Abstract:

The platform economy is diverse, including two main forms: "platform capitalism" and "platform corporatism". By reviewing the progress of Marx' and subsequent labor process theory, this article finds that labor-capital cooperation is the hidden thread of labor process theory and the key to understanding platform cooperativism. However, the analysis object of platform economy literature in China still remains on the criticism of platform capitalism. The analytical framework is Burawoy's labor process theory that lags behind practice, ignores the existence of platform corporatism, and cannot explain the diversity of platform economies. This article proposes to replace Burawoy's "coercion–consent" dimension with the“incentive–monitoring" dimension. The ideal type of labor process constructed based on this can provide a unified theoretical framework for platform capitalism and platform corporatism. Platform corporatism shows the prospect of a win-win situation between labor and capital in the platform economy, but it still faces some problems due to the structural constraints of capitalist production relations. If China can actively leverage the advantages of its socialist system and abandon the platform corporatism of capitalist countries, it may be possible to develop a true labor–capital cooperation platform economy.

Key words:

platform economy, labor process theory, platform capitalism, platform corporatism