Capital , Volume I, Chapter One

1. Capital, Volume I, Chapter One Labor Theory of Value

2. Structure of the Chapter • Section 1: The Substance of Value • Section 2: The Measure of Value • Section 3: The Form of Value • Section 4: Fetishism

3. Sec. 1: The Substance of Value Flow of the Argument: From commodity exchange (A exchanges for B) to Abstract Labor (What they have in common)

4. “Dialectical” Flow • In Hegel: • being? = nothing (becoming) • In Marx • exchange? = abstract labor (money form) • Why “labor”? • At heart of capitalist social relations • Saw in Part VIII on Primitive Accumulation

5. Why “Abstract” Labor? • Labor abstracted from specificity • Defined without regard to type of concrete, “useful labor” (technical term) • “Labor” as a general notion • Historically specific concept • before capitalism there was no “labor” • with capitalism all activity becomes “labor”

6. “Labor” = “Work” • Engels differentiated the two • Labor = work in capitalism • Work = the more general concept • But, if there is no general concept of work outside of capitalism, then there is no difference

7. “Abstraction” of abstract labor • concept is abstracted from concrete, useful labor • concept designates common social meaning: social control • concept denotes process/tendency toward abstractness, i.e.,deskilling of work

8. Sec.2: Measure of Value • Ques: How do you measure “useful labor”? • Ans: by the time it takes • Ques: How do you measure “abstract labor”? • Ans: by the social time it takes • Measure of value = SNLT = socially necessary labor time

9. Measure and Productivity • Productivity = output per unit of input, or = output per hour of work • Doubling productivity = 2X product for same work time (individual or social) • Same work time = same useful labor time, same abstract labor time • So, 2X productivity = 1/2 SNLT per unit

10. Sec. 3: The Form of Value • The Simple Form • The Expanded Form • The General Form • The Money Form

11. The Simple Form xA = yB • A, B = randomly exchanged commodities • x, y = quantifiers • “=” sign means “is worth” • primary focus is on the qualitative characteristics of this relationship

12. The Relative Form • In the expression xA = yB • xA is said to have the “relative form”of value • “Relative form” = the value of A is expressed “relative” to B • “B” can be any commodity, so whatever it is, the value of A is being expressed relative to that commodity

13. The Equivalent Form • In the expression xA = yB • yB is said to have the “equivalent form” of value • “Equivalent form” = a use-value B is the expression of A’s value • We exchange A for B, we look at B and we say, “Ah! this B is the equivalent of the A we traded away!”

14. Contradiction • In the relationship xA = yB, • A and B are in a particular kind of relationship • Each is the opposite of the other, one has its value expressed, the other does the expressing • Their meaning is inseparable from the relation • We call this a “contradiction” (opposition + unity) • In Pt.VIII we saw that the “class” relationship involved such a contradiction

15. Contradiction & Class - 1 • Working Class & Capital • are like • xA = yB • Within capitalism, working class is defined and takes its meaning from its exchange with capital • Labor market: x(work) = y(income)

16. Contradiction & Class - 2 • Workers in “relative form” • Workers’s “value” gets expressed in relationship, e.g., what you are worth is given by your wage • Capital in “equivalent form” • Capital’s “equivalent” (wage, income) expresses this value

17. Contradiction & Class - 3 • Yet, the relationship is NOT balanced • Workers can be (and were) people without capital, outside of wage, etc. • Capital can only be capital with people as its workers • So, people can rebel/escape, capital cannot • Here is the potential for revolution

18. Reflexive Mediation • In xA = yB, B mediates A’s relationship to itself • A discovers its own value through B • B is like a mirror • In a mirror we see one aspect of ourselves: our visible light images • A discovers one aspect of itself: its “value”

19. Reflexive Mediation & Class • Capital mediates people’s relationship to themselves • They see themselves as as mere “workers” e.g., John Barton - Mill Worker (WC in-itself) e.g., John Barton - Unionist (WC for-itself) • BUT, they can see other aspects of themselvs outside of this relationship e.g., Job Legh - naturalist

20. Reflexive Mediation & School • School mediates students’ relationship to themselves • They see themselves as mere “students” e.g., vis à vis the teacher e.g., vis à vis the administration • Grade defines “kind” of student e.g., “this is a ‘B’ student • Some “students” rebel at this narrow definition

21. Reflexive Mediation & Relationships • Child - Parent • Boyfriend - Girlfriend • Wife - Husband • All involve reflexive mediation, BUT • People ARE multidimensional • People NEED multiple mirrors • So, all these relationships, if isolated, can lead to insanity or rebellion

22. Child - Parent • Early on: • child identifies with parent, relationship is enough of a definition of self • parent identifies self as parent • Later: • child must find new mirrors, break free of single source of self-defintion • Same for parents! Hardest for house-wife-mother.

