title: Hulkling

text: Teddy later accepts his heritage and the mantle of "Dorrek VIII", and, at the cost of leaving Billy, becomes the new ruler of the Kree–Skrull Alliance, upon which he begins preparations to invade Earth for "the final war". This was further depicted when Raksor and Bel-Dann visit Teddy during his trip to Krakoa where they want him to bring the Kree and the Skrull to an alliance in order to combat a growing threat on the Moon. Their meeting is crashed by some Skrull soldiers that make up the Children of Lost Tarnax who called them heretics. A fight breaks out until Teddy becomes Hulkling and grabs the Sword of Space which frightens the remaining Children of Tarnax. Upon being beamed up to the Imperial Flagship, Hulkling meets with Tanalth the Translator who names him Dorrek VIII of the newly-founded Kree–Skrull Alliance. When Tanalth the Pursuer wants to deal with the Empyre's insurgency, Hulkling states that they should do a peace offering first. She then introduces the royal guards that will be working for Hulkling like Captain Glory and the Kree–Skrull sorceress M'ur-Ginn of the Knights of the Infinite. When the latest member is revealed to be Super-Skrull, Hulkling punches him for what he did to his mother. Super-Skrull stated that he actually slew the chambermaid that raised him after absconding him from Princess Anelle which he now regrets. After breaking up the argument, Tanalth the Pursuer explains that the Kree and Skrull fleets are proceeding to the Titan stargate near Saturn. He does suggest they make a stop first. Hulkling visits Mar-Vell's grave where he states that his mom has told him about his heroics. Though Hulkling had to break ties with Wiccan who states that he'll be on Earth when he returns.


title: Hulkling

text: As well as setting Hulkling up for the Empyre event, "Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling" also shows the importance to Hulkling of his relationship with Wiccan. It was important to co-author Anthony Oliveira that the one-shot depict the everyday "queer life" that Hulkling lives and to expand on his character, who is often "left on the bench" while "Wiccan is off saving the world". Oliveira had previously shown the couple having a queer everyday life with Wiccan going to a drag brunch with Loki, with Hulkling largely lounging on the sofa at home, eating breakfast cereal from a bowl balanced on Excelsior, his Star Sword. The events of "Emperor Hulkling" start at a drag bar, where Hulkling is drinking with fellow Young Avengers Prodigy and Speed, who are also depicted as a couple. This one-shot, the "Empyre" series and the coda one-shot "Empyre: Aftermath Avengers" jointly won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book on April 8, 2021.


title: Hulkling

text: Several comics showed stark similarities between Wiccan and Hulkling and the mythological figures Merlin and Arthur.


title: Hulkling

text: Both Arthur (at least in one popular version of the legend) and Hulkling grew up unaware of their destiny. Both are prophesied to unite their people and bring peace, have a strong wizard on their side, use magical swords and become the beloved Kings of a big kingdom/empire.


title: Hulkling

text: The first time this connection was made, was when Hulkling was a member of A.I.M.. He was kidnapped by the "Knights of the Infinite", an analogy to the Arthurian "Knights of the Round Table" and told, that he was the prophesied ruler of the united Kree/Skrull Empire. He was then told to get a sword out of a light beam and announced "King of the space". That's an obvious adaptation of the famous Arthurian legend of the sword in the stone. Hulkling even named his sword "Excelsior", Arthur's sword was named "Excalibur". Two of the knights seem to be named after characters of the Arthurian Mythos, Lan-Zarr (after Lancelot), Mur-G'nn (after Morgana, also a Magic user). There is also M'ryn the Magus (named after Merlin), an old Magic user, who spoke the prophecy.


title: Hulkling

text: It is again heavily referenced during the Empyre event, Wiccan even says "Like Merlin? I'll take it!", after being crowned court wizard of the Kree/Skrull-Alliance.


title: Hulkling

text: Exchanges between Wiccan (when Wiccan was known as Asgardian) and Hulkling (and the latter's character design) in early issues of "Young Avengers" led some readers to speculate that the two young men had a much more intimate bond than mere friendship. As early as "Young Avengers" #2, each issue's letters page included an exchange of reader opinions between people who supported and people who were against the portrayal of gay superheroes. Allan Heinberg confirmed this speculation at a San Diego Comic-Con panel, stating that his intent was to reveal the relationship in issue #12, and he was surprised that his subtle clues were picked up on so quickly.


title: Hulkling

text: In "Young Avengers Special", the team agrees to give an interview to Kat Farrell and Jessica Jones, and warns Billy and Teddy that Farrell will probably ask if the rumors about them are true. After some deliberation, the two decide to tell her, referencing one of Marvel's most prominent gay superheroes when Teddy adds, "Why should Northstar have all the fun?"


title: Hulkling

text: In "Cable & Deadpool" #30, Deadpool is caught by Captain America's Secret Avengers, with whom the Young Avengers had merged. Deadpool, a typical breaker of the fourth wall, made a reference to Hulkling's and Wiccan's being gay by referring to the team as "...The Ripe, Nubile Young Avengers! And I'm especially discomfited to admit that Wiccan and Hulkling are looking especially nubile..."


title: Hulkling

text: In "Avengers: The Children's Crusade" #9, Teddy proposes to Billy and the two share their first on-panel kiss. They are married during "Empyre".


title: Hulkling

text: In "New Avengers", the hybrids refer to Teddy as King Dorrek VIII and Billy as his "prince consort". A flashforward to 20XX shows an older Billy and Teddy living happily together with a daughter, Katie.


title: Hulkling

text: Hulkling is the extraterrestrial hybrid offspring of an enhanced Kree warrior, Captain Marvel, and Skrull royalty, Princess Anelle, resulting in various abilities derived from the unique combination of his parents' genetic material. His powers exceed those of ordinary individuals of either race; they most likely are much stronger than those of other potential hybrids due to his father's various enhancements prior to Hulkling's conception. His shape-shifting and accelerated healing factor derive from his Skrull heritage, while his superhuman strength originates from his enhanced Kree background.


title: Hulkling

text: His shape-shifting abilities allow him to impersonate others, independently alter parts of his body, and manifest different physical abilities. For example, he can form claws, extend his reach, create body armor, and grow wings (which enable him to fly). Hulkling can use his shapeshifting to increase his body's density and composition, giving him a very strong resistance to pain and injury. He is able to withstand great impact forces, such as falls from great heights, repeated bludgeoning from superhumanly strong beings, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury. High caliber bullets and bladed weapons are also unable to pierce his skin. Hulkling's shapeshifting also demonstrated the ability to operate without his conscious thought in order to protect himself from injury; his body shifted its biomass to protect vital organs, while the Warden of The Cube was attempting to vivisect him in "".


title: Hulkling

text: His healing factor allows him to heal wounds quickly, but not on a scale with Wolverine or Hulk. Hulkling's alien anatomy also prevents him from being controlled by pheromone-based powers, such as those used by Daken.


