| |
[695] Amy: Surplus-population because of profit-maximizing. Surplus-population does not arise from the capital's lack of
ability to keep pace with the growth of the population.
Surplus-population arises from capitalism itself. Capitalists are
only concerned about making the most profits for themselves. With the
development of new technologies and more efficient ways of production
the need for workers decreases. The invention of better means of
production makes is so that the capitalist can decrease the amount of
laborers and still be able to increase their profits at the same cost
to them. In Marx's terms, it is the change in proportion of constant
to variable capital. The ratio changes from 1:1 to something more
like 2:1 or 3:1, etc. For example if the ratio of constant to
variable capital changes from 1:1 to 3:1 only 1/3 of the capital
growth is turned into labor-power and 2/3 of the capital growth in
turned into the means of production. Since there is a decrease in the
demand for workers this creates the surplus-population. The
surplus-population is a result of capitalists adjusting to the changes
in production and technology the best they can while maximizing their
profits, even if this means hurting the laborers. |
|