This book is devoted to discussion of the views of Pierre Musso and starts with a central
chapter written by Musso entitled Network Ideology: from Saint-Simonianism to the Internet .
Pierre Musso is a French philosopher and is one of the most original thinkers in the history of
the network society. His thought develops a critique of information and communication
technologies through their imaginary and social representations and of the information society
based on the network metaphor. The main question on which Musso has focused his attention is
how the network metaphor is one of the most powerful ways of understanding the complex
societies in which we live. Showing characteristic attention to detail and drawing on the
history of ideas political philosophy and sociology Musso traces the genealogy of the network
imaginary and points out that it did not emerge with the Internet. He shows how its modern
roots can be found in Henri de Saint-Simon and his disciples engineers and entrepreneurs such
as Michel de Chevalier and Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin who developed channel networks
railroads and the telegraphic network in France in the nineteenth century. In addition to the
central piece written by Musso the book includes a general introduction and six commentaries
from experts on information technologies and networks. It displays a wide range of perspectives
from a diverse set of authors in terms of nationalities and universities as well as
disciplinary backgrounds.
