Part three of Capital is an interesting one in that it starts with three chapters that involve the mathematical components of capitalism, and how it allows for surplus value and its maintenance. The basic terminology of labor practice falls within these, but then it caps off with a much longer chapter on that specific component with all of the details of working days laid out. Admittedly, this section was a bit tougher at times, especially when the mathematic examples got introduced, so I will try and summarize in a more practical way. If you've made it this far, you're on a solid fast track.
Chapter 7: The Labor Process And The Process Of Producing Surplus Value
The labor process is, simply put, all about producing use values through the relationship between humans and nature. A material condition that exists in nature is transformed by a human's own accord to get an end result, a use value. Marx notes that this is not an exclusively human trait, giving the example of a bee constructing its hive. The difference is that an architect has an idea in their mind before going to work on it, where the bee does not; it innately works as part of its own makeup. In both situations, however, labor is a transformative process that has purpose, with demands that require attention, some more desirable than others.
Marx then goes on to break down the three main components; the subject of labor, the instruments of labor, and the labor itself. The raw material is a subject of labor, for example, however it's important to note that not every subject of labor is a raw material. A raw material gets its form from a previous alteration through labor. Think of steel stock in a machine shop, or perhaps the 2x4's you buy at Home Depot. That's a raw material, having gone from a process that was once a tree (the object of nature) and is now a subject of labor (the 2x4). An instrument of labor is, simply put, a tool, machine, or something needed to transform the subject into something else. Some things can function as both, the example given that cattle are an instrument of labor for the use of producing fertilizer, but a raw material if used to produce steak. The steak completely transforms the subject into something else, and it can't be returned to the form of an instrument. When used for fertilizer, however, it can be used over and over.
Once these use values are produced from these three components, they then take the form of exchange value for the capitalist. The labor has all been transformed into the final product, a commodity, where Marx looks at the fetishism of commodities. Every commodity can be broken down into how much labor went into it, highlighting the social relations between owner and worker. A kitchen table is a good example. Assuming it's all made of wood, you can see just how many labor processes existed within it. Getting the wood from nature and turning it into raw materials; turning the raw materials into workable pieces by cutting it up with saws, drilling holes, routing, lathing, or anything else that's necessary; assembling everything; sanding, finishing, and any final touches. Labor is not static, but it's something few people will recognize in every day objects, which can only exist from labor processes.
Moving back to the social relationship, this shows the difference between productive consumption and individual consumption. The former is what capitalists do, consuming to produce commodities in order to produce more commodities (exchange value). The latter is what a worker does in order to satisfy a need or want (use value). What does this matter in regards to the social relationship between the worker and owner? Because the capitalist owns everything that's being purchased and produced, they have complete control over the entire labor process, alienating the worker from their work, and them becoming a commodity in and of themselves, as discussed in Part 2.
This all shows that the surplus value is created from the worker's time and effort. The value of a product is always the same as what a capitalist starts with after purchasing their commodity in order to make more money, until labor is introduced. Continuation of production moves beyond a definite point. "Skilled" and "unskilled" labor don't differ in this regard, only at the rate that they create value. Regardless of how much is created, the capitalist still owns everything created, and is able to take what previously had a fixed value and profit on what now has more value through the commodity of human labor.
Chapter 8: Constant Capital And Variable Capital
Constant capital and variable capital are about as self-explanatory as they sound. Constant capital's value remains the same throughout the whole labor process, where variable capital changes depending on where you are in the process. As we said, the value of the instruments, the subjects, and the labor power itself are all transferred to the final product at the end; think of the table example. Value never changed, it just accumulated from the tree, to the 2x4, to the individual parts, to the assembled table, to the finished table; thus, the final product holds the value of every process together.
Marx uses an example with cotton and weaving. The cotton itself and the value of the weaving machine are realized through motion, which the worker has transformed into a new product. If $10 worth of cotton is weaved into five shirts, each shirt holds $2 of the cotton's value. If the machine costs $100 and creates 100 shirts, each shirt holds $1 from the machine. All of this is constant.
What isn't factored into this is the labor power value, the variable value, which is the important part of this. It explains why capitalists want workers to work as quickly as possible for as long as possible. The more raw materials they consume, using as many means of production as possible, the more surplus value is generated from the labor that can be taken as profit by the owner. Labor adds the new value, depending entirely on the circumstances. If one worker is used to run two machines, that worker will produce twice as much value as just running one machine. Two labor processes are in motion from one worker, and that one worker is now adding value twice as fast.
Chapter 9: Rate Of Surplus Value
Chapter nine is one that uses the most math, one of the tougher chapters to read, so it's easier to break it down in a quick, practical way. Capitalists figure out their capital by noting the total between constant value, variable value, and how much surplus they can get from the labor. Let's use simple terms of money for the sake of understanding easier. If you work 10 hours per day, produce $20 of value in that day, but only take home $10, that other $10 is the surplus that was extracted by the capitalist. That means the first 5 hours of your workday was necessary labor time, and the other 5 was surplus labor. It becomes easy to see how this accumulates over several years, and how capitalists profit on workers' time and energy. Your wage value was completely reproduced in one work day after the first five hours.
