The consumption dilemma of digital capitalism
Transfer. European Review of Labour and Research
2017
23
3
August
281-294
capitalism ; consumption ; digitalisation ; digital economy
Technology
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258917702830
English
Bibliogr.
"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. "
Digital;Paper
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