信息技术空间：权力、网络经济特征与财富分配

【作者】 杨剑；

【导师】 黄仁伟；

【作者基本信息】 上海社会科学院 ， 世界经济学， 2008， 博士

【摘要】 信息技术对人类社会的影响与先前的技术发展相比有一个质的变化——它构建了自然形态上并不存在的空间。信息技术空间能部分地将人类的生产、生活等社会活动吸纳进来。本论文与一些研究信息技术对国际政治和世界经济影响的著作不同,不是在国际政治和世界经济传统研究领域引入信息技术这个因素,而是将信息技术空间这个特殊的空间作为研究域。以信息技术空间的资源属性和权力属性为切入点,运用苏珊·斯特兰奇的结构性权力说以及福柯的空间与权力嵌入理论分析信息技术空间中权力结构,这些权力结构部分地决定着空间中行为体之间的关系,也决定着相关财富的流向。论文在讨论网络经济特征的基础上,对信息技术空间建造过程中权力结构的嵌入进行了理论分析,并对各种国际行为体在信息技术空间中多领域竞争进行具体分析。这些行为体包括国际组织、国家(技术核心国家、技术新兴国家和技术边缘国家)、国家集团、国际组织、企业(垄断企业、技术后发企业)、网络社区(如开放源代码运动)等。竞争的层面包括空间的竞争、管理权的竞争、平台的竞争、编码的竞争和标准的竞争。论文重点分析结构性权力的形成和作用,研究信息技术空间中各类行为体的权力地位、影响力、垄断和反垄断的博弈以及财富流向。全文主要内容如下:从国际政治经济学的角度看,国际间权力的运作和经济往来,一个重要的目的就是获取资源。资源被许多政治学者视作权力。信息技术空间的资源包括空间资源、时间资源、信息和知识资源、注意力资源、信息技术基础设施的市场资源等。本论文在第三章讨论了信息技术产业的经济特征。信息技术产业的经济特征是技术与市场结合后共同作用形成的技术经济机制。本文重点梳理了信息技术产品的网络效应;系统和技术标准对产业和用户的锁定效应及转换成本;技术标准与兼容问题;事实技术标准在拓展市场和获得垄断地位中的作用等。讨论了锁定效应引起的市场失灵,以及具有公共产品特征的信息产品因为研发动力不足引起的市场失灵问题。全球化和信息化条件下资源重心出现转移,信息技术开始成为重要资源。信息技术空间中资源控制边界无法靠国界和军事控制边界来划定,而技术的编码在很大程度上扮演了这样一个边界的角色。本文第四章借用了福柯的关于空间构建与权力嵌入的理论和苏珊·斯特兰奇的结构性权力说来分析信息技术空间中结构性权力关系的形成,并对各种行为体所受信息技术权力结构的规训做了分析。第五章讨论的是美国数字边疆战略。重点分析了信息技术空间中影响美国获取财富的权力结构,从企业和国家层面探究美国企业精英、技术精英和政治精英经略数字边疆的方式和过程。通过对美国信息技术发展计划的历史追述,得出了一条美国政府建立信息技术空间的控制中心、拓展数字边疆、建立信息技术空间的游戏规则、最终帮助美国的企业获取新空间新资源的能力的路线图。美国的技术企业承担着将全球财富向美国聚拢的任务。美国在互联网中的霸权成为它获取新资源和扩大影响力的工具。在第六章本文分析了美国网络霸权的各种形态,分析了美国网络霸权的历史由来和由技术决定的结构性权力。本章运用产权、公共选择、相互依赖与制度变迁的分析框架对目前全球互联网管理的相关权力关系进行分析。因为拥有主要基础设施的产权,美国成为互联网核心管理者。一些网络化国家希望改革体制分享互联网的管理权,网络边缘国家则希望获得援助跨越数字鸿沟。在互联网资源结构和产权归属没有大的变化的前提下,美国控制互联网的局面不会有根本性的改变。信息技术空间中存在着系统平台之间的竞争与兼容的对立统一。在第七章中论文选择了欧洲的伽利略系统和美国的GPS系统之间的竞争为研究案例。首先分析了欧洲启动伽利略计划的政治、经济和技术动因,考察了美国GPS在垄断状态下技术创新动力的减退以及服务品质低劣的状况;并在此基础上研究挑战者伽利略计划和应战者GPS之间博弈的各种选项。从信息技术特性和市场期待出发,考察了两个平台之间从冲突到妥协的过程,以及这个过程所带来的社会福利。软件不仅仅在技术层面作为工具而存在,同时也在经济、社会和政治层面掌控着信息技术空间的游戏规则。有关软件开发、传播、增修的实际规则、公共政策和法律包含着权力、资源和财富分配的意涵。在第八章本论文从分析开放源代码运动入手,考察编码的管理与控制在软件生产和流通过程中的权力角色,并考察该运动对财富分配和发展中国家经济发展的意义。开放源代码运动的产生和发展对编码产权化制度形成了巨大冲击,在为社会提供了大量的免费软件的同时促进了软件业的竞争,对软件垄断企业构成了挑战。它的存在促进了专有软件的创新和逐渐开放,减缓了少数企业利用编码控制知识资源疯狂敛财的步伐,扩大了社会总体福利。它的产生和发展对于发展中国家加快数字化步伐,缩小数字鸿沟,共享信息技术成果发挥了积极的作用。技术标准意味着财富和国际权力,它不仅是世界高新技术产业竞争的制高点,而且是产业经营的高级形态。围绕技术标准的国际竞争日益成为市场主体间的技术、经济和政治的动态博弈。中国是一个信息技术新兴国家。中国的技术标准战略是一个决心掌握信息资源分配权的战略,是一个从“在中国制造”向“中国创造”跃进的战略。在第九章中,论文从编码、标准与权力的关系入手,从微观和宏观两个层面对技术标准竞争进行了分析,并探讨中国技术标准战略突破结构性权力限制的策略。巨大的产业规模、创新研发能力、庞大的市场以及国际间讨价还价能力是制定并拥有技术标准的基本条件。中国技术标准战略具备成功的基本条件并取得初步成效,但同时也面临着市场和标准制定体系两方面的权力结构限制。中国企业在国际技术标准体系中的地位只能通过符合权力结构的长期博弈逐渐得到改善。信息技术空间是一个人类用技术平台建构的空间,它的出现引发了各种国际行为体之间围绕资源和权力的竞争。这一空间中的结构性权力与信息技术知识相关,技术先行者在建构信息技术平台时已经将对自己有利的结构性权力嵌入,形成了信息技术空间的霸权和严重的不平等和不公正现象。另一方面由于信息技术特有的网络特征和平台兼容的需要,国际行为体之间在竞争的同时也存在着合作、妥协的一面。更多还原

