Voluntary Servitude in Digital Capitalism: A Synthesis of Frommian and Fuchsian Thought on Instagram Influencer Activities

Becoming Oneself in the Age of Polycrisis and Digital Alienation: A Reinterpretation of Jacques Attali’s Devenir Soi through a Buddhist Perspective

This study aims to analyze the relevance of Jacques Attali’s concept of devenir soi (becoming oneself) in responding to global social transformations during the 2015–2025 period. This inquiry is important because the last decade has been marked by interconnected crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, climate change, and the rise of digital alienation that has influenced individual processes of self-formation. The study employs a qualitative approach using a critical philosophical inquiry design and a critical literature review method. The data consist of Jacques Attali’s works, literature on Buddhist philosophy, and contemporary studies on polycrisis and social media. The findings indicate that the challenge of becoming oneself in 2025 is significantly more complex than it was in 2015. These challenges emerge in two primary dimensions: external obstacles in the form of pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and climate change that generate various forms of structural alienation, and internal obstacles in the form of digital identity performativity, technological addiction, attention fragmentation, and dependence on external validation. The study further finds that key Buddhist principles, particularly pratītyasamutpāda (interdependence), karuṇā (compassion), and anātman (non-self), provide relevant ethical and psychological frameworks for responding to these forms of alienation. The implications of this study suggest that self-realization in the age of polycrisis requires relational awareness, ethical responsibility, and reflective capacity rather than individual freedom alone. The originality of this study lies in its critical reinterpretation of devenir soi through a synthesis of Jacques Attali’s thought and Buddhist philosophy to explain self-realization in the context of contemporary polycrisis and digital alienation

Free and servants: Unveiling psychological dynamics around organizing academic freedom

This study investigates the erosion of academic freedom in neoliberal universities, focusing on the concept of “voluntary servitude” as a mechanism through which academics actively, albeit unconsciously, contribute to their own subjugation. Moving beyond an individual perspective, the work examines how shared affective dynamics, such as collusion, perpetuate this condition. Drawing on a qualitative study with Italian academics in the WOP field, the findings reveal that freedom is often perceived as the absence of constraints: a personal privilege attained through career progression. Three pathways to so-called “emancipation” emerge: the gift, betrayal, and merit. These patterns take the form of pathological collusion that reinforces servitude by satisfying needs for recognition and protection, while obscuring structural inequalities and the erosion of the common good. The study argues that one way forward lies in collective reflexivity, a practice that enables the recognition and transformation of such dysfunctional patterns. The aim is to reimagine academic freedom not as an individual achievement but as a “freedom with,” grounded in shared responsibility, interdependence, and plurality, thereby transcending neoliberal paradigms.

Digital Technofeudalism as a Macrosocial Structure: Between Singularity and Serfdom

The article provides a comprehensive socio-philosophical analysis of the macrostructural transition from clas-sical platform capitalism to digital technofeudalism. The author explores the ontological paradox of the current historical conjuncture – the phenomenon of “bureaucratized singularity”, wherein the rapid development of sub-symbolic generative systems and AI architectures coexists with a regressive shift of social institutions to-ward quasi-medieval forms. Within the framework of a macrosociological analysis, the network is conceptual-ized as a Digital Archipelago of sovereign fortress-spheres controlled by transnational digital lords (Yandex, Sber, OpenAI, etc.) that extract platform rent from users (“digital serfs”). At the micro-level of everyday life, the article explicates the anthropological mutation of the governing apparatus – the emergence of the subject of cynical rationality (P. Sloterdijk), who utilizes the discourse of “security” to capture regulatory mechanisms and monopolize cognitive infrastructure. Through the lens of V. Flusser’s media philosophy, the article deconstructs the microphysics of subordination via “dark patterns” of UX/UI design, which leads to the expropriation of the Homo Faber’s cognitive sovereignty. As an alternative to this expropriation of subjectivity, the author proposes a three-level positive program of algorithmic resistance based on the practices of deliberate “de-immunization”, counter-functioning, and the preservation of “cognitive anomaly”.

