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  • The Fight Against Platform Capitalism

    An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy

    Jamie Woodcock

    Part of the Critical, Digital and Social Media Studies series.
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    “The book rewards readers with interesting first-hand accounts of protests and pickets that are typically absent from academic discussions of the digital economy.” - https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/03/17/book-review-the-fight-against-platform-capitalism-an-inquiry-into-the-global-struggles-of-the-gig-economy-by-jamie-woodcock/

    So far, platform work has been an important laboratory for capital. Management techniques, like the use of algorithms, are being tested with a view to exporting across the global economy and it is argued that automation is undermining workers’ agency. Although the contractual trick of self-employment has allowed platforms to grow quickly and keep their costs down, yet it has also been the case also that workers have also found they can strike without following the existing regulations.

    This book develops a critique of platforms and platform capitalism from the perspective of workers and contributes to the ongoing debates about the future of work and worker organising. It presents an alternative portrait returning to a focus on workers’ experience, focusing on solidarity, drawing out a global picture of new forms of agency. In particular, the book focuses on three dynamics that are driving struggles in the platform economy: the increasing connections between workers who are no longer isolated; the lack of communication and negotiation from platforms, leading to escalating worker action around shared issues; and the internationalisation of platforms, which has laid the basis for new transnational solidarity.

    Focusing on transport and courier workers, online workers and freelancers author Jamie Woodcock concludes by considering how workers build power in different situations. Rather than undermining worker agency, platforms have instead provided the technical basis for the emergence of new global struggles against capitalism.

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    Book Reviews (1):

      Review from 17 Mar 2021: LSE Review of Books
      Book Review: The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy by Jamie Woodcock

      Dr James Muldoon

      In The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy, Jamie Woodcock argues that we are witnessing the emergence of an increasingly organised and transnational movement of platform workers against capital…

      The full review cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. You can read the full review at LSE Review of Books



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    How to cite this book
    Woodcock, J. 2021. The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book51
    Woodcock, J., 2021. The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book51
    Woodcock, J. The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy. University of Westminster Press, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book51
    Woodcock, J. (2021). The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book51
    Woodcock, Jamie. 2021. The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book51




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    This book is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution + Noncommercial + NoDerivatives 4.0 license. Copyright is retained by the author(s)

    Peer Review Information

    This book has been peer reviewed. See our Peer Review Policies for more information.

    Additional Information

    Published on March 2, 2021

    Language

    English

    Pages:

    127

    ISBN
    EPUB 978-1-912656-96-7
    Mobi 978-1-912656-97-4
    Paperback 978-1-912656-94-3
    PDF 978-1-912656-95-0

    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.16997/book51