Jack Linchuan Qiu
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040627
- eISBN:
- 9780252099069
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040627.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
This chapter makes the connections between slavery and digital media. It contends that even in the present era of digital media technologies, exploitation and injustice—here broadly defined as ...
More
This chapter makes the connections between slavery and digital media. It contends that even in the present era of digital media technologies, exploitation and injustice—here broadly defined as slavery—still manages to permeate society as a whole. The chapter describes a contemporary system of “twenty-first-century slavery” or “iSlavery,” made possible by the latest digital technologies of our time. Expanding from the bowels of the earth to the New World of cyberspace, iSlavery sustains a planetary network whose central nexus is the Apple-Foxconn alliance—or Appconn—the “master,” so to speak, who owns, manipulates, and exploits untold numbers of iSlaves.Less
This chapter makes the connections between slavery and digital media. It contends that even in the present era of digital media technologies, exploitation and injustice—here broadly defined as slavery—still manages to permeate society as a whole. The chapter describes a contemporary system of “twenty-first-century slavery” or “iSlavery,” made possible by the latest digital technologies of our time. Expanding from the bowels of the earth to the New World of cyberspace, iSlavery sustains a planetary network whose central nexus is the Apple-Foxconn alliance—or Appconn—the “master,” so to speak, who owns, manipulates, and exploits untold numbers of iSlaves.
Jack Linchuan Qiu
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040627
- eISBN:
- 9780252099069
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040627.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
This chapter briefly introduces the two primary modes of iSlavery, which engender manufacturing iSlaves and manufactured iSlaves, respectively. The bulk of this chapter is devoted to labor issues in ...
More
This chapter briefly introduces the two primary modes of iSlavery, which engender manufacturing iSlaves and manufactured iSlaves, respectively. The bulk of this chapter is devoted to labor issues in Foxconn, the world's most notorious sweatshop, in partnership with Apple and a long list of IT gadget brands. Here the chapter contends that the corporate practices are comparable, sometimes very similar indeed, to critical moments of seventeenth-century slavery, from the militarized “factories” to the Middle Passage to suicide-prevention nets. The chapter discusses lived experiences of workers, including testimonies from a work-injury case (Zhang Tingzhen) and a former employee (Tian Yu) who tried to take her life during the 2010 Foxconn Suicide Express.Less
This chapter briefly introduces the two primary modes of iSlavery, which engender manufacturing iSlaves and manufactured iSlaves, respectively. The bulk of this chapter is devoted to labor issues in Foxconn, the world's most notorious sweatshop, in partnership with Apple and a long list of IT gadget brands. Here the chapter contends that the corporate practices are comparable, sometimes very similar indeed, to critical moments of seventeenth-century slavery, from the militarized “factories” to the Middle Passage to suicide-prevention nets. The chapter discusses lived experiences of workers, including testimonies from a work-injury case (Zhang Tingzhen) and a former employee (Tian Yu) who tried to take her life during the 2010 Foxconn Suicide Express.
Jack Linchuan Qiu
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040627
- eISBN:
- 9780252099069
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040627.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
This chapter deals with the “manufactured iSlave,” beginning with the story of a Chinese teenager who sold his kidney to buy an iPhone and an iPad. It compares fanatic consumption of digital media ...
More
This chapter deals with the “manufactured iSlave,” beginning with the story of a Chinese teenager who sold his kidney to buy an iPhone and an iPad. It compares fanatic consumption of digital media with voluntary servitude, organ trafficking, and the consumption of slave-produced sugar that led to what anthropologist Sidney Mintz terms as “desocialized eating.” This is then followed by a broader discussion on digital labor in its various immaterial and individualized forms of exploitation that amount to enslavement, especially for those who have developed addiction to Appconn gadgets and services. iSlaves are also manufactured along the temporal dimension as they lose control over their time while chasing the latest trend in digital media. Overall, the chapter assesses the outlook of manufacturing and manufactured iSlaves as being rather bleak.Less
This chapter deals with the “manufactured iSlave,” beginning with the story of a Chinese teenager who sold his kidney to buy an iPhone and an iPad. It compares fanatic consumption of digital media with voluntary servitude, organ trafficking, and the consumption of slave-produced sugar that led to what anthropologist Sidney Mintz terms as “desocialized eating.” This is then followed by a broader discussion on digital labor in its various immaterial and individualized forms of exploitation that amount to enslavement, especially for those who have developed addiction to Appconn gadgets and services. iSlaves are also manufactured along the temporal dimension as they lose control over their time while chasing the latest trend in digital media. Overall, the chapter assesses the outlook of manufacturing and manufactured iSlaves as being rather bleak.
Jack Linchuan Qiu
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040627
- eISBN:
- 9780252099069
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040627.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
This chapter explains the rise of Appconn, with special attention to its pitfalls. Besides the usual factors of global capital and national policymaking, emphasis is attached to the local state in ...
More
This chapter explains the rise of Appconn, with special attention to its pitfalls. Besides the usual factors of global capital and national policymaking, emphasis is attached to the local state in China, which constitutes arguably a more important force than the will of Beijing. Most of this chapter zooms in on grassroots resistance and efforts of abolition, offering a bird's-eye view of WGC (worker-generated content) through a typology of workers' activism and collective action. The chapter then focuses on the actual scenarios of workers using social media on the picket line while at the same time defending themselves against iSlavery through digitally networked action (DNA). Several instances of the modern abolition movement are highlighted, and together, these endeavors short-circuit Appconn's efforts in labor discipline and deceptive marketing while showing possibilities of another, better world.Less
This chapter explains the rise of Appconn, with special attention to its pitfalls. Besides the usual factors of global capital and national policymaking, emphasis is attached to the local state in China, which constitutes arguably a more important force than the will of Beijing. Most of this chapter zooms in on grassroots resistance and efforts of abolition, offering a bird's-eye view of WGC (worker-generated content) through a typology of workers' activism and collective action. The chapter then focuses on the actual scenarios of workers using social media on the picket line while at the same time defending themselves against iSlavery through digitally networked action (DNA). Several instances of the modern abolition movement are highlighted, and together, these endeavors short-circuit Appconn's efforts in labor discipline and deceptive marketing while showing possibilities of another, better world.
Jack Linchuan Qiu
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040627
- eISBN:
- 9780252099069
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040627.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
This chapter concludes the volume with reflections on our past, present, and future. Three circular models are discussed as a way to summarize the structural similarities between iSlavery and the ...
More
This chapter concludes the volume with reflections on our past, present, and future. Three circular models are discussed as a way to summarize the structural similarities between iSlavery and the seventeenth-century system of triangular trade, while proposing a tentative model of collective action toward an alternative future, a model in which gadgets serve people and promote global justice. Linking up continents, peoples, and technologies, these models are all about circuits of capital accumulation, structural domination, and endless struggle. They bring about cultural change, from far-flung communities to everyday practices and mundane social relations. Ultimately, the chapter considers our possible future, as we move on from iSlavery and the capitalist world system.Less
This chapter concludes the volume with reflections on our past, present, and future. Three circular models are discussed as a way to summarize the structural similarities between iSlavery and the seventeenth-century system of triangular trade, while proposing a tentative model of collective action toward an alternative future, a model in which gadgets serve people and promote global justice. Linking up continents, peoples, and technologies, these models are all about circuits of capital accumulation, structural domination, and endless struggle. They bring about cultural change, from far-flung communities to everyday practices and mundane social relations. Ultimately, the chapter considers our possible future, as we move on from iSlavery and the capitalist world system.
