| This question <108|108> overall <107|109> Harmon: <102|136>. |
| Question 243: What is an “essential” property of something? What can be said in support of Marx's claim that labor is “essentially” expenditure of human brain, nerves, muscles, sense organs, etc.? |
| [108] Harmon: Cake batter. An essential property of something is what needs to go into that product to make it work, or what distinguishes it from other products. For instance, an essential property of cake is flour, i.e. without adding flour to cake batter the end product would not be cake. Much the same, without labor commodities could not exist. It goes without saying that commodities are not limited to just one essential property. In support of Marx's claim that labor is essentially the expenditure of human brain, nerves, muscles, etc., each laborer plays a vital role in the production of a commodity. One laborer's function is not considered greater than another's. Again I will use the cake example: when you bake a cake you need flour and eggs in order for it to work, but neither the egg, nor the flour plays a greater role than the other. As in the production of commodities, the labor of the human brain is no more important than that of muscles or nerves. |
| Hans: You are making a good point with your last sentence. Thinking alone cannot produce things. Production can only be done by physical interaction with the world, which requires effort. Production is the taming of natural forces in order to make them beneficial for humans. It is amazing that it is possible at all; but the price we have to pay for it is that we have to work on it. Without this effort, this expenditure of our bodies as physical force, production would not be able to produce useful things. This is why Marx writes here “essentially.” |
| Just as breads and cakes are essentially flour (they would not be breads or cakes without flour), so production is essentially the expenditure of human labor-power. |
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