COOPETITION ON ENTERPRISE PLATFORMS
In the interview phase of our last research project, which was supposed to focus primarily on blockchains as a technology, we repeatedly encountered an exciting phenomenon: although our interviewees were ostensibly concerned with this new technology, in many cases the threat posed by the expansion of the so-called platform economy was in the foreground. The concern was not that miraculous properties of individual technologies would give them an unassailable lead, but that the large companies of the platform economy could create dependencies among existing companies through a combination of technology, technology narratives, and conventional means of power such as capital, reach, and political influence. The issue of blockchains and DLT turned out to be an important door opener to initiate debates on how to counterbalance the perceived threat. The result, are increasing attempts to coordinate through their own corporate platforms, which on the one hand should enable synergies and efficiency gains, but on the other hand must balance difficult issues of ownership and control. As well as pointing to new spaces of action for co-determination that may require additional competencies. More
PROPERTY TAXES IN THE SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION
The countries of the global North and South are facing one of the greatest challenges in their history: building an economic structure that is in harmony with planetary boundaries. Distributional issues are often seen only as a side condition of a successful “techno-ecological” transformation, for example in the context of the European Green Deal. In contrast, there are proposals for a “socio-ecological” Green New Deal, which believe that the ecological crisis can only be overcome if distributional aspects are placed at the center of economic policy. The debate on tax policy reflects these different approaches. Consumption and classic emissions taxes are at the center of most proposals; wealth taxes are an important element of proposals for a more fundamental restructuring of the economy. In both cases, however, there is a need for clarification with regard to the actual effects of wealth taxes. More