Five Theses On Technoliberalism Too The Networked Populace Sphere

Via the mag Communication in addition to the Public (CAP) SagePub.

Abstract 

How receive got digital technologies affected the marketplace logics in addition to economization that constitute the underlying governing rationality of neoliberalism? This essay unfurls 5 theses that farther develop the concept of technoliberalism, the intensification of neoliberalism through computational technology, inwards the context of the networked populace sphere:
(1) technoliberalism names the dominant governing rationality inwards cultures where digital computation applied scientific discipline suffuses everyday life;
(2) technoliberalism replaces public, democratically accountable ability amongst the private, technical expertise of digital applied scientific discipline firms;
(3) technoliberalism focuses on contriving technical systems to alter civilization at the expense of democratic declaration in addition to deliberation;
(4) technoliberalism intensifies the commodification of attention, resulting inwards undemocratic forms of “noopower”; and
(5) technoliberalism standardizes subjectivities through grammatization. Each thesis complicates the prospects of democratic deliberation inwards the networked populace sphere in addition to articulates lines of communication query necessary for keeping democratic practices vibrant.

Introduction
On 12 September 2017, Apple’s senior vice-president for retail, Angela Ahrendts, took the phase during the annual Apple Keynote event. Ahrendts followed Apple CEO Tim Cook, who had, adhering to the generic expectations of these applied scientific discipline events, only extolled the virtues of novel technical improvements across Apple’s offerings—most notably announcing details close the novel iPhone X smartphone. As Ahrendts shared Apple’s evolving retail strategy, she noted,

It’s funny, because nosotros genuinely don’t telephone band them “stores” anymore. We telephone band them “town squares” because they’re gathering places for 500 1000000 people who see us really yr ... places where everyone’s welcome, in addition to where all of Apple (2017a) comes together.

Ahrendts went on to particular how Apple Stores inwards major metropolitan areas were beingness redesigned amongst plazas to “meet upward amongst friends” or “listen to a local creative somebody on the weekends.” Inside, she explained, “we’ve designed a forum, a house for customers to create, collaborate, or only connect i time again amongst i another” (Apple, 2017a). The corporate absorption of the linguistic communication of democratic gathering, paired amongst the simultaneous positioning of the dependent equally a consumer rather than a citizen, is legible equally a species of neoliberal rhetoric.

Apple’s shift inwards marketing strategy appears, if null else, equally a cynical populace relations stunt to co-opt democratic ideals in addition to increase their ain profits. Yet, Ahrendts’ annunciation offers a slight twist on the typical neoliberal fare, i that foregrounds the role of digital applied scientific discipline inwards intensifying the particular governing rationality of belatedly capitalism—what nosotros volition refer to equally “technoliberalism” (Malaby, 2009; Pfister, 2018).

This twist tin live on detailed amongst farther exploration of the activities envisioned for the novel Apple Town Squares. An Apr 2017 press release announcing “Today at Apple” programming adumbrates the pin from retail store to town square, quoting Ahrendts saying,

We’re creating a modern-day town square, where everyone is welcome inwards a infinite where the best of Apple comes together to connect amongst i another, discover a novel passion, or accept their science to the side yesteryear side level. We call back it volition live on a fun in addition to enlightening experience for everyone who joins. (Apple, 2017b)

What kinds of activities volition these novel Apple Town Squares offer? Photography workshops that learn tips on “capturing candids” or “building a gear upward on social media,” Teacher Tuesdays for schoolhouse instructors “to larn novel ways to contain applied scientific discipline into their classrooms,” opportunities for businesspeople “to engage amongst global in addition to local entrepreneurs inwards the novel Business Circuits program,” specialized Kids Hours teaching coding amongst Apple’s programming linguistic communication or how to gear upward music amongst Apple’s GarageBand, in addition to lessons on community organizing from local radicals (Apple, 2017b). 

As if! 

The incongruity of that in conclusion farcical item amongst the activities genuinely outlined inwards Apple’s vision for its retail stores lays bare the fantasy that these spaces would live on hospitable to the broad gain of activities that sustain civic civilization inwards town squares in addition to other populace spaces. “Everyone” who joins the activities at the Apple Town Squares volition live on welcome in addition to so long equally they pursue individual, depoliticized, aesthetic projects.

