Does the digital sector produce surplus value? The case of Facebook

Abstract

This article shows that the digital economy can, as opposed to the opinion of many, be analysed on the basis of Marx’s theory of surplus value and profit. What we have shown through a study of the political economy of Facebook is that the product produced by the company in question is a commodity just like others. Moreover, the surplus value produced by the productive workers of Facebook is the main source of the profits of the company and the wages of its unproductive workers.