- Two key concepts in this video are the means of production and labor. In your comment, explain how you understand the means of production and labor. Give an example of each.
- Another important concept in understanding social class is value. Based on the ideas presented in Video 5.1, what is value? What give “value” to value, what makes something valuable?
- How are labor and value related? What’s the relationship/connection between the two?
- How do you understand the difference between labor and labor power? Hint: this is a key difference, give it your best shot based on what the video says about it, and your own ideas. We’ll clarify and develop it in our discussions, and in my video comments.
- Surplus Value: what is it? Why is it important to know about, in our study of social classes? Think about an example of surplus value?
2 thoughts on “Discussion Board 5.1”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Means of production refer to the resources needed for production like factories, machinery, and materials, while labor is the human effort involved. Value in a product is determined by labor input, scarcity, demand, and socially necessary labor time. Labor directly affects value – more labor-intensive products have higher value. Labor is the work performed, while labor power is the potential to work and is sold to employers for wages. Surplus value is the profit derived by capitalists from workers’ labor – it shows the exploitation in the capitalist system. Understanding surplus value is crucial for analyzing class exploitation and economic inequality, as it highlights how workers create more value than they receive in wages, benefiting business owners. For example, if a worker generates $30 of value but is paid $15, the surplus value is $15, allowing for profit and wealth accumulation for business owners.
3. Labor and value are related because the value of a product is typically connected to how much labor is put into the product when producing it. The relationship is typically when more labor is put into the product, the product will be better and have a higher value, but vice versa if you don’t put as much labor into a product, it won’t be as valuable as the other product created.