printNew Beginnings, Old Templates:
the Challenges of Class Analysis in the Context of Gigization and Platformization of the Economy (part 1)
Davydov D.A.
Cand. Sci. (Polit.), Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Philosophy and Law, Ural Branch of RAS, Yekaterinburg, Russia davydovdmitriy90@gmail.com
Davydov D.A. New Beginnings, Old Templates: the Challenges of Class Analysis in the Context of Gigization and Platformization of the Economy (part 1). Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 9. P. 16-26
This article critically analyzes contemporary concepts of social structure in the context of platform digitalization and the “flexible” economy. The author questions the relevance of the classical Marxist dichotomy, demonstrating the futility of attempts to portray precarious workers as an oppressed working class (“digital slaves”) within platform capitalism. The paper argues that the binary optics of “exploiter versus exploited” distorts reality by ignoring an expanding stratum of independent workers who accumulate and maximize their own resources and assets. The first part of the article examines contemporary theories of social stratification describing the transformation of class structure under digital capitalism. Concepts of the precariat, the gig economy, digital labor, and platform capitalism are analyzed to map out a new class confrontation between precariously employed workers and digital platform owners. The study shows that contemporary social critics interpret ongoing changes through the prism of a renewed class binary, contrasting precarious workers with “platform lords” as the main antagonistic groups in modern society. Finally, the political and social implications of this approach are explored, including strategies for combating platform monopolies, expanding social guarantees, introducing a universal basic income, and collectivizing digital platforms. These interpretations are largely rooted in classical Marxist notions of social structure and class conflict, creating the preconditions for their further critical rethinking.
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