Counter-commodification

The economy of contribution in the digital commons

Bibliographic Data

ID5826320
AuthorsAndreas Wittel (0000-0002-4680-6670, Nottingham Trent University, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume19
Issue4
Pages314-331
Publication date2013-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture and Organization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1475-9551 • E-ISSN: 1477-2760
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14759551.2013.827422
OpenAlexW1976699437
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited26

This is an article about digital production and the crisis of capitalism. It is about production in the digital commons and its implications for the building of alternatives to a commodified world. As digital production is at the very heart of cognitive capitalism, the digital commons is not just any other disruption of the process of commodification. This is the field of a fierce struggle over the future of the Internet and the future of capitalism itself. It is potentially the moment which moves back the frontiers of measurement, value and quantification towards qualities, values and an expansion of the gift economy. For this potential to unfold, it is vital that those who are giving, sharing, and contributing for the benefit of humanity are supported by global policies that enable them to do so. They have to be supported because their gifts are not based on reciprocity and the obligation to return the gift. This is an argument about the future of digital labour. The article concludes that this could be achieved through a global basic income scheme

Commodification · Sharing economy · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Political Economy and Marxism