| This question <699|699> overall <698|700> SamHouston: <600|11>. |
| Question 754: Why does the capitalist have the motive to get the same labor-time out of a smaller number of workers? Which economic facts did Marx refer to, and which additional economic facts go in the same direction nowadays? |
| [699] SamHouston: Capital. The capitalist has the motivation to keep his workforce small because it requires the capitalist to invest in less capital as means of production. It may be that the wages for laborers in a small group equals the wages for laborers in a larger group, but less means of production would be required to satisfy the small group as opposed to the large group. Wages are not the consideration of the capitalists. In order for the commodity to be produced, certain steps must be followed. Each step requires a certain amount of labor time, whether by one worker or by ten workers. It is in the capitalist's best interest to look at the production process and find the balance of minimum workers for maximum output with the available constant capital. |
| Marx analyzes the capitalist motives in a proportional manner. As the supply of workers increases, the demand for constant capital will increase. There is also a ‘benefit’ to the worker for the capitalist to keep the labor pool small. If a laborer has to share labor time with another laborer in the production process, this takes wages from the laborer. It is an the economic benefit to the laborer to be required to spend more time laboring. In our day, we have the motivation of overtime pay. If a laborer works more than 40 hours a week, the employer is required to pay at least time and a half. In many “blue-collar” industries, the laborers find overtime pay as a economic benefit. For many workers, they feel that overtime is the only way to survive in the world. |
| Hans: It is not right to say that the capitalist wants to keep his workforce small. You better say: if he has the choice to get the same amount of labor from a lower number of workers working longer hours rather than a bigger number of workers working shorter hours, he chooses the lower number of workers. You are giving the right reason: lower constant capital. Nowadays additional reasons are that many fringe benefits (health insurance) do not increase with more hours. |
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