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Exploring the Alienation of Digital Labor in the Era of Digital Capitalism—Based on Marx’s Theory of Alienated Labor



Author(s)

ZHANG Wanruo

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2025.02.006

Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China

In the era of digital capitalism with the explosion of data and information, human society will be greatly affected by digital capital, and all walks of life will be included in the chain of information-based labor production, giving rise to a new type of labor form called “digital labor”. This paper discusses the alienation of digital labor in the context of digital capitalism, take Marx’s theory of alienated labor as the perspective, and analyze the fourfold alienation of digital labor in terms of producing products, labor process, self-realization of laborers, and social relations by combing the historical development of digital labor. Based on the above analysis, the article proposes the logical and practical paths to crack the alienation of digital labor: improve media literacy and thinking discernment, make full use of the positive effects of digital technology, and strengthen the governance of digital platforms, in order to build a fairer and more shared digital labor environment, and to realize the self-emancipation of laborers and the healthy development of the digital economy.

digital labor, digital capitalism, labor alienation, Marxian theory of alienated labor