Manchester University Press
1 The roots of digital capitalism
Abstract
Chapter 2 describes the historical background of digital capitalism. It starts by drawing a broader picture of the post-Second World War political economy, where the 1970s saw the OECD world stumbling into the current situation of long-term stagnation. Digital technology emerged as an outlier, securing consistent growth through successive capitalist crises. The chapter describes the emergence and growth of the digital technologies as an effect of multiple strategies for capitalist rejuvenation: automation intensified from the 1970s onwards, boosting demand for digital equipment. Globalisation and financialisation of production caused demand for digital information and communication technologies to surge, spurring growth for the leading digital companies of the time. On the more political side, military Keynesianism and the deregulation of telecommunications paved the way for the rise of big tech. The chapter pays particular attention to the different national trajectories of privatisation in the 1990s. These help explain why today’s big tech companies appeared in the United States rather than Europe or Japan, which were also leading technology regions at that time.
Abstract
Chapter 2 describes the historical background of digital capitalism. It starts by drawing a broader picture of the post-Second World War political economy, where the 1970s saw the OECD world stumbling into the current situation of long-term stagnation. Digital technology emerged as an outlier, securing consistent growth through successive capitalist crises. The chapter describes the emergence and growth of the digital technologies as an effect of multiple strategies for capitalist rejuvenation: automation intensified from the 1970s onwards, boosting demand for digital equipment. Globalisation and financialisation of production caused demand for digital information and communication technologies to surge, spurring growth for the leading digital companies of the time. On the more political side, military Keynesianism and the deregulation of telecommunications paved the way for the rise of big tech. The chapter pays particular attention to the different national trajectories of privatisation in the 1990s. These help explain why today’s big tech companies appeared in the United States rather than Europe or Japan, which were also leading technology regions at that time.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- List of tables vii
- Preface to the updated English edition viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 The roots of digital capitalism 21
- 2 Financial capitalism online 31
- 3 A system of proprietary markets 65
- 4 Work in digital capitalism 100
- 5 Privatised mercantilism, inequality and conflict 114
- Conclusion 127
- Appendix 134
- References 141
- Index 164
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- List of tables vii
- Preface to the updated English edition viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 The roots of digital capitalism 21
- 2 Financial capitalism online 31
- 3 A system of proprietary markets 65
- 4 Work in digital capitalism 100
- 5 Privatised mercantilism, inequality and conflict 114
- Conclusion 127
- Appendix 134
- References 141
- Index 164
