Key Arguments

• Labor-power is purchased solely for valorization (creating more value than it costs)
• The worker is only employed to the extent that they reproduce capital
• Any rise in wages is limited by the necessity of continued profit making

Source Quotes

The aim of the buyer is the valorization of his capital, the production of commodities which contain more labour than he paid for, and therefore contain a portion of value which costs him nothing and is nevertheless realized [realisiert] through the sale of those commodities. The production of surplus-value, or the making of profits, is the absolute law of this mode of production. Labour-power can be sold only to the extent that it preserves and maintains the means of production as capital, reproduces its own value as capital, and provides a source of additional capital in the shape of unpaid labour.

In the controversies on this question, the essential fact has generally been overlooked, namely the differentia specifica of capitalist production. Labour-power is not purchased under this system for the purpose of satisfying the personal needs of the buyer, either by its service or through its product. The aim of the buyer is the valorization of his capital, the production of commodities which contain more labour than he paid for, and therefore contain a portion of value which costs him nothing and is nevertheless realized [realisiert] through the sale of those commodities.

The production of surplus-value, or the making of profits, is the absolute law of this mode of production. Labour-power can be sold only to the extent that it preserves and maintains the means of production as capital, reproduces its own value as capital, and provides a source of additional capital in the shape of unpaid labour. The conditions of its sale, whether more or less favourable to the worker, include therefore the necessity of its constant re-sale, and the constantly extended reproduction of wealth as capital.

Key Concepts

• The production of surplus-value, or the making of profits, is the absolute law of this mode of production
• Labour-power is not purchased under this system for the purpose of satisfying the personal needs of the buyer
• Labour-power can be sold only to the extent that it preserves and maintains the means of production as capital

Context

Marx defining the 'differentia specifica' (specific difference) of the capitalist system compared to other systems