Overcapacity, subsumption, and superexploitation: Latin American theoretical contributions to the study of labor platformization

This article constructs a theoretical framework for analyzing labor platformization by critically integrating Aaron Benanav's analysis of underemployment and overcapacity with two key Latin American contributions: César Bolaño's concept of the subsumption of intellectual labor and Ruy Mauro Marini's category of the superexploitation of labor-power. It argues against the mainstream automation discourse, demonstrating instead that the rise of precarious platform work is not primarily driven by technological leaps, but by the persistent systemic crisis of capitalist stagnation, characterized by chronic overcapacity and falling profitability, as outlined by Robert Brenner and developed by Benanav. The article posits that within this context of stagnation, capital's pursuit of valorization leads to a new stage of real subsumption targeting intellectual and communicative capacities (Bolaño). This process, coupled with the global competitive race for extraordinary surplus-value, generalizes the superexploitation of labor-power, a condition once considered specific to dependent economies, to the core of the capitalist system (Marini). Therefore, digital platforms are not the cause of the crisis, but a dominant form of labor organization within it: they operationalize the subsumption of intellectual labor and normalize superexploitation as a means to manage overcapacity and sustain profitability. The Latin American critical perspective is shown to be essential for understanding this regressive sharpening of global capitalism.