book

This book project is based on my doctoral dissertation. It problematizes the Chicago theory of the firm, which presupposes that the firm is a private actor. The book demonstrates that under conditions of contemporary capitalism, relationships within the firm cannot be classified merely as “nexuses of contracts” which individuals are free to join and leave as they please, because firms exercise real (and oftentimes unreasonable) authority over employees in ways that substantially undermine egalitarian norms, democratic relationships, equal opportunities for social and political participation, and the epistemic self-confidence of (especially disadvantaged) workers.

The central theme of this project is that the introduction of big data has fundamentally transformed the ways how big tech firms pursue profit-maximization. This project aims to demonstrate the increasing incompatibility between democratic politics and rising data power, especially in cases where big tech firms rely on such power to contest democratic legislative process.