Direito fundamental ao trabalho na economia digital

Abstract

The emergence of the Third and Fourth Industrial Revolutions, with the expansion and diffusion of industrial and communicational technologies, combined with globalization and the rise of neoliberalism since the 1970s, has led to a productive restructuring that fosters theories on the end of work and its dispensability. These theories have been intensified in recent years by the increase in task computerization in the workplace, the rise of Big Data, and platform-based labor. In light of this scenario, the present thesis continues the studies carried out in the master’s dissertation and poses the following research question: Considering the various contemporary manifestations of capitalism (digital capitalism, informational capitalism, data capitalism, surveillance capitalism, platform capitalism), is it possible to assert that technological development constitutes a disruptive element that justifies the theories of the end of work and the consequent need for deregulation aimed at reorganizing productive forces? In addressing these inquiries, this thesis outlines the following objectives: to contextualize the changes brought about by new characteristics of capitalism and to assess their disruptive potential for the world of work; to position work as a central category of capitalism; to analyze how work constitutes a determining element in the process of inclusion/exclusion of the individual in the capitalist economic system; to identify the structural elements of the Brazilian peripheral capitalist matrix; to characterize the so-called ‘network society’ based on its structuring as data and surveillance, taking into account the ruptures and contradictions of the new paradigm; to provide a profile of Brazilian workers within the context of the reception of the constituent elements of the network society. The historical-dialectical method is adopted in order to identify contradictions in how work currently presents itself and the balance of power between capital and labor, focusing on totality, by examining elements of the material conditions of existence through data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the analysis of judicial decisions. The study presents the concepts of informational capitalism, surveillance capitalism, and platform capitalism, concluding that, despite their new manifestations, the mode of production essentially remains the same, centered on the asymmetrical distribution of means of production. In analyzing the impacts of technology on the world of work, it concludes that these impacts produce a potentially replaceable, surveilled, datafied, and platformized worker. It examines 9 decisions handed down by the Superior Labor Court and the Supreme Federal Court and their contradictions, concluding that the Superior Court has acted in ways that erode social labor rights by expanding exceptional forms of employment, such as outsourcing and independent contracting, to the entirety of the working class. It emphasizes the relevance of the perspective of labor conferred by fundamental rights. It reaffirms work as a generator of surplus value, despite the productive restructuring driven by technology. It observes that capital and labor are in a constant dialectical relationship in which goods and values are contested, especially time, the worker's personal spaces, identity, and symbols. The thesis concludes on the centrality of labor in the capitalist economy and the relevance of Law in promoting fundamental rights, attributing dignity to the worker.