In the context of the burgeoning development of new quality productive forces, the issue of technological progress has increasingly become the focal point of academic attention. A review of the academic history shows that the study of technology in the field of political economy has undergone an evolution from early neglect, to gradual revival, and then to a path of diverse development. This paper first systematically reviews the basic paradigms and theoretical approaches related to technology research, including those of the Classical School of Economics, Neoclassical Economic Growth Theory, Schumpeter and the New Schumpeterian School of Technological Innovation, the French Regulation School, the American School of Accumulation and Social Structures, and Development Economics from a technological perspective. It then analyzes technological progress theory from a Marxist perspective, emphasizing that technology is always “embedded” in the social context in which it exists, evolving through continuous interaction with society. Finally, this paper identifies three theoretical perspectives, namely institutions, markets, and labor, accordingly proposing a more comprehensive analytical framework for technology. By integrating the above theoretical traditions, this paper explores their compatibility and complementarity with Marxist economics in both thought and methodology, thereby enriching the theoretical content of technological progress research from a political economy perspective.

Nowadays, as the development of science and technology promotes the continuous change of the force of production, data is becoming an increasingly important production factor that is deeply involved in the process of production, circulation, distribution and consumption in capitalist society. This study aims to explore the application of data in capitalist production and its implications. We analyzes the data from the labor process and the process of producing surplus value, from which it is concluded that the application of data in the general production process does not deviate from the category of the “Labor Theory of Value”. In addition, we distinguish the performance of data in the four links of surplus value production, realization, distribution and redistribution, thereby illustrating the positive role of data in the capitalist economy. We also identify changes in the value composition caused by data.