Behavioural Capitalism and Surveillance Capitalism - A Comparison of Two Interpretations of a Development of Capitalism

Within a very short period of time, technological development has made new business models possible, shifted power relations and, in the end, created a new form of capitalism. This development is often viewed critically, but so far this debate still lacks a structure and models with which a targeted and also simple classification can take place as a basis for a broad discussion. There are already first attempts to establish these and two interpretations of this evolution will be dealt with in the following. The aims of this writing are: 1) To compare two fundamental interpretations of the development of capitalism 2) To contribute to making this new phenomenon describable and giving it a mediable structure 3) To create a basis for discussion on the opportunities and risks of capitalist development. It should be noted from the outset that the author of this paper is also the author of the treatises on Behavioral Capitalism. - Behavioural Capitalism regards the absorption and use of behavioural data as a logical capitalist further development in historical continuity and thus as an inevitable development. - Surveillance Capitalism distinguishes between behaviour that is needed to optimise existing services and data that is not needed for them. He considers the use of " behavior surpluses" as an explicitly man-made, non-compulsory and degenerate form of capitalism, the ultimate goal of which is the accumulation of power, wealth and influence. - Behaviour has always been a raw material for Behavioural Capitalism, which has become a production factor through technical development. - In Surveillance Capitalism, the so-called "surplus behaviour" was discovered by Google and exploited free of charge by this and other companies. - Behavioural Capitalism sees both the opportunities and the risks of this development. - Surveillance Capitalism, on the other hand, is interpreted exclusively negatively. - Behavioural Capitalism stands in a context from which it cannot be torn, and knowledge of these connections is indispensable for dealing with it and understanding it. - Surveillance Capitalism is an isolated construct, ultimately created a few years ago, whose authorship can be found among others at Google and can therefore also be combated in this way