An Introduction to Marx’s Capital—Part-14

(This is based on “Marx’s Capital” written by Ben Fine and Alfredo Saad-Filho, translated and published in Telugu by Prajasakti Book House and also based on the book “The People’s Marx” which is an abridged popular edition of the 3 volumes of Marx’s Capital, edited by Julian Borchardt and published by Prajasakti Book House and other references)

                            (For Part-13, please see the blog entry dated 25-1-2012)

Absolute and Relative Surplus Value

Surplus value and exploitation

1. In our earlier study we came to understand that in a working day, the labour power creates its own value in some period and surplus value in the remaining period. The value and surplus value both are taken away by the capitalist. The capitalist pays only for the value  and will not pay for the surplus value . This appropriation of the surplus value created by the labour power by the capitalist is the exploitation.

2. We further noted that in a working day, the hours of labour necessary for creating the value by the labour power is the necessary labour time and the hours of labour in which the surplus value is created by the labour power is the surplus labour time. Thus the one day labour time of the worker is divided into necessary labour time and surplus labour time. We also noted that the rate of exploitation (e) is the ration between the surplus labour time (surplus value) called s and the necessary labour time (value) called v and noted the formula of the rate of exploitation as e=s/v.

Absolute Surplus value

1. Suppose in a working day the worker works for 10 hours and creates value in 5 hours (necessary labour time)  and surplus value in the next 5 hours(surplus labour time). Therefore the rate of exploitation is s/v=5/5=100%.  
2. But if the capitalist has to increase the rate of exploitation of the labour power, what he has to do?  He will resort to the following methods:

(a)    By increasing working hours

(i)                 One method is without changing the technology and on the basis of the existing method of production, he can increase it by increasing the surplus labour time from 5hours to 6hours, keeping the necessary labour time as the same  5 hours(means without increasing the wage). In such case the working hours will be 11 hours instead of 10 hours.

(ii)               In such case the rate of exploitation=s/v=6hours/5 hours=120%. The surplus value thus increased by increasing the working hours is called as the absolute surplus value.

(b)   By increasing the intensity of the work

(i)     If increasing the working hours is not possible due to the struggles of the workerers, still the capitalist will try to produce the absolute surplus value. How? By intensifying the work, by increasing the speed of the work utilising new machenes with higher technology, so that in 10 hours, the result of 11 hours work can be there.The breaks in the work will be eliminated by saying that the speed of the machene requires no break in the work.In this case the wage will remain the same, but work will be intensified so that 11 hours work is done in 10 hours.

(ii)   By constant supervision by middle management, by penalities including the threat of dismissal etc to make the worker do intensified work.

(c)    By extending the work to the whole family including children

By extending the work to the whole family-if every body in the family is a worker, the umber of workers seeking work will increase and it will result in decrease in wages so that the necessary labour time is reduced(labour time required to create the value of the wage) and as a result, the surplus labour time will increase. In the earlier days of capitalism, and even now here and there, the children were also made to work in the factories.

(d)   Piece-wage rates, and overtime

The piece wage rate system (wage given on the basis of units of the commodity produced) makes the worker to intensify his work. Overtime work with a higher wage rate   induces worker to work beyond the normal working hours. But the capitalist will see that this overtime work is only for generating additional surplus value and not for generating entire surplus value.

Relative Surplus Value

1. If it is impossible to increase the working day beyond certain hours and impossible to increase the intensity of the work beyond a certain level, the surplus labour time can still be increased by reducing the necessary labour time. If in a working day of 10 hours the necessary labour time is 5 hours and surplus labour time is 5 hours, the surplus labour time can be increased to 6 hours by reducing the necessary labour time to 4 hours, with working hours remaining the same 10 hours.

2. If the necessities of the woker (food , clothing, housing, other services etc required to maintain his labour power for one day) can be produced in 4 hours instead of 5 hours, then it is possible to reduce the necessary labour time from 5 hours to 4 hours. In such case, the surplus labour time is 6 hours and the necessary labour time is 4 hours and the rate of exploitation is 6/4=150%.

3. But how the necessities of the worker can be produced in less time? By increasing the productivity of the labour producing the necessities of the workers, and the labour in those branches of industry which supply the consumer goods industry with raw materials and machinery. This will result in making the necessities cheap and consequently help in reducing the wage.

4. In this case since the surplus value is increased relatively by reducing the necessary value (necessary labour time or wage), the surplus value thus increased is called as relative surplus value.

5. Therefore to assist this general raise in the relative surplus value, the capital tends to increase the productivity in order to cheapen the commodities, and by cheapening the commodities, to cheapen human labour.

6. Hence the object of all the development of the productiveness of the labour within the capitalist production, is to shorten that part of the working day during which the labourer must work for his own benefit, and by that very shortening to lengthen the other part of the working day, during which the worker works gratis (without remuneration) for the capitalist.

Ways of exploitation

1. Thus (a) the increase in working hours (In England when the capitalist system was developing, at first the laws were made to increase the working hours), (b) increase in the intensity of work with or without mechanisation, supervision of middle management, threats to jobs etc and other coercive methods etc (c) bringing the entire family into work (d) piece wages and over time are the methods followed by the individual capitalists to increase the absolute surplus value. But the working class struggles against these methods and it acts as a barrier for expanding the absolute surplus value beyond a limit.In the earlier days of capitalism when the working class was not sufficiently organised, all these methods were used to increase the absolute surplus value. The capitalist will always try to administer this medicine of coercion as far as possible, to increase his profit. The unorganised sector in our country is still remaining as an example. Not only  this, even in IT sectore, the working hours are more than 8 hours.

2. But relative surplus value (reducing the necessary labour time in the working day so that the surplus labour time expands) can be generated without any increase in the working hours and without the necessity for coercion. It involves reducing the value of the labour power(wage) (in relative terms, that is, not in money terms, but in terms of the comparison between necessary labour time and surplus labour time). By improving the productivity of the consumer goods industries making the wage bundle (food, clothing, housing, and services required for the worker to live and maintain his labour power), the commodities used by the worker and his family for their living are made cheap. To make the consumer items cheap, the industries producing these items should have high technology machinery and the value of such machinery also should be cheap. Therefore to shorten the necessary labour time in the working day, the effort of the individual capitalist is not sufficient since he cannot produce all these items in his factory. It requires the collective effort of the capitalist system itself. That is why there is always an urge in the capitalist system to improve the technology in order to reduce the necessary labour time.