1. The means of production include all the non-human stuff needed to make things, such as factories, land, and machines. An example is a supplier of medicines that sells to a local pharmacy. Labor, on the other hand, is about the human effort, both physical and mental, that goes into making things. This includes skills, knowledge, and the actual work people do. For instance, the work of a nurse caring for patients is an example of labor. 
  2. Based on the Marxist theory, value is determined by how much labor went into producing an item or goods. An item becomes valuable due to someone else’s work that is put into it. It is seen quite clearly when you go to buy a shirt for example, one that is good quality most likely had more labor put into it versus a shirt that was mass produced.
  3. Labor and value are linked because labor is a key step in making things valuable. The amount of work it takes to produce something often determines how much it’s worth. Labor turns basic stuff into useful goods or services. Without labor, those raw materials wouldn’t be worth much. For example, a person who makes diamond rings will most likely make more money selling rings hes personally worked on than if he started to sell diamonds untouched.
  4. Labor is the actual work or activity performed by a person to produce goods or services. For example, if a group of people worked together to make headphones, that would be the labor. Labor power, on the other hand, is a person’s capacity to work. It’s the potential or ability to perform labor, which a person usually exchanges to an employer for a paycheck.
  5. Surplus value represents the difference between the value a worker produces and the wage they receive. This extra value, generated by the worker’s labor, is seized by the capitalist as profit. Understanding surplus value is pivotal for analyzing social classes because it reveals the truths about how capitalists accumulate wealth by exploiting labor. This exploitation leads to clear inequalities between the capitalist class, who own the means of production, and the working class, who sell their labor. For example, if a factory worker produces goods worth $150 in a day but is paid only $90, the $60 surplus goes to the employer.

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