p ostindustrial theorists are correct in stressing mastery over certain technical problems but incorrect in slighting the destabilizing effect innovations have on organizations and the markets in which these orga nizations participate. These destabilizing effects complicate organiza tional strategies by increasing market risk and uncertainty. Since mos t organizations are risk aversive, social problems are created as orga nizations externalize their costs and pass along risk to other, more d ependent actors. Illustrations from two institutions, politics and the economy, indicate that many postindustrial innovations are associated with heightened competition as well as greater risk and uncertainty a cross the institutional order. We conclude that postindustrial technol ogy introduces no net gain in managing the complexities of the social world. Risk and control are both integral to technological innovation and constitute the paradox of postindustrialization.