title: Hulkling

text: In recent stories Teddy has come into possession of Excelsior, a mystical cosmic sword owned by his ancestor Dorrek Supreme, which only passes down to those of Dorrek's line. Its wielder, as unmitigated ruler of both Kree and Skrull and Lord of the Knights of Infinity, is entitled to inherit rulership of the entire cosmos. Its skin alone has arcane abilities such as negating and absorbing magic as well as canceling out eldritch entities (i.e., an entity from the universe before the present one) using its knife edge. In two comics written by Anthony Oliveira, Hulkling is also shown (mis)using Excelsior as background furniture — in "Drag Brunch with Loki", Hulkling is depicted eating breakfast cereal using Excelsior as a table; in "Emperor Hulkling", Excelsior is leaning against his nightstand, with a dirty sock hanging over the hilt.


title: Hulkling

text: Heinberg reported that when the relationship between Hulkling and Wiccan was initially suspected before its confirmation, most fans were supportive, with minimal negative reaction. Hulkling and Wiccan have been called "Marvel's most prominent gay couple," and received praise for showing diversity and progression in comics. While accepting the Corporate Vanguard Award for Marvel Entertainment at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Marvel's VP of Animation Development, Cort Lane, cited Hulkling and Wiccan's relationship as one of his favorite story lines featuring LGBT characters.


title: Hulkling

text: Andrew Wheeler of "ComicsAlliance" wrote, "Something about the sweetness of the love between Hulkling and Wiccan, aka Billy and Teddy, has struck a strong chord with readers looking for a little romance to melt their hearts. After dealing with time travellers, alien invasions and mad mutants, their story stands out as an It Gets Better for the superhero set." M.N Negus of "CBR.com" referred to Hulkling and Wiccan as "one of Marvel's most iconic LGBT+ couples," writing, "Wiccan and Hulkling have been together for nearly two decades, and are now living happily ever after. Their recent exploits are depicted in "Hulkling and Wiccan Infinity Comic" #1 (by writer Josh Trujillo and artists Jodi Nishijima, Matt Milla, and VC's Ariana Maher), in which they even explore a life without the other. Throughout their struggles as individuals and as a couple, they manage to come out on top with their bond becoming stronger than before. Their coupling has withstood the test of time and truly become an iconic development in Marvel comic books." Eric Diaz of "Nerdist" stated, "Marvel Comics took a big and necessary step into the 21st century today, as they announced the very first marriage between two LGBTQ superheroes will soon take place in their pages. The event occurs in Empyre: Avengers Aftermath #1, which will feature the union of longtime superhero couple Hulkling and Wiccan. Both heroes are famous for being founding members of the Young Avengers."


title: Hulkling

text: Hannah Rose of "CBR.com" called "Hulkling and Wiccan" #1 an "interesting love story," writing, "Instead of budding romance, it tells the story of a pair of newly-weds who have known each other for quite a while. By the time this story begins, Hulkling and Wiccan are already enjoying domestic bliss. But before they can settle into life as a married couple, they're forced to adjust to the responsibilities of their new royal positions. It's clear from their serious discussions and their playful banter that these two care for each other. But, "Hulkling and Wiccan" #1 reminds the audience that Teddy and Billy are both very young, very insecure, and very uncertain about their place in space. Their arguments and insecurities are realistically and excellently written." Jenna Anderson of "Comicbook.com" gave "Hulkling and Wiccan" #1 a grade of 3 out of 5, saying, "One of the most beloved LGBTQ+ couples in Marvel's arsenal gets the spotlight again, with a one-shot (reprinting the first portion of the digital Infinity Comic of the same name) that puts Wiccan and Hulkling's newfound married life to the test. To say any more beyond that would spoil (and probably complicate) the specifics of what is laid out, with the two being put through a crucible that will only make them further realize their bond. Some fans of the couple will surely love it, while some won't — but there's definitely a fun sense of artistry on display, particularly with Jodi Nishijima's art and Matt Milla's dreamy colors. Diehard fans of Billy and Teddy will surely want to add this to their collection, but this isn't a must-read on a larger level."


title: Hulkling

text: In the one-shot "Avengers Fairy Tales", Hulkling appears as The Hatter in an adaptation of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".


title: Hulkling

text: Hulkling is one of the 142 superhumans who are registered, implying he had joined the Initiative. Hulkling is seen briefly in Camp Hammond. However, this version of Hulkling was from another dimension who later returned to Earth-A, and the real Hulkling remains unregistered.


title: Hulkling

text: On Earth-15061 (which takes place in an alternate future in the year 20XX), Dorrek VIII is a member of that reality's version of the Avengers under the name "King Hulk".


title: Hulkling

text: Hulkling is seen briefly in the "Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness" mini-series. While Ashley G. Williams is trying to save the city, he confronts a zombified Hulkling. With little effort, he chainsaws off his arms and head, and destroys the zombie.


title: Prone position

text: Prone position () is a body position in which the person lies flat with the chest down and the back up. In anatomical terms of location, the dorsal side is up, and the ventral side is down. The supine position is the 180° contrast.


title: Prone position

text: The word "prone", meaning "naturally inclined to something, apt, liable," has been recorded in English since 1382; the meaning "lying face-down" was first recorded in 1578, but is also referred to as "lying down" or "going prone."


title: Prone position

text: "Prone" derives from the Latin "", meaning "bent forward, inclined to," from the adverbial form of the prefix "pro-" "forward." Both the original, literal, and the derived figurative sense were used in Latin, but the figurative is older in English.


title: Prone position

text: In anatomy, the prone position is a position of the body lying face down. It is opposed to the supine position which is face up. Using the terms defined in the anatomical position, the ventral side is down, and the dorsal side is up.


title: Prone position

text: Concerning the forearm, prone refers to that configuration where the palm of the hand is directed posteriorly, and the radius and ulna are crossed.


title: Prone position

text: Researchers observed that the expiratory reserve volume measured at relaxation volume increased from supine to prone by the factor of 0.15.


title: Prone position

text: In competitive shooting, the prone position is the position of a shooter lying face down on the ground. It is considered the easiest and most accurate position as the ground provides extra stability. It is one of the positions in three positions events. For many years (1932-2016), the only purely prone Olympic event was the 50 meter rifle prone; however, this has since been dropped from the Olympic program. Both men and women still have the 50 meter rifle three positions as an Olympic shooting event. Many video games (particularly first-person shooters) allow the player character to go into the prone position.


title: Prone position

text: Female and male shooters shoot a .22 LR calibre ("smallbore") rifle over a course of fire of 60 shots to count in 50 minutes (when using electronic targets). These are shot after an unlimited number of sighting shots, which must be shot during the 15-minute preparation and sighting period. If necessary, an 'elimination' course of fire may be undertaken to reduce the number of shooters to the number that may fire simultaneously in a 'qualification' round. Up until 2013, each shot could score from 0 to 10 points, with no decimal points (e.g. 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, but not 3.2 or 9.8, etc.) making the maximum score for elimination or qualification round 600 points. After 2013, shots are scored as decimal values (e.g. 9.8 rather than what would have been a 9 under integer scoring), so the maximum score from a 60 shot match is 654.0.


