The Information State in England

The Central Collection of Information on Citizens since 1500

Bibliographic Data

ID18984402
AuthorsEdward Higgs (corresponding author)
Year2003
Publication date2003-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueThe Information State in England (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBloomsbury Publishing plc (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.5040/9781350392946
OpenAlexW2599177702
ISBN9781350392946
LanguageEN
Citations received13

Is the official collection of information on individuals inevitably leading to the creation of a 'Big Brother State'? In this innovative interdisciplinary study, Edward Higgs takes issue with writers such as Michel Foucault and Anthony Giddens who argue that state information gathering can be seen in terms of an expansion towards modernity, and as social control. Using ground-breaking historical research, Higgs reveals that, since 1500, the English state has always been an Information State although the nature of that state has changed markedly over the last 500 years. In its modern form, the Information State is as much about winning consent via the provision of benefits as repression in the interests of elites. The Information State in England - Draws upon a wide range of sociological theory and historical research, as well as evidence gathered from archival sources - Challenges many assumptions about state formation and the role of information - Views the development of the state in terms of the changing balance between decentralized and centralized forms of governance - Provides a critique of sociological and postmodernist concepts of modernity

Modernity · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science) · State formation · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Irish and British Studies · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US

Tools

Open DOI