Labour as Commodity: Competition, Surplus Populations, and the Crisis of Social Reproduction

This chapter examines the commodification of labor as a central dynamic in the reproduction of platform capitalism, focusing on the case of platform drivers i Global South. It situates labor commodification within the broader history of capitalism, where workers’ capacity to labor is transformed into a commodity that must be sold to survive. While welfare regimes in advanced economies can partially decommodify labor through social protections, in the Global South—particularly Indonesia—weak welfare systems, surplus labor, and widespread informality intensify workers’ dependence on the market. The chapter demonstrates how digital platforms such as Gojek and Grab have reshaped the livelihoods of motorcycle taxi drivers, shifting them from independent informal operators into fully commodified platform workers. This transformation is driven by algorithmic management, labor oversupply, and the absence of decommodification mechanisms, leaving drivers with minimal bargaining power and heightened precarity. By engaging with theories of platform capitalism, flexible accumulation, labor regimes, and super-exploitation, the chapter argues that Indonesia’s platform economy represents an advanced form of cheap labor regime, in which commodification is both deepened and normalized.