STREAM: We need to Talk About Amazon

a video lecture by Johannes Grenzfurthner and Jasmin Hagendorfer

We Need to Talk About Amazon: An Introduction to Capitalism

Amazon is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle. It focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Amazon is called “one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world” and the world’s most valuable brand. For nerds who grew up in the 1980s, it’s like a cyberpunk dystopia’s wet dream come true. Amazon has moved into health care and insurance. It has dug deeper into AI and automation, and bolstered its in-home delivery services. But that’s not enough to understand the brutal capitalist force it represents and the future Jeff Bezos wants to create. This discussion will look at some of the curious aspects of this company, along with what we can learn from its behavior about late capitalism.