THE SOCIOLOGY OF INFORMATION

The expression 'information society' is commonplace in modern sociological literature. There exists, however, no sociology of information. It is not at all clear how social theorists and policy makers are to ascertain and to assess the value of information or what it means to talk about the ownership of 'information'. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that there is confusion over what information is in the sociological literature That confusion has ramifications for social and political theory and how the right to information is to be conceived.