| This question <330-31|330-33> overall <330-31|330-33> Dew: <330-28|24>. |
| Term Paper 902: Essay about Chapter Six |
| [330-32] Dew, Coffee, and Jasmine: Labor-power as a commodity Labor power is one's capability to work for a given period of time. A worker doesn't sell his labor to the capitalist, but his labor-power. this labor power becomes a commodity under capitalism. However, there are some conditions that must be met for labor-power to be a commodity. |
| The first condition is that the possessor of labor-power offers it for sale or sells it as a commodity, and he has to be able to do this whenever he desires. Under contracts between sellers and buyers, which are signed according to their free will, establishes equal relationship of buyers and sellers. However, for making this equilibrium to work, they have to have definite time period for the exchange. Otherwise, the seller would not be able to keep his status as a freeman. By defining the time period of exchange, and only by doing so, he manages to alienate his labor-power and still can be a possessor of his property. |
| The second condition that needs to be met in order for labor power to be commodity is that the seller must be in the position where he has to sell his labor-power. Since he doesn't have anything else to sell but his own labor-power, he offers it to the market. That way, buyer can find a person who will work for him to produce a commodity to sell. By disposing his labor-power for buyer, he receives money that allow him to maintain subsistence necessary for production of more labor-power and also replacement. |
| Both conditions are contained within the governed human innate rights; Freedom, Equality, Property, and Bentham. Freedom, because buyers and sellers who have nothing else but labor-power to offer, sign on a contract of exchange on their free will. Equality, seller who provides buyer his only asset, labor-power, in exchange for wage from buyer. Under the circumstance of being a owner of the asset, they are in the equal position. Property, each party alienate what they own. Bentham, they get into relationship self-importantly, and seek their own advantage. |
| Four elements, which we have mentioned above, are necessary elements in capitalism to work circulation or commodity exchange properly. Lacking of even one of the elements allows buyer to have control over labor-power possessor, resulting in harming capitalist society. |
| Hans: In your last paragraph, you say that it is a precarious freedom and equality which easily slips into the capitalist controlling the worker. Marx says that the freedom and equality on the market are only the superficial transmission belts for a relationship that in its essence is by no means free or equal. |
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