The Genealogy, Critique, and Transcendence of Semiocapitalism: Re-examining Berardi’s Thought

Franco Berardi defines semiocapitalism as the model of production and domination in contemporary capitalism, combining semiotic production with capitalist valorization, expanded through media acceleration. Its development represents both a continuation of capitalism’s logic of acceleration and control, and a mutation caused by the transformation of semiotic instruments of control and modes of capitalist valorization. With semiotic production, economic and psychological realms become inseparable, making the critique of semiocapitalism an analysis of the schizo-economy, blending semiotics, political economy, and psychopathology. Berardi locates its crisis and human emancipation in the mental domain shaping economic development. However, the critique is limited by focusing solely on semiotics, neglecting the stability and importance of capitalist relations of production. The core and trajectory of contemporary capitalism demonstrate that Marx’s critique of political economy remains an indispensable tool for examining today’s capitalist structures. Berardi’s work can complement this perspective, contributing to a more comprehensive analysis of contemporary capitalism.