Sheep magazine Archive 2: issues 10-17

LABOUR
Artwork: Laura Knight – Ruby Loftus Screwing a Breech Ring
The English economist David Ricardo (1772-1823) developed what is
known as the ‘labour theory of value’. This holds that the exchange-value
of a good or service is determined solely by the amount of labour involved
in its production. Karl Marx developed this idea, arguing that the capitalist
pays his workers less than the value their labour has added to the goods,
and that the ‘surplus labour’, after all costs are accounted for [including the
capitalist’s fat salary and provision for future development] ... yes yes, this
‘surplus labour value’, that he obtains for free, creates – the capitalist’s
profit ... which he trousers with a smile.
The word ‘labour’ denotes both the workforce as a whole, especially wageearning
employees, and any paid-for service supplied by workers in the
production of wealth. In a totally unregulated labour market, according to
the laws of supply and demand, workers must compete against each other
by offering to work more for less pay. As a defence, and to counter this,
workers formed trade unions, which engage in collective bargaining with
employers in an attempt to ensure equal pay for equal work.
‘Equal pay for equal work’ hmmm ... despite the Equal Pay Act 45 years
ago, women still earn less than men in Britain today. Overall, women can
expect to earn significantly less than men over their entire careers as a
result of ... differences in caring responsibilities; clustering in low skilled
and low paid work, the qualifications and skills women acquire; and just
outright discrimination.
During World War II
women showed they were equal to men
by successfully taking over workplaces
while the men were away ...
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NOVEMBER 2016