The Computerization of Society

First published in 1978 as a report to France's president, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, "The Computerization of Society" became a best-seller abroad and the cause of instantaneous and widespread public discussion. When the Industrial Revolution was beginning, few people realized the importance of what was taking place. The singular importance of this report is that it comes to grips with a similar major technological event, showing how a new technology can reshape society and why the political system has to change to meet the new scale of economic life and the new patterns of social life that result. In this volume, two astute observers, aided by a team of technical specialists, have surveyed a major technological and social innovation and have proposed a unified national policy to deal with the impending changes. In the United States, where the scale of activities in this field is considerably larger than in France, there is as yet no national policy.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.