Another way to put this is the rate of exploitation. Once you figure out how much value it takes to produce what you're paid, anything after that is a gift to the capitalist and the exploitation of your labor. Example? Suppose an electrician service owner has 10 electricians working for him. If each electrician does $200 worth of work, but only takes home $100 at the end of the work day, their wage value is made twice per day despite only taking home half of that. Each electrician gets $100, and the capitalist who owns the company gets $1,000. He took home $100 from each worker, and this repeats each workday.
We see today that capitalists will argue that workdays can't be reduced, or else they would have to raise prices to make up for the value lost in the worker taking a shorter day. Either way, they will still get the same surplus value ratio, or rate of exploitation, it just may happen in shorter increments. It's also used against the argument of raising minimum wage, despite the surplus value always significantly surpassing the value of the worker's labor every day. The gig economy shows this the most, such as with an Uber driver making a fraction of what you paid for the ride.
Chapter 10: The Working Day
One of the longer chapters in Capital, this one very much observes the working hours and conditions during Marx's time. While some may think this holds less relevancy now, the purpose of it is to discuss class struggle, which is still a very important concept. Essentially, it shows that the state will not solve the issues of the class struggle, and that concessions must be won through force and working class solidarity.
This begins with the difference between necessary labor and surplus labor; the former is the labor value that generates your wage, where the latter is labor time on top that you're not paid for, tying into the surplus value concept described earlier. These two together are what determine the length of the working day. The capitalist is aware of moral and social limits to the working day that are needed in order for the laborer to continue working, which is the only thing that prevents the working day from filling 24 hours. Thus, the capitalist is just capital personified, only interested in generating value for the sake of exchange. The more living labor they're able to take in, the more capital they can create. Their overall position is that since they paid for the use-value of the worker, so they decide on how they're used.
The worker's perspective is quite different. We now know that labor is a unique commodity in that it's embodied in actual people. If you purchase an object, like a car, you can do what you want. You can drive it, or you can take it apart and use the parts for something else. It's a use-value, and isn't meant for the sake of exchange or profit; this is not preventing another person from living, or taking a toll on anyone's life. A person is not the same, which shows links to slavery, in a way. A wage is the pay for a day's worth of labor value, but the working day far exceeds what's needed to produce that value, breaking the exchange process that we mentioned up until this point.
What this all shows is that the workers and owners have interests opposing each other. So class solidarity is important for shortening working days, bettering conditions, etc. as the state will not intervene and make this happen, which is highlighted all throughout this long chapter in examples. Strikes, stoppages, slowdowns, and sabotage done by the people are all ways that legislation can enact laws in favor of the workers. Otherwise, the capitalist determines all of the free time anyone gets, and the idea is to shorten that window of time where this is the case. Capital will try to shorten moments for food, bathroom breaks, or any "non-productive" time as much as possible. Look at Amazon workers pissing in bottles due to not being allotted time for the restroom, without the threat of losing their job, income, and ability to survive.
An important note is that surplus isn't unique to capital, as it's been done in situations of socialist and feudal nations alike throughout history. The difference is about why it's produced; surplus should be produced for use, not exchange, the way it is for capitalists. An example of doing this for use would be a farmer stocking up on corn in the fall and freezing it to use throughout the winter. An example of doing it for exchange would be buying up farms in an area, and creating food (through other peoples' labor) to profit. Only people who have money are able to gain access to what is needed. This shows how the limitless greed of capital can only be stopped by striking against the capitalist and stopping profits, or pushing collectively for state intervention, which will not happen on its own. Land production certainly still exists under capitalism, but it was transformed into a mode of production. Not being tied to the land is what separates the capitalist ruling class from the former feudal ruling class, which gave them the upper hand in transforming society to their interests.
Labor power would eventually collapse on itself without worker agitation and forced state intervention, working itself to death. Progression of policy at the time is shown in this chapter, but let's look at a more recent example from the 20th century. The New Deal helped greatly up through the 1980s in America, until those worker wins were slowly stripped away, which shows why "Democratic Socialism" isn't enough. Concessions are still left in the hands of the capitalists and can be stripped away any time. Centuries of class struggle are what lead to any and all of these concessions.
Chapter 11: Rate And Mass Of Surplus Value
Here is where Marx talks about how the capitalist can accrue value, through lengthening the workday to get more labor time, bringing on more workers to speed up production within that time, or even lay off workers as fewer can generate more value with newer processes. More constant capital (means of production and raw material) allows for the ability to invest in more variable capital (workers). Thus, the greater the variable capital, the greater the surplus value (profit). Workers are the only ones running the machines and working the modes of production, giving them a use. Such a social relation reveals that in a way, capitalism causes the commodities to work the living labor (humans), not the other way around.
It's noted in this short chapter that some industries require far more advance constant capital beyond what one person can begin with, so state subsidies will play a role. Why is this important? It shows how the state in the hands of corporations bends to the will of capital, and introduces finance capital, an entirely new concept.
Conclusion
Honestly, Chapter 11 summarizes the entire section nicely, and little more needs to be added. The important takeaway here is to know the difference between constant and variable capital, the social relations caused by the two, how surplus value is created from those social relations, and what class struggle means/why it's important.
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