As digital platforms become deeply embedded in daily life, digital games are evolving from leisure and entertainment into a new form of labor, an inevitable result of the development of platform capitalism. Examined through the lens of Marxist political economy, gaming behavior under specific conditions has already acquired the fundamental characteristics of labor: players’online duration and operations are programmed by systems and transformed into“digital labor time”available for platform extraction; the resulting behavioral data, creative content, and social relations become unpaid raw materials for capital valorization. Analysis shows that from“gold farming”to data production, a substantial volume of gaming activities essentially participate in value creation. However, the vast majority of the resulting surplus value is captured by platforms
through technological monopolies and rule design, forming a concealed exploitation of“play as labor.” Therefore, it is imperative to recognize the power asymmetry behind the laborization of games and explore possible paths to counter platform monopolies and strive for digital rights.
With Marx’s“Fragment on Machines”as the theoretical point of departure, the underlying logic governing the relations between machinery, labor, and capital within the capitalist mode of production is revealed. While machinery propelled a colossal leap in productive forces, under the dominion of capital, it evolved into the materialized form of an exploitation mechanism. It supplanted workers’skills and rhythms, reducing the laboring subject to a mere appendage, thereby precipitating a comprehensive alienation of the labor process, the product of labor, and the human species-being (Gattungswesen). In the era of digital capitalism, the modality of capital control has shifted from material machine systems to virtual architectures centered on data, algorithms, and computing power. Data has emerged as the new means of production, while algorithms have replaced mechanical rhythms as the novel mechanism of labor discipline. By monopolizing platforms and data flows, capital achieves a more covert and flexible form of exploitation. The boundary between labor and non-labor is dissolved; human attention, affect, and behavior are continuously captured and transmuted into sources of value. Consequently, alienation extends from the material realm to the cognitive and spiritual dimensions, manifesting as algorithm-driven behavioral manipulation and the colonization of consciousness. The transition from the“Fragment on Machines”to the“Fragment on data”demonstrates the historical continuity of capital’s exploitation logic, evolving from the explicit to the implicit. Confronting the pervasive penetration of digital capital, it is imperative to be guided by the Marxist spirit of technological critique. We must re-examine the power structures and subjective conditions within data society, seeking intellectual pathways to transcend algorithmic domination and data alienation, ultimately striving for the reunification of technological progress with human emancipation.
The external dimension of Chinese modernization is characterized by its commitment to“the path of peaceful development,”engaging with international law as an emerging power through a two-fold interaction in the process of development. On the one hand, the rise of emerging powers has challenged the hegemonic status of traditional great powers, destabilizing the established international political and economic order. On the other hand, the motivation and capacity of emerging powers to advance international law have come under scrutiny, highlighting the need to move beyond both the great power-dominated model and the predicament of fragmented development. With the sustained enhancement of their national strength and international influence, emerging powers represented by China have acquired greater voice in the construction of international order through legal, institutional, and systemic participation and innovation, consistently providing public goods to the international community and promoting the democratization of the international order. Chinese modernization transcends the paradigm of international law of great powers embedded in the traditional Western path to modernization, propelling international law toward a more equitable and reasonable direction.
The World Bank’s new Business Ready (BR) framework mandates that corporate management assumes the obligation to preserve business value, avoid bankruptcy where possible, and, if bankruptcy becomes unavoidable, to file for bankruptcy in a timely manner before the commencement of formal insolvency proceedings. The absence of corresponding provisions in both the Company Law and the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law constitutes a potential point deduction in the BR assessment and reveals a legislative gap that urgently requires addressing within the legal framework. When a company faces financial distress and enters the zone of insolvency, management’s fiduciary duties should no longer be confined to the company and its shareholders
but should extend to include creditors. This shift represents not only a breakthrough in the scope of traditional fiduciary obligations but also an essential adaptation to market development aimed at protecting creditor
interests. The framework for management’s obligations prior to bankruptcy proceedings should be constructed by addressing the relevant parties, timing, required measures, and legal liabilities. Such a system aligns with the trends of Company Law reform by reinforcing accountability under the board-centric governance model, meets
the objectives of Bankruptcy Law by facilitating the rescue of viable enterprises and enabling market-oriented liquidation, and further promotes the development of the pre-reorganization regime. Collectively, these reforms are of profound significance for improving China’s bankruptcy legal system and enhancing the overall quality of the business environment.