Modular Functionalism and AGIL-Digital: A Theoretical Reconstruction of Social Systems in the Information Era Through a Study of the Maiyah Community

This study reconstructs Talcott Parsons’ structural functionalism paradigm in the context of a digital network-based Islamic social movement in 21st-century Indonesia. Using the Maiyah community led by Emha Ainun Nadjib (Cak Nun) as the object of analysis, this study argues that the classic AGIL (Adaptation, Goal-Attainment, Integration, Latency) framework needs to be updated into what the author calls “AGIL-Digital” (AGIL-D) and “Modular Functionalism.” Qualitative data collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis show that the Maiyah community has succeeded in maintaining the continuity of its value system throughout three historical phases from traditional social movements (1980s), new social movements (1990s–2000s), to contemporary social movements (2010s to present) through a modular and decentralized cultural-spiritual adaptation mechanism. The theoretical synthesis between Parsons’ AGIL framework, Manuel Castells’ network society theory, and Anthony Wallace’s revitalization theory produces a new analytical model capable of explaining how social systems maintain their essential functions outside of formal hierarchical structures. The study identifies four key theoretical propositions constituting the AGIL-Digital model: (P1) digital modularity the capacity of autonomous nodes to replicate core functions independently; (P2) asynchronous latency the temporal unbounding of value transmission through digital archives; (P3) spiritual goal-attainment the prioritization of individual subjective sovereignty over collective political outcomes; and (P4) structural immunity the cultivation of institutional resilience against algorithmic manipulation and platform fragility. These propositions advance a post-Parsonian sociological framework with direct relevance to the study of non-Western, spiritually-oriented social movements in the digital age.

DIGITAL TRANSCENDENT LEADERSHIP IN MADRASAHS: A GROUNDED STUDY OF STRATEGIC AGILITY IN NAVIGATING THE MERDEKA CURRICULUM

THE NEW AVENGERS: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND TEAMWORK IN DIGITAL ACTIVISM – A LITERATURE REVIEW

ABSTRACT Obstacles to channeling conventional political aspirations and the prevalence of systemic discrimination in the public sphere are the background to this article. These issues trigger sociopsychological alienation, which drives the emergence of independent collective movements in cyberspace. The main focus of this theoretical study is to comprehensively explore the central role of social justice and teamwork in mapping the phenomenon of digital movements driven by a new generation of activists called The New Avengers. The research steps were carried out using a narrative literature review method that adopted the selection principles of the PRISMA framework. The secondary data screening procedure systematically synthesized twenty original scientific articles from Scopus, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar databases published over the past ten years. Thematic synthesis-based research findings indicate that the principle of social justice serves as a core motivation and fundamental goal of the movement. Digital platforms have proven to provide powerful tools for narrative amplification, fostering solidarity among marginalized groups, and coordinating collective action in real time. The main conclusion emphasizes that although cyberspace offers freedom of expression, the success of digital activism is heavily influenced by cyber structural barriers, the threat of antagonism, and the repressive dynamics of authoritarian networks. Activists are recommended to draft a strategy to strengthen critical media literacy and inclusive collaborative ethics to ensure the sustainability of the impact of social change.   ABSTRAK Hambatan penyaluran aspirasi politik konvensional serta maraknya diskriminasi sistemik di ruang publik melatarbelakangi penulisan artikel ini. Masalah tersebut memicu alienasi sosiopsikologis yang mendorong munculnya gerakan kolektif independen di ruang siber. Fokus utama kajian teoretis ini adalah mengeksplorasi secara komprehensif peran sentral keadilan sosial serta kerja sama tim dalam memetakan fenomena pergerakan digital yang digerakkan oleh generasi aktivis baru bernama The New Avengers. Langkah-langkah penelitian dijalankan menggunakan metode tinjauan literatur naratif (narrative literature review) yang mengadopsi prinsip seleksi kerangka kerja PRISMA. Prosedur penyaringan data sekunder secara sistematis menyintesis dua puluh artikel ilmiah orisinal dari basis data Scopus, PsycINFO, dan Google Scholar dalam rentang publikasi sepuluh tahun terakhir. Temuan riset berbasis sintesis tematik menunjukkan bahwa prinsip keadilan sosial berfungsi sebagai motivasi inti dan tujuan fundamental pergerakan. Platform digital terbukti menyediakan alat yang ampuh untuk amplifikasi narasi, penggalangan solidaritas kelompok marjinal, serta koordinasi tindakan kolektif secara real-time. Simpulan utama menegaskan bahwa meskipun ruang siber menawarkan kebebasan ekspresi, tingkat keberhasilan aktivisme digital sangat dipengaruhi oleh hambatan struktural siber, ancaman antagonisme, dan dinamika represi jaringan otoriter. Para aktivis direkomendasikan menyusun draf strategi penguatan literasi media kritis dan etika kolaborasi inklusif demi menjamin keberlanjutan dampak perubahan sosial.