China Social Science Review

No.1, 2025

 

 

Xiao Xiang

 

Current academic research on digital labour can be broadly divided into two paradigms: “exploitation-alienation” and “gift-reciprocity.” Both paradigms focus on the dual elements of platforms and digital labour, but from different perspectives. They are applicable to a certain extent, but are difficult to reflect the complexity of digital labour, and do not correspond to the specificity of digital labour in China. China’s digital labour research should get rid of the dichotomous mode of thinking, and build a “multiple-governance” research paradigm from the actual situation. The research should focus on the operation system of “digital labour-platform-government,” study the special form of digital labour, explore the effective ways of platform economy construction and digital governance, and the interaction among the three, so as to further promote the research on digital labour with Chinese characteristics.