Reflection on the Alienation of Digital Labor under Digital Capitalism: Based on the Analysis of the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Abstract

American scholar Dan Schiller posits that capitalism is undergoing a phase transition, defining the new stage as "digital capitalism." As the world enters the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital economic development has become an irreversible trend. Against this backdrop, the concept of "digital labor" has emerged as a new paradigm. Under digital capitalism, digital labor persists as a form of labor that embodies Marx's theory of alienated labor from his Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, with even more concealed exploitation methods and intensified levels of exploitation. Grounded in Marxist theory and referencing the four dimensions of alienated labor theory from the Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, this paper critically examines the alienation issues in digital labor within contemporary digital capitalism, aiming to ensure that digital labor better serves the majority of workers.