The Ideological Algorithmic Apparatus: Subjection Before Enslavement

This article applies a Lacanian-Marxist critique to Maurizio Lazzarato's theories of social subjection and machinic enslavement as they relate to algorithmic and social media. Lazzarato's approach has been taken up in recent scholarship on social media to explain the role of algorithms and software in subjecting users to capital. In contrast to his approach, this article argues that social subjection, the interpellation of desire, and the political dimension of the class struggle must be given priority over machinic enslavement.