Labor and Labor Process - Essay Example

Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Labor and Labor Process The capitalist mode of production is the most prevalent one in the majority of economies today. Before its inception, people were engaged in the feudalism whose products were predominantly agricultural. Laborers worked as serfs in plantations and for land owners; hence, there existed two social classes: the landlords and serfs. The landlords were the dominant class while serfs were subordinates (Tucker, 3-6). This is in line with Marxist ideas that the mode of production determined the relations in society. The items produced in farms were used for consumption rather than for exchange in the market hence labor consisted of use value. However, the English civil war saw to the breakdown of feudal societies and introduction of new system of production namely capitalism (Tucker, 3-6). Communal land was subdivided into segments and each piece was owned by an individual (a system of private land ownership). Industries were also introduced which saw the emergence of paid or wage labor and new classes of capitalists and workers. This system of production was much criticized by Marx in his writings, especially A critique of the political economy. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the importance of labor and labor process to capitalist mode of production and determine why and in what ways the capitalist mode of production is antagonistic despite the great importance attached to labor. It will also determine how such antagonisms are expressed and how socialism can overcome this antagonism as predicted by Marx in his communist manifesto. To understand and explore these issues, we will discuss the works of Marx such as A critique of political economy, the economic and philosophical manuscripts of 1844, especially the issue of estranged labor, private property and communism, surplus value, and the communist manifesto. As stated earlier, the feudal mode of production was replaced by the capitalist mode of production. This brought about many changes in the society as the mode of production is the determinant of relations in society. The serfs used to produce products for consumption but with the introduction of the factory system, the serfs were separated from the means of production (Tucker, 3-6). They could no longer work in farms as land ownership thrived. As a result, they were forced to look for wage labor in factories hence exchange their labor for wages, thus, converting labor from use value to labor power. In the capitalist system, labor is very important in production of manufactured goods as it is the source of revenue or profit for capitalists. The products produced through this system were no longer used for consumption but for exchange with money. The capitalist system brought about two classes in society: the owners of means of production who are the capitalists and the dominant class; the proletariat or workers who provided labor to owners of means of production and were the subordinate class (Tucker, 3-6). The commodities lost their use value and could only be produced for exchange, thus, separating production from consumption. According to Marx, the system of exchange determines relations of production. Before, commodities were consumed hence had use value but in the capitalist system commodities were no longer used but exchanged. As such, the exchange was used as the measure of value and not the commodities (Tucker, 3-6). Whoever did not engage in wage labor thus create value was considered as valueless. For example, activities such as care giving and housekeeping are considered values and are not accounted for in the national income since they do not create value. For individuals to be valuable members of society, they had to be engaged in production of goods for exchange and not for direct consumption. In the capitalist system therefore, labor was considered as very important; it had an exchange value in that it was exchanged for wages and was determined by forces of supply and demand (Tucker, 56-67). Labor was very essential in accumulation of capital and assisting the capitalist in defeating their competitors. According to Marx, capital is just accumulation of labor. This is due to the fact that labor is used to produce products which are exchanged at a market price which is above the natural price. The amount gained is retained in the business for more investments thus accumulating more capital and the business becomes large (Tucker, 203-217). If it faces competition from other firms especially the small firms, the large firm is able to use tactics to drive the small businesses out of the market even if it means low pricing of goods. The forces of demand and supply determined the price of wages and whether more workers are needed in the firm. Due to capital accumulation, industries manufacture more products leading to overproduction and consequently lay off of workers or reduction of wages since no more production is needed until demand arises (Tucker, 75). The accumulation of capital, according to Marx, is the increased division of labor which, in turn, leads to increase of workers. In other words, the capitalist system turns workers to commodities which can be traded in the labor market through forces of demand and supply (Tucker, 70-81). The demand for labor depends on the whim of capitalists. We cannot talk of labor without talking about the labor process. The labor process is used to generate profit for capitalists hence it is crucial. Capital according to Marx economic and philosophical manuscripts is the governing power over labor and its products (Tucker, 77). The owners of capital have the purchasing power and the capital is able to gain profit. The labor process involves the activities used in converting products into manufactured products leading to capital accumulation and increase in number of profitable investments. Every product in the market is as a result of labor hence the process of controlling labor supply and demand to reduce costs and maximize profit is vital to capitalist. People may be given the necessary skills to produce products hence increased productivity and gains for capitalist in form of surplus value. As competition increases among capitalists, the small ones are pushed out of the market and capital is accumulated in few hands. This leads to monopolies that control the prices in the market and in the end workers end up paying more of their income to purchase products than they would have used if they produced goods for consumption. This forces the workers to keep working so as to maintain their subsistence (Tucker, 246). The capitalist system thus alienates