tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society

Democracy, the Internet, and Capitalism: A Reply to Elisabeth Korn and Jens Schröter

Christian Fuchs — 2024-09-17

This paper is a reply to Elisabeth Korn and Jens Schröter’s essay “On a Potential Paradox of Public Service Media” which is part of tripleC’s special issue “Critical Perspectives on Digital Capitalism: Theories and Praxis”. My reflections focus on the notion of filtering, the relationship between broadcasting and the Internet; the relationship of media, technology, and society; and questions of (digital) democracy. On the one hand, there is a number of points where I agree with Korn and Schröter. On the other hand, their reflections also raised questions that I point out and that are not answered in their paper.

Paths Not Taken, Dreams Not Dreamt: A Rejoinder to Christian Fuchs on Democracy, the Internet, and Capitalism

Elisabeth Korn — 2024-09-17

This paper is a rejoinder to Christian Fuchs’ “Democracy, the Internet, and Capitalism,” published in tripleC as a reply to our essay “On a Potential Paradox of Public Service Media” (2024), which was part of tripleC’s special issue “Critical Perspectives on Digital Capitalism: Theories and Praxis”. In this rejoinder, we will critically engage with open questions and unsolved contradictions of three points of discussion: the ideal of deliberative democracy in relation to the Internet, the broadcast model applied to ICTs, and the neutrality of (digital) technology.

Value and Productive Labour in the Era of Digital Technologies

Søren Bøgh Sørensen — 2024-08-12

This article revisits the so-called digital labour debate to clarify and problematise the many different positions in this debate. Synthesising the most promising arguments from the different positions in the debate, the article outlines a theory of digital media usage as exploited, value-producing labour. In doing so, the article criticises the Autonomist Marxist tradition and argues for the utility of a value-form theoretical approach to the question of free digital labour. In conclusion, the article argues for more analytical attention to the ways in which technological developments in contemporary capitalism can engender new processes of production and thereby also new types of unpaid value-producing labour.

Alternative Media: Free from State, Market, and Capital(ism)? On the Antagonisms of Alternative Media and the Alternative Economy

Manfred Knoche — 2024-08-21

This work discusses the potentials, limits, and problems of alternative media in capitalism. It compares alternative media to commercial media and public service media. A model is introduced that compares commercial and non-commercial media projects. Its dimensions are the economy, work, production, and communication.

Dilemmas of alternative media are analysed. As an example, a conflict at the Austrian free radio station Radio Orange is analysed.
The paper discusses the political economy of alternative media. Alternative media such as free radio stations have set out to do media in a way that is different to capitalist media. In this context, the role of the audience as media producers and the rejection of the market, capital, and commodities are important aspects of alternative media.

The analysis shows the problems and antagonisms that non-commercial, alternative media face in capitalist society. They struggle to establish independence from markets, capital, and the state. They face the problem of how to deal with these antagonisms which results in the alternative between adopting to capitalist pressures or operating as small-scale niche alternatives with small audiences and precarious labour. The paper concludes that material aspects and the political economy of alternative media need to be taken seriously. Not selling commodities and not paying wages puts many alternative media at a disadvantage vis-à-vis commercial media.

Disrupting the Neoliberal Capitalist Media Agenda in South Africa

Prinola Govenden — 2024-11-05

Neoliberalism has been described as the most successful ideology in world history (Andersson 2000). This has, in turn, impacted the modern media by dumbing down its public interest role, through cultivating concentrated media ownership patterns, which has produced hyper-commercial and elitist-driven content. This paper has the broad aim of provoking discussions and debates both for the Global South and Global North geospatial locations grappling with these neoliberal consequences, by considering what systemic alternative(s) to capitalist media can be considered. It specifically explores the return of the anti-capitalist alternative media to South Africa’s print media terrain to function in a developmental role. With the aim to dilute the neoliberal capitalist nature of its media that has effectively perpetuated the dominance of the elite class at the expense of citizen-oriented and public interest imperatives (Govenden 2022). It furthers this argument by also comparatively drawing on two BRICS country case studies from Asia i.e. China and India.

