But the worker, whose only source of income is the sale of her labor-power, cannot leave the whole class of buyers, i.e., the capitalist class, unless she gives up her own existence. The worker leaves the capitalist, to whom she has sold herself, as often as she chooses, and the capitalist discharges her as often as he sees fit, as soon as he no longer gets any use, or not the required use, out of her. The laborer belongs neither to an owner nor to the soil, but eight, 10, 12, 15 hours of her daily life belong to whomsoever buys them.

She auctions off eight, 10, 12, 15 hours of her life, one day like the next, to the highest bidder, to the owner of raw materials, tools, and the means of life – i.e., to the capitalist. The free laborer, on the other hand, sells her very self, and that by fractions. The serf belongs to the soil, and to the lord of the soil he brings its fruit. It is not he who receives wages from the owner of the land it is rather the owner of the land who receives a tribute from him. The serf sells only a portion of his labor-power.

She herself is a commodity, but her labor-power is not her commodity. She is a commodity that can pass from the hand of one owner to that of another. The slave, together with her labor-power, was sold to her owner once for all. The slave did not sell her labor-power to the slave-owner, any more than the ox sells his labor to the farmer. Labor was not always wage-labor, i.e., free labor. Labor-power was not always a commodity (merchandise). His life-activity, therefore, is but a means of securing his own existence. And this life activity he sells to another person in order to secure the necessary means of life. Why does he sell it? It is in order to live.īut the putting of labor-power into action – i.e., the work – is the active expression of the laborer’s own life. Wages are only a special name for the price of labor-power and are usually called the price of labor it is the special name for the price of this peculiar commodity, which has no other repository than human flesh and blood.Ĭonsequently, labor-power is a commodity which its possessor, the wage-worker, sells to the capitalist. And after she has bought it, she uses it up by letting the workers work during the stipulated time.

This labor-power the capitalist buys for a day, a week, a month, etc. What they actually sell to the capitalist for money is their labor-power. They would all agree upon one point: that wages are the amount of money which the capitalist pays for a certain period of work or for a certain amount of work.Ĭonsequently, it appears that the capitalist buys their labor with money, and that for money they sell her their labor. If several workmen were to be asked: “How much wages do you get?”, one would reply, “I get $9 an hour,” “$50 a day,” and so on. Introduction – Why this is important and what to look for.

Marx wage labor and capital