[Marxism] Socially Necessary Abstract(?) Labor Time

[Paddy Apling]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Philip Dunn" <hyl0morphster at googlemail.com>
To: <e.c.apling at btinternet.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 10:55 PM
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Socially Necessary Abstract(?) Labor Time

Philip Dunn says


> It does seems that Marx here is saying that "abstract labour is simply
> concrete labour considered at a specific level of abstraction", as you
> say. It is the Animal, abstracted from the lions and tigers. This
> conceives abstract labour as the generic unity of concrete labours.
>
> If so, he makes a horrible mistake. The problem is that, while there are
> many sorts of concrete labour, i.e. it is heterogeneous, abstract labour
> must be homogeneous if it going to have anything to do with value of
> which there is only one sort. There can only be a single sort of
> abstract labour.

No mistake - it is the abstract - socially determined "socially-necessary" 
labour time that controls value.  If one labourer - or one factory take 
longer than the "socially determined" labour time to produce its product it 
or he will quickly go bankrupt or hungry !!

Of course there is heterogeneous labour - but the values created are 
determiend by the whole of society, not by the individual.  The man who 
works slowly, unfortunately for him, gets a small reward in the long term!! 
This is the whole impetus of capitalist society !!!

Read and understand "Das Kapital" - which is well understood by the 
controllers of capitalist society if mot by its underlings !!

Paddy
http://apling.freeservers.com