Más allá del "general intellect"

Abstract

In advanced capitalism, science & technology are at the forefront of production. Nevertheless, traditional forms of reasoning (eg, fuzzy logic), or what Marx called 'general intellect,' far from being simply subordinated, are being fundamentally reconstituted in line with post-Fordist thinking. The departure from Marx's view of science is due to the synergy between traditional scientific reasoning on the one hand, &, on the other hand, forms of knowledge production which are diffuse, social, commercial & co-operative. This latter form of knowledge production sustains the circulation of goods in the market. We need to point out that this is not uniformly 'high tech'; it is more like a heterogenous, neo- or post-Fordist mixture of applied, commercialized science, on the one hand, & insecure conditions of employment on the other. Barcelona's 'City of Knowledge' ('ciutat de coneixment') project, which is supposed to involve, & be supported by, 'citizens,' claims to embody these conceptions through a number of initiatives (22@, Parc de Reserca Biomedica, Campus Mediterrani de Castelldefels....). Nevertheless, megalomaniac enthusiasm aside, the upshot of this messy project has been a city & metropolitan area configured as a 'living factory', a banana state with more or less complex technology, & a profusion of salaried executives.