CHRISTIAN FUCHS - ICT&S - Universität Salzburg

Christian Fuchs: Social Networking Sites and the Surveillance SocietyIn the surveillance society, the state is suspicious of individuals, everyone is suspectedto be a potential criminal, the principle that you are not guilty before proven guiltyseems to be reverted, one seems to be automatically suspected as being guilty as longas one cannot prove that one does not have criminal or terrorist intents. It is a society,where Guantanamo is not just a US military prison, but global society tends to becomea Guantanamo society. This phenomenon has become increasingly pressing sinceSeptember 11, 2001. Therefore one can assume that there are high pressure andexpectations from states on providers to store all data for a certain amount of time andto provide access.In the area of the economy, corporations are keen on knowing our consumptionpreferences for targeting us with personalized advertisements online. They do so eitherlegally when you agree in an electronic contract to an analysis of your consumptionpreferences and to receive advertisements e.g. by e-mail or when you browse a webplatform or illegally by sending spam mail or using invisible spyware that watches andtransmits passwords and online behaviour.For Marx, the profit rate is the relation of profit to investment costs: p = s / (c + v). Theinvestment costs are subdivided into constant and variable capital. Variable capital v isthe value form of labour, constant capital c the value form of the means of production.The latter consists of two parts: circulating constant capital c cir (the value of the utilizedraw materials, auxiliary materials, operating supply items and semi-finished products)and fixed constant capital c fix (the value of the utilised machines, buildings andequipment) (Marx 1885/1992, MEW 24: chapter 8). c cir and v together form thecirculating capital: They transfuse their value totally to the product and must beconstantly renewed. c fix remains fixed in the production process for many turnovers ofthe capital. Fixed constant capital decreases its value by each turnover of capital. Itsvalue is decreased by Δc, which is a flexible value. Fixed constant capital likemachinery does not create value and its value is never entirely transfused to capital atonce. It is depreciated by wear and tear, non-usage, and moral depreciation (i.e. theemergence of new machinery with increased productivity) (Marx 1885/1992: 237f,MEW 24: 159).In the production sphere, capital stops its metamorphosis; capital circulation comes toa halt. New value V’ of the commodity is produced, V’ contains the value of thenecessary constant and variable capital and all surplus value of the surplus product.Surplus value is generated by unpaid labour. Corporations do not pay for theproduction of surplus, therefore the production of surplus value can be considered as aprocess of exploitation. The value V’ of the commodity after production is V’ = c + v +s. The commodity then leaves the production sphere and again enters the circulationsphere, where it is sold on the market, so that surplus value is transformed into profit.The value of the commodity is realized in money form. Parts of the profits arerechtfertigen und sie diese Daten als wesentliche Voraussetzung für die Erfüllung der ihnen nach diesemBundesgesetz übertragenen Aufgaben benötigen. Die Bezeichnung eines Anschlusses nach Z 1 kann fürdie Erfüllung der ersten allgemeinen Hilfeleistungspflicht oder die Abwehr gefährlicher Angriffe auchdurch Bezugnahme auf ein von diesem Anschluss geführtes Gespräch durch Bezeichnung einesmöglichst genauen Zeitraumes und der passiven Teilnehmernummer erfolgen. Die ersuchte Stelle istverpflichtet, die Auskunft unverzüglich und kostenlos zu erteilen”.28