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The Persistent Roots of Racial Capitalism in the Era of Digital Platforms

Resource type
Author/contributor
Title
The Persistent Roots of Racial Capitalism in the Era of Digital Platforms
Abstract
This essay examines the expansion of digital platforms through the lens of racial capitalism, focusing on their implications for people of colour in the Global South and migrant populations. It begins by outlining racial capitalism as a theoretical framework that extends beyond classical Marxism by centring the historical and ongoing racialization of labour, dispossession, and accumulation. Drawing on foundational insights from W. E. B. Du Bois and Cedric Robinson, the essay situates capitalism as inherently structured by racial hierarchies rather than merely class relations. It then engages in a critical review of recent scholarship addressing racial capitalism across domains such as social reproduction, migration, and border regimes, highlighting how digital platforms intensify and reorganize these dynamics. The analysis emphasizes how digital infrastructures reproduce longstanding patterns of exploitation, surveillance, and differential mobility while rendering racialized bodies central to global circuits of labour and value extraction. Finally, the essay applies this framework to the study of digital migration and embodiment, illustrating how platform-mediated environments both constrain and reshape the lived experiences of racialized populations. By foregrounding the interplay between race, technology, and political economy, the essay argues for the continued relevance of racial capitalism in understanding contemporary forms of inequality and in envisioning alternatives.
Publication
Labour / Le Travail
Date
Spring 2026
Volume
97
Pages
311-327
Accessed
7/22/26, 2:38 PM
ISSN
1911-4842
Language
English
Citation
Chatterjee, A. (2026). The Persistent Roots of Racial Capitalism in the Era of Digital Platforms. Labour / Le Travail, 97, 311–327. https://doi.org/10.52975/llt.2026v97.013