Karl Marx’s idea of General Intellect, Immaterial Labor and Venture Capital in the XXI Century

• In Event: 508 - Section on Marxist Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Globalization and Economics

Abstract

Karl Marx’s idea of “general intellect”,
immaterial labor and venture capital in the XXI century


Abstract

The paper considers technology entrepreneurship/venture capital nexus through the lenses of the theory of “cognitive capitalism”. Drawing on the recent scholarship on entrepreneurship and venture capital in sociology and economics, it tries to engage the Marxian notion of General Intellect in the analysis of entrepreneurial process. Activities of startup entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are presented as different articulations of General Intellect.
The paper is rather theoretical in scope and has three main sections. In the first section the authors deal with the idea of redefining the notion of “entrepreneurship”. The entrepreneurial work in the time of salariat crisis is discussed. Second section presents similarity between immaterial labor and the work of venture capitalists, and relations between immaterial labor and positive externalities. Further on a critique of cognitive capitalism is concentrated around discussion of externalities and tacit knowledge.

Authors

• Andrey V. Rezaev, St. Petersburg State University

• Dmitry M. Zhikharevich, London School of Economics and Political Science