title: Prone position

text: Up until 2018, the top eight shooters in the qualification round were selected to shoot 'shot-for-shot' in an 'Olympic' final. Prior to 2013, this consisted of ten additional shots scored to one decimal place, so the maximum possible score was 109.0. This score was then added to the score for the qualification round; this summed score was used to determine final rankings and thus medallists. Starting in the 2013 season and continuing to the beginning of the 2018 season, a new finals format was introduced, where again the top 8 shooters in the qualification round shot against each other, only this time with the qualification scored being discarded and the number of shots being raised to 24. These shots were still scored decimally, so the maximum possible score under this new format was 261.6. From January 2018, the final for this event was discarded entirely; competition rankings were determined by the score obtained in the 60 shot match only.


title: Prone position

text: The non-ISSF fullbore disciplines governed by the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA) are exclusively shot from the prone position over distances of 300yards to 1200yards. These disciplines are popular in Commonwealth countries, and are heavily influenced by the British National Rifle Association.


title: Prone position

text: In Biathlon, prone is one of two positions that athletes shoot from, along with standing. Shooting takes place at "knock down" targets which indicate a simple hit or miss with no scoring rings.


title: Prone position

text: In the UK, the National Smallbore Rifle Association (NSRA) governs "smallbore" shooting with .22LR calibre rifles. "Short-range" is defined as distances between 15 yards and 25 metres 'indoors'. Targets are generally outward gauging (touching a ring on the target scores the lower of the two adjacent scores), except on some of the Schools and older targets (e.g. 5 bull targets). Being indoors, no allowance is necessary for wind, light or other changes. Shots are scored as integer values from 0 to 10, with no decimal places. "Long-range" smallbore shooting is generally over either 50 yards, 50 metres or 100 yards distance outdoors. Targets vary, but generally, the ISSF 50M (scaled) is used for 50 yards or 50 metres, and a proportionally sized target is used for 100 yards. A 50-yard, 50-metre or 100-yard target is generally constructed to allow 20 shots to count, to be executed during one 'detail' of 20 minutes duration. Sighting shots are included in that time period.


title: Prone position

text: Outdoors, variables such as light, wind, temperature, humidity and mirage affect the target image and bullet trajectory. To help shooters, most ranges have wind flags placed at useful positions around the range to display the wind conditions.


title: Prone position

text: The prone position is also used to describe the way pilots and other crew may be positioned in an aircraft; lying on their stomachs rather than seated in a normal upright position. During World War II, the bomb aimer in some bombers would be positioned this way to be better able to view the ground through a transparent panel or bubble in the nose of a bomber. Later, it was suggested that a pilot in the prone position might be more effective in some kinds of high-speed aircraft, because it would permit the pilot to withstand a greater "g"-force in the upward and downward direction with respect to the plane, and many speculative designs of the 1950s featured this arrangement. However, it never became mainstream, as testing revealed that the increased difficulty of operating aircraft controls in the prone position outweighed the advantages. Two examples of this approach are seen in the Savoia-Marchetti SM.93 and the Gloster Meteor F8 "Prone Pilot". Modern hang gliders are typically piloted in the prone position.


title: Holographic principle

text: The holographic principle is an axiom in string theories and a supposed property of quantum gravity that states that the description of a volume of space can be thought of as encoded on a lower-dimensional boundary to the region — such as a light-like boundary like a gravitational horizon. First proposed by Gerard 't Hooft, it was given a precise string-theory interpretation by Leonard Susskind, who combined his ideas with previous ones of 't Hooft and Charles Thorn. Leonard Susskind said, “The three-dimensional world of ordinary experience––the universe filled with galaxies, stars, planets, houses, boulders, and people––is a hologram, an image of reality coded on a distant two-dimensional surface." As pointed out by Raphael Bousso, Thorn observed in 1978 that string theory admits a lower-dimensional description in which gravity emerges from it in what would now be called a holographic way. The prime example of holography is the AdS/CFT correspondence.


title: Holographic principle

text: The holographic principle was inspired by black hole thermodynamics, which conjectures that the maximum entropy in any region scales with the radius "squared", and not cubed as might be expected. In the case of a black hole, the insight was that the information content of all the objects that have fallen into the hole might be entirely contained in surface fluctuations of the event horizon. The holographic principle resolves the black hole information paradox within the framework of string theory.


title: Holographic principle

text: However, there exist classical solutions to the Einstein equations that allow values of the entropy larger than those allowed by an area law (radius squared), hence in principle larger than those of a black hole. These are the so-called "Wheeler's bags of gold". The existence of such solutions conflicts with the holographic interpretation, and their effects in a quantum theory of gravity including the holographic principle are not yet fully understood.


title: Holographic principle

text: The anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence, sometimes called Maldacena duality (after ref.) or gauge/gravity duality, is a conjectured relationship between two kinds of physical theories. On one side are anti-de Sitter spaces (AdS) which are used in theories of quantum gravity, formulated in terms of string theory or M-theory. On the other side of the correspondence are conformal field theories (CFT) which are quantum field theories, including theories similar to the Yang–Mills theories that describe elementary particles.


title: Holographic principle

text: The duality represents a major advance in our understanding of string theory and quantum gravity. This is because it provides a non-perturbative formulation of string theory with certain boundary conditions and because it is the most successful realization of the holographic principle.


title: Holographic principle

text: It also provides a powerful toolkit for studying strongly coupled quantum field theories. Much of the usefulness of the duality results from the fact that it is a strong-weak duality: when the fields of the quantum field theory are strongly interacting, the ones in the gravitational theory are weakly interacting and thus more mathematically tractable. This fact has been used to study many aspects of nuclear and condensed matter physics by translating problems in those subjects into more mathematically tractable problems in string theory.


title: Holographic principle

text: The AdS/CFT correspondence was first proposed by Juan Maldacena in late 1997. Important aspects of the correspondence were elaborated in articles by Steven Gubser, Igor Klebanov, and Alexander Markovich Polyakov, and by Edward Witten. By 2015, Maldacena's article had over 10,000 citations, becoming the most highly cited article in the field of high energy physics.


title: Holographic principle

text: An object with relatively high entropy is microscopically random, like a hot gas. A known configuration of classical fields has zero entropy: there is nothing random about electric and magnetic fields, or gravitational waves. Since black holes are exact solutions of Einstein's equations, they were thought not to have any entropy either.


title: Holographic principle

text: But Jacob Bekenstein noted that this leads to a violation of the second law of thermodynamics. If one throws a hot gas with entropy into a black hole, once it crosses the event horizon, the entropy would disappear. The random properties of the gas would no longer be seen once the black hole had absorbed the gas and settled down. One way of salvaging the second law is if black holes are in fact random objects with an entropy that increases by an amount greater than the entropy of the consumed gas.


