Johannes Himmelreich

In Justice in Global Economic Governance: Normative and Empirical Perspectives on Promoting Fairer Globalisation (Edinburgh University Press), pp. 190–200, 2025

Abstract

This chapter evaluates the global digital economy from the perspective of political, socio-economic, and intergenerational justice. The digital economy is defined as infrastructure provided or accessed online, which brings into clearer view the relevance of justice given its global reach and role in facilitating production across all aspects of life. The chapter argues that the digital economy raises no distinctive concerns from the perspective of socio-economic or intergenerational justice. Instead, the crucial problem is one of political justice in the form of illegitimate power. The digital economy poses four problems: an abridgment of state power, a degradation of economic opportunities and political relations, support of authoritarian politics, and leverage of international dominance.