A uberização do trabalho: o reino da precarização nos processos de extração de valor no mercado de trabalho contemporâneo

Abstract

This article analyzes how Uberization and the platform economy reshape the dynamics of labor-value production, focusing on the processes of surplus-value extraction mediated by digital platforms. Through bibliographic research and a method of critical theoretical analysis, the study concentrates on the dynamics of accelerated concentration and value extraction operationalized by Uber, demonstrating how its algorithms maximize profits without traditional production costs. The technological mediation on a global scale in the expanded reproduction of capital has consolidated a trend of capitalist savings on the social reproduction costs of labor power for masses of workers. The research reveals that the precarious conditions of app-based drivers are determined by complex mediations, such as the dependence and subjugation of workers to invisible control systems, facilitated by the surplus labor force produced by accumulation. Furthermore, the service industry corresponds to a necessity for capital reproduction, with digital mediation serving as a secure means of control, intensifying and accelerating accumulation. Material and real life remains the primary instance of value and surplus-value production, participating in the digital cycle of capital accumulation. The study concludes that Uberization transforms labor-value into a digital commodity, subverting labor rights and socially exacerbating exploitation.