5 Assignment 04

Sociology of Work
Assignment # 4

In Chapter Two of Karl Marx’s “ Wage Labour and Capital,’’ he begins to define what wages are and their relationship to labor. Marx’s defines wages to be “that wages are the amount of money which the capitalist pays for a certain period of work or certain amount to work”(Marx), Marx begins by stating that despite the different type of work a worker does they all have one thing in common and is a wage. Marx describes a wage to be an exchange of trade between the worker and the employee. It is a transaction in which the employee sells his labor or trade and time to the employee to receive money for their commodities. Marx goes in to explain how time is what capitalist buy whether is an hour, a day or week; the essential is the time of a worker. As the employee commits to his labor, the capitalist will pay him his wage. The wage the capitalist gives the worker allows him to buy commodities weather is meat, clothing, or shelter.He is only capable of doing so, due to his time spent laboring to earned a paid wage. The way I was able to understand Marx theory of wages, commodities and labor are all a domino effect. The capitalist pays for the workers time, in which the worker spends his hours, days, etc. In providing a service for the capitalist in exchange, he receives a wage that allows his to support themselves and lifestyle. As Marx states that ”wages” is the fancy term in which is use to decide the price of one’s time spent laboring.
Marx goes on to explain his theory of wages by using the example of a Weaver; the Weaver is giving the loom and yard by the capitalist. Once the weaver is supplied with the loom and yard, he goes to producing cloth. The capitalist now has his cloth and will continue to sell his cloth for 20 shillings.The Weaver has been paid for his labor and will in no way be sharing the earnings in which the capitalist will receive from demand and supply of his cloth. The Weaver has no concern in what the capitalist will do or if he would even make a profit of the cloth he produced, with the weaver been paid his wages for his labor he no longer has anything to do with the product or selling of the cloth. As the weaver has no connection to the final product with the cloth he finds himself just working to get by and earn a wage to pay for his commodities. Marx explains that the hours the weaver spends does not fulfill him in any satisfying way until he is giving his wages, that is when the weaver start to enjoy his life.
After reading Marx wages and labor piece, I believe more in one should choose a career in which you enjoy. The fact that you will be spending long hours, days and years to come in the laboring to earn a wage to be able to survive and be able to pay for your commodities.

In the reading “Wage Labour and Capital “by Karl Marx, explains the Financial and labor agreements made between a capitalist and the worker. The Worker or potential employee has Labour power. Labour power is the task and man power the person can complete for a set period for a set amount of money. The worker than negotiates the its Labour power with the capitalist in exchange for money. This is called price or wage. He spends this wage on food and shelter. This can be translated the worker exchanges his Labour power for food and shelter.

In the example of the Weaver and loom workers, Marx defines what the weaver is truly getting paid for. The weaver is receiving wages based on the agree Labour he perfumes. He does not receive results of his Labour. The results of his task completing skills is the piece of fabric which was created by the yarn provided to him. The yarn came from another laborer or employee called “The loomed “who made the yarn from raw materials. The “Loomers” Employer than sold the yarn to the weaver’s employer. He then provided the yarn to the weaver who exchange his man power to convert the yarn to fabric.

Karl Marx, continues to explain the capitalist method of production and reason why. Community changed as needs for production increased. This made the community change both materially and socially. What the worker produces and the profit of what he produces is the surplus value. The worker does not receive compensation from such profit.

The worker does not exchange his labor for commodity only but also for the satisfaction of living life. For the small moments human enjoy like sharing a bed, being part of a social group and caring for others. These things can be provided to him by exchange of labor for wages. These wages he uses for the exchange of these experience.

History shows Labour ownership was not always exchanged for wages. It was purchased once and never renegotiated. This was called slavery. Capitalist or slave owners had slaves to complete all the daily operation of any land or industry of their ownership. Now era the endeavor is completed by rented Labour owners in exchange for wages or commodities.

In conclusion, the relationship between “capital and wage Labour” is Labour –owner or employee gets hired by the capitalist or employer to complete a job for a particular period of time and wage. This wage is then exchanges for commodities.

Toniann German

Assignment #4

SOC

In Karl Marx “Wage labour and capital” he opens by defining what are wages and how these wages connect to labor. Marx discusses that wages are particular amounts of money that one receives from capitalist for the amount of work they do or the amount of time they spend doing work.  He states we have allowed our labor to be bought from capitalist by placing a price tag on ourselves, therefore it appears that we sell our labor for money. However, this is not the case, in actuality what is being sold “to the capitalist for money is their labour-power” Marx explains that for wage workers labour power is a commodity that they sell in order to stay alive.