On the Political Economy of Link-based Web Search

Deepak P — 2024-11-05

Web search engines arguably form the most popular data-driven systems in contemporary society. They wield a considerable power by functioning as gatekeepers of the Web. Since the late 1990s, search engines have been dominated by the paradigm of link-based web search. In this paper, we critically analyse the Political Economy of the paradigm of link-based web search, drawing upon insights and methodologies from Critical Political Economy. We illustrate how link-based web search has led to phenomena that favour capital through long-term structural changes on the Web, and how it has led to accentuating unpaid digital labour and ecologically unsustainable practices, among several others. We show how con-temporary observations on the degrading quality of link-based web search can be traced back to the internal contradictions with the paradigm, and how such socio-technical phenom-ena may lead to an eventual disutility of the link-based model. Our contribution is on enhanc-ing the understanding of the Political Economy of link-based web search, and laying bare the phenomena at work, towards catalysing the search for alternative models of content organi-sation and search on the Web.

Nothing is Inevitable but Class Struggle: A Workerist Perspective on AI Regulation

Alexandros Minotakis — 2024-11-29

AI systems are often portrayed in narratives that exaggerate their potential, either as a universal solution or as a looming disaster. Particularly in the workplace, AI is depicted as an unstoppable force that shapes an entirely novel labour process. Consequently, efforts to regulate its introduction and deployment are dismissed as futile or even regressive. This paper argues for a different approach. Firstly, it proposes engaging with AI within the framework of Fordism-Taylorism, reflecting capital's long-standing aspirations for labour intensification, opacity of decision making and separation between conception and execution. Secondly, drawing on recent workers' struggles, with a particular focus on the Efood platform in Greece, the paper illustrates how labour resistance can influence the deployment and regulation of AI. The case study of Efood highlights the collective actions taken by workers against AI-powered algorithmic management, demonstrating the potential for labour to contest and reshape the introduction of new technologies. In the concluding sections, a general outline of this perspective is provided as well as an analysis of how it can potentially tactically benefit from existing regulation, such as the AI Act.

Another Scalability is Possible! From Non-Scalability to Cosmolocal Scalability

Vasilis Kostakis — 2024-11-22

This article addresses Anna Tsing’s critique of capitalist scalability by introducing the concept of “cosmolocal scalability” as an alternative to approaches that prioritise “scale-at-all-costs.” Cosmolocal scalability challenges the idea of homogeneous, frictionless expansion and instead proposes a context-responsive framework that values biodiversity, as well as the diverse ways of knowing and living. This framework enables local communities of practice to connect globally, fostering collaborative networks. Such connections are facilitated through digital tools and infrastructures that encourage the open exchange of knowledge, skills, and best practices as digital commons. By creating dynamic relationships between different scales – blending global connectivity with localised practices – cosmolocal initiatives nurture an ecosystem of adaptable, decentralised projects that aim to “scale wide” rather than “scale up.” While several challenges still need to be addressed, cosmolocal scalability presents a promising pathway for fostering new social relationships and modes of production, ultimately laying the groundwork for post-capitalist futures.

Insights from the Moguls of Media Capitalism – A Review Essay

Thomas Klikauer — 2024-12-03

In printed media, not only do newspapers play a key role but also its editors and, perhaps even more so, the owners of these newspapers. Those are the ones who Beecher calls media moguls. Among the handful of newspaper proprietors, Rupert Murdoch is not only the most infamous but also the most notorious. Beecher, who was once an editor for Murdoch, delivers an inside view of the internal affairs of Murdoch’s news empire. This includes not only Murdoch’s activities in the UK and Australia, but also in the USA. In the USA, for example, Fox has become a propaganda apparatus for Trump. Yet, long before Trump moved from being a sleazy TV host into politics and having received the support of Murdoch, Murdoch’s far right influence into politics were felt most sharply in Murdoch’s home country of Australia as well as the UK. Murdoch’s phone hacking, his relentless and tremendous support for UK Tories and Brexit are examples that explain the power triangle between Murdoch’s media, voters, and politics. Murdoch has created something that might best be called the Iron Triangle of Media Capitalism. How this works is explained here.

Eric Beecher. 2024. The Men Who Killed the News: The Inside Story of How Media Moguls Abused their Power, Manipulated the Truth and Distorted Democracy. Melbourne: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 9781761428043, $ 16.99 (eBook), pp. 416 (pbk.), pp. 901 (eBook), notes and index.