【Abstract】 Information and communication technology (ICT) is creating a new virtual space, cyberspace. Cyberspace can partially absorb human’s activities.This dissertation takes cyberspace as a research object instead of only an element that has an impact on the global politics and world economy. This dissertation starts with an analysis on the resources and power in the cyberspace. By means of the theory of structural power summarized by Susan Strange and embedded power in a space by Michel Foucault, this dissertation analyzes the power structures in cyberspace, which can partially determine the relations among the actors in the space, and also determine the distribution of the relevant wealth.After discussion of the characteristics of networked economy, this dissertation analyzes the competition among the actors for the structural power during the construction of the cyberspace. The actors include nations, nation groups, international organizations, enterprises and network communities. They compete for power in the cyberspace and they struggle for win in the competitions of technical platform and code and technical standards. The resources have been taken as potential power in the field of global politics. The resources in the cyberspace are quite different from the ones in the natural space. They include space resource, time resource, information and knowledge resource, attention resource and the market resource of ICT infrastructure.Chapter Three discusses the economic traits of the ICT industry. The discussion focuses on the network effect of the ICT product, lock-in effect and switch cost, technical standards and compatibility, and the role of the de facto standards in the market competition. The market failure caused by lock-in effect and by lack of supply of public good.In the era of globalization and information, ICT resource is paid more and more attention. In the cyberspace the ICT resource can not be controlled and maintained by nation’s borders and military control lines. The technical code can play the role as a control border. By means of the theory of structural power summarized by Susan Strange and embedded power in a space by Michel Foucault, this dissertation analyzes the structural power in the cyberspace, and analyzes the disciplines that the actors received. Chapter Five discusses the U.S. cyber-frontier strategy. The discussion focuses on the structural power that helps the United States gain wealth. By retrospecting the history of the ICT development of the United States, we find that the U.S. government, technical elites and entrepreneurs established a control center of cyberspace and expend it cyber-frontier through GII program, while setting a series of rule of game in the cyberspace. The ICT enterprises of the U.S. play a very important role in gathering the wealth and resources for the United States.The American created the internet and expanded it to the world. The hegemony in the internet gives the U.S. a new tool to acquire new resources and impose its influence in the cyberspace. Because of the ownership of the core infrastructure the U.S. holds the control power of the internet. When the internet becomes a global social infrastructure, the global governance of the internet is demanded. This dissertation discusses the power structure related to the governance of the internet with the conceptual framework of property, power and public choice.The competition and compatibility among the different system platforms in cyberspace lead to the technical development. Chapter Seven discusses the competition between the Galileo platform and GPS platform. The discussion focuses on the motives of the EU for establishing the Galileo platform, and the U.S. reaction to the challenge of the Galileo. Because of the status of monopoly, the GPS loses its momentum for innovation and GPS is reluctant to give better service. The market gives a welcome to the Galileo’s competition with the GPS,and also hopes the two platform can reach an compromise for compatibility.The technical code can play the role as a control border. The source code of the software is one of the most important ones. Some proprietary software like Windows helps the Microsoft to become rich and rich by controlling the source code. Chapter Eight discusses the competition between the open source software and proprietary software. The open source movement consisting of hikers provides much free software. It imposes a challenge to proprietary software. The movement helps many developing countries to narrow the digital divide.Technical Standards mean fortune and international power, which is not only ascendant in world high-tech industry competition, but also taken as the advanced modality of industrial management. International competition around technical standards has become gradually the technique, economic, and political dynamic game. Huge industrial scale, innovative research capability, tremendous market and the international bargaining capability are the fundamental conditions of setting technical standards. With fundamental conditions China’s national standards strategy has achieved the preliminary effect, but at the same time it is also confronted with power structural limitation in the market and standards-setting system. Therefore, the status of Chinese enterprises in the international technical standards system can be improved gradually through long-term fight in accordance with power structure.Cyberspace consists of technical platforms. The emergence of the cyberspace leads to the competition for power and resource among the actors. The structural powers are connected to the ICT knowledge. The first-mover of the main information technology embedded the power during the development process. These structural powers result in hegemony and unfair play in the cyberspace. Because of the network effect and compatibility, some competition goes along with cooperation and compromise.更多还原