Capital raises exploitation by shrinking the paid share of a fixed workday
Evidence
There are less explicit, and therefore less politically contestable, methods to increase the rate of exploitation. They all involve keeping the length of the workday constant but reducing the “paid” portion of it (what Marxian economists call relative surplus value). In this way, the worker increases the amount of unpaid labor that enriches the employer. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 114
Categorization
- DEFINE: Clear operational definition of relative surplus value as distinct from absolute surplus value.
- XREF: connects to: Capital expands by not paying workers for part of their labor — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 104; Capital accumulation lowers profit rates unless exploitation intensifies via labour rationalisation; The falling rate of profit forces capitalists to intensify labor exploitation — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2376 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- The falling rate of profit forces capitalists to intensify labor exploitation
#corroborates(0.85) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2376 - Growth rests on workers selling labor for less than the value they create
#corroborates(0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 95 - Capital accumulation lowers profit rates unless exploitation intensifies via labour rationalisation
#expands(0.80) - Profit comes from surplus value workers generate
#corroborates(0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 103 - Wages compensate time but not enthusiasm workers contribute freely
#qualifies(0.75) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 65