Analyzing Involution in the Workplace with Robotic Machine Interference in China: From a Malthusian and a Marxian Perspective

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.220105.245How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Involution; Robotic Machines; Malthusianism; Marxism; China; Task Simplification; Working Efficiency; Overtime; Mental Stress

Abstract

This essay researches the question: What is the effect of involution with robotic machine interference in the workplace? Since 2019, involution in the Chinese workplace was recognized as a serious social problem. At the same time, the rapid population growth and technological development in China exposed a pessimistic trend of involution in the age of AI. In this essay, the effect of involution with robots interference will be analyzed based on the framework of Malthusianism and Marxism by conducting a case study of C factory in Beijing; a prediction of future trends of involution will also be given at the end of study. Quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews are used in the case study to investigate the effects and relationships between involution and application of robotic machines from a micro perspective. The overall results suggest an intensification of involution with the application of robotic machines based on Marx’s perspective in 3 aspects: Robotic production (1) simplifies labor’s tasks and improves working efficiency; (2) significantly increases the overtime frequency and length; and (3) increases workers’ mental stress in both workplace and daily life. The research leads to several predictions: In the short run, involution will be intensified from the micro perspective and remained uncharted from macro perspective. In the long run, there will be a diminishing trend in involution from a micro perspective, while an intenser involution will be exposed from a macro perspective. This research studies involution from both micro and macro perspective, to offer a wider variety and multiple implications for future researches with a more holistic understanding.

Copyright

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

Open Access

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Wenbo Huang
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/01/17
TI  - Analyzing Involution in the Workplace with Robotic Machine Interference in China: From a Malthusian and a Marxian Perspective
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1328
EP  - 1337
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220105.245
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.220105.245
ID  - Huang2022
ER  -