| This question <41|41> overall <42|44> Hans: <42|48>. |
| Question 109: Define abstract labor and explain why Marx's theory can be summarized as: “Under capitalism, labor has social significance only as abstract labor.” |
| [43] Hans: Mutated labor. Akudiya, in [41]. uses the word “abstraction” in two meanings. This is perhaps a little confusing, because one type of abstraction he is talking about is good, and the other is extremely harmful. |
| The “good” use of abstraction can be found in Akudiya's sentence |
| Abstraction is the key for Marx to understand the capitalist society. |
| Marx said the following in the preface to Capital, p. 89:3/o in the Vintage edition: |
| In the analysis of economic forms neither microscopes nor chemical reagents are of assistance. The power of abstraction must replace both. |
| By “power of abstraction” Marx means the capability of our minds to see through the surface and infer what is underneath and drives the events we see. This kind of detective work is an important part of Marx's methodology. |
| But in capitalist society itself a different kind of abstraction is taking place; an abstraction which we are not only making in our minds but which society makes in reality. This is the abstraction of labor to abstract human labor. |
| The ability to work and to change the world through our labor is the main thing which distinguishes humans from other animals. This is where we are most powerful and creative. Through the labor process we harness natural forces to do what we want them to do. It is a miraculous process. |
| Of course, you wouldn't guess this if you have to work in a capitalist factory. Instead of being the noble and exhilarating activity which it should be, labor is mindless drudgery that numbs body and soul and leaves the worker exhausted and powerless. Why is this so? Because the only way a market society can take labor into account is by converting it into abstract labor. The market measures everything by a one-dimensional measuring stick, money. Underneath the market, in production, you need therefore also something one-dimensional which can be shifted back and forth to meet the ever-changing market demands. This thing is labor, but it is “abstract” labor, i.e., labor brought down to the least common denominator. It is our ability to work, because we are sensible human beings, in whatever job that is given to us. This does not allow for the development of our skills and creativity, but it is something that can be measured with a stopwatch. This kind of labor impoverishes the worker and leads to the accumulation of one-dimensional wealth in the hands of a few. |
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