Material world: the myth of the weithless economy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5433/2176-6665.2011v16n1p24

Keywords:

Virtual economy, Globalization, Knowledge worker, Productivity, Capitalism

Abstract

A new orthodoxy is taking shape, which assumes that «knowledge» is the only source of value, that work is an eventuality and is not discoverable, that globalization is an inevitable and inexorable process and as consequence, resistance is futile and all claims arising out of a physical body here and now is hopelessly out of fashion. The implications of this «common sense» are immense, for they can shape topics as diverse as taxes, labor legislation, welfare spending levels, privacy rights, and environmental policy. These are notions that serve to legitimate a new political agenda and set the stage for a new phase of capital accumulation. The task that I put myself in this essay is to re-embody/reincarnate cyberspace in order to try and make visible the material components of this virtual world.

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Author Biography

Ursula Huws, London Metropolitan University

PhD in Sociology from London Metropolitan University. Professor at the University of Hertfordshire.

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Published

2011-03-13

How to Cite

HUWS, Ursula. Material world: the myth of the weithless economy. Mediações - Revista de Ciências Sociais, Londrina, v. 16, n. 1, p. 24–54, 2011. DOI: 10.5433/2176-6665.2011v16n1p24. Disponível em: https://ojs.uel.br/revistas/uel/index.php/mediacoes/article/view/9650. Acesso em: 22 dec. 2024.

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