Productive labour in Marx means work done on natural, non-conscious material

Evidence

‘If we look at the whole process from the point of view of its result, the product, it is plain that both the instruments and the object of labour’ – notonlythehammer,butalsotherawmaterial–‘aremeansof production andthatthelabouritself isproductivelabour’.Icanonlypresentthecentral materialist element in this without drawing out its full consequences and essentially philosophical meaning. Productive labour in Marx’s work means first of all only labour which produces material goods of one kind or another, because according to Marx’s definition, labour must be done to a natural material, that is, to something non-conscious. — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1312

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies that Marx’s productive labour is defined by working on a natural, non-conscious material.
• XREF: connects to: Marx’s productivity concept exceeds mere material production. — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1327; Labor produces nine-tenths or more of all useful value — John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 50

Broader Connections

• Marx’s productivity concept exceeds mere material production. #qualifies (0.80) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1327