During the pandemic and its aftermath, the world witnessed a revival of new narratives and strategies related to industrial policy in a geopolitically competitive environment. We invite Angela Wigger to reflect on the history of competition policy in the EU and provide a deeper understanding of the latest “come-back” of EU industrial policy. She will explain how EU competition policy is enshrined in the shift towards a neoliberal order since the 1980s. Angela will provide a perspective on contemporary competition policy since the financial crisis, reflecting on the role of political institutio ..read more

In this episode we do a deep dive into the realm of Big Pharma. As with Big Tech, this industry epitomises large-scale rentier income extraction by corporations. Despite the industry's assertions that the costs associated with drug research and development justify high prices, the stark reality of profit margins unveils a different narrative. We will further ask Nick: How did pharmaceutical companies transform over the past decades, and what implications does this have for the accessibility of medicines? What characterizes the business model of Big Pharma, and why should this be a matter of c ..read more

Embark on a journey encompassing Brett Christophers' latest three books in this Crash Course Episode. He provides a comprehensive overview of the ascent of rentier capitalism, observed in diverse forms across political economies, and hones in on the pivotal role of asset managers in value extraction and shaping a rentier economy. Key questions we will explore with Brett: What exactly are rents, and what sets them apart from profits within the capitalist framework? Why is this distinction crucial? How has the landscape of asset management evolved, and where does it fit into the broader narrati ..read more

In this first Crash Course episode of the new series, we invite writer-activist Cory Doctorow to explore the rise of Rentier and Monopoly Capitalism in the tech sector. Is the platform economy in the last phase of what he calls Enshittification? “First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.” - Cory Doctorow We will ask him: How do big tech companies lock out competition and lock in users? To explain his concept of Enshi ..read more

In this special one-off we focus on European fiscal policy, following FiscalMatters' week of debate in which the future of the EU fiscal framework is discussed: “Too often important policy decisions happen behind closed doors. We need an open and accessible debate on Europe’s fiscal future”. Together with Ludovic Suttor-Sorel from Finance Watch we look at the current EU fiscal rules and how they should change in order to face the challenges we face regarding climate change, a just transition, rising inequality, unemployment and public health. How can we, civil society, academics and social and ..read more

Innovation economist and digital policy expert Francesca Bria joins us to talk about her experiences trying to counter the power of Big Tech and using technology for democratic decision making. Bria is the former CTO of the City of Barcelona and has been leading European Research and Innovation projects related to digital sovereignty, digital democracy and crypto platforms. In 2015 local elections in Spain were spectacular and radical democratic local forums won in many places and in some of the largest cities (Barcelona, Madrid, and others). Most prominent was the victory in Barcelona under t ..read more

In this fourth Crash Course episode of the series on Big Tech, Techno-feudalism and Democracy, we take a closer look at how we could resist the enormous and all-encompassing influence Big Tech and platform economies have on our lives. How can we regain control over our individual and collective data as they are being increasingly commodified and traded? Nandini Chami, deputy director of IT4Change, answers these and other questions and links the rise of Big Tech to growing inequality and development in the Global South. We ask further ask Chami: How is Big Tech deepening the geographies of in ..read more

In this third episode, we discussed the challenges that Big Tech confronts us with in terms of regulation. The platform economy has fundamentally changed our societies and has made more and more citizens dependent on less and less companies. Due to lobbying efforts as well as ignorance and incompetence on many policy levels, this sector has massively expanded without much government oversight. The US has started talking about splitting up Facebook, but critics warn that this is not sufficient. Farwa Sial zoomed in on the regulatory problems and trends that intellectual monopolies and the platf ..read more

In this second Crash Course episode of the series on Big Tech, Techno-feudalism and Democracy, we will zoom in on intellectual property. We have invited political economist Cecilia Rikap to explain where intellectual property comes from, what its role is in fabricating monopoly power, and why it is important to understand the rise of Big tech and Big Pharma.  Rodrigo and Sara asked Rikap:  Is ‘intellectual monopoly capitalism’ a new accumulation regime?  And how does it change the rules of the game?  How does intellectual monopoly capitalism fit in the growing geo-politic ..read more

In this first Crash Course episode of our series on Big Tech, Techno-feudalism and Democracy, we take a bird’s-eye view before we dive into more specific issues in the episodes to come. To introduce you to the topic, we have invited York University professor Kean Birch, specialised in Big Tech and emerging forms of digital rentiership.  Rodrigo and Sara ask Birch:  What are the key concepts to understand the age of technoscientific capitalism?  Have we seen similar socio-economic transformations and rapid technological change before, or are we on uncharted terrain?  How ..read more