从劳动异化到自我剥削：Z世代青年“精神内耗”的马克思主义批判

From Labor Alienation to Self-Exploitation: A Marxist Critique of “Mental Exhaustion” among Generation Z Youth

摘要: Z世代青年群体中普遍存在的“精神内耗”现象，已成为理解当代青年精神困境的重要症候。本文基于马克思《1844年经济学哲学手稿》中的异化劳动理论与韩炳哲的“自我剥削”理论，论证Z世代的精神内耗本质上是经典劳动异化与新型自我剥削双重机制叠加的精神症候。研究发现，马克思的异化劳动理论揭示了精神内耗的客观结构性根源，韩炳哲的“自我剥削”理论揭示了精神内耗的主观内化机制。两种理论的整合表明，Z世代既承受着传统意义上的劳动异化，又经历着新型的自我剥削，双重机制的叠加产生了倍增的消耗效应。本文认为，精神内耗的根源不在个体心理脆弱，而在资本逻辑和功绩社会在精神层面刻下的结构性伤痕。数字平台与算法在这一过程中扮演着关键的中介角色，它们通过精准监控、绩效量化与边界模糊化，将宏观的资本逻辑转化为具体的、可操作的微观控制机制。

Abstract: The widespread phenomenon of “mental exhaustion” among Generation Z youth has become a crucial symptom for understanding the spiritual predicament of contemporary youth. Based on Marx’s theory of alienated labor in the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 and Byung-Chul Han’s theory of “self-exploitation”, this paper argues that the mental exhaustion of Generation Z is essentially a spiritual symptom resulting from the superimposition of classical labor alienation and novel self-exploitation. The research finds that Marx’s theory of alienated labor reveals the objective structural roots of mental exhaustion, while Han’s theory of “self-exploitation” reveals the subjective internalizing mechanism of this phenomenon. The integration of the two theories demonstrates that Generation Z simultaneously endures traditional labor alienation and novel self-exploitation, and the superimposition of these dual mechanisms produces a multiplied depleting effect. This paper argues that the root of mental exhaustion lies not in individual psychological fragility, but in the structural scars inscribed by capital logic and the achievement society upon the spiritual dimension. Digital platforms and algorithms play a crucial mediating role in this process, transforming macro-level capital logic into concrete, operational micro-control mechanisms through precise monitoring, performance quantification, and the blurring of boundaries.