title: Holographic principle

text: Bekenstein assumed that black holes are maximum entropy objects—that they have more entropy than anything else in the same volume. In a sphere of radius "R", the entropy in a relativistic gas increases as the energy increases. The only known limit is gravitational; when there is too much energy the gas collapses into a black hole. Bekenstein used this to put an upper bound on the entropy in a region of space, and the bound was proportional to the area of the region. He concluded that the black hole entropy is directly proportional to the area of the event horizon. Gravitational time dilation causes time, from the perspective of a remote observer, to stop at the event horizon. Due to the natural limit on maximum speed of motion, this prevents falling objects from crossing the event horizon no matter how close they get to it. Since any change in quantum state requires time to flow, all objects and their quantum information state stay imprinted on the event horizon. Bekenstein concluded that from the perspective of any remote observer, the black hole entropy is directly proportional to the area of the event horizon.


title: Holographic principle

text: Stephen Hawking had shown earlier that the total horizon area of a collection of black holes always increases with time. The horizon is a boundary defined by light-like geodesics; it is those light rays that are just barely unable to escape. If neighboring geodesics start moving toward each other they eventually collide, at which point their extension is inside the black hole. So the geodesics are always moving apart, and the number of geodesics which generate the boundary, the area of the horizon, always increases. Hawking's result was called the second law of black hole thermodynamics, by analogy with the law of entropy increase, but at first, he did not take the analogy too seriously.


title: Holographic principle

text: Hawking knew that if the horizon area were an actual entropy, black holes would have to radiate. When heat is added to a thermal system, the change in entropy is the increase in mass-energy divided by temperature:


title: Labor theory of value

text: The labor theory of value (LTV) is a theory of value that argues that the economic value of a good or service is determined by the total amount of "socially necessary labor" required to produce it.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The LTV is usually associated with Marxian economics, although it originally appeared in the theories of earlier classical economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and later in anarchist economics. Smith saw the price of a commodity in terms of the labor that the purchaser must expend to buy it, which embodies the concept of how much labor a commodity, a tool for example, can save the purchaser. The LTV is central to Marxist theory, which holds that the working class is exploited under capitalism, and dissociates price and value. However, Marx did not refer to his own theory of value as a "labour theory of value".


title: Labor theory of value

text: Orthodox neoclassical economics rejects the LTV, using a theory of value based on subjective preferences.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The revival in interpretation of Marx known as the also rejects Marxian economics and the LTV, calling them "substantialist". This reading claims that the LTV is a misinterpretation of the concept of fetishism in relation to value, and that this understanding never appears in Marx's work. The school heavily emphasizes works such as "Capital" as explicitly being a critique of political economy, instead of a "more correct" theory.


title: Labor theory of value

text: When speaking in terms of a labor theory of value, "value", without any qualifying adjective should theoretically refer to the amount of labor necessary to produce a marketable commodity, including the labor necessary to develop any real capital used in the production. Both David Ricardo and Karl Marx tried to quantify and embody all labor components in order to develop a theory of the real price, or natural price of a commodity. The labor theory of value as presented by Adam Smith did not require the quantification of past labor, nor did it deal with the labor needed to create the tools (capital) that might be used in producing a commodity. Smith's theory of value was very similar to the later utility theories in that Smith proclaimed that a commodity was worth whatever labor it would command in others (value in trade) or whatever labor it would "save" the self (value in use), or both. However, this "value" is subject to supply and demand at a particular time: The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. What every thing is really worth to the man who has acquired it, and who wants to dispose of it or exchange it for something else, is the toil and trouble which it can save to himself, and which it can impose upon other people. ("Wealth of Nations" Book 1, chapter V)


title: Labor theory of value

text: Smith's theory of price has nothing to do with the past labor spent in producing a commodity. It speaks only of the labor that can be "commanded" or "saved" at present. If there is no use for a buggy whip, then the item is economically worthless in trade or in use, regardless of all the labor spent in creating it.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Value "in use" is the usefulness of this commodity, its utility. A classical paradox often comes up when considering this type of value. In the words of Adam Smith: The word value, it is to be observed, has two different meanings, and sometimes expresses the utility of some particular object, and sometimes the power of purchasing other goods which the possession of that object conveys. The one may be called "value in use"; the other, "value in exchange." The things which have the greatest value in use have frequently little or no value in exchange; and, on the contrary, those which have the greatest value in exchange have frequently little or no value in use. Nothing is more useful than water: but it will purchase scarce anything; scarce anything can be had in exchange for it. A diamond, on the contrary, has scarce any value in use; but a very great quantity of other goods may frequently be had in exchange for it ("Wealth of Nations" Book 1, chapter IV).


title: Labor theory of value

text: Value "in exchange" is the relative proportion with which this commodity exchanges for another commodity (in other words, its price in the case of money). It is relative to labor as explained by Adam Smith: The value of any commodity, [...] to the person who possesses it, and who means not to use or consume it himself, but to exchange it for other commodities, is equal to the quantity of labour which it enables him to purchase or command. Labour, therefore, is the real measure of the exchangeable value of all commodities ("Wealth of Nations" Book 1, chapter V).


title: Labor theory of value

text: Value (without qualification) is the labor embodied in a commodity under a given structure of production. Marx defined the value of the commodity by this third definition. In his terms, value is the 'socially necessary abstract labor' embodied in a commodity. To David Ricardo and other classical economists, this definition serves as a measure of "real cost", "absolute value", or a "measure of value" invariable under changes in distribution and technology.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Ricardo, other classical economists and Marx began their expositions with the assumption that value in exchange was equal to or proportional to this labor value. They thought this was a good assumption from which to explore the dynamics of development in capitalist societies. Other supporters of the labor theory of value used the word "value" in the second sense to represent "exchange value".


title: Labor theory of value

text: Since the term "value" is understood in the LTV as denoting something created by labor, and its "magnitude" as something proportional to the quantity of labor performed, it is important to explain how the labor process both preserves value and adds new value in the commodities it creates.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The value of a commodity increases in proportion to the duration and intensity of labor performed on average for its production. Part of what the LTV means by "socially necessary" is that the value only increases in proportion to this labor as it is performed with average skill and average productivity. So though workers may labor with greater skill or more productivity than others, these more skillful and more productive workers thus produce more value through the production of greater quantities of the finished commodity. Each unit still bears the same value as all the others of the same class of commodity. By working sloppily, unskilled workers may drag down the average skill of labor, thus increasing the average labor time necessary for the production of each unit commodity. But these unskillful workers cannot hope to sell the result of their labor process at a higher price (as opposed to value) simply because they have spent more time than other workers producing the same kind of commodities.


