With the arrival of the information revolution, the application of digital technology has a significant impact on the mode of production and the way of life. The capitalist application of digital technology has led to a new trend in capital accumulation, constantly involving social life that is outside market relations in the “market vortex”, which is mainly reflected in the commodification in the fields of information, culture and entertainment, the public, and the sharing economy. The commodification of social life is not only a consequence of the accumulation crisis of contemporary capitalism, but also a new way of accumulating capital in the age of digital capitalism. Under the premise that the basic contradictions of capitalism remain unchanged, the new trend of capital accumulation will not eliminate the contradiction between accumulation and consumption, but will further aggravate the contradiction of capital accumulation, thus creating a new dilemma of consumption and making problems such as income gap and labor exploitation more serious. In the socialist market economy, we must start from meeting people’s need, and take advantages of the socialist system to make digital technology and the digital economy stronger, better and bigger. We must give play to the role of an efficient market and a well-functioning government, and better apply digital technology and the digital economy under the premise of staying focused on consolidating and developing the public sector of the economy on the one hand, and encouraging, supporting, and guiding the development of the non-public sector on the other.

Editor: Zhong Yao、Zheng Yifan

From:Marxism & Reality.2022.No.3.