Bedouins of Silicon Valley: A neo-Khaldunian approach to sociology of technology

Hashemi, Morteza

Abstract

The standard narrative of the emergence, rise and decline of Silicon Valley companies focuses on the evolution of institutions and technological waves, not the mentality of the innovators and entrepreneurs. This article argues that this type of explanation of the rise and decline of the Silicon Valley firms and institutions can hardly be sufficient. The suggestion is that a neo-Khaldunian theory could shed light on the issue. This article is an attempt to, first, distinguish between the medieval and modern aspects of Ibn Khaldun’s theory and second, to use the latter to examine Silicon Valley as a social phenomenon. It will be argued that Ibn Khaldun’s theory is of most contemporary relevance when we read it as a general account of a cyclical replacement of the untrained with the trained, while over and above the specific, environmentally deterministic cycle he identifies between ‘city-dwellers’ and ‘Bedouins’. In the case of Silicon Valley, these could be read as metaphors for, respectively, the established tech firms versus the garage-based start-up ‘geeks’.

Citation

Hashemi, M. (2019). Bedouins of Silicon Valley: A neo-Khaldunian approach to sociology of technology. Sociological Review, 67(3), 536-551. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026118822823

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jan 17, 2019
• Publication Date: May 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 27, 2022
• Journal: Sociological Review
• Print ISSN: 0038-0261
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-954X
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 67
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 536-551
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026118822823
• Keywords: Ibn Khaldun, Pierre Bourdieu, Silicon Valley, sociology of technology, start-up
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7230590
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038026118822823