13.5 Alternatives to Digital Capitalism
There are two major alternatives to digital capital (see section 2.4 in chapter 2): on the one hand, the renewal of the movement of co-operatives and self-managed companies in the form of platform co-operatives, that is, Internet platforms that are self-managed by users and digital workers; and on the other hand, the creation of public Internet platforms through a network of public service media. Many platform co-operatives do not make it from concept to reality and many soon disappear again.
Digital socialism is the democratic and humanist alternative to digital capitalism. Digital capital is organised and acts globally. Workers, political regulation, and political groups are in contrast predominantly confined to the national level. Marx and Engels argued that struggles for alternatives require internationalism and called for the workers of all lands to unite in a political movement. In order to establish democratic digital socialism as alternative to digital capitalism, the digital workers of all countries have to unite in an international trade digital labour union and a political movement.
Chapter Thirteen | Conclusion
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Alternatives to Digital Capitalism