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[28] Brutal: Abstract Labor Marx describes abstract labor as “the expenditure of human labor power”
(C84:0b). Marx also uses the phrase “expenditure of human brains,
nerves, muscles, sense organs, etc.” [164:1] to explain his meaning of
abstract labor. I understand both these quotes to mean abstract human
labor is the using up of the capacity our bodies have to do work.
Similar to other “machines” that do work, the human body has a limited
capacity to do work (i.e. as we age our mental and physical capacities
diminish until we die and can no longer do work). Abstract labor is an
attempt to assign a value to the wear and tear our bodies take while
laboring. Abstract labor is also the means of comparing labor done on
goods with different use values and is the commonality in all human
labor. |
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