ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the ostensible decentralization enabled by digital technology has shaped an unprecedented economic centralization. While the “sharing economy” first appeared to offer an egalitarian alternative to both the state and the market, it over time became co-opted by platform firms to accumulate unprecedented levels of power through surveillance, control, and data extraction. The result was the rise of giant corporations such as Meta, Google, and Amazon. This chapter traces the evolution of digital platforms and examines how they became the lynchpin of contemporary capitalism, arguing that platform power epitomizes the weaponization of complexity.
