Escaping Work: Brand and Platform Capitalism

"The Flight from Work: From Brand to Platform Capitalism" examines the profound transformation of contemporary capitalism. Beginning with Naomi Klein's diagnosis in No Logo, the text traces the evolution from a production-based model to the dominance of brands and, subsequently, digital platforms. A key phenomenon is the "flight from work"—the structural retreat of corporations from direct employership to outsourcing and networks of subcontractors, leading to precarization and the "evaporation of employment." The article draws on the theoretical frameworks of Polanyi, Bauman, Sennett, Standing, Debord, and Zuboff to explain social consequences such as growing inequality and a new form of exploitation. It also highlights the role of brands as tools of cultural hegemony and examines the new alterglobalist activism that connects labor rights struggles with environmental and human rights concerns, seeking to reclaim corporate accountability.