The Spirit of Digital Capitalism

Digital technologies are now central to the machinations of capitalism. But how are they changing forms of capital accumulation and domination, and in what terms are these changes being promoted and justified by a new, incredibly powerful techno-elite?

In this book, Jenny Huberman takes on these questions. Beyond demonstrating how digital technologies make new forms of capital accumulation possible, she interrogates the ideological transformations that have accompanied the emergence of digital capitalism. She examines how business gurus, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists make claims about the way digital technologies contribute to the common good, foster collaboration and connectivity, and render life more convenient, even if this convenience comes at the expense of once cherished values such as privacy and liberty. Ultimately, Huberman argues that the spirit of digital capitalism is Janus-faced and reveals a deeper set of cultural contradictions at the heart of contemporary American society: promising, in the same moment, to liberate us and surveil us, enrich us and yet render our lives more economically precarious.

Smart and thought-provoking, this book offers new ways of thinking that will speak to anyone interested in understanding the contours of contemporary capitalism, particularly students and scholars of economic anthropology and sociology.