This question <464-1|32> overall <30|32> Brutal: <28|81>.

Question 88: Does skilled labor (i.e., labor for which schooling and training is necessary, for instance the labor of an engineer) produce more value per hour than unskilled labor (like the labor of a janitor)? Explain!

[31] Brutal: Skilled labor vs. Unskilled labor   Yes, skilled labor does produce more value per hour than unskilled labor. In the words of Marx, “a smaller amount of complicated labor is equal to a bigger amount of simple labor” (Annotations p. 30). However, in order to compare the labor of an engineer to the labor of a janitor all labor must be reduced to simple labor. The multiple used to equate skilled to unskilled labor varies in different societies, but is given within a particular society.

For example, an hour of labor from a physician may be equal to two hours of labor from a cook at a fast food restaurant in a specific society. By reducing all labor to simple labor we can compare the value of the physician's labor with that of the cook. However, we cannot say that this difference in labor value is due to differences in education or any other factor (or any specified combination of factors). In fact, Marx does not try to define what separates simple and complicated labor because there are so many factors that have an effect and most cannot be quantified. On the matter of reducing all labor to simple labor I must agree with Professor Ehrbar when he says, “there is no general law governing this reduction” (Annotations p. 30). Although no law exists to define the difference, there certainly is a difference in value between skilled and unskilled labor.

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