Course:LIBR559A/Fuchs, C. (2010)

Citation

Fuchs, C. (2010). Labor in Informational Capitalism and on the Internet. The Information Society 26, 179-196.

Annotation

In this article, Fuchs expands the definition of the proletariat to include unwaged and precarious labour. He argues that the Marxist definition of the proletariat as a class of waged labourers is inadequate today, because large numbers of people are now engaged in unwaged or precarious labour (181). He proposes an expanded definition of the proletariat that includes manual waged labourers, waged knowledge workers, houseworkers, the unemployed, migrants, workers in developing countries, retirees, students, and precarious workers (187). He asserts that people outside of regular employment “are particularly active in reproductive labor that produces the social, educational, and knowledge commons of society” (188). He argues that knowledge production and other creative work is inherently collaborative, and that corporate appropriation of this unpaid work is an extreme form of exploitation (188). He characterizes internet “produsage” (e.g., social media use) as “the total commodification of human creativity” (192) and proposes a Universal Basic Income as a viable alternative to the status quo (194).

Fuchs’ work is an important counter-narrative to the techno-utopian attitudes that are prevalent in LIS. This article challenges the beliefs that digital technologies are inherently liberating and that increased access to computers and computer instruction can reduce social inequalities. Public library programs aimed at addressing the “digital divide” are often targeted toward immigrants, elderly people, disabled people, and the unemployed. According to Fuchs, these people are the most highly exploited under informational capitalism. The solution to the digital divide is therefore not to provide better access to technology, but to demand that corporations compensate unpaid workers for their labour (193). Digital literacy initiatives often start with the question, “how can we help patrons become more productive (e.g., by applying for jobs online or creating a personal website)?". Fuchs, on the other hand, begins with the assertion that “nobody is unproductive” (193).

Keywords: Digital labour, Marxism, class, collaboration, produsage, Universal Basic Income

Page Author: Allison Hill