The possible as critique of the existing: Critical research in communication studies and an example of critical process research on the emergence and development of the computer

The essay first briefly reviews the generally quite reduced socio-critical research within German communication studies in the second half of the twentieth century, which on the whole left rather little trace. In contrast, here it is proposed to conduct critical process research under the current conditions of mediatization and digitalization. For this purpose, a concept of critique is introduced that is based on the juxtaposition of the possible with the existing. In the second part, a detailed example of process research will be developed, which reconstructs the emergence of the computer from the idea of Charles Babbage around 1840 and its development and dissemination up to the present day. The apparatus was created for factory-organized data processing in the context of a capitalist-oriented division of intellectual work. As a result of miniaturization and networking, the billions of computers in offices and households today are primarily used as universal media for communication and information, with users being dependent on the software usually purchased and the conditions of network communication, both of which are controlled by the major Internet companies. This creates a new division of labor for society as a whole, because under rather non-transparent conditions, users generate precisely the data that is collected by the large Internet companies, evaluated in their computer farms and supercomputers and sold or passed on to any company and also to the state. All these companies can thus implement their business models and influence and manipulate users almost without restriction. In this respect, Babbage's capitalist factory model today has been realized in a principle of society as a whole, in which some must work in order to become exploited by others. In particular, this principle consists in controlling and structuring a fundamental human potential, namely that of communicative action and symbol processing in a new way. In the final part, we compare observable potential with existing forms of using computer and the net and thus get a critical view on the ongoing development.