Does the digital sector produce surplus value? The case of Facebook

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2020-12

Author

Tonak, E. Ahmet

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This article shows that the digital economy can, as opposed to the opinion of many, be analysed on the basis of Marx’s theory of surplus value and profit. What we have shown through a study of the political economy of Facebook is that the product produced by the company in question is a commodity just like others. Moreover, the surplus value produced by the productive workers of Facebook is the main source of the profits of the company and the wages of its unproductive workers.

Subject Keywords

Digital economy, Facebook, Surplus value, Immaterial labor, Labor theory of value

URI

http://www2.feas.metu.edu.tr/metusd/ojs/index.php/metusd/article/view/1173
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/93227

Journal

ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi

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Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Article

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Citation Formats

E. A. Tonak, “Does the digital sector produce surplus value? The case of Facebook,” ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 281–289, 2020, Accessed: 00, 2021. [Online]. Available: http://www2.feas.metu.edu.tr/metusd/ojs/index.php/metusd/article/view/1173.