Escaping Work: From Brand Capitalism to Platforms

Fundacja Dobre Państwo • January 2, 2026 • 🇵🇱 Polski

Introduction

Naomi Klein's diagnosis in No Logo remains relevant: contemporary capitalism is based on a fundamental shift in which corporations have abandoned production in favor of brand building. The ability to create meaning, not factories, has become the primary resource. This process, termed **the flight from work**, is more than just outsourcing. It represents a conscious withdrawal of companies from the role of employer and the dispersion of employment across a network of subcontractors, which undermines social stability and redefines economic relations.

Precarization: Perspectives from Polanyi, Bauman, and Sennett

Theorists such as Karl Polanyi explain that treating labor as a **fictitious commodity** leads to social erosion. Zygmunt Bauman describes this as an effect of **liquid modernity**, where uncertainty becomes the norm and flexibility masks a lack of security. Richard Sennett adds that such a model destroys character and the capacity for long-term commitments, leading to profound **alienation** and a sense of lacking control over one's own biography.

Simultaneously, corporations, by evading responsibility for labor, intensely **colonize public space**. Brands infiltrate schools, stadiums, and the digital sphere, replacing real connections with a symbolic promise of belonging. The void left by stable employment is filled with the illusion of a lifestyle, deepening the disconnect between material insecurity and a world of promises.

The Platform Economy Extends the Flight from Work

This logic has mutated in the era of the **platform economy**. Companies like Uber or Glovo organize the work of millions of people without formally being their employers. A driver or courier, though called a "partner" in the app, is fully controlled by an algorithm. This is another stage of the flight from work, supported by **surveillance capitalism**, where data on human behavior becomes a key raw material for profit optimization.

This changes the very **ontology of work**: from an entity rooting one's biography in stable institutions, it becomes a fluid entity, defined by algorithms and contracts. Work ceases to be a hard social fact and becomes a variable optimized in real-time, which deepens precarization and shifts all risk onto the individual.

Redesigning Work After the Flight from Traditional Employment

The answer lies in a new institutional architecture. Key is the **presumption of employment**, which reverses the burden of proof – the platform must prove it is not an employer. Transparency and an **audit of algorithmic management** are also essential, so that decisions about assignments are not made in a "black box". **Due diligence laws** (such as the CSDDD directive) restore accountability in global supply chains, and collective **data rights** strengthen workers' positions in negotiations. This is complemented by the **democratization of public and economic space**, limiting commercialization and amplifying the voice of workers. These elements form a coherent system that recalibrates the market's moral compass.

Conclusion

The era in which brands pretended they had no factories is irrevocably over. Today, new warning lights are flashing on the control panel of the state and democracy: employment, algorithms, supply chains, data, space. The task is clear: to synchronize them so that the civilization of work is more than just a logo.

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Summary

"The Flight from Work: From Brand to Platform Capitalism" examines the profound transformation of contemporary capitalism. Beginning with Naomi Klein's diagnosis in *No Logo*, the text traces the evolution from a production-based model to the dominance of brands and, subsequently, digital platforms. A key phenomenon is the "flight from work"—the structural retreat of corporations from direct employership to outsourcing and networks of subcontractors, leading to precarization and the "evaporation of employment." The article draws on the theoretical frameworks of Polanyi, Bauman, Sennett, Standing, Debord, and Zuboff to explain social consequences such as growing inequality and a new form of exploitation. It also highlights the role of brands as tools of cultural hegemony and examines the new alterglobalist activism that connects labor rights struggles with environmental and human rights concerns, seeking to reclaim corporate accountability.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is "escape from work" in the context of Naomi Klein's analysis?

According to Naomi Klein, "job evasion" is the process by which corporations consciously withdraw from their role as direct employers. Instead of employing full-time employees, they outsource jobs to networks of subcontractors, minimizing responsibility for employees.

What are the main features of brand capitalism and platform capitalism?

Brand capitalism focuses on creating meaning and symbols, where a company's value is defined by image rather than production. Platform capitalism bases profits on the extraction and analysis of user behavior data to predict and shape their actions.

How does Karl Polanyi refer to work as a "fictitious commodity"?

Polanyi believes that labor is a "fictitious commodity" because it is not created for the market but is an integral part of human life. Treating it as a mere market good leads to dramatic social consequences.

What does the term "precariat" introduced by Guy Standing mean?

The precariat is a new social class characterized by a lack of stable employment, low and unpredictable income, and a lack of labor rights. It is a layer of society living in constant economic and social uncertainty.

What are the social consequences of dismantling the traditional employment model?

The dismantling of traditional employment leads to deepening inequality, lack of stability, and a sense of insecurity among workers. Corporate profits are perceived as a result of the impoverished labor market.

Is it possible to counteract the negative effects of "escape from work"?

The text suggests that every wave of commodification provokes a social counterreaction. A new wave of activism, good laws, smart technology, and institutions can restore balance and ensure decent working conditions.