Intellectual Collapse and the New Trap of Capitalism in Domestic Social Systems

 Intellectual Collapse and the New Trap of Capitalism in Domestic Social Systems


In the current world, capitalism is no longer limited to an industrial-based economic system; it has gradually transformed into a data-based capitalism. Once upon a time, land, labor, capital, and organization were considered the main productive factors of the economy. But with the change of time, although the basic character of capitalism has remained unchanged, its structure and control system have changed. Globalization, the rise of a technology-based global village, and multinational corporate power are the main reasons for this change.


Globalization is based on international trade, the free flow of information, technological dominance, the relaxation of geographical boundaries, and the expansion of corporate power. Today, those who control technology, especially Silicon Valley-centered corporations, are controlling people's attention through algorithmic structures. On social media, users are trapped in an "infinite loop" where the same type of content is shown continuously. The human brain is naturally interested in getting entertainment quickly with less thinking power. In neuroscience, this is related to the dopamine-dependent reward system. Technology companies have exploited this psychological tendency to create algorithms that analyze the user's likes, comments, shares and viewing habits and convert their attention and time into products. As a result, people's personal behavior, interests and online presence have now become economic assets.


Through this process, data capitalism has become stronger and has taken the form of data colonialism. That is, people's information, behavior and attention are being turned into assets under the control of corporate power. At the same time, people are being involved in digital labor through the culture of "content creators" and "influencers". Here, labor is no longer just physical; rather, attention, emotions, personal life and online activity have also become part of capital.


Why people want to go viral, why they seek recognition and validation on social media - is related to this new capitalist structure. Post-industrial revolution manual labor has been transformed into “digital labor” through digitalization. In the past, workers used to do physical labor in factories; now people are presenting their time, attention, personal experiences, and emotions as products online. In other words, capitalism has reconstructed its old exploitation system into a new technology-based form. The most worrying thing is that the intellectual sector of society is also gradually being affected by the influence of this attention economy. When viral culture starts to gain importance instead of deep thought in places of knowledge, then real intellectual development in society is hindered. As a result, people are gradually leaning towards a consumer culture based on entertainment instead of critical thinking.


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