What is the Residual Value Rate?
The rate of surplus value is the ratio of surplus value to variable capital, or the ratio of surplus labor time to necessary labor time, also known as the rate of surplus value or the rate of exploitation. It is expressed by the formula as: m'=m/v。In this formula, m'is the rate of surplus value, m is the surplus value, and v is the variable capital. The annual rate of surplus value is the ratio between the total surplus value produced in a year and the variable capital advanced. It is calculated as m'= (m x number of surplus-value productions per year) v = m'v x Number of surplus value productions per year. In this formula, m'is the annual rate of surplus value, m'is the rate of surplus value, v is the prepaid variable capital, and the number of annual surplus value generation refers to the number of times surplus value is generated in a year. The rate of surplus value reflects the ratio of a worker's surplus labor time to necessary labor time, as well as the ratio of unpaid labor to paid labor. The higher the rate of surplus value, the more the surplus labour of the workers is exploited by the capitalists, and the more exploitative it is. However, the rate of surplus value is the ratio of surplus value to variable capital, or rather the ratio of surplus labor time to necessary labor time. Under capitalist conditions, it reflects the degree of exploitation of workers by capitalists. In terms of the formula, it is: rate of surplus value = surplus value variable capital = surplus labor time necessary labor time. The rate of surplus value is actually the capitalist's share of all the new value created by the workers, and is a direct manifestation of the capitalist's exploitation. In a capitalist society, the capitalist owns the means of production and buys labor, and all the products of labor are the property of the capitalist. Thus, the value of the product in possession by the capitalist is greater than the value he paid for the purchase of the labour power, and the excess, that is, the value created by the worker in excess of the value of the labour power, is the surplus value. The degree of exploitation of workers by the capitalists can be expressed in terms of the rate of surplus value. The rate of surplus value can also be expressed as the ratio between the value of the surplus product and the total amount of capital prepaid, i.e., m' = m/（c+v）。In this formula, m'is the rate of surplus value, m is surplus value, c is constant capital, and v is variable capital. Expressing the rate of surplus value as the ratio between the value of the surplus product and the total value of the capital advance further obscures the exploitative relations of capitalism. The rate of surplus value reflects the essence of the capitalist relations of production and is the relative form of the capitalist mode of production. It shows that in the process of capitalist production, the capitalist, as the embodiment of capital, appropriates not only the surplus value created by the workers, but also all the new value created by the workers, and at the same time all the new value created by the workers. The essence of capitalist relations of production is that the capitalists, by virtue of their ownership of the means of production, exploit and appropriate all the new value created by the workers under the pretext of the principle of equal exchange.
The duality of the capitalist production process determines the duality of the capitalist relations of production, and thus the duality of the rate of surplus value. The capitalist production process has the nature of concrete labour on the one hand, and abstract labour on the other. From the point of view of concrete labour, the full value of the constant and variable capital expended by the capitalist in the production of commodities must be fully compensated in order to repurchase the means of production and labour so that the production process can continue. From the point of view of abstract labour, the whole value of the constant and variable capital expended by the capitalist in the production of commodities must not only be fully compensated, but also have a surplus, that is, surplus value. This surplus is a direct manifestation of the exploitation of the workers by the capitalists, the surplus labour or surplus product created by the workers who have appropriated it without compensation. The rate of surplus value reflects the degree of exploitation of the workers by the capitalists and is the part of the new value created by the workers that is appropriated by the capitalists. In a capitalist society, the capitalist appropriates the labor of the worker by purchasing it, and thus appropriates all the new value created by the worker. Of these values, the wages paid by the capitalist to the worker are only the value of the necessary part of the labor created by the worker, and the value of the surplus part of labor created by the worker is appropriated by the capitalist without compensation, forming surplus value. Thus, the rate of surplus value is a direct manifestation of the exploitation of the workers by the capitalists and reflects the essence of capitalist relations of production. At the same time, the rate of surplus value also reflects the relativity of the capitalist mode of production. Under the capitalist mode of production, capitalists exploit and oppress workers by appropriating the means of production and controlling the market. However, with the development of the productive forces and the progress of society, the relativity of the capitalist mode of production gradually emerged. For example, with the development of automation and intelligent technology, the labor intensity and working hours of workers are gradually reduced, and the degree of exploitation of workers by capitalists is also gradually reduced. Therefore, the rate of surplus value also reflects the relativity of the capitalist mode of production and is a historical product of the development of the capitalist mode of production.
In short, the rate of surplus value is the core and essence of capitalist relations of production, reflecting the degree of exploitation of workers by capitalists and the relativity of the capitalist mode of production. It is not only the capitalist's share of the new value created by the workers, but also an important means for the capitalist to realize profits and accumulate wealth. At the same time, with the progress of society and the development of the productive forces, the rate of surplus value is constantly changing and adjusting, reflecting the historical and relative nature of the capitalist mode of production.