The consumption dilemma of digital capitalism

Philipp Staab
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Philipp Staab: Institute for the History and Future of Work, Germany

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2017, vol. 23, issue 3, 281-294

Abstract: In the light of the growth crisis of contemporary capitalism, the digitalisation of the economy fosters hopes for spectacular productivity gains, giving economic growth a new impetus. However, such predictions ignore the fact that the growth crisis of contemporary capitalism is mainly a result of weak private demand. I argue that digitalisation represents a macro-strategy for economic transformation explicitly tackling this aspect. However, while several strategies aimed at rationalising consumption can be observed in leading digital economy companies, instead of solving the consumption problem by increasing demand, they tend to exacerbate the structural weakness of consumption. I coin the term ‘consumption dilemma’ to mark this phenomenon and briefly stress its implications for union policies.

Keywords: Digitalisation; consumption; capitalism; rationalisation; political economy; Amazon; Google (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:treure:v:23:y:2017:i:3:p:281-294

DOI: 10.1177/1024258917702830

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