The industrial capitalist is the initial extractor of surplus value but not its sole beneficiary, as he must share it with other sectors of the capitalist class.
By Karl Marx, from Le Capital : Critique de l'économie politique
Key Arguments
- The producer extracts unpaid labor directly from workers
- He is the 'first appropriator' but not the 'ultimate proprietor'
- He must split the surplus with landowners, merchants, and lenders
Source Quotes
The detailed analysis of the process will be found in Volume 2. The capitalist who produces surplus-value, i.e. who extracts unpaid labour directly from the workers and fixes it in commodities, is admittedly the first appropriator of this surplus-value, but he is by no means its ultimate proprietor. He has to share it afterwards with capitalists who fulfil other functions in social production taken as a whole, with the owner of the land, and with yet other people.
The capitalist who produces surplus-value, i.e. who extracts unpaid labour directly from the workers and fixes it in commodities, is admittedly the first appropriator of this surplus-value, but he is by no means its ultimate proprietor. He has to share it afterwards with capitalists who fulfil other functions in social production taken as a whole, with the owner of the land, and with yet other people. Surplus-value is therefore split up into various parts.
Key Concepts
- extracts unpaid labour directly from the workers
- admittedly the first appropriator of this surplus-value
- by no means its ultimate proprietor
- share it afterwards with capitalists who fulfil other functions
Context
Marx distinguishing between the production of surplus value and its subsequent distribution among the ruling class