Engels’s Theory of Social Murder and the Spectacle of Fascism: A Critical Enquiry into Digital Labour and its Alienation

In this paper, I shall attempt to respond to the charge that the digital labour theory, as developed by Christian Fuchs, doesn’t faithfully stick to the Marxist schema of the Labour Theory of Value by arguing that Marx’s critique of capitalism was based on the social and material cost of exploitatio...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Aishik Saha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: tripleC 2020-11-01
Series:tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1214
id doaj-c642f8cefb7344278966f837f0b1a7d8
record_format Article
spelling doaj-c642f8cefb7344278966f837f0b1a7d82020-11-27T13:45:01ZengtripleCtripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique1726-670X1726-670X2020-11-01191526710.31269/triplec.v19i1.12141214Engels’s Theory of Social Murder and the Spectacle of Fascism: A Critical Enquiry into Digital Labour and its AlienationAishik Saha0Jadavpur UniversityIn this paper, I shall attempt to respond to the charge that the digital labour theory, as developed by Christian Fuchs, doesn’t faithfully stick to the Marxist schema of the Labour Theory of Value by arguing that Marx’s critique of capitalism was based on the social and material cost of exploitation and the impact of capitalist exploitation of the working class. Engels’s analysis of The Condition of The Working Class in England links the various forms of violence faced by the working class to the bourgeois rule that props their exploitation. I shall argue, within the framework of Critical Social Media Studies, that the rapid advance of fascist and authoritarian regimes represents a similar development of violence and dispossession, with digital capitalism being a major factor catalysing the rifts within societies. It shall be further argued that much like the exploitative nature of labour degrades social linkages and creates conditions of that exaggerates social contradictions, the “labour” performed by social media users degenerates social relations and promotes a hyper-violent spectacle that aids and abets fascist and authoritarian regimes.https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1214digital laboursociety of the spectaclefascismfilter bubblesalienation
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Aishik Saha
spellingShingle Aishik Saha
Engels’s Theory of Social Murder and the Spectacle of Fascism: A Critical Enquiry into Digital Labour and its Alienation
tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique
digital labour
society of the spectacle
fascism
filter bubbles
alienation
author_facet Aishik Saha
author_sort Aishik Saha
title Engels’s Theory of Social Murder and the Spectacle of Fascism: A Critical Enquiry into Digital Labour and its Alienation
title_short Engels’s Theory of Social Murder and the Spectacle of Fascism: A Critical Enquiry into Digital Labour and its Alienation
title_full Engels’s Theory of Social Murder and the Spectacle of Fascism: A Critical Enquiry into Digital Labour and its Alienation
title_fullStr Engels’s Theory of Social Murder and the Spectacle of Fascism: A Critical Enquiry into Digital Labour and its Alienation
title_full_unstemmed Engels’s Theory of Social Murder and the Spectacle of Fascism: A Critical Enquiry into Digital Labour and its Alienation
title_sort engels’s theory of social murder and the spectacle of fascism: a critical enquiry into digital labour and its alienation
publisher tripleC
series tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique
issn 1726-670X
1726-670X
publishDate 2020-11-01
description In this paper, I shall attempt to respond to the charge that the digital labour theory, as developed by Christian Fuchs, doesn’t faithfully stick to the Marxist schema of the Labour Theory of Value by arguing that Marx’s critique of capitalism was based on the social and material cost of exploitation and the impact of capitalist exploitation of the working class. Engels’s analysis of The Condition of The Working Class in England links the various forms of violence faced by the working class to the bourgeois rule that props their exploitation. I shall argue, within the framework of Critical Social Media Studies, that the rapid advance of fascist and authoritarian regimes represents a similar development of violence and dispossession, with digital capitalism being a major factor catalysing the rifts within societies. It shall be further argued that much like the exploitative nature of labour degrades social linkages and creates conditions of that exaggerates social contradictions, the “labour” performed by social media users degenerates social relations and promotes a hyper-violent spectacle that aids and abets fascist and authoritarian regimes.
topic digital labour
society of the spectacle
fascism
filter bubbles
alienation
url https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1214
work_keys_str_mv AT aishiksaha engelsstheoryofsocialmurderandthespectacleoffascismacriticalenquiryintodigitallabouranditsalienation
_version_ 1724413416155643904