The Political Economy of Digital Monopolies : Contradictions and Alternatives to Data Commodification

Digital platforms have come under intense scrutiny from scholars, policy makers, regulators, and the general public for their immense and yet largely opaque influence on the social and economic sphere. This book advances value-form and social-form directions in Marxian theory, moving beyond mainstream economic reasoning that informs much of the debate. Digital monopoly platforms such as Google and Facebook are analysed in light of their profit seeking behaviour and monetary flows generated primarily through advertising and data commodification. Considering the unity of production and circulation the book argues that outputs are better understood as a collection of different types of social forms shaped by capital (pre, intermediate and final commodities) and as forms of public wealth (Copyleft Free Software, publicly financed science and research). The authors critically engage with Marxian theories that conceptualise user activities as forms of digital labour, with zero-price markets and critical legal theories, as well as with ‘internet exceptionalism’ in various forms. The role of regulation of production, especially of financial markets and monopolies is critically discussed with an empirical analysis of the development of GAFAM companies, Google’s mandatory reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and of digital advertising of Google and Facebook. The book discusses contradictions of the capitalist mode of production, limits of ongoing reform initiatives, and alternatives to the logic of capital and commodity production on digital platforms. Front Cover The Political Economy of Digital Monopolies: Contradictions and Alternatives to Data Commodification Copyright information Table of contents List of Figures and Tables Preface 1 Introduction: The Context of Digital Monopolies On related Marxian approaches Which capitalism? Chapter structure 2 Production, Circulation, and the Science of Forms: Theoretical Foundations The value-form and the Marxian research programme Internal association of value and money Various approaches to the unity of production and circulation Abstractions, social forms, and modes of production Scientific methodology of Marx’s approach Development of determinate abstractions through social forms Modes and social forms of production Simple abstractions: determined, but not fully Synthesis, categories, and levels of abstraction Technological form and the experiential dimension Commodity form, fetishism, and reification Rationalization and the technological form Production on digital platforms Free Software and the production of public wealth Open Source as a bridge to capitalist production Pre-, intermediate, and final commodities The business model as a whole and its abstractions 3 Marxian Perspectives on Monopolies Revisiting competition and monopoly Marx on competition and monopoly Property form determination and intellectual monopoly 4 Platforms, Advertising, and Users Platforms and zero-price markets Platform capitalism and imperialism Contributions and limits of legal critical theory to understanding platforms The role of advertising in production and circulation Advertising as a sales effort Consumption of advertising as commodity production Advertising as circulation User activities in capitalist production From Smythe’s audience labour to digital labour 5 Financialization and Regulation Labour, financial profits, and technological forms Research and development expenditures Composition and division of tech labour Shareholder value and financial profits Risks and rewards in Google’s path to monopoly Scaling technical infrastructure Corporate growth and organizational changes Post-IPO competition with Microsoft, Yahoo, and traditional media Advertising risks between 2005 and 2019 Reward distribution through stock performance Legal and regulatory risks between 2005 and 2019 The role of state(s) and regulation in the expansion of GAFAM Pitfalls and interpretations of antitrust regulation Capital accumulation on a world scale 6 Controlling, Processing, and Commercializing Data Privatizing openness and knowledge Capital and Free Software as different social forms of production and regulation The egalitarian illusions resulting from the lack of adequate determinate abstractions Privatizing knowledge and securing ownership Setting the rules of data engagement Watching, sorting, and reselling data Erecting tollbooths and managing access points Realization of value in advertising markets Digital advertising dominance, user habits, and disinformation Reluctant public interventionism 7 Conclusion: Contradictions and Alternatives to Data Commodification The capture and commercialization of FLOSS Transnational capital and taxation Beyond capital, data commodification, and surplus value extraction Reigning monopolies in Re-imagining technological forms Public wealth and value: recognition, advocacy, and public policy Data, democracy, and development Notes References Index Back Cover At a time when the practices of technology companies continue to attract fierce criticism, this book asks what it actually means to hold a 'monopoly' in the tech world and how it might affect the way in which an organization operates. Combining new and traditional Marxian perspectives, the authors offer an in-depth analysis of how these technology giants are produced, financialized, and regulated. As technology firms continue to shape our political and socio-economic landscape, this book will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students who seek to understand the function of technological monopolies in contemporary capitalism. As outrage over the socially damaging practices of technology companies intensifies, this book asks what it actually means to hold a "monopoly" in the tech world and offers an in-depth analysis of how these corporate giants are produced, financialised, and regulated. As technology companies' practices attract criticism, this book asks what it actually means to hold a 'monopoly' in the tech world, and how it might affect the way in which the companies operate. Combining new and traditional Marxian perspectives, the authors offer an in-depth analysis of how these technology giants are produced, financialized, and regulated