Parts 1 and 2 of Capital were very fundamental and objective, where 3 and 4 both dove into the science of the exploitative nature involving surplus value and labor power. 5 and 6 are both very short, yet are probably two of the most important, as they bring the entire first half of the work into the most realistic breakdown. So let's jump right into it!
Chapter 16: Absolute And Relative Surplus Value
The two types of surplus value are compared and contrasted here, showing how productive labor narrows and widens as capitalism develops. We observed how the products no longer relate to the individual worker, but are a social aspect of common collective labor. It's all guided by the production of surplus value, and work is done for the interest of the self-expansion of capital, not for creating common goods and needs for human fulfillment. Here Marx mentions that this not only applies to physical labor, but also education, research, knowledge-work, and things that fall under the "intellectual labor" category. Yet, some of these don't generate surplus value directly, but are a means for the production of it in other areas of the workplace. For instance, cashiers don't actually create anything, but they're an essential facet to the sale of the product (although in 2023, we're seeing a new version of machines replacing workers unique to our time that only further proves how relative surplus value uses machines to reduce labor power cost, yet workers who are employed work the same amount). This type of social order is maintained by a state to enforce the social order, which is something that gets touched on far more in the next century by Vladimir Lenin (see how).
What does all of this mean in regards to the two types of surplus value? We've already discussed in Part 4 that relative is capital's strategy for when workers win rights to shorten the working day, thus capitalists must find ways to get more out of less time. Absolute surplus value, however, is dependent on how long the work day is. If it takes two hours to produce your wage, or the necessary labor time, then the longer work day makes for more absolute surplus value. If your workday is ten hours long, then eight of those hours are straight surplus value for the capitalist. Things today such as the gig economy stretch this even further by aiming to eliminate the structure of a workday. If an Uber driver relies on an income for survival, and is technically free to work when they want, they're going to drive as long and often as they can to meet those needs. Thus, the capitalist can extract more and more from the rides they give.
Chapter 17: Changes In The Magnitude In The Price Of Labor Power And Surplus Value
Hell of a long chapter name, I know. This part essentially comes down to three things; length of the working day, intensity of labor in that working day, and productiveness of that intensity. In other words, it's the product of both relative and absolute surplus value. It's noted that the standards of living can improve while exploitation rates goes up, but whether that happens depends entirely on the pressure of capital to force more value from labor based on those three concepts, and the resistance of the workers coming together to win rights. Think of the mass movements in the early 20th century that lead to paid time off, the weekend, the 40 hour week, sick leave, etc. which was especially prominent during the rise of the USSR and other socialist forces threatening the capitalist structure.
So this leads to the big what if; the working day is reduced to only the necessary labor time (or enough work for the value of your work to equal your wage). This means no surplus labor, thus no profit for a capitalist. Therefore, the entire structure of work would change. Instead of working for the profit of one owner that controls the means of production, you're now working for the whole of society and yourself. Does this mean everybody would just work two hours per day? No. But all of the excess labor would become values for society at large, and as technology takes away the need for some jobs, less work is needed to produce more for society. Think about how much has changed since Marx's death, and how much less work we could do as a society thanks to machines, instead of just concentrating the work on fewer people for more profit. Instead, workers aren't free to determine how we utilize time and distribute to more people; that's decided by the capitalist.
Chapter 18: Various Formula For The Rate Of Surplus Value
This part ends on a quick chapter that goes over the three formulas that determine the rate. Surplus value generated in relation to the entire working day, surplus value in relation to the value of the product, and surplus product over the total product. This is how the capitalist economy confuses the term "labor" with "labor power," and it works like a charm on a lot of people who defend the interests of the class exploiting them. They claim that the capitalist buys our labor, thus we're paid in full. But in actuality, the capitalist is buying our labor power, which produces far more actual labor than what we're paid. Thus, we get to what is likely the grandest conclusion in the whole book. Marx references Adam Smith's definition of capital being the command over paid labor, and how it is incorrect. Everything thus far is actually showing us that in fact, capital is the command over unpaid labor. This section will not have a conclusion, as that previous sentence holds enough weight to do that job itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment