This question <158|100> overall <97|99> Geo: <1869|263>. graded A  
  Question 83: The value of the product is determined by the socially necessary labor-time. What are the implications of this for a capitalist supervising his employees?   
  [98] Geo: The implications for determining the value of the product by the socially necessary labor-time for a capitalist supervisor is: that if the processes required to assemble or obtain the good are particularly time-consuming then the value of the product will be high. But costs are high as well. If the value of the product is high to society and the capitalist supervisor is aware of this, then he can work to exploit his workers to either be more efficient with their efforts such that he can gain a higher return, or he can require them to work longer but simply pay them lower wages. This allows the capitalist superviser to produce the good for less than the socially necessary labor-time but then exchange the good according to its socially accepted value. Thus creating personal benefit or profit. The capitalist supervisor can do this until society becomes aware that the necessary time to produce the good is less than before and therefore the good has less value. There could be a lag between the time when the capitalist exploits his/her worker or simply increases their productivity and when the society recognizes this change, allowing the capitalist to benefit form the lag. It slowly pushes the capitalist into further mass production methods so that he/she can benefit from the lag in the time it takes him/her to exploit the system and the time it takes society to recognize this fact. It is a cycle. Until a good is mass produced at lower and lower social time to the point where society is saturated or the good is depleted. During this cycle the capitalist goal becomes one of increasing productivity faster than society recognizes the change in socially necessary time.   
  Hans: Interesting theory. However Marx explains profits differently.   
 
 
 
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