This question <66|63> overall <59|61> Eastwood: <19|210>.  
  Question 98: Carefully explain the meaning of the statement: “Under capitalism, labor has social significance only as abstract labor.”   
  [60] Eastwood: capitalistic abstract labor.   To most Capitalism represents power, privilege, maximum profit, and maximum self interest. When Marx is referring to abstract labor, he is not talking about labor as an application of human skills which transforms the use-value of the product. Abstract labor also has to do with the human body creating energy and transferring that energy into labor. Or in other words, abstract labor is an expenditure of the human brain, muscles, and nerves to produce or expend energy. In a capitalistic society everyone expels abstract labor. Class, wealth, or culture would not differ the type of abstract labor, nor would the type of work, or product produced. Power, privilege, maximum self interest, etc. has no relevance with abstract labor. Since everyone in society is performing abstract labor, you could relate how abstract labor is more of a social aspect of capitalism.   
 
 
 
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