While traditional town squares are ofttimes sites of populace pedagogy, places where citizens become to larn from each other, Apple’s vision of populace pedagogy is avowedly marketplace driven. As applied scientific discipline journalist James Vincent (2017) explains it, “Apple frames these disciplines [of photography, coding, in addition to music- making that volition accept house inwards the novel town squares] equally modern equivalents to the Medieval trivium —an essential educational resources that makes a somebody a person.” Ahrendts licenses this analogy inwards the Apple Keynote yesteryear announcing a novel seat inside their retail structure: the Creative Pro, who helps convey Apple users’ visions to life using the latest Apple technologies.

Ahrendts explains that “the Creative Pro is right away to liberal arts what the G/genius has ever been to technology” (Apple, 2017a). It isn’t clear if Ahrendts was referring to technological geniuses throughout history or to the “Geniuses” who render technical back upward at Apple retail stores. In either case, Ahrendts’ intimation is that at that spot is finally a usage for those liberal arts degrees: they tin live on harnessed to Apple’s computational processing ability to assist customers accept to a greater extent than striking portrait photos or develop a consistent Instagram brand.

To seat it mildly, this represents a divergence from articulations of the liberal arts that reigned inwards before moments of liberalism. Traditionally, advocates receive got tied defenses of the liberal arts to participation inwards populace life; indeed, the classic trivium of the liberal arts— rhetoric, grammar, in addition to logic—formed the footing of instruction for centuries in addition to so that citizens could live on capable of the argumentation in addition to advocacy required for a robust populace sphere. Now, next Ahrendts’ reasoning, the liberal arts are beingness repurposed for to a greater extent than market-oriented ends. Hannah Arendt’s (1958) “space of appearance,” a house where the trivium was practiced for democratic ends, is so converted into Angela Ahrendts’ marketplace of appearance, where Apple’s novel trivium is yoked to to a greater extent than efficiently moving consumer products. While dry ground ownership was i time a status for participation inwards the populace sphere,

Apple’s vision of the populace sphere presumes i has an Apple device. What is lost inwards the joint of Apple Stores equally the novel Town Squares is the sense of traditional town squares (understood equally mutual coming together places for citizens) to back upward collective activeness oriented toward raising attending close systematic problems of populace life. Private, corporate spaces do non receive got the legal protections of populace spaces for liberty of speech, assembly, in addition to protest.

It is hard to imagine Apple Town Squares tolerating a protestation close labor atmospheric condition at Foxconn factories where Apple products are made. This is peculiarly in addition to so given the recent courtroom illustration that granted the Mall of America the authorization to take away Black Lives Matters protesters from their premises (Brown, 2016; Moeckli, 2016).

“This vision of civic action,” Megan Beam in addition to Greg Dickinson (2015) struggle inwards the context of the novel lifestyle centers where many Apple Stores are housed: is made possible only in addition to only through the structures of consumer capitalism. And the modes of affiliation offered are non those of a community built of difference, but those built out of the smallest units imaginable: the private in addition to the nuclear family. (p. 180) 

Absorbing the civic linguistic communication of the town foursquare implies that Apple Stores volition bear democracy’s torch; yet, the constraints of the space, the kinds of groups in addition to the activities that are encouraged to occupy that space, in addition to the telos of the corporation all portend marketplace activity rather than civic activity...What May Happen When the Foxconn Robots Become Self-Aware"

...In 2010 when eighteen Foxconn employees attempted suicide in addition to fourteen succeeded at that spot was a worldwide outcry.
This outcry stemmed from a break of factors including an ignorance of statistics in addition to a profound ignorance of suicide inwards human populations.

At the fourth dimension Foxconn had 930,000 employees (now 1.2mil.) resulting inwards a suicide charge per unit of measurement of 0.001505376% or 1.505 per 100,000.* According to the all-knowing one, Wikipedia, the charge per unit of measurement for PRC equally a whole was 22.23 per 100,000.

The Foxconn charge per unit of measurement was lower than that of 99 countries including every province inwards Europe, the USA (12.0) in addition to the residual of the G20.

As a full general rule, if you lot aren't feeling likewise chipper remain out of Eastern Europe in addition to the Western U.S.

*Half of the workforce is inwards the gigantic Shenzhen complex of facilities. 14/450,000 only gets you lot to 3.1 per 100,000 or close the charge per unit of measurement of Republic of Malta in addition to less than a 3rd of the worldwide rate of 10.07 per 100K.

Yeah, I looked it up.

Not pregnant to audio similar an Apple apologist, they tin grip their ain PR but bringing upward Foxconn was only a facile means for the writers to gear upward the betoken that turning over hitherto populace functions to private entities does restrain gratis speech.
The residual of the slice is worth a read if in addition to so inclined.