Ugur Aytac
Biographic Data
| ID | 1195892 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ugur Aytac |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ugur |
| FAMILY NAME | Aytac |
| SIGNATURE | AYTAC U |
| AFFILIATIONS | Utrecht University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4773-5472 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 56 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
What is the Point of Social Media? Corporate Purpose and Digital Democratization
This paper proposes a new normative framework to think about Big Tech reform. Focusing on the case of digital communication, I argue that rethinking the corporate purpose of social media companies is a distinctive entry point to the debate on how to render the powers of tech corporations democratically legitimate. I contend that we need to strive for a reform that redefines the corporate purpose of social media companies. In this view, their purp…
Big Tech, Algorithmic Power, and Democratic Control
In Defense of Shirking in Capitalist Firms
Shirking, the act of avoiding the demands of one’s job, is generally seen as unethical. Drawing on empirical evidence from the sociology of work, I develop a normative conception of shirking as a form of worker resistance against illegitimate managerial power. In doing so, I present a new approach to the political theory of the firm, which is more adversarial and agent-centered than available alternatives. It is more adversarial as it recognizes …
Digital Domination
This article argues that social media companies’ power to regulate communication in the public sphere illustrates a novel type of domination. The idea is that, since social media companies can partially dictate the terms of citizens’ political participation in the public sphere, they can arbitrarily interfere with the choices individuals make qua citizens. I contend that social media companies dominate citizens in two different ways. First, I foc…
Global political legitimacy and the structural power of capital
Various scholars ask why seemingly reformist administrations often fail to “deliver on a host of popular reforms” promised during their election campaigns, e.g., extensive restructuring of the financial sector (Young et al., 2018). One of their explanations is that many progressive proposals are off the table because of the danger of disinvestment and capital flight. Under conditions of capital mobility, global business elites can drastically res…
Ideology Critique without Morality
What is the point of ideology critique? Prominent Anglo-American philosophers recently proposed novel arguments for the view that ideology critique is moral critique, and ideologies are flawed insofar as they contribute to injustice or oppression. We criticize that view and make the case for an alternative and more empirically oriented approach, grounded in epistemic rather than moral commitments. We make two related claims: (a) ideology critique…
Political Realism and Epistemic Constraints
This article argues that Bernard Williams’ Critical Theory Principle (CTP) is in tension with his realist commitments, i.e., deriving political norms from practices that are inherent to political life. The Williamsian theory of legitimate state power is based on the central importance of the distinction between political rule and domination. Further, Williams supplements the normative force of his theory with the CTP, i.e., the principle that acc…
Robert Bateman GeorgeJr., The Transformative Potential of Participatory Budgeting
George Robert Bateman, Jr., The Transformative Potential of Participatory Budgeting: Creating an Ideal Democracy. Garett Jones, 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less
On the limits of the political
The critique of depoliticization is a central theme in agonistic political theory. As discussed in the work of Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau (2001), any principled distinction between legitimate political contestations and indisputable requirements of rationality is deemed problematic (Mouffe, 2000, pp. 135–136). This is because, agonistic theorists believe, the boundaries between the political and non-political realms are always constituted …
Private Government
The demise of organized labor, the internationalization of capital movements, and technological changes are often believed to contribute to the decline in the bargaining power of employees vis-à-vis their bosses in the age of globalization. According to many, these radical socio-economic transformations are one of the explanatory factors behind the expanding income and wealth inequalities across societies. The emergence of these vast economic ine…
Ideology Critique without Morality
What is the point of ideology critique? Prominent Anglo-American philosophers recently proposed novel arguments for the view that ideology critique is moral critique, and ideologies are flawed insofar as they contribute to injustice or oppression. We criticize that view and make the case for an alternative and more empirically oriented approach, grounded in epistemic rather than moral commitments. We make two related claims: (a) ideology critique…
Digital Domination
This article argues that social media companies’ power to regulate communication in the public sphere illustrates a novel type of domination. The idea is that, since social media companies can partially dictate the terms of citizens’ political participation in the public sphere, they can arbitrarily interfere with the choices individuals make qua citizens. I contend that social media companies dominate citizens in two different ways. First, I foc…
