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[53] Dragonfly: mechanism of production THe mechanism described by Hans is complex and multi-faceted but
as I understand it , Capital is at the very heart of it. In a capitalist
market, the worker, by and large, does not own her/his mode of
production. THe mode of production is owned by the capitalist. The
capitalist is a capitalist by virtue of having amassed enough capital to
employ a more cost-effective mode of production: i.e. build a factory,
use assembly-line techniques, purchase better machinery and/or tools.
With these more effective( from the standpoint of labor) modes of
production, the labor investment in each commodity produced is less and
consequently can be sold for a lower price. THe independent worker
producing the same commodity as the capitalist will be unable to offer
their commodity at the price of the capitalist and still have the
exchange value of their commodity commeasurate with the labor they have
invested in it. The capitalist will continually undersell the independent
worker, eventually driving them out of business, eliminating the
competition. With no competition (and assuming a laissez-fair government),
the capitalist would be free to price their commodity at whatever price
the market will bear, depending on the use-value of the commodity. Not
only is the worker now expected to pay whatever the capitalist wants, but
her/his own mode of production has been eliminated. THe only commodity
the worker has left to sell is her/his labor and raw materials like labor
are less valuable than other commodities. THe producer becomes the
consumer and the capitalist owns the mode of production. Why? Because
they had the capital in the first place. |
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