Editorial Staff
Il Piccolo
July 2nd, 2026
In Digital Communism, Maurizio Ferraris argues that traditional categories of labour and capital are no longer sufficient to understand the digital economy. Users continuously generate economic value through their digital activities, even when participation appears voluntary and enjoyable. This creates a form of functional dependence, in which platforms benefit from data produced by their users.
Ferraris proposes Webfare as a form of alternative capitalization: instead of allowing major platforms to retain the value generated by data, users could reclaim and collectively manage their information through voluntary cooperatives or alternative platforms. The resulting value could then be redistributed according to collectively defined goals.
Ferraris presents this model as a potential European third way between US platform capitalism and Chinese digital control. However, Webfare should involve more than financial redistribution: it should also guarantee data portability, algorithmic transparency, individual choice, and democratic control over digital infrastructures. Digital communism therefore reinterprets the question of equality for the digital age.
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