Competition among capitalists structurally demands constant technological change

Evidence

One of the most important consequences of this schematic model of capitalism is that it demands constant technological change. In the effort to cut costs, beat out competitors, control workers, reduce turnover time, and gain market share, capitalists are incentivised to continually transform the labour process. This was the source of capitalism’s immense dynamism, as capitalists tend to increase labour productivity constantly and to outdo one another in generating profits efficiently. — Nick Srnicek, Platform Capitalism, 21

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Capitalists themselves are compelled to innovate by impersonal market forces — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 124; AI’s employment consequences are unpredictable because they depend on capitalist competition — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 248; Competition among capitals and commodified labor drive rapid technological development — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism: A Marxist…, 163 (+4 more)

Related

• Competition among capitals and commodified labor drive rapid technological development (similarity 0.85)
• Capitalists themselves are compelled to innovate by impersonal market forces (similarity 0.83)
• AI’s employment consequences are unpredictable because they depend on capitalist competition (similarity 0.82)
• Competitive advantage from innovation is temporary and forces constant reinvestment (similarity 0.81)
• Capitalist growth advances through labor-saving technology that destroys jobs (similarity 0.81)
• Technical innovation followed capitalist social relations rather than dictating them (similarity 0.80)
• Capitalists are as bound by market imperatives as workers are (similarity 0.79)
• Competition drives surveillance capitalism from the virtual into the physical world (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Competition among capitals and commodified labor drive rapid technological development #corroborates (0.92) — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism, 163
• Competition drives surveillance capitalism from the virtual into the physical world #exemplifies (0.78) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1070