Reply To: Diane Elson: The Value Theory of Labour

To maximise profit by conflating labour with unpaid time:

This is one theme.  Labour time is undervalued for a ‘commodity’- and undervalued labour is pervasive. And that is generally undervalued work with little skill or profit, other than its outcome (according to capitalism) in life’s necessary activity (experience effects of engendered work). Raising a family is value, producing future workers, but the one who raises the family is under valued! And the labour buyer profits from it in their workforce.

Okay, that made it sound complicated-

All labour is important, under socialism. Under capitalism, labour time is measured, according to a commodity and product- something that can be sold. Parenting (mum or dad) is not accorded a value in wage, in the act of raising a child/ren, but seen as an expense.

I have moved beyond the thread, but the theme is- time and labour is under an antagonism. The reality is that the technical and material operations/forces involved in undervalued work are being maximised for profit… by producing markets. I will wake up tomorrow and make this less complex..

L.B.

Tell me more about your discoveries JClark, as I may have described the general rather than the particular.