this post was submitted on 07 Apr 2025
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Because the first two are quantifiable and the other is not. I don’t have issue with my labor outweighing my compensation just like I don’t expect retailers to sell at cost.
Rate of exploitation is quantifiable.
Marx dedicated his life to showing that surplus value extraction can be relatively quantified. Emprically, prices and Marx's Value show strong correlation:
“…the results of the studies we cited above, in combination with the results on the structure of prices in the Greek economy, provide substantial evidence for the empirical strength of the labour theory of value. The latter appears to be a very useful analytical tool for the study of the behavior of a typical capitalist economy.”
— “Values, prices of production and market prices: some more evidence from the Greek economy”, Cambridge Journal of Economics
Example pulled from this handy doc going over common criticisms of Marxist economics.
The graphic asks “me” why. Maybe I’m uninformed or misunderstanding but those are my reasons why.
That's fair, the graphic is intentionally being accusatory. Its purpose is to agitate, of course, and asking the viewer to question is the method. If you want to get into Marxist economics, I recommend Wage Labor and Capital as well as Wages, Price and Profit. These two combined are far shorter and less complex than Capital, so they are great for beginners if you decide to learn more.
I also have an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list you can check out if you want to get a more thorough understanding of Marxism-Leninism in general.
You can simply look up the average labour-productivity per hour in a country and the average hourly wage in that country.