How Does Digital Labor Become Labor?An Analysis of the Argumentative Logic of the Western Marxist Concept of Digital Labor
The concept of digital labor,as an innovative notion from Western Marxist scholars,has introduced to the Chi-nese researchers together with similar concepts such as audience commodity,free labor,immaterial labor,and play la-bor.Upon its introduction,it quickly attracted great attention from Chinese scholars,leading to the emergence of new concepts like digital commodities,digital necessary labor,digital surplus labor,and digital surplus value.Consequently,research related to digital labor has become a focal point.However,in the context of informational capitalism,where capital and digital technology are intertwined,it is insufficient to merely follow Western digital labor theories.Instead,we must engage in a"calm reflection"after the theoretical clamor,conducting a horizontal analysis of the developmental history and connotations of digital labor and immaterial labor concepts.Vertically,we should delve into the theoretical objectives and argumentative frameworks of communication political economy and autonomous socialism.This dual ap-proach will facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the concept of digital labor,encompassing both its existence and its underlying principles.An in-depth exploration of the evolution of these concepts reveals that communication political economy and Italian autonomous socialism,in response to capital's encroachment into the emotional,leisure,and enter-tainment lives of individuals,collectively opt to"a return to Marx."They construct their social critique theories using the core categories of Marx's labor value theory.However,the result often deviates from historical materialism due to misunderstandings or distortions of Marx's core concepts.Overall,in the theories of communication political economy and autonomous socialism,the appearance of Marx's core concepts paradoxically signifies the fundamental retreat of Marxist theoretical scientificity and revolutionary nature.A genuine"return to Marx"necessitates examining the chal-lenges of digital labor from the perspective of social and historical development laws determined by the"aggregate of productive forces."Correctly recognizing the role of scientific and technological productivity and knowledge labor in the development of capitalism is essential for unveiling the attributes,connotations,and essence of digital labor.
digital laborimmaterial laborChristian Fuchsscientific and technological productivityknowledge laborla-bor alienation
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