Surveillance Capitalism in America

Surveillance Capitalism in America explores the historical relationship between surveillance and capitalism, highlighting the role of the private sector in the spread of everyday surveillance. It suggests that surveillance is not just a side effect of digital capitalism but the business model itself, with tech giants like Google and Facebook fueled by a continuous supply of user data. The book explores how surveillance has been central to American capitalism since the nation's founding, with managers surveilling labor, merchants surveilling consumers, and businesses surveilling each other. It also reveals the long arc of surveillance capitalism, from the violent coercion of slave labor to the seductions of target marketing.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 04 October 2021
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Surveillance Capitalism in America provides a vital historical lens through which to examine the intricate interplay between surveillance and capitalism. While surveillance is commonly linked to governmental entities, the growing public discourse revolves around the increasing involvement of the private sector in the proliferation of everyday surveillance. Tech giants such as Google and Facebook thrive on a steady stream of user data and digital exhaust, shaping their business models around surveillance. It is important to recognize that surveillance is not merely a byproduct of digital capitalism but rather an integral component of its very essence, heralding the emergence of a novel and more predatory form of capitalism: surveillance capitalism. However, the extent to which capitalism has truly transformed remains a subject of debate.

Surveillance Capitalism in America delves into the historical roots of commercial surveillance, predating the advent of computers. It argues that surveillance has been an integral part of American capitalism since the nation's inception. Managers monitored labor, merchants surveilled consumers, and businesses surveilled each other. This volume, specifically focused on events in the United States, explores the profound logic of modern surveillance as a mechanism for rationalization, bureaucratization, and social control. Moreover, business surveillance has frequently involved partnerships with the state, facilitated by favorable laws, policing, and information sharing. The history of surveillance capitalism thus encompasses the development of technological, legal, and knowledge infrastructures spanning decades.

Collectively, the chapters in this volume shed light on the long trajectory of surveillance capitalism, tracing its evolution from the coercive practices of slave labor to the persuasive tactics of target marketing. This comprehensive examination underscores the profound impact of surveillance on our lives, from the ways in which it shapes our behavior to the ways in which it erodes our privacy and autonomy. As we navigate the increasingly surveilled world, it is crucial to remain aware of the historical roots and ongoing implications of surveillance capitalism and to work towards a more equitable and democratic society that values privacy and individual rights.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780812253351