Foundations of a Critique of the Political Economy of Digitalization.
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Background
Apart from minor exceptions, economics and neoclassical theory remain essentially identical, while other approaches are perceived only as bundles of heterodox thought. Value-theoretical reflections on digitalization are marginalized and mostly shaped in sociological or cultural studies terms rather than in political-economic ones, and they are moreover deeply divided.
Techno-feudal approaches deny the value character of data and interpret their monetization as rent, while communication studies positions conversely regard even the input of data on social media as value-creating labor. The aim of the project is to redefine the central concepts of the labor theory of value in order to establish the foundation for a contemporary critique of political economy.
Research question
A labor theory of value for the 21st century cannot simply be proclaimed but must necessarily proceed through a critique of the prevailing marginal utility theory. The project therefore asks what to make of its critique of the labor theory of value and, conversely, criticizes neoclassicism as the foundation of many sociologies of digitalization. Guiding questions are: To what extent are information value-bearing and computer science value-creating?
How should the relation between production and reproduction be understood after decades of debates on household and women’s labor? What contribution do concepts such as super-exploitation make to the understanding of divergent national values of the commodity labor power, for instance in the case of coltan workers in the Congo?
Approach
The project pursues three main objectives. First, the hegemonic critique of the labor theory of value will be rejected, showing that marginal utility theory and neoclassicism have conceptual problems, especially with regard to digitalization. Second, the central debates within the critique of political economy will be examined in order to redefine the categories of the labor theory of value and clarify the unresolved questions concerning the value of data and information.
Third, this leads to new determinations of the relation between production and reproduction, exploitation and super-exploitation, as well as the role of the state in value formation. Methodologically, the project is based on historical-theoretical analysis and conceptual critique.