workers from the products of their labor turning them into commodities and machines. Labor thus becomes a power that controls workers instead of workers using their labor voluntarily or any way they please. This leads to antagonistic relationship between labor and capital. Workers do not own labor anymore, instead it is owned by capitalists in exchange for wages. Besides, if workers become more productive, they produce more using the same hours of work and the surplus value only benefits the capitalist (Tucker, 239-249). Despite the importance placed on labor by the capitalists, the capitalist system is antagonistic. Wages in this system are determined antagonistically through capitalist and worker struggles. There is increased worker competition due to many divisions of labor and this is an advantage to the capitalist as competition drives wages down thus reducing production costs and increased profits for further capital accumulation. Furthermore, capitalists combine to deny workers their rights but do not allow the workers to combine to demand for their rights. When capitalists join together they can decide to lock competitors out thus gain control of the market in terms of wage prices. They also determine when to lay off staff if it is to their advantage or engage in new channels of trade which are more profitable but the workers have no choice but to offer their labor at the prevailing wages and sacrifice themselves for them to survive. Capitalists create an army of workers whom they employ at low wages when demand for labor is high thus exploiting them (Tucker, 203-217). The alienation of workers from the products of their labor also involves alienation in the production activity since the end result is achieved through a production process. So what happens in the labor process? Workers go to work not because they enjoy working but because they have to fulfill their immediate needs. Since labor is external to the worker, the worker does whatever he/she is instructed to do and considers labor not as his/her property. Workers are thus not happy and only feel themselves when they are out of work; while at work they feel being controlled or not free. Labor is thus only a means to satisfy external needs. If worker gets other means of survival, he/she would leave the job immediately since it is alien to him and not satisfying (Tucker, 56-67). Capitalism is also antagonistic in that it gives nothing to labor but everything to private property yet labor is the most crucial ingredient of production. There exist two classes of people in society in opposition; the property owners consisting of landlords and capitalist and the property less workers. Once workers are laid off in factories, they seek agricultural labor but since labor would already be in high supply in the firms, they get low wages and when demand for labor resumes in factories, there is already high supply hence workers are antagonized. They do not own the means of production nor property hence capitalist always gain victory over proletariats (Tucker, 316-318). Marx views relations of production to be controlled by class struggles between the capitalist and the workers. This is because workers are mistreated in terms of poor working conditions, low wages and exploitation through production of surplus value. He thus envisages a time when labor will be free and not at the mercy of capitalists and this can only be achieved through abolition of capitalism and emergence of socialism. In this system workers will work according to their own needs and not ability. The capitalist system divides people according to their ability thus increased division of labor and consequently increased capital accumulation. In his communist manifesto, Marx says that the cooperation of workers instead of competition prevalent in the capitalist system will give the proletariat power to overthrow capitalism (Tucker, 473-491). He therefore, advocated for enlightenment movements that would make workers conscious of their exploitation by capitalist. This would enable them to join hands and defeat the capitalists who are divided due to competition amongst themselves. Trade unions, chartist movements, and the International Workers Association were crucial in ensuring a revolution from capitalism to socialism or communism. In communism system there would be no private property ownership or exchange of commodities. One would produce according to needs and for the mutual benefit of all. Men in this case would find joy in their work since they would not be alienated from the product of their labor or the activity of labor. The category of the worker would be extended to all men in this system of cooperation thus eliminating class divisions in society and the struggles associated with it. There would be accumulation of wealth leading to exploitation of some by others like in the capitalist system (Tucker, 67-75). Wage labor leads to devaluation of men of men into machines and commodities. In communism system, labor would be free, thus, unlike in capitalist system where labor not used in production of exchange goods is valueless, all labor would be valued as all human activities are geared towards the benefit of all the society. Even those who care for children, aged and their families perform a great role in society and should be valued just like any other form of labor. The proletariats would become powerful but this requires a lot of effort and cooperation (Tucker, 473-491). Conclusion The destruction of feudalism as a result of the English war and emergence of capitalism brought about changes in the economic system. A new capitalist system cropped up based on a new system of exchange whereby commodities of labor were sold to gain exchange value. There also arose the capitalist class which owned the means of production and the working class who provided labor to the capitalist. The serfs were, thus, alienated from their means of production and from the product of their labor and their value were determined by the kind of work they performed. Labor not useful in production of goods for exchange was valueless. Labor and the labor process were thus crucial to the system in value production. Despite this, the system was antagonistic in the sense that class struggles thrived. The workers were exploited at the expense of capital accumulation and workers were also force to compete among themselves. Due to this exploitation, Marx believed that workers would be emancipated by overthrowing the capitalist system and instituting communism where labor would be free and only used to produce what one needs. Work Cited Tucker, R.C (ed). The Marx-Engels Reader. 2nd ed. New York: W.W.Norton & Company, Inc, 1978. Print. Read More