where we are today; AVATAR LABOUR
Since the birth of capitalism the underlying desire for growth and demand has grown stronger and stronger. At the start of the capitalist movement, the demand of land to farm on was the requested good. Throughout history capitalism has faced many criticisms, particularly throughout the twentieth century (Hutton 2008). It has often been blamed for economic crashes and experts often state that its demise is inevitable. After the Second World War, the worlds leading capitalist societies went from strength to strength and their economies grew vastly. This was often linked to globalization. Globalization allowed for trade to occur on a global scale, resulting in capitalism to grow stronger (Iacono 2016). Capitalism is currently the most used economic system in the world. It has developed throughout history and now continues to evolve in today’s digital landscapes.
It appears that capitalism has whittled its way into almost every aspect of society. There is a movement of cognitive capitalism, in which capital is made from knowledge. Cognitive capitalism places emphasis on the use of the mind when considering financial structures (Boutang 2011). In todays digital landscape there is not only capital to be gained from physical labour, but from knowledge itself.
Avatar labour and avatar capital are forms of capital that have been established through the immersion of online computer games. Avatar labour is established through measuring the self through the achievements of the avatar. Players of these online games create capital by becoming a worker player as opposed to a leisure player. Worker players are players that engage in online game play in order to earn a wage instead of playing for their own entertainment (Nakaruma 2009).
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