Marx 1847 wage labour and capital student summary PDF

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Prof. Christian Greiffenhagen
Tutor Javior Pang...

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Student Summary: Marx, “Wage-Labour and Capital” [1847] (I think this text is relatively easy among Marx. You may understand it without Chinese translation. But the extract in CST is quite separated. So it may be difficult to get what Marx mean at a whole)

[pp.182-183] What are wages? How are they determined • •

Labor = Commodity Wage = Price of the commodity

[pp.183-185] How are they determined •

•

Competition determines wages o Competition between sellers → depressed price o Competition between buyers → Rise in price o Competition between seller and buyer Cost of production of labour = cost of existence (training time and wages) + reproduction of worker (depreciation of labour)

[pp.185] Exchange between capitalist and workers • •

Labour ←→ for means of subsistence Labour → work → money → consume → no money → work again Even real wages increase, relative wage could decrease.

[pp.185-187] Marx made several arguments: • • • •

Relationships of the interests of the capitalist and workers Technology does not bring greater profit (*consider the exchange values) Increase in wages is a worse situation for the worker (*relative wages: consider the exchange value of labour, the value workers earned vs. the cost of commodities) Wider social gulf

[pp.187-189] Capitalists’ situation •

•

Method to produce more capital: Reduce costs o Increased use of machinery o Greater division of labour → More intense competition between workers + special skill of the worker becomes worthless Future of capitalists o Monopoly (*big vs. small industrialist) o Crisis (*lack of new market)...