Re: <nettime> Evgeny Morozov: How much for your data? (LMD)

[Nick <nettime@njw.me.uk>]

Quoth Felix Stalder:

> First, it's absolutely unclear, what from which position the critique
> is developed. While it's easy to agree that something is bad -- and
> tech utopianism and hyperbole are easy targets for critique -- it's
> much harder to say what would be good. EM makes passing reference
> to "the common, beloved by radical democrats, or something else"
> but that's it. But also long as there is no sense of alternative,
> then all such a critique manages to produce is vague fear and
> conservative/reactionary sentiments. Not by intention, I presume, but
> by effect.

I found it unsatisfying for the same reasons. He is very right to 
bring up issues like the change of work relations to being in some 
ways much more subservient to the organising entity (e.g. AirBnB), 
and for which means like union organising don't fit readily. But 
unions grew up to be useful in the context of a large hierarchy of 
the sort that these new organisations change - not flatten, or 
remove, of course, but nevertheless alter. Surely he doesn't think 
that the best possible organisation of labour is strong unions in an 
antagonistic relationship with managers in large and rigidly 
hierarchical organisations.

Nick




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