title: Labor theory of value

text: However, production not only involves labor, but also certain means of labor: tools, materials, power plants and so on. These means of labor—also known as means of production—are often the product of another labor process as well. So the labor process inevitably involves these means of production that already enter the process with a certain amount of value. Labor also requires other means of production that are not produced with labor and therefore bear no value: such as sunlight, air, uncultivated land, unextracted minerals, etc. While useful, even crucial to the production process, these bring no value to that process. In terms of means of production resulting from another labor process, LTV treats the magnitude of value of these produced means of production as constant throughout the labor process. Due to the constancy of their value, these means of production are referred to, in this light, as constant capital.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Consider for example workers who take coffee beans, use a roaster to roast them, and then use a brewer to brew and dispense a fresh cup of coffee. In performing this labor, these workers add value to the coffee beans and water that comprise the material ingredients of a cup of coffee. The worker also transfers the value of constant capital—the value of the beans; some specific depreciated value of the roaster and the brewer; and the value of the cup—to the value of the final cup of coffee. Again, on average, the worker can transfer no more than the value of these means of labor previously possessed to the finished cup of coffee. So the value of coffee produced in a day equals the sum of both the value of the means of labor—this constant capital—and the value newly added by the worker in proportion to the duration and intensity of their work.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Note: if the product resulting from the labor process is homogeneous (all similar in quality and traits, for example, all cups of coffee) then the value of the period's product can be divided by the total number of items (use-values or formula_5) produced to derive the unit value of each item. formula_6 where formula_7 is the total items produced.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The LTV further divides the value added during the period of production, formula_2, into two parts. The first part is the portion of the process when the workers add value equivalent to the wages they are paid. For example, if the period in question is one week and these workers collectively are paid $1,000, then the time necessary to add $1,000 to—while preserving the value of—constant capital is considered the necessary labor portion of the period (or week): denoted formula_9. The remaining period is considered the surplus labor portion of the week: or formula_10. The value used to purchase labor-power, for example, the $1,000 paid in wages to these workers for the week, is called variable capital (formula_11). This is because in contrast to the constant capital expended on means of production, variable capital can add value in the labor process. The amount it adds depends on the duration, intensity, productivity and skill of the labor-power purchased: in this sense, the buyer of labor-power has purchased a commodity of variable use. Finally, the value added during the portion of the period when surplus labor is performed is called surplus value (formula_12). From the variables defined above, we find two other common expressions for the value produced during a given period:


title: Labor theory of value

text: The first form of the equation expresses the value resulting from production, focusing on the costs formula_13 and the surplus value appropriated in the process of production, formula_12. The second form of the equation focuses on the value of production in terms of the values added by the labor performed during the process formula_15.


title: Labor theory of value

text: One issue facing the LTV is the relationship between value quantities on one hand and prices on the other. If a commodity's value is not the same as its price, and therefore the magnitudes of each likely differ, then what is the relation between the two, if any? Various LTV schools of thought provide different answers to this question. For example, some argue that value in the sense of the amount of labor embodied in a good acts as a center of gravity for price.


title: Labor theory of value

text: However, most economists would say that cases where pricing is given as approximately equal to the value of the labour embodied, are in fact only special cases. In General Theory pricing most usually fluctuates. The standard formulation is that prices normally include a level of income for "capital" and "land". These incomes are known as "profit" and "rent" respectively. Yet Marx made the point that value cannot be placed upon labour as a commodity, because capital is a constant, whereas profit is a variable, not an income; thus explaining the importance of profit in relation to pricing variables.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The real value of all the different component parts of price, it must be observed, is measured by the quantity of labour which they can, each of them, purchase or command. Labour measures the value not only of that part of price which resolves itself into labour, but of that which resolves itself into rent, and of that which resolves itself into profit.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The final sentence explains how Smith sees value of a product as relative to labor of buyer or consumer, as opposite to Marx who sees the value of a product being proportional to labor of laborer or producer. And we value things, price them, based on how much labor we can avoid or command, and we can command labor not only in a simple way but also by trading things for a profit.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The demonstration of the relation between commodities' unit values and their respective prices is known in Marxian terminology as the transformation problem or the transformation of values into prices of production. The transformation problem has probably generated the greatest bulk of debate about the LTV. The problem with transformation is to find an algorithm where the magnitude of value added by labor, in proportion to its duration and intensity, is sufficiently accounted for after this value is distributed through prices that reflect an equal rate of return on capital advanced. If there is an additional magnitude of value or a loss of value after transformation, then the relation between values (proportional to labor) and prices (proportional to total capital advanced) is incomplete. Various solutions and impossibility theorems have been offered for the transformation, but the debate has not reached any clear resolution.


title: Labor theory of value

text: LTV does not deny the role of supply and demand influencing price, since the price of a commodity is something other than its value. In "Value, Price and Profit" (1865), Karl Marx quotes Adam Smith and sums up:


title: Labor theory of value

text: It suffices to say that if supply and demand equilibrate each other, the market prices of commodities will correspond with their natural prices, that is to say, with their values as determined by the respective quantities of labor required for their production.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The LTV seeks to explain the level of this equilibrium. This could be explained by a "cost of production" argument—pointing out that all costs are ultimately labor costs, but this does not account for profit, and it is vulnerable to the charge of tautology in that it explains prices by prices. Marx later called this "Smith's adding up theory of value".


title: Labor theory of value

text: Smith argues that labor values are the natural measure of exchange for direct producers like hunters and fishermen. Marx, on the other hand, uses a measurement analogy, arguing that for commodities to be comparable they must have a common element or substance by which to measure them, and that labor is a common substance of what Marx eventually calls "commodity-values".


title: Labor theory of value

text: The labor theory of value has developed over many centuries. It had no single originator, but rather many different thinkers arrived at the same conclusion independently. Aristotle is claimed to hold to this view. Some writers trace its origin to Thomas Aquinas. In his "Summa Theologiae" (1265–1274) he expresses the view that "value can, does and should increase in relation to the amount of labor which has been expended in the improvement of commodities." Scholars such as Joseph Schumpeter have cited Ibn Khaldun, who in his "Muqaddimah" (1377), described labor as the source of value, necessary for all earnings and capital accumulation. He argued that even if earning "results from something other than a craft, the value of the resulting profit and acquired (capital) must (also) include the value of the labor by which it was obtained. Without labor, it would not have been acquired." Scholars have also pointed to Sir William Petty's "Treatise of Taxes" of 1662 and to John Locke's labor theory of property, set out in the "Second Treatise on Government" (1689), which sees labor as the ultimate source of economic value. Karl Marx himself credited Benjamin Franklin in his 1729 essay entitled "A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency" as being "one of the first" to advance the theory.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Adam Smith accepted the theory for pre-capitalist societies but saw a flaw in its application to contemporary capitalism. He pointed out that if the "labor embodied" in a product equaled the "labor commanded" (i.e. the amount of labor that could be purchased by selling it), then profit was impossible. David Ricardo (seconded by Marx) responded to this paradox by arguing that Smith had confused labor with wages. "Labor commanded", he argued, would always be more than the labor needed to sustain itself (wages). The value of labor, in this view, covered not just the value of wages (what Marx called the value of labor power), but the value of the entire product created by labor.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Ricardo's theory was a predecessor of the modern theory that equilibrium prices are determined solely by production costs associated with Neo-Ricardianism.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Based on the discrepancy between the wages of labor and the value of the product, the "Ricardian socialists"—Charles Hall, Thomas Hodgskin, John Gray, and John Francis Bray, and Percy Ravenstone—applied Ricardo's theory to develop theories of exploitation.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Marx expanded on these ideas, arguing that workers work for a part of each day adding the value required to cover their wages, while the remainder of their labor is performed for the enrichment of the capitalist. The LTV and the accompanying theory of exploitation became central to his economic thought.


