DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Platform Socialism

How to Reclaim our Digital Future from Big Tech

James Muldoon author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Pluto Press

Published:20th Jan '22

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

Platform Socialism cover

This book outlines a vision for a digital economy that prioritizes freedom, challenging the dominance of powerful tech companies and advocating for grassroots control.

In Platform Socialism, James Muldoon presents a thought-provoking manifesto that envisions a future where digital technology serves the public good rather than corporate interests. He argues that the current landscape is dominated by powerful tech companies that exploit users while masquerading as community builders. This book aims to challenge the status quo by offering a bold alternative vision for a digital economy that prioritizes freedom and equity.

Muldoon meticulously outlines how these tech giants have come to control the digital infrastructure essential to modern social life, and he highlights the urgent need for grassroots communities and transnational movements to reclaim this power. By reframing the conversation around technology, Platform Socialism encourages readers to explore new ideas and innovative approaches that can dismantle the monopolistic structures in place today.

Drawing on a rich tapestry of historical examples and contemporary initiatives, Muldoon provides a roadmap for how we can harness the emancipatory potential of digital platforms. The book not only critiques existing systems but also offers concrete proposals for building a more equitable digital future. Through collaboration and community action, he believes we can redefine the relationship between technology and society, paving the way for a more just and inclusive world.

'A ground-breaking, ambitious and rigorous account of how and why we must take control over contemporary digital technologies’

-- Nick Srnicek, Lecturer in Digital Economy at King's College London and author of 'Platform Capitalism'

'A clarion call for hope amid twenty-first century doom. With analytical flair, he shows that platforms are not invincible and that their infrastructure may be the key to a better world'

-- Phil Jones, author of 'Work Without the Worker: Labour in the Age of Platform Capitalism'

'A compelling account of the political struggles that will be needed to challenge capital's control over digital platforms, and an essential read for anyone who believes in technology's emancipatory potential.’

-- Wendy Liu, author of 'Abolish Silicon Valley: How to Liberate Technology from Capitalism'

'A punchy analysis of the platform economy that offers more than a critique of big tech's vision of our collective future. Muldoon sketches the contours of a democratic socialist alternative'

-- Aaron Benanav, Researcher at Humboldt University of Berlin and author of 'Automation and the Future of Work'

'Encourages us to open our minds fully to the possibility of an alternative future, in which technology is put to work for the many, not the few'

-- Lizzie O'Shea, lawyer and author of 'Future Histor

ISBN: 9780745346953

Dimensions: 215mm x 135mm x 15mm

Weight: 203g

192 pages