Tag Archives: production

Value Can’t Be Created in Exchange

Posted on April 5, 2012 by kapitalism101

After Law of Value 9: Abstract Labor I will conclude the trio of videos dealing with Marx’s method (not that I’ve conclusively said all there is to say on the topic, but all that I have to say for this … Continue reading →

Posted in Econ 101-value profit exploitaiton | Tagged , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Law of Value 6: Socially Necessary Labor time- another draft

Posted on August 11, 2010 by kapitalism101

Alone on his tropical island Robinson Crusoe can take as long as he wants to build a cabin for himself. It’s up to him. We don’t have that luxury when we produce for market exchange. When Wonder Bread makes bread they are competing in the market against Pepperidge Farm, Arnold and White Rose. If their workers are less productive, if they take longer to make bread, that doesn’t mean they can sell their bread for more money. The social value of bread is not set by individuals but by the average amount of time it takes to produce bread. This is called the “Socially Necessary Labor Time”. (SNLT) Continue reading →

Posted in The Law of Value | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Law of Value 4: Value

Posted on June 13, 2010 by kapitalism101

…And this is where any social theory must begin: with a study of the productive activity of people as they work to create the world they live in. Not only is this the best starting place for an analysis of society, it is also the best starting point for a radical social theory whose aim is to investigate the possibility of changing the world. If we realize that human society is not the result of some natural or divine eternal logic but merely the creation of our own labor then that means that we have the power to mold and shape that society as we see fit. In a capitalist society these creative powers take the form of an external world of value and capital that acts back upon society, shaping it against the will of its creators. Yet, in the end the world of capital is nothing but the product of our own creation. If we truly want to change the world it is not up to nature, God, fate or experts, but up to us. This is the radical challenge of the law of value. Continue reading →

Posted in Econ 101-value profit exploitaiton, The Law of Value | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 53 Comments