The labor theory of value is the theoretical basis and starting point of Capital. However, with the development of the world economy, the theory of surplus value is facing an increasingly serious dilemma. Is overtime an involution? Does "getting something for nothing" mean that the labor theory of value is outdated?
1. Labor Theory of Value
Marx's labor theory of value holds that the value of commodities is determined by undifferentiated human labor condensed in commodities; Undifferentiated human labor is based on:Socially necessary working hoursto measure.
The theoretical definition of literary crepe is estimated that everyone does not like to read it, and it is indeed difficult to understand. Let's briefly illustrate it through a few stories. Suppose there are only two people in society, A and B, and they need to do two things in order to survive:Farming for food, chopping wood for fuel；However, the two have different expertise, assuming that it takes 2 hours for A to plant 1 mu and 1 hour to chop 5 catties of firewood, and it takes 1 hour for B to plant 1 mu and 2 hours to chop 5 catties of firewood.
1. Self-sufficient economy
A and B do their own work, and they don't interact with each other, so that within 3 hours, A and B are planting 1 mu of land and cutting 5 catties of firewood, and the whole society is total2 acres of land and 10 pounds of firewood
2. Social division of labor economy
Through the social division of labor, A is only responsible for cutting firewood, and B is only responsible for farming, so that within 3 hours, A cuts 15 catties of firewood and B plants 3 acresThe output of society as a whole has increased。But for A and B, they still need to make a deal, so that A can get food without farming, and B can get fuel without chopping wood.
How is socially necessary labor time measured? One way to measure this is to takeThe average of the working hours of A and B, the value of farming to obtain food in this way is 15 hours 1 acre, chopping wood to get fuel is the value of 15 pounds in 5 hours (i.e. 0..)1 pound for 3 hours). By trading, A can use chopping wood for 75 catties to exchange for B 15 acres, so that A and B are both farming 15 acres, 7 wood5 pounds, all better than self-sufficiencyPareto improvement was achieved
Therefore, the essence of the current socialized large-scale production is that a person or unit produces a large number of commodities that they do not use or cannot use in exchange for a large number of commodities produced by others that they do not use or cannot use up themselves. At its core, there is the exchange of laborExchange your own labor for someone else's labor。As for the question of how to set prices in the exchange, we will talk about it later.
2. The hypothetical premise of the labor theory of value
Reading this, some people will say: this is not right, because in reality there are too many people who do not work hard, how can this be explained?
good quesion!This is a question that has plagued me for many years.
As pointed out in the previous article, any theory is based on certain assumptions, and then based on these assumptions, it is logically self-consistent. Just as a perfectly competitive market in economics requires assumptions, the labor theory of value is based on certain assumptions in order to play a role.
1. Public ownership of natural means of production
An online search for means of production is defined as the resources or tools that workers need to use to carry out production. Generally, it can include land, plant, machinery and equipment, tools, raw materials, etc. That's how textbooks define it. If this definition is followed, then only the worker is a laborer, and theory cannot explain reality.
Therefore, this paper continues the definition of the means of production in the previous article and divides the means of production into natural means of production and artificial means of production.
NaturallyMeans of production: refers to land, coal, oil and other mineral resources, solar energy, wind energy, air, etc., i.eSomething that is native to nature。Such means of productionPossession is a requirement, you can lie down and earn money, especially non-renewable resources such as land, coal, oil, etc.
Man-made means of production: refers to plants, machinery and equipment, tools, processed raw materials, etc., i.eIt is made by people using natural resourcesThe means of production condense the labor of the manufacturer。This kind of means of production need to be purchased, such as fixed asset input, which can play a long-term role in the production process, and is the main embodiment of the development of productive forces. Because the machine helps to increase productivity,Condensed the labor of scientists, as well as years of investment in learning costs (in short, human capital).
After the public ownership of the natural means of production, then no one can lie down and earn money, that is, no one can rely on "having a mine at home" to earn something for nothing.
2. The socially necessary labor time can be reliably measured
In this way, how much work has been done can be reliably measured, and to put it bluntly, the performance appraisal results can fully reflect the efforts of each employee, so that the distribution according to work can be realized.
3. There are qualitative differences in labor including human capital investment such as learning and further education
Many people understand labor as manual labor, which is too narrow. For example, cutting 100 tons of firewood can be done in several ways:
1) The most primitive way: it is to take a knife to cut for 10 hours a day, and it doesn't matter if the knife is blunt, and then complete the task in 100 days.
2) Sharpening method: Spend 1 hour a day sharpening the knife first, and then go to chop wood, because the sharpness of the knife improves efficiency, so the task can be completed in 90 days. That is, everyone knows it".Sharpen the knife and do not mistake the woodcutterThe story.