title: Labor theory of value

text: 19th century American individualist anarchists based their economics on the LTV, with their particular interpretation of it being called "Cost the limit of price". They, as well as contemporary individualist anarchists in that tradition, hold that it is unethical to charge a higher price for a commodity than the amount of labor required to produce it. Hence, they propose that trade should be facilitated by using notes backed by labor.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Adam Smith held that, in a primitive society, the amount of labor put into producing a good determined its exchange value, with exchange value meaning, in this case, the amount of labor a good can purchase. However, according to Smith, in a more advanced society the market price is no longer proportional to labor cost since the value of the good now includes compensation for the owner of the means of production: "The whole produce of labour does not always belong to the labourer. He must in most cases share it with the owner of the stock which employs him." According to Whitaker, Smith is claiming that the 'real value' of such a commodity produced in advanced society is measured by the labor which that commodity will command in exchange but "[Smith] disowns what is naturally thought of as the genuine classical labor theory of value, that labor-cost regulates market-value. This theory was Ricardo's, and really his alone."


title: Labor theory of value

text: Classical economist David Ricardo's labor theory of value holds that the value of a good (how much of another good or service it exchanges for in the market) is proportional to how much labor was required to produce it, including the labor required to produce the raw materials and machinery used in the process. David Ricardo stated it as, "The value of a commodity, or the quantity of any other commodity for which it will exchange, depends on the relative quantity of labour which is necessary for its production, and not on the greater or less compensation which is paid for that labour." In this connection Ricardo seeks to differentiate the quantity of labour necessary to produce a commodity from the wages paid to the laborers for its production. Therefore, wages did not always increase with the price of a commodity. However, Ricardo was troubled with some deviations in prices from proportionality with the labor required to produce them. For example, he said "I cannot get over the difficulty of the wine, which is kept in the cellar for three or four years [i.e., while constantly increasing in exchange value], or that of the oak tree, which perhaps originally had not 2 s. expended on it in the way of labour, and yet comes to be worth £100." (Quoted in Whitaker) Of course, a capitalist economy stabilizes this discrepancy until the value added to aged wine is equal to the cost of storage. If anyone can hold onto a bottle for four years and become rich, that would make it hard to find freshly corked wine. There is also the theory that adding to the price of a luxury product increases its exchange-value by mere prestige.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The labor theory as an explanation for value contrasts with the subjective theory of value, which says that value of a good is not determined by how much labor was put into it but by its usefulness in satisfying a want and its scarcity. Ricardo's labor theory of value is not a normative theory, as are some later forms of the labor theory, such as claims that it is "immoral" for an individual to be paid less for his labor than the total revenue that comes from the sales of all the goods he produces.


title: Labor theory of value

text: It is arguable to what extent these classical theorists held the labor theory of value as it is commonly defined. For instance, David Ricardo theorized that prices are determined by the amount of labor but found exceptions for which the labor theory could not account. In a letter, he wrote: "I am not satisfied with the explanation I have given of the principles which regulate value." Adam Smith theorized that the labor theory of value holds true only in the "early and rude state of society" but not in a modern economy where owners of capital are compensated by profit. As a result, "Smith ends up making little use of a labor theory of value."


title: Labor theory of value

text: Pierre Joseph Proudhon's mutualism and American individualist anarchists such as Josiah Warren, Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker adopted the labor theory of value of classical economics and used it to criticize capitalism while favoring a non-capitalist market system.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Warren is widely regarded as the first American anarchist, and the four-page weekly paper he edited during 1833, "The Peaceful Revolutionist", was the first anarchist periodical published. Cost the limit of price was a maxim coined by Warren, indicating a (prescriptive) version of the labor theory of value. Warren maintained that the just compensation for labor (or for its product) could only be an equivalent amount of labor (or a product embodying an equivalent amount). Thus, profit, rent, and interest were considered unjust economic arrangements. In keeping with the tradition of Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations", the "cost" of labor is considered to be the subjective cost; i.e., the amount of suffering involved in it. He put his theories to the test by establishing an experimental "labor for labor store" called the Cincinnati Time Store at the corner of 5th and Elm Streets in what is now downtown Cincinnati, where trade was facilitated by notes backed by a promise to perform labor. "All the goods offered for sale in Warren's store were offered at the same price the merchant himself had paid for them, plus a small surcharge, in the neighborhood of 4 to 7 percent, to cover store overhead." The store stayed open for three years; after it closed, Warren could pursue establishing colonies based on Mutualism. These included "Utopia" and "Modern Times". Warren said that Stephen Pearl Andrews' "The Science of Society", published in 1852, was the most lucid and complete exposition of Warren's own theories.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Mutualism is an economic theory and anarchist school of thought that advocates a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the free market. Integral to the scheme was the establishment of a mutual-credit bank that would lend to producers at a minimal interest rate, just high enough to cover administration. Mutualism is based on a labor theory of value that holds that when labor or its product is sold, in exchange, it ought to receive goods or services embodying "the amount of labor necessary to produce an article of exactly similar and equal utility". Mutualism originated from the writings of philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Collectivist anarchism as defended by Mikhail Bakunin defended a form of labor theory of value when it advocated a system where "all necessaries for production are owned in common by the labour groups and the free communes ... based on the distribution of goods according to the labour contributed".


title: Labor theory of value

text: Contrary to popular belief Marx never used the term "Labor theory of value" in any of his works but used the term Law of value, Marx opposed "ascribing a supernatural creative power to labor", arguing as such:


title: Labor theory of value

text: Labor is not the source of all wealth. Nature is just as much a source of use values (and it is surely of such that material wealth consists!) as labor, which is itself only the manifestation of a force of nature, human labor power.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Here, Marx was distinguishing between exchange value (the subject of the LTV) and use value. Marx used the concept of "socially necessary labor time" to introduce a social perspective distinct from his predecessors and neoclassical economics. Whereas most economists start with the individual's perspective, Marx started with the perspective of society "as a whole". "Social production" involves a complicated and interconnected division of labor of a wide variety of people who depend on each other for their survival and prosperity. "Abstract" labor refers to a characteristic of commodity-producing labor that is shared by all different kinds of heterogeneous (concrete) types of labor. That is, the concept abstracts from the "particular" characteristics of all of the labor and is akin to average labor.


