Given that the information society and the study of information face a world of crisis today and are at a crossroads, also the future of the Internet and social media are in question. The 5th ICTs and Society Conference therefore wants to focus on the questions: What are the main challenges that the Internet and social media are facing in capitalism today? What potentials for an alternative, commonist Internet are there? What are existing hindrances for such an Internet? What is the relationship of power structures, protest movements, societal developments, struggles, radical reforms, etc. to the Internet? How can critical political economy and critical theory best study the Internet and social media today?
A new publication about Marx and Communication, edited by C. Fuchs & Vincent Mosco, 29 articles, 500+ pages: Marx is back – The importance of Marxist theory and research for Critical Communication Studies today
A new publication about Marx and Communication, edited by C. Fuchs & Vincent Mosco, 29 articles, 500+ pages: Marx is back – The importance of Marxist theory and research for Critical Communication Studies today
christian fuchs, May 26th 2012
Special issue of tripleC: Capitalist Crisis, Communication & Culture
“Capitalism […] is approaching an apocalyptic zero-point” (Slavoj Žižek).
What is the role of communication in the general situation of capitalist crisis?
The global economic downturn is an indicator of a new worldwide capitalist crisis. The main focus of most public debates as well as of economic and policy analyses is the role of finance capital and the housing market in creating the crisis, less attention is given to the role of communication technologies, the media, and culture in the world economic crisis. The task of this special issue of tripleC is to present analyses of the role of ICTs, the media, and culture in the current crisis of capitalism. The seven papers focus on the causes, development, and effects of the crisis. Each paper relates one or more of these dimensions to ICTs, the media, or culture.
christian fuchs, August 29th 2010
New Paper: Christian Fuchs: Labor in Informational Capitalism and on the Internet
The article explains foundations of critical political economy, especially the cycle of capital accumulation, and argues that this approach is suited for explaining and analyzing the contemporary information economy, knowledge labor, and the Internet economy. The notions of class and surplus value are applied to knowledge labour and Internet usage. Based on Dallas Smythe’s notion of the audience commodity, the concept of the Internet produsage/prosumer commodity is worked out.
christian fuchs, May 2nd 2010