Conceptual Delineation and Core Issues of Digital Labor
In the context of the rapid development in the digital economy,a significant volume of research with digital labor as its focus has been accumulated within academia.However,many scholars have not critically reflected on the concept of digital labor,resulting in a growing lack of clarity regarding its specific meaning and even the problem of overuse of the concept.This not only hinders scholars'ability to position their research clearly but also impacts the further development of related literature.This paper aims to address this problem by examining existing literature on digital labor from the perspective of the political economy theory,laying the foundation for future development in related literature.This article starts by addressing the core theoretical issues in relevant literature and delineates three conceptual categories of digital labor.These core theoretical issues include the process of capital accumulation in digital technology enterprises,the impact of digital technologies on the traditional labor market and the emergence of new forms of employment,and the new characteristics of global capitalist production under the influence of digital technologies.Three corresponding categories of digital labor are the labor of"users"engaged in activities on digital platforms,and the labor of"employees"that support the operation of these platforms;various types of labor performed on gig platforms;and labor related to the development of core digital technology enterprises on a global scale.From the above perspective,any research on digital labor can clearly define its position within existing literature.To further clarify the development of research on digital labor,this article continues to analyze the three categories of digital labor by focusing on two core issues of labor analysis in political economy:the attribute of value creation in labor and the issue of control over related labor.The controversy regarding the value creation attribute of digital labor mainly exists in research on the first category of digital labor,resulting in three viewpoints:Firstly,the inherited perspective from the audience commodity and audience labor discussions argues that Marx's labor theory of value is still applicable,so the first category of digital labor possesses the attribute of value creation.Secondly,the inherited perspective from autonomist Marxism suggests that although the first category of digital labor possesses the attribute of value creation,Marx's labor theory of value is no longer applicable to the new form of capitalist production in the contemporary era,requiring the application of new concepts such as immaterial labor.Thirdly,the perspective based on the characteristics of digital products argues that the first category of digital labor does not possess the attribute of value creation.Currently,there is no consensus within academia regarding the value creation attribute of the first category of digital labor.The issue of labor process control in digital labor presents a complex scenario,demonstrating the following trends.The unique characteristics of the first category of digital labor have driven the emergence of new forms of control,especially the algorithms control,in the labor process,which is distinct from traditional labor.Moreover,under the influence of digital technologies,there has been a disruptive transformation in the internal organizational forms of labor within individual capitals.The subordination of labor to capital has been significantly strengthened,but the exploitative relationship of capital towards labor has been to some extent obscured and concealed,particularly in the case of the second category of digital labor.Finally,under the influence of digital technologies,the third category of digital labor has seen the realization of flexible production and flexible accumulation through transnational and cross-organizational labor organizational forms.After systematically reviewing existing literature,this article suggests that future research on digital labor can deepen systematic discussions on the value creation attribute of digital labor.Additionally,it emphasizes the need to continue studying the wide-ranging social impact of algorithmic control,one of the most distinctive features of digital labor.
Digital LaborProductive and Unproductive LaborDigital ProductLabor Process
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
