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Understanding Globalized Digital Labor in the Information Age

Abstract:

The development of globalized digital labor brings to mind a labor process that seems to have changed dramatically from that of the industrial age. The toil of low-wage manual labor inside extensive buildings with smokestacks prevalent in the industrial age seems to have evolved into well-paid, enjoyable, meaningful labor in elegant buildings in tune with spacious vegetation-filled campuses. At the same time, social polarization is increasing with the threat of minimum-wage service labor and labor-replacing robots seeming to be the order of the day. The bottom line that drives this process seems to be the same as always, i.e. what benefits the capitalist owner is what is good for the digital workplace. This article seeks to identify and demystify the fundamental elements of digital labor in the globalized information age.