
Internet galaksija: Razmišljanja o internetu, poslovanju i društvu
An indispensable sociological study by Manuel Castells, author of the trilogy “The Information Age.” The title alludes to McLuhan's “Gutenberg's Galaxy,” emphasizing that the Internet represents a new communications revolution.
Castells avoids futurology and predictions, but rather, based on empirical data and analysis (as of 2000–2001), describes how the Internet is shaping society in the network age. The book is structured in chapters:
- The history of the Internet and its development from a military-academic project to a global network.
- The culture of the Internet – the libertarian spirit of hackers, openness, collaboration and counterculture.
- E-business and the new economy – how the Internet is changing companies, creating the dot-com boom (and bubble), enabling flexible networks and globalization.
- Virtual communities and the network society – the Internet is not only creating virtual worlds, but also reinforcing real social ties.
- The politics of the Internet – its role in civil society, the state, movements (e.g. anti-globalization), freedom of speech and the digital divide (the exclusion of the poor, the elderly, and underdeveloped countries).
- Conclusion on the implications for identity, power and social change.
- Castells highlights a duality: the Internet liberates (democratizes information, enables participation), but marginalizes those without access and reinforces inequalities. The book is accessible, informative and critical – it avoids technological determinism, emphasizing that society shapes the Internet as much as it shapes society.
In Croatia and the region, it was important in the early 2000s for understanding the digital transformation. Today it reads as a classic introduction to the sociology of the Internet and the network society, although some technological predictions have been surpassed (e.g. the pre-boom of social networks), the analyses remain relevant to the digital divide, the platform economy and the political power of the online.
One copy is available