title: Labor theory of value

text: "Socially necessary" labor refers to the quantity required to produce a commodity "in a given state of society, under certain social average conditions or production, with a given social average intensity, and average skill of the labor employed." That is, the value of a product is determined more by societal standards than by individual conditions. This explains why technological breakthroughs lower the price of commodities and put less advanced producers out of business. Finally, it is not labor per se that creates value, but labor power sold by free wage workers to capitalists. Another distinction is between productive and unproductive labor. Only wage workers of productive sectors of the economy produce value. According to Marx an increase in productiveness of the laborer does not affect the value of a commodity, but rather, increases the surplus value realized by the capitalist. Therefore, decreasing the cost of production does not decrease the value of a commodity, but allows the capitalist to produce more and increases the opportunity to earn a greater profit or surplus value, as long as there is demand for the additional units of production.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The Marxist labor theory of value has been criticised on several counts. Some argue that it predicts that profits will be higher in labor-intensive industries than in capital-intensive industries, which would be contradicted by measured empirical data inherent in quantitative analysis. This is sometimes referred to as the "Great Contradiction". In volume 3 of Capital, Marx explains why profits are not distributed according to which industries are the most labor-intensive and why this is consistent with his theory. Whether or not this is consistent with the labor theory of value as presented in volume 1 has been a topic of debate. According to Marx, surplus value is extracted by the capitalist class as a whole and then distributed according to the amount of total capital, not just the variable component. In the example given earlier, of making a cup of coffee, the constant capital involved in production is the coffee beans themselves, and the variable capital is the value added by the coffee maker. The value added by the coffee maker is dependent on its technological capabilities, and the coffee maker can only add so much total value to cups of coffee over its lifespan. The amount of value added to the product is thus the amortization of the value of the coffeemaker. We can also note that not all products have equal proportions of value added by amortized capital. Capital intensive industries such as finance may have a large contribution of capital, while labor-intensive industries like traditional agriculture would have a relatively small one. Critics argue that this turns the LTV into a macroeconomic theory, when it was supposed to explain the exchange ratios of individual commodities in terms of their relation to their labour ratios (making it a microeconomic theory), yet Marx was now maintaining that these ratios must diverge from their labour ratios. Critics thus held that Marx's proposed solution to the "great contradiction" was not so much a solution as it was sidestepping the issue.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Steve Keen argues that Marx's idea that only labor can produce value rests on the idea that as capital depreciates over its use, then this is transferring its exchange-value to the product. Keen argues that it is not clear why the value of the machine should depreciate at the same rate it is lost. Keen uses an analogy with labor: If workers receive a subsistence wage and the working day exhausts the capacity to labor, it could be argued that the worker has "depreciated" by the amount equivalent to the subsistence wage. However this depreciation is not the limit of value a worker can add in a day (indeed this is critical to Marx's idea that labor is fundamentally exploited). If it were, then the production of a surplus would be impossible. According to Keen, a machine could have a use-value greater than its exchange-value, meaning it could, along with labor, be a source of surplus. Keen claims that Marx almost reached such a conclusion in the Grundrisse but never developed it any further. Keen further observes that while Marx insisted that the contribution of machines to production is solely their use-value and not their exchange-value, he routinely treated the use-value and exchange-value of a machine as identical, despite the fact that this would contradict his claim that the two were unrelated. Marxists respond by arguing that use-value and exchange-value are incommensurable magnitudes; to claim that a machine can add "more use-value" than it is worth in value-terms is a category error. According to Marx, a machine by definition cannot be a source of "human" labor. Keen responds by arguing that the labor theory of value only works if the use-value and exchange-value of a machine are identical, as Marx argued that machines cannot create surplus value since as their use-value depreciates along with their exchange-value; they simply transfer it to the new product but create no new value in the process. Keen's machinery argument can also be applied to slavery based modes of production, which also profit from extracting more use value from the laborers than they return to laborers.


title: Labor theory of value

text: In their work "Capital as Power", Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan argue that while Marxists have claimed to produce empirical evidence of the labor theory of value via numerous studies which show consistent correlations between values and prices, these studies do not actually provide evidence for it and are inadequate. According to the authors, these studies attempt to prove the LTV by showing that there is a positive correlation between market prices and labor values. However, the authors argue that these studies measure prices by looking at the price of total output (the unit price of a commodity multiplied by its total quantity) and do these for several sectors of the economy, estimate their total price and value from official statistics and measured for several years. However, Bichler and Nitzan argue that this method has statistical implications as correlations measured this way also reflect the co-variations of the associated quantities of unit values and prices. This means that the unit price and unit value of each sector are multiplied by the same value, which means that the greater the variability of output across different sectors, the tighter the correlation. This means that the overall correlation is substantially larger than the underlying correlation between unit values and unit prices; when sectors are controlled for their size, the correlations often drop to insignificant levels. Furthermore, the authors argue that the studies do not seem to actually attempt to measure the correlation between value and price. The authors argue that, according to Marx, the value of a commodity indicates the abstract labor time required for its production; however Marxists have been unable to identify a way to measure a unit (elementary particle) of abstract labor (indeed the authors argue that most have given up and little progress has been made beyond Marx's original work) due to numerous difficulties. This means assumptions must be made and according to the authors, these involve circular reasoning:


title: Labor theory of value

text: Bichler and Nitzan argue that this amounts to converting prices into values and then determining if they correlate, which the authors argue proves nothing since the studies are simply correlating prices with themselves. Paul Cockshott disagreed with Bichler and Nitzan's arguments, arguing that it was possible to measure abstract labour time using wage bills and data on working hours, while also arguing Bichler and Nitzan's claims that the true value-price correlations should be much lower actually relied on poor statistical analysis itself. Most Marxists, however, reject Bichler and Nitzan's interpretation of Marx, arguing that their assertion that individual commodities can have values, rather than prices of production, misunderstands Marx's work. For example, Fred Moseley argues Marx understood "value" to be a "macro-monetary" variable (the total amount of labor added in a given year plus the depreciation of fixed capital in that year), which is then concretized at the level of individual prices of production, meaning that "individual values" of commodities do not exist.


title: Labor theory of value

text: The theory can also be sometimes found in non-Marxist traditions. For instance, mutualist theorist Kevin Carson's "Studies in Mutualist Political Economy" opens with an attempt to integrate marginalist critiques into the labor theory of value.


title: Labor theory of value

text: Some post-Keynesian economists have been highly critical of the labor theory of value. Joan Robinson, who herself was considered an expert on the writings of Karl Marx, wrote that the labor theory of value was largely a tautology and "a typical example of the way metaphysical ideas operate". The well-known Marxian economist Roman Rosdolsky replied to Robinson's claims at length, arguing that Robinson failed to understand key components of Marx's theory; for instance, Robinson argued that "Marx's theory, as we have seen, rests on the assumption of a constant rate of exploitation", but as Rosdolsky points out, there is a great deal of contrary evidence.