When Marx discusses the weaver he explains that the weaver is getting paid because of the amount of time it has taken to make the cloth. However, in order for the weaver to create this cloth the capitalist had to offer the commodities necessary in order to create the cloth such as the yarn and loom. However, the weaver now gets paid for his work but not from the profit that was made from the selling of the cloth. The profit made from the creation of the weaver’s cloth goes strictly to the capitalist. However now the weaver can take his earnings to buy commodities necessary for survival such as shelter and food. Therefor the weaver’s work is seen more as a trade.

What I took away from this reading is that unless you love your work, your work will be seen as a sacrifice you make in your life not actually apart of your life. I also feel that he was saying that we don’t get paid what we should, we are not getting paid for what we are creating or producing or how much money we are making our bosses. We are being payed wages based off of time and what the capitalist deem as appropriate.

In Karl Marx’s “Wage Labour and Capital”, Marx was able to breakdown his theory by using examples of specific types of laborurs, he was able to characterize the capitalistic labor power system. The commodities, labor hours and wages were explained well with his use of a weaver. The capatisitic give the labor tools to produce a product to be sold as a commodity. The laborer does not get a percentage of the products, but gets a small amount of earnings from the employee before they even sell the commodity.

Even if the capitalist sells the commodity, they will be earning far more than what wage was paid out to the weaver. Also, if the capitals does not sell and earn profit, they have still been successful because they have the power of labor by having the weaver doing work for them. So whether the capitalist are losing money, they still have power in strengthen capitalism.

The weaver then does not view that he is under the control of a capitalist. The weaver instead believes that he is exchanging his expertise or skill for a wage or earning. The weaver sees this as a means to live. Sees this as a small sacrifice and focus more on the life they live after work is over. Enjoy life and resting. Marx uses the example of a silk worm in comparison to the laborer. A laborur continues to work to earn a wage and live would be like a worm continuing to spin silk to livelonger.

Marx is able to explain that as a capitalist, the best security is to use the money they already have from other commodities, and invest a small portion of this in order to earn or gain more labor power. The actual product that is produced is not always a commodity, but the laborur is the actual product or labor power. The laborur does not belong to the capitalist, yet he belongs to where he is now categorized in the separate working or labor class. He becomes a member of that classification.

It takes a small amount of what that 1% already has to continue to develop the spirit of capitalism. To continue the methods by any means in order to grow labor power. As long as the methods continue, the spirit of capitalism will continue to be strengthened. We work to produce products but are also contributing to the purchasing of commodities and in return makes capitalist so profitable. Wages are nothing within this whole system of increasing the control of labor power.

In Chapter two of Karl Marx’s ”Wage Labour and Capital,” Marx distinguishes the commodities the weaver uses to that of the finished cloth. The weaver is hired by the capitalist to make cloth; in return the capitalist pays the weaver for the work that was done to make the cloth. The capitalist supplies the weaver with all the required materials to make the cloth including the yarn, the raw material, the loom, and the instrument of labor all to produce the final product so in return he can then sell the cloth and make his profit. Being that the capitalist has purchased these commodities in order to produce a higher valuable commodity with money he already has on hand, the weaver doesn’t benefit from the sale of the cloth. To the capitalist, the waver’s labor power is just another commodity like the raw material and instrument that are needed for the production of the cloth. According to Marx, the weaver should not be concerned about if the cloth he made was sold for a profit because he was already paid his wage for the job he was hired to do. Anything that was made off his job belongs solely to the capitalist who hired the weaver. Sometimes the cloth can be sold for a significant amount or sometimes not at all, as a result the labor power the weaver has already provided for the production of the cloth, should not affect his wages.

Marx’s “Wage Labour and Capital” also gives us the example of how labor power wasn’t always a product that could be bought or sold. In the cases of the slaves and the serfs, due to the fact they were seen as property, the labor power that they provided was free. This is because they were forced into doing the labor. And because the slaves were seen as property, the labor power was no longer the highly sought out commodity, the slave itself turned into the commodity. In a similar aspect, the serfs were also forced into working on the land of the kings and the lords. Neither the slave nor the serf received wages for their labor. The ones to profit from their labor power commodity were the slave owners and the lords of the land.

