20 min
Capital Redefined - Chapter 5 - Part 1 - female voice IDEAS IN MOTION
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- Education
Listen to the first part of the fifth chapter of the book in this episode
Chapter 5 Toward a commonist (labor) theory of value
Abstract
This chapter reconstructs the Marxian labor theory of value (LTV) using
the commonist approach to value developed in the previous chapters. It
redefines labor as a decommonized form of (more than) human creative power
under capital. It explores the decommonization of human creative power through primary and secondary abstractions. ‘Primary abstraction’ occurs outside capitalist production relations and generates labor and labor power, while ‘secondary abstraction’ takes place within the inner organization of capital, as theorized by Marx, and produces abstract labor and capitalist value. By distinguishing between these two types of abstractions, we can avoid productivism in our interpretation and reconstruction of Marxian value theory and post-capitalist alternatives. This differentiation helps resolve disagreements regarding the suitability of LTV in the so-called late capitalism. By understanding the role of commoning sources of creativity and the implications of primary and secondary abstractions, we can develop a more nuanced understanding of the socio-ecological and political roles of labor and the potentialities of its liberation.
Open Access to the book: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003340386
Listen to the first part of the fifth chapter of the book in this episode
Chapter 5 Toward a commonist (labor) theory of value
Abstract
This chapter reconstructs the Marxian labor theory of value (LTV) using
the commonist approach to value developed in the previous chapters. It
redefines labor as a decommonized form of (more than) human creative power
under capital. It explores the decommonization of human creative power through primary and secondary abstractions. ‘Primary abstraction’ occurs outside capitalist production relations and generates labor and labor power, while ‘secondary abstraction’ takes place within the inner organization of capital, as theorized by Marx, and produces abstract labor and capitalist value. By distinguishing between these two types of abstractions, we can avoid productivism in our interpretation and reconstruction of Marxian value theory and post-capitalist alternatives. This differentiation helps resolve disagreements regarding the suitability of LTV in the so-called late capitalism. By understanding the role of commoning sources of creativity and the implications of primary and secondary abstractions, we can develop a more nuanced understanding of the socio-ecological and political roles of labor and the potentialities of its liberation.
Open Access to the book: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003340386
20 min