Marxs Labor Theory of Value - Essay Example

As much as Marx seemed to be wrong on many things, there are a few economic aspects of his theorizing that I think were valid. Marx’s labor theory of value has been proven to be wrong in many aspects. For example, Alfred Marshall has rebutted Marx’s labor theory of value by stating that man only rearranges already existing matter so that it can become more useful and meaningful to other human beings. Marshall claims that man does not create new matter. By rearranging already existing matter, man is able to satisfy the needs of other humans. Marshall further refutes Marx’s labor theory of value by stating that capitalists simply use their money to satisfy others and make profits from that. For this reason, he purports that capitalists simply get paid for their patience in not using their money on consumer goods (Buchholz 128). However, as much as this may be true, Marx opines that labor is known to produce a surplus that goes far beyond its wages and the wear and tear that is sustained by the capital used. I totally agree with Marx that the wrong done here is exploiting the surplus by others in the form of labor. The reason why I think that Marx’s reasoning here is valid is the fact that capitalists usually enjoy the highest benefits from the sale of products whereas the laborers are usually the least compensated.
A good example to explain the validity of Marx’s reasoning here would be to look at the amount of labor that goes into manufacturing contemporary products such as luxury cars. As much as it is prudent to appreciate the waiting that capitalists have to wait, and the sacrifices that they make by not spending their money on buying consumer goods, I do not think that this can be compared to the work that laborers put in, and the amount of compensation they receive. Many big companies today are owned by rich capitalists who pump in huge sums of their money as capital. These capitalists usually employ laborers who work hard to ensure that the final product is up to standard (Beb 29). However, when these products are sold, it is the capitalists who receive and enjoy the most amount of profit after having used the labor and expertise of others.
It would be unrealistic to expect the capitalists and the laborers to enjoy the same amount of profit.
I think that Marx’s reasoning here was valid in the sense that capitalists do not compensate laborers for the full value of work they put into producing commodities that make a lot of profits. Laborers are simply compensated for having made an effort in producing highly profitable commodities (David 57). This is done so that the laborers can be encouraged to continue working and making more profits for the capitalists. Read More