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Review Article Volume 9 Issue 6
Digital platforms and neoliberal rationality: reconfigurations of power in contemporary social fields
Luan Tarlau Balieiro
Received: November 11, 2025 | Published: December 16, 2025
Citation: Balieiro LT. Digital platforms and neoliberal rationality: reconfigurations of power in contemporary social fields. Sociol Int J. 2025;9(6):232-234. DOI: 10.15406/sij.2025.09.00445
Abstract
Digital platforms have transformed social relations, reconfigured power structures, and reshaped economic and educational practices. This article uses grounded theory as its research design to review how the dynamics of the digital platform economy intersect with Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social fields and symbolic power, Antonio Gramsci’s notion of hegemony, and Nick Srnicek’s critique of platform capitalism. Through curated bibliographic perspective of qualitative analysis, three dimensions emerged: (i) the reproduction of power in digital fields, (ii) the construction of digital hegemony in the context of neoliberalism, and (iii) the role of data extraction and algorithmic governance as mechanisms of domination and commodification. The study consequently argues that digital platforms operate almost simultaneously as economic infrastructures as well as ideological apparatuses, to reinforce the notion of a neoliberal logic that is redefining the forms of social control and power dynamics on digital platforms.
Keywords: social field, symbolic power, digital platforms, hegemony, neoliberalism, platform capitalism
©2025 Balieiro. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.