Funda Ustek-Spilda
A new ecosystem of digital labour platforms has emerged over the past decade—transforming the very infrastructures of capitalism. The growth of platforms represents a double movement, whereby certain platforms, in key areas such as logistics, food delivery and mobility, are becoming so pervasive and central to the functioning of economies and everyday lives that they are becoming not just corporate behemoths but infrastructures themselves.
In this new system, the platform business model dominates not only how production is organised but also how it is distributed and valued. In this process, platforms also begin to push other, more traditional infrastructures to adopt their business model, as profit possibilities and margins as well as the efficiency of other systems are called into question. The pandemic especially sped up this process, with a rapid platform-isation of work in a range of sectors, from finance to hospitality, as the space and scope for other labour-market structures diminished or became impossible to sustain under lockdowns.