3) Mechanization method: first spend 30 days to learn the knowledge of wood-cutting machines, then spend 20 days to build wood-cutting machines, and then spend 10 days to complete wood-cutting tasks.
4) Innovative revolution method: Chopping firewood is for fuel, exploring natural gas and other energy sources through scientific and technological innovation, and then replacing chopping firewood with natural gas extraction to achieve an energy revolution. But this method may take a lot of time to learn first, so as to train yourself as a scientist, so that you can stand on the shoulders of giants to innovate in science and technology.
One minute on stage, ten years off stageThe value of one minute of labor in Taishan needs to include ten years of hard training in the audience.
Just like the depreciation of fixed assets in the accounting "accrual basis".Study, further education, etc. are human capital investmentsThis is why the hourly wages of highly educated people are generally higher. As for why many college students can't find a job at present, I'll talk about it later.
4. The information is complete
This is the same assuming of a perfectly competitive market, so that no one can rely on information superiority to "buy low and sell high" for nothing.
3. The limitations of the labor theory of value
As mentioned earlier, whether the theory is flawed or not, it is only necessary to analyze whether the hypothetical premises are in line with reality or to what extent they are in line with reality (theoretical models are often simplified, and it is good to be 90% in line with reality).
1. Private ownership of natural means of production
The most typical is private ownership of land. Livable land resources are too limited, so who can be the owner of a certain piece of land? There are currently no more than two ways:
Preemptive principle。Pre-emption is one of the oldest "natural ways" of acquiring property, and has long been a principle believed in by Roman jurists. The principle is to encourage people to explore the unknown land. This principle is still used in international law.
The strong is great。That is, the natural law of "the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, survival of the fittest". The law is brutal, but often unavoidable in situations with limited resources. So who is the strongest?
First, war, "is both superior and dead." War is cruel, but it is the most direct and primitive way to separate the strong. It's like the way the "Monkey King" is created in the animal world.
Second: man-made rules, "only distinguish between the superior and the inferior, and do not decide life and death". That is, artificially setting a rule to select the strong, which can also be understood as the rules of the game. Such as: the imperial examination in ancient China; The capitalist ones are higher than who is paying (i.e. who is richer), etc.
2. Information asymmetry
Information asymmetry is everywhere in reality, unless one day the lie detector is invented. This makes it difficult to reliably measure socially necessary labor time, and can only be approximated by some quantitative indicators.
Therefore, overtime does not have to be involution. Are you fishing at work? Is overtime a show? Only you know.
Ji Xiaolan with iron teeth and copper teeth
3. How to measure human capital
For the same undergraduate degree, some people graduate with 90 points, some people graduate with 60 points, some people study outside of class, and some people often play games in the dormitory, how to measure these human capital gaps?
4. Natural qualifications
Genetic changes make everyone different, allowing us to better respond to the changing natural environment. This makes some people talented and intelligent, and they can never forget their reading; Some people are naturally vigorous and ...... all-round talentsTo do the same thing, someone completes it in 1 hour, and someone completes it in half an hour.
Kung FuIV. Conclusion
Social science research cannot negate the basic majority with extreme exceptions. Although the labor theory of value has some flaws, itsThe fundamentals don't go out of style。Because:
1. No one can possess it foreverNatural means of production
There are no banks in God, and everyone is born naked, and then goes away aloneNo one can take away the wealth and fame that they have worked so hard to manage all their lives
Just like the Monkey King can possess resources by being strong when he is young, butThere are many people who covet the "Iron Throne"., the Monkey King also ages, and there are times when he is weak.
Therefore, it is better to spend a lot of money to hire bodyguards to maintain wealth and be a miserScatter all the money to help the worldForever.
2. The information is relatively complete
The development of information technology has made the market more and more transparent, and there are fewer and fewer arbitrage opportunities such as "buying low and selling high" without work.
3. Human capital is relatively measurable and increasingly important
It's a mule, it's a horse—pull it out and slip itThere is poetry and writing in the bellyHuman capital may not be an accurate measure, but it canRelatively measurable
In addition, the rapid development of mechanization, automation, artificial intelligence, etc., has made itThe length and intensity of physical work are decreasingHuman capital accumulationMore and more important. Surplus value of laborNot only in terms of working hours, but also in the quality of work (human capital accumulation).
4. There are only a few talented people
Genetic changes make everyone different, but the differences are normally distributed, that is:The ordinary will be the majority, and the talented will be only a few
Normal distribution Finally, we may not be able to determine whether we are talented, nor can we determine what others think of us, let alone the probability of successWhat can be decided is to continue to accumulate knowledge, exercise ability, never forget the original intention, and have the courage to try and innovate
Disclaimer: The above content is for academic research only**!