Digitalized Capitalist Control in McEwan’s Machines Like Me and Winterson’s The Stone Gods
School of Foreign Studies, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100080, China
| Abstract: | Ian McEwan and Jeanette Winterson are both prominent figures in contemporary British literature. Their works, Machines Like Me and The Stone Gods, closely follow the theme of the times and probe into individual, national, and global concerns. Current researches on these two novels often emphasize human-machine coexistence in it, with most Western critics mainly focusing on human ethical responsibility, such as man’s violence towards AI. This neglects human beings as the passive victims due to the invasion of digital technology, and the potential Western capitalist exploitation. In the context of this, this thesis revisits the Western Marxist critique of Western capitalism, by examining how digital technology is applied in different areas of human society in the two novels, it aims to explore how these digital advancements facilitate today’s capitalist control. The thesis finds that digital technology is mainly applied in three areas in the novels, namely, the capitalist manipulation process through digital market, digital commodity, and digital surveillance. Firstly, digital technology contributes to the emergence of digital market, thus providing a new domain for Western capitalists to control online transactors. Secondly, the innovation of online market has driven the digital transformation of commodities, with digital commodity becoming a new embodiment for Western capitalists to further control consumers. Finally, the increasing demand for digital commodities that could used for surveillance practices indicates the phenomenon of digital surveillance, intensifying Western capitalist’s control over the masses. In summary, Machines Like Me and The Stone Gods depict a world where digital technologies have penetrated nearly every aspect of life. In doing this, they show how these digital applications are, and could be used by Western capitalists to enhance their exploitation and exert a complete control over humans beings. |
| Keywords: | Ian McEwan; Jeanette Winterson; Digital Market; Digital Commodity; Digital Surveillance |
| DOI: | 10.57237/j.ha.2025.01.002 |
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Received: 1 March 2025
Accepted: 16 April 2025
Published Online: 30 June 2025
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