23. Boyfriend - Girlfriend Wife - Husband • Early On: • Intense focus on the other as VERY favorable mirror of self, reciprocal mirroring • Later On: • 1. People’s lives are multidimensionable and intense focus can’t be sustained • 2. People must find multiple mirrors

24. Deficiency of Simple Form • Equivalent form B is discreet, accidental • “Value” expressed by product of a particular useful labor • BUT, the nature of value is universal • So, there is a contradiction between the universal substance of value (abstract labor) and its particular expression in the simple form of value

25. The Expanded Form xA = yB = zC = nN • Expanded relative form of value • Limitation of equivalent form is overcome • Equivalent form consists of ALL other commodities and thus no longer particular • This form is “totalizing”, infinite

26. Totalization • Expanded form is “totalizing” because every commodity that exists can represent the value of any one commodity • Capital seeks this totalization • seeks to convert all of life into commodities • seeks to impose work on everyone • seeks to impose a “master narrative” on world

27. Infinity - 1 • The expanded form is infinite in the sense that there is no limit to expanding world of commodities, “nN” goes to infinity • Capital has this quality of endless expansion • through space (colonialism, imperialism, SciFi) • through time (“end of history”) • through all of reality (commodification of the cosmos, galactic work-machine)

28. Infinity - 2 • However, the infinity of the expanded form is a “bad” infinity, in the Hegelian sense • The expression of value is not unified; it is a mosaic of differentiated expressions • This contradicts the unitary nature of value • A unique substance should have a unique expression

29. The General Form yB = xA zC = xA nN = xA • In the general form the value of each and every commodity has a common, unique expression. • The equivalent form is universal • “A” is the “universal equivalent”

30. Good Infinity • The General Form is infinite just like expanded form: expands endlessly • BUT, this is a “good” infinity because it is not just a list of discrete expressions • Rather, it is a unified expression of a unitary substance, common to all • Universal equivalent mediates everthing

31. Syllogistic Mediation - 1 yB = xA zC = xA nN = xA • yB is related to zC only through xA • two things mediated by a third is called “syllogistic mediation”

32. Syllogistic Mediation - 2 • Aristotelian syllogism: • Caesar is a man • All men are mortal • Therefore: Caesar is mortal • Caesar the Individual is related to the Universal trait of mortality through his Particular characteristic of being a man (I-P-U)

33. Syllogistic Mediation - 3 • Hegel’s Interest: Syll. = form of movement • Elements: (U)niversal, (P)articular, & (I)ndividual • In a fully developed syllogistic form all elements are mediated in their relationships • I-P-U, • P-U-I, • U-I-P

34. Syllogistic Mediation & Class-1 • Working class in-itself defined by capital • Working class in-itself is a “serial group” • Capital seeks to mediate among workers • pays some a wage, some not • pays some more, some less • divides by job, plant, industry • divides to control

35. Syllogistic Mediation & Class-2 • Worker (W) - (I)ndividaul • Capital (K) - (U)niversal • Union -(P)articular • W - K - U (right to work laws) • But also: K - W - U (K uses scabs) : W - U - K (U mediates W vs K) • Rupture: wildcat strikes bypass U

36. Syllogistic Mediation & School • Elements: (S)tudents, (P)rofessors, (A)dministration • S - P - A (profs impose rules, absorb anger) • P - S - A (admin uses student evaluations) • S - A - P (profs use admin against students) • Rupture: S bypass P and attack A

37. Syllogistic Mediation & Relationships • Elements: men (M),women (W) & capital (K) • M - K - W (marriage, sodomy, divorce laws) • K - M - W (K uses M to control W) • K - W - M (K uses W to control M) • Rupture: Women’s movement bypasses M to attack capital directly, eg. welfare

38. The Money Form - 1 yB = xAu zC = xAu nN = xAu • Au = gold, money • Only difference from general form is that universal equivalent is determined by social custom, structures of power

39. The Money Form - 2 • Includes all previous forms • Has all their characteristics • contradiction (unity & opposition) • reflexive mediation (money shows value) • totalizing (money value displaces all others) • infinite (endless expansion, common link) • syllogistic mediation (everything is mediated by money), eg., yB - xAu - zC, or C - M - C

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