Labor Theory of Value
Price is determined
by the amount of labor that goes into making the product, other things being
equal. That is, the more work hours that go into making a product, the more
expensive it is.
The capitalist
pays the worker as little as possible and sells the product for as much as possible.
Price
of product
minus
Workers' wages
minus
Other expenses
=
Profit (Surplus value)
Since
profit is usually reinvested, it becomes capital.
The Materialist
Conception of History
Economic
factors (substructure) underlie all human social, cultural, religious, and intellectual
manifestations (superstructure). All social changes (e.g., changes to institutions
such as churches, schools, prisons, hospitals, libraries, legal systems, gender
roles) and political revolutions (e.g., wars) are caused by changes in modes
of production and exchange.
Feudal and
Bourgeois Means of Production and Exchange Compared
| Instruments
of labor are small, so one worker can use tools alone |
Instruments
of labor are big -- too big for a single worker |
| Petty
(small) industry |
Huge
industry |
| Production
expensive -- no economies of scale |
"Mighty
productive forces" -- economies of scale for big customers |
| Workers
own means of production |
Bourgeois
owns means of production |
| Wage
labor unusual; craftsmen work for themselves |
Wage
labor the norm |
| Workers
take pride in their work |
Workers
have no pride in their work |
| Workers
own and exercise creative control over the products of their labor |
Capitalists
own and control the products of workers' labor |
| Work
expresses workers' selves, their creativity and values |
Work
has nothing to do with personality of the worker |
|
Not much
surplus value (profit); no
manipulation of markets by large-scale advertising
|
Lots
of surplus value (profit) that is put to work to make even more profit,
by being lent or invested. If lent, capitalist collects interest (a sinful
practice in Islam). If invested, capitalist manipulates markets, e.g., though
advertising, to ensure that whatever is manufactured will be bought, at
a profit; and the cycle begins anew. |
| Social
bonds among workers |
Workers
must compete |
| Not
much unemployment |
Deliberately
induced unemployment so there's always an "industrial reserve army"
to threaten workers and keep wages down |
| Static
classes; some polarization |
Dramatic
and ever-increasing class polarization; more and more workers sink to "prole"
status |
| Boundaries
of kingdoms, nations matter |
No
boundaries; "globalization" |