Karl Marx begins to define what wages are in this weeks’ piece. Marx describes the relationship between wages and labor in the ideals of work; as well as how the market depends on its relationship. He begins to identify that wages are monies paid by capitalists to people who provide labor. The monies paid to the laborers are in relationship to the amount of work done or the amount of time to complete the work. Therefore, Marx argues that capitalist buy labor power by the amount of time spent on work. In other words, time is what capitalist buy. They buy the time that laborers provide in the realm of work. He calls the time that workers provide as labor power and informs us that this is the commodity that capitalists are interested in. As he states in his piece, Marx describes that the term “wages” is just a special name for the price of labor.

Paying laborers for their time according to Marx is the way capitalist tend to spread the use of their commodities. In other words, when workers are paid for their time, capitalist can use that time paid to have workers work in other areas or on other products capitalist produce. In this ideal, capitalist maximize the overall use of their commodities with time paid to workers. Within the context of time for example, you can have a worker work on 3-4 tasks rather than have them work on 1 given task for a set amount of time. Marx names this the exchange value of labor. The commodity that is produced then has a price attached to it. The price is usually the money that is exchanged for the exchange value of labor. So in summary, Workers sell their time, to work on products for employers and not gain profit or capital for this.

Interestingly enough, Marx argues that a worker’s commodity is his labor. He states that workers sell their labor throughout their life in order to live. He also states that the laborer should know that his labor represents wages. He manages to provide his ability to work in order to obtain all the necessities to live by way of earning wages. This relationship to life becomes one that depends on wages in order to live.

After reading this piece by Marx, I tend to think of how time is such a factor in the ability to earn wages. Today, we see it constructed in our own labor laws and policies. The terms part-time, full-time, temporary and salary are all based on the time in which wages are dispensed. None are determined by production, only time. I wonder what would happen if laborers were paid for the amount of production they produce over time? If we workers would gain some financial ground if time was not the only determining factor of wage. I guess we would all then be capitalist. Interesting.

Essentially anything that holds a trade-value is considered a commodity. Commodities are traded through exchanges. These exchanges are traded through future contracts. Contracts obligate Capital to buy or sell their commodities at a predetermined price on a future date.  These commodities are then priced based on the market value; which is the futures market price of that commodity. Simply the equity of these commodities revolves around the supply and demand.

Marx uses the example of the weaver to illustrate this relation between labor activity and the purchased commodities. Capital supplies the raw materials and facility and hires the weaver as an employee. The weaver applies himself to his work and then turns the raw materials given into cloth. The employer then takes the produced product and sells it for the given predetermined market value, in this case, twenty shillings. The market value of the produced goods does not determine the wage for the employee; the weaver. The weaver agreed and received their earnings prior to the full production, and prior to the sale of the goods. The employee has already received their wages from the money on hand, and not by the market value of their production.

In many cases, a skilled worker is directed to be employed by capital. Whether he does not possess the money on hand to purchase the materials to create his cloth or he has the money and produces the materials but has no clientele or he was unable to produce any profit from the selling of his product. Thus capital purchases the weavers labored power, just like they have purchased their raw materials of yarn and the equipment of loom. After these purchases have been made comes the entitled ownership. The belonging of the labored powered weaver as well as the necessary materials of production of the cloth; is of Capital. The newly employed weaver is now part of the instruments of labor sharing the same playing field as the raw materials of yarn and the equipment of loom. In this respect, he has no share in the cloth produced or the price.

The hours spent weaving does not justify his life. The weavers’ life only then starts after receiving his labor earned wages. In theory, the Capitals commodity (the weaver) sells his ability to work in return for wages. These wages are then used to purchase even more commodities like food and electricity. This is done for mere survival.

