Cutting Edge: Technology, Information, Capitalism and Social Revolution

Abstract

How is one to make sense of the world today? Contemporary political and economic events as well as recent technological developments defy conventional analysis. The general breakdown of the post-World War II social order is well underway, visibly evident in the dramatic dissolution of the Eastern European and Soviet socialist economies. The dramatic polarization of wealth and poverty-not just between the technologized and under-technologized nations, or north and south, but also within the technologized center-exposes the "capitalism has won" and "history is over" pronouncements as rather premature. The socioeconomic polarization matures as the powers of science and technology leap ahead at breakneck speed. While the traditional Left has lost much of its appeal, and the world's labor unions are on the defensive, new forces have stepped onto the world stage. Scenes from this drama are as diverse as the Los Angeles rebellion in 1992, the Chiapas uprising beginning in 1994, the regular eruptions in the industrial heart of the U.S., the tent cities and marches of the welfare recipients and the homeless in Philadelphia,

Desafiando as Adversidades: Estratégias De Aprendizagem Em Ambientes Desfavorecidos

“…15 Para uma visão mais detalhada a esse respeito cf. Caffentzis (1997). 16 Gorz, por exemplo, entende que o conhecimento desempenha o papel de um capital fixo na produção, sendo assim fonte de valor: "Mas a verdadeira novidade, 'revolucionária', está ainda em outro lugar: é que o conhecimento, separado de todo produto no qual esteve ou está incorporado, pode exercer em si mesmo, e por si mesmo, uma ação produtiva na forma de programas de computador.…”

Machinic agency and datafication: Labour and value after anthropocentrism

“…Correspondingly, this section will examine the relation between computers and value from the perspective of two authors: Caffentzis (1997) and Virno (2004). These authors represent two strands of contemporary Marxism and hence two perspectives from where to approach the question of value in the current context of datafication.…”

“…A different strand contends that despite all its technical innovations, capitalism is still grounded on the exploitation of human labour. From this perspective, a critique of the data economy must focus not on how data produces value, but on how it intensifies the exploitation of labour as a social relation (Caffentzis, 1997;Crawford, 2021;Fuchs, 2019). Finally, a third strand claims that in light of the recent technical transformations of the mode of production, we would need a new definition of value (Massumi, 2018) or even a new, post-capitalist understanding of contemporary society (Wark, 2019).…”

Reflections on AERC 2016: Drawing Tomorrow’s Blueprint from Today’s Inkwell

“…I, nevertheless, believe that the contradiction between the forces and relations of production is increasing; the trajectory is set for the expansion of technology at the expense of labor. Political economists are engaged in serious debates on this question (e.g., da Motta e Albuquerque & Callinicos, 2016) and its revolutionary implications (e.g., Davis, Hirschl, & Stack, 1997;Srnicek & Williams), which should be of great interest to us adult educators who spend much of our time considering the relationship between education and work.…”