On the limits of the political
The critique of depoliticization is a central theme in agonistic political theory. As discussed in the work of Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau (2001), any principled distinction between legitimate political contestations and indisputable requirements of rationality is deemed problematic (Mouffe, 2000, pp. 135–136). This is because, agonistic theorists believe, the boundaries between the political and non-political realms are always constituted …
Big Tech, Algorithmic Power, and Democratic Control
In Defense of Shirking in Capitalist Firms
Shirking, the act of avoiding the demands of one’s job, is generally seen as unethical. Drawing on empirical evidence from the sociology of work, I develop a normative conception of shirking as a form of worker resistance against illegitimate managerial power. In doing so, I present a new approach to the political theory of the firm, which is more adversarial and agent-centered than available alternatives. It is more adversarial as it recognizes …
Private Government
The demise of organized labor, the internationalization of capital movements, and technological changes are often believed to contribute to the decline in the bargaining power of employees vis-à-vis their bosses in the age of globalization. According to many, these radical socio-economic transformations are one of the explanatory factors behind the expanding income and wealth inequalities across societies. The emergence of these vast economic ine…
On the limits of the political
The critique of depoliticization is a central theme in agonistic political theory. As discussed in the work of Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau (2001), any principled distinction between legitimate political contestations and indisputable requirements of rationality is deemed problematic (Mouffe, 2000, pp. 135–136). This is because, agonistic theorists believe, the boundaries between the political and non-political realms are always constituted …
Robert Bateman GeorgeJr., The Transformative Potential of Participatory Budgeting
George Robert Bateman, Jr., The Transformative Potential of Participatory Budgeting: Creating an Ideal Democracy. Garett Jones, 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less
Political Realism and Epistemic Constraints
This article argues that Bernard Williams’ Critical Theory Principle (CTP) is in tension with his realist commitments, i.e., deriving political norms from practices that are inherent to political life. The Williamsian theory of legitimate state power is based on the central importance of the distinction between political rule and domination. Further, Williams supplements the normative force of his theory with the CTP, i.e., the principle that acc…
Global political legitimacy and the structural power of capital
Various scholars ask why seemingly reformist administrations often fail to “deliver on a host of popular reforms” promised during their election campaigns, e.g., extensive restructuring of the financial sector (Young et al., 2018). One of their explanations is that many progressive proposals are off the table because of the danger of disinvestment and capital flight. Under conditions of capital mobility, global business elites can drastically res…
Ideology Critique without Morality
What is the point of ideology critique? Prominent Anglo-American philosophers recently proposed novel arguments for the view that ideology critique is moral critique, and ideologies are flawed insofar as they contribute to injustice or oppression. We criticize that view and make the case for an alternative and more empirically oriented approach, grounded in epistemic rather than moral commitments. We make two related claims: (a) ideology critique…
Big Tech, Algorithmic Power, and Democratic Control
In Defense of Shirking in Capitalist Firms
Shirking, the act of avoiding the demands of one’s job, is generally seen as unethical. Drawing on empirical evidence from the sociology of work, I develop a normative conception of shirking as a form of worker resistance against illegitimate managerial power. In doing so, I present a new approach to the political theory of the firm, which is more adversarial and agent-centered than available alternatives. It is more adversarial as it recognizes …
Digital Domination
This article argues that social media companies’ power to regulate communication in the public sphere illustrates a novel type of domination. The idea is that, since social media companies can partially dictate the terms of citizens’ political participation in the public sphere, they can arbitrarily interfere with the choices individuals make qua citizens. I contend that social media companies dominate citizens in two different ways. First, I foc…
What is the Point of Social Media? Corporate Purpose and Digital Democratization
This paper proposes a new normative framework to think about Big Tech reform. Focusing on the case of digital communication, I argue that rethinking the corporate purpose of social media companies is a distinctive entry point to the debate on how to render the powers of tech corporations democratically legitimate. I contend that we need to strive for a reform that redefines the corporate purpose of social media companies. In this view, their purp…
Law (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Politics (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Law (6 works) · Economics (5 works) · Epistemology (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Political Philosophy and Ethics (5 works) · Power (physics (5 works)