Marien Burgos

Marx characterizes the relationship of labor activity to the commodity that is produced. He uses the example of the weaver to explain how capitalism is dependent on wage and labor for the working class. Also how businesses are motivated by the needs and wants of the bargainer and the owners of businesses and the production of labor belong to the capitalists. Marx mentions that sense the capitalist buys the supplies and the labor from the worker,the worker will receive his wages for the work he produced, and whether the capitalist sales his merchandise the worker would still get paid for his labor. Because the capitalist buys the yarn and loom the wages are not consider part of the shares of the worker in the exchanged in market. He considers the capitalist the higher class because this class uses their financial gain, the workers labor and extra product to their advantage.
The school were I work at is the perfect example, I started working their 2008. The school opened with only two classrooms because the owner didn’t have enough money for a bigger space but in that area there were no schools before we opened. The supplies and demand started growing. Now the owner of the school opened another school but the salaries of the teachers haven’t grown as much as the business has. As Marx mentions in (p.2) it is possible that the seller sells his merchandised for a very good profit but that doesn’t concern the worker. This is how the capitalist continues to be at the top of the pyramid.
In “The making of the U.S. working class” Braverman mentions in (P.32) that in this society the inverted pyramid is taking place because the productive labor is getting narrower and the workers are driven to produce a greater product. Because of the Capitalist system industries who don’t produce anything themselves are thriving. All this is in connection with what Marx explains,that the working class is always at the bottom of the pyramid and this class is always exploited but is the only way to survive.
As explained above the worker exchanges his commodity labor power in exchange of money. And long before the merchandised is fully produced the worker has received his wages. The capitalist owns the product and the labor. Also Marx considers the capitalist the higher class because they use the gains and the workers labor in their favor. In the end this is the reason why the rich continue to get richer and the working class continues to be working class.

In Karl Marx piece on Wage Labor and Capital, he uses the weaver as an example to talk about the relationship of labor activity to a commodity. He was showing the relationship between supply and demand. He shows the chain of events in which the capitalist supplies the raw materials for the worker to make a product then that finish product is returned to the capitalist to be sold for x amount of money but none of that money belongs to the worker that makes that product. He is paid a set price for his work and none of the profits from the finish product belongs to the worker.  There is no true or intimate connection between that worker and the merchandise in which they produce because they are not producing it for themselves they were hired by a corporation to produce a certain number of goods at a specific time at a set price. So the love and attention that they would normally put into it if that product represents them is not there.

For example, Footlocker they are just the means in which the shoes are distributed but they have factories where they hire workers to make these shoes for cheap then bring them to America and sells them for hundreds of dollars but the workers in the factory already have a set price for their wage that they are being paid none of the money that they make off the shoes sold in the stores belong to these workers.  The worker only receives the amount of money he or she agreed to work for upon hire. As we can see today some products that are made in China are worth staying in china due to the way they were made they weren’t built to last long.

According to Marx labour power is the commodity that the worker sells to the boss and the reason is to make a living so the relationship he’s trying to make between commodity and wage labor is that the worker himself sells his commodity for a price so wages are a part of the commodity which means that wages create commodities. Marx said that wages are the already existing part of commodities. He gave an example where he spoke about slavery and how those workers did not sell their labor to the capitalist but they were already sold for a price. This shows that labour did not always a commodity and it was not always paid for it was also free.

In his example of the weaver, Marx showcases how a capitalist buys the labor-power of a weaver, the loom, and the yarn used to make cloth. All three are used to make a product and therefore all three are equal commodities.  The weaver, then, does not get a share of the price of the product, but gets paid for his labor-power by wages (Marx, p.2).  His labor-power is what he owns and can sell to a capitalist for wages in order to live (Marx, p.2).

Once the idea of labor-power is established, Marx then goes on to state that putting labor-power into action, or working, is how one’s life activities are expressed (Marx, p.2). Working, or labor-activity, must be sold to a capitalist in order for a worker to maintain his existence.  When one works, as a weaver for example, his product is not what he produces for himself.  A weaver looms yarn and produces cloth, which is the product.  The cloth will be turned into another item, a dress, a blanket, etc. (Marx, p.3).  But the weaver does not keep the cloth, nor the finished product of the dress or blanket.  He only gets to keep the wages paid by the capitalist who hired him (Marx, p.2).

Since the worker only gets to keep the wages the capitalist pays him to produce that certain commodity, there is this personal distance between the worker and the commodity they produce, and worker may feel alienated from it. The worker may begin to put less effort into the commodity, compromising its quality.  The worker could also not be concerned with their efficiency in making the commodity, especially if they are getting paid hourly wages.  Not only could this alienation of the worker from the commodity cause the one’s work ethic to decline, it could also cause his happiness to decline.  If he is only going to work to produce a commodity that he has no real connection with or ownership of, this may cause lack of pride and feeling of purpose.  The worker could begin to feel as though he is living just to work so he can survive and not enjoy the time he spends here.  Since the worker needs the wages paid to him by capitalists, it may become clear to him that he belongs to the entire capitalist class, causing even greater alienation and insecurity in his life (Marx, p.3).