title: Labor theory of value

text: In ecological economics, the labor theory of value has been criticized, where it is argued that labor is in fact energy over time. Such arguments generally fail to recognize that Marx is inquiring into social relations among human beings, which cannot be reduced to the expenditure of energy, just as democracy cannot be reduced to the expenditure of energy that a voter makes in getting to the polling place. However, echoing Joan Robinson, Alf Hornborg, an environmental historian, argues that both the reliance on "energy theory of value" and "labor theory of value" are problematic as they propose that use-values (or material wealth) are more "real" than exchange-values (or cultural wealth)—yet, use-values are culturally determined. For Hornborg, any Marxist argument that claims uneven wealth is due to the "exploitation" or "underpayment" of use-values is actually a tautological contradiction, since it must necessarily quantify "underpayment" in terms of exchange-value. The alternative would be to conceptualize unequal exchange as "an asymmetric net transfer of material inputs in production (e.g., embodied labor, energy, land, and water), rather than in terms of an underpayment of material inputs or an asymmetric transfer of 'value'". In other words, uneven exchange is characterised by incommensurability, namely: the unequal transfer of material inputs; competing value-judgements of the worth of labor, fuel, and raw materials; differing availability of industrial technologies; and the off-loading of environmental burdens on those with less resources.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Elizabeth Strout (born January 6, 1956) is an American novelist and author. She is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization. She was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and her experiences in her youth served as inspiration for her novels–the fictional "Shirley Falls, Maine" is the setting of four of her seven novels.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Strout's first novel, "Amy and Isabelle" (1998), met with widespread critical acclaim, became a national bestseller, and was adapted into a movie starring Elisabeth Shue. Her second novel, "Abide with Me" (2006), received critical acclaim but ultimately failed to be recognized to the extent of her debut novel. Two years later, Strout wrote and published "Olive Kitteridge" (2008), to critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $25 million with over one million copies sold as of May 2017. The novel won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The book was adapted into a multi Emmy Award-winning mini series and became a "New York Times" bestseller.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Five years later, she published "The Burgess Boys" (2013), which became a national bestseller. "My Name Is Lucy Barton" (2016) was met with international acclaim and topped the "New York Times" bestseller list. Lucy Barton later became the main character in Strout's 2017 novel, "Anything is Possible". A sequel to "Olive Kitteridge", titled "Olive, Again", was published in 2019.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Strout was born in Portland, Maine, and was raised in small towns in Maine and Durham, New Hampshire. Her father was a science professor, and her mother was an English professor and also taught writing in a nearby high school.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: After graduating from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, she spent a year in Oxford, England, followed by studies at law school for another year. In 1982, she graduated with honors, and received a J.D. degree from the Syracuse University College of Law. That year her first story was published in "New Letters" magazine.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Strout moved to New York City, where she waitressed and began developing early novels and stories to little success. She continued to write stories that were published in literary magazines, as well as in "Redbook" and "Seventeen". She enrolled in Law School at Syracuse University, and practiced law for six months before a funding cut ended her job as a Syracuse legal-services advocate. In an interview with Terry Gross in January 2015 she said of the experience, "law school was more of an operation, I think." She stated in a 2016 interview with "The Morning News,"I wanted to be a writer so much that the idea of failing at it was almost unbearable to me. I really didn’t tell people as I grew older that I wanted to be a writer—you know, because they look at you with such looks of pity. I just couldn’t stand that.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: While teaching part-time at Borough of Manhattan Community College, Strout worked for six or seven years to complete her book "Amy and Isabelle", which when published was shortlisted for the 2000 Orange Prize and nominated for the 2000 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. "Amy and Isabelle" was adapted as a television movie, starring Elisabeth Shue and produced by Oprah Winfrey's studio, Harpo Films.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Strout was a National Endowment for the Humanities lecturer at Colgate University during the fall semester of 2007, where she taught creative writing at both the introductory and advanced levels. She was also on the faculty of the master of fine arts (MFA) program at Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: "Abide with Me" was published in 2006 by Random House to further critical acclaim. Ron Charles of "The Washington Post" summarized her book by saying: "as she did in her bestselling debut, "Amy and Isabelle", Strout sets her second novel in a small New England town, whose natural beauty she returns to again and again as this tale unfolds against the background of the Cold War tensions of the 1950s." "The New Yorker" welcomed the novel with a positive review: "with superlative skill, Strout challenges us to examine what makes a good story—and what makes a good life." Goodreads rated the novel 3.75 stars out of 5.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Strout's third book, "Olive Kitteridge", was published two years later in 2008. The book featured a collection of connected short stories about a woman and her immediate family and friends on the coast of Maine. Emily Nussbaum of "The New Yorker" called the short stories "taciturn, elegant." In 2009, it was announced that the novel won the year's Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The book became a "New York Times" bestseller and won the Premio Bancarella Award, at an event held in the medieval Piazza della Repubblica in Pontremoli, Italy. Louisa Thomas, writing in "The New York Times", said":"The pleasure in reading Olive Kitteridge comes from an intense identification with complicated, not always admirable, characters. And there are moments in which slipping into a character’s viewpoint seems to involve the revelation of an emotion more powerful and interesting than simple fellow feeling—a complex, sometimes dark, sometimes life-sustaining dependency on others. There’s nothing mawkish or cheap here. There’s simply the honest recognition that we need to try to understand people, even if we can’t stand them.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: "The Burgess Boys" was published on March 26, 2013, to further critical acclaim. A "New York Times" review noted that Strout "handles her storytelling with grace, intelligence and low-key humor, demonstrating a great ear for the many registers in which people speak to their loved ones," but criticized her for not developing certain characters. NPR noted the novel by saying: "This is an ambitious novel that wants to train its gaze on the flotsam and jetsam of thought, as well as on big-issue topics like the politics of immigration and the possibility of second chances." The book became her second "New York Times "bestseller. "The Washington Post" reviewed it with the following observation: "[T]he broad social and political range of The Burgess Boys shows just how impressively this extraordinary writer continues to develop."


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: After a three-year break, she published "My Name Is Lucy Barton" (2016)"," a story about Lucy Barton, a recovering patient from an operation who reconnects with her estranged mother. "The New York Times" reviewed it with the following observation: "there is not a scintilla of sentimentality in this exquisite novel. Instead, in its careful words and vibrating silences, "My Name Is Lucy Barton" offers us a rare wealth of emotion, from darkest suffering to—‘I was so happy. Oh, I was happy’—simple joy." The novel topped "The New York Times" bestseller list. It was also longlisted for the Man Booker Prize.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Strout broke from her usual multi-year break in between novels to publish "Anything is Possible" (2017)—her sixth novel. "Anything is Possible" was called a "literary mean joke" due to its "hurting men and women, desperate for liberation from their wounds" in contrast to its title. The novel had her noted as "a master of the story cycle" by Heller McCalpin of NPR. It was largely seen as an advance on her previous book due to its "ability to render quiet portraits of the indignities and disappointments of normal life, and the moments of grace and kindness we are gifted in response" according to Susan Scarf Merrell of "The Washington Post." "Anything is Possible" won The Story Prize for books published in 2017.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: In October 2021, "Oh William!" was published. The novel revisits the world of Lucy Barton, and according to Strout, is primarily about "how hard it is ever to know anyone, including ourselves". It was named to the shortlist of the 2022 Booker Prize.


title: Elizabeth Strout

text: Strout is married to former Maine Attorney General James Tierney, lecturer in law at Harvard Law School and founding director of State AG, an educational resource on the office of state attorney general. She divides her time between New York City and Brunswick, Maine.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The perennial philosophy (), also referred to as perennialism and perennial wisdom, is a perspective in philosophy and spirituality that views all of the world's religious traditions as sharing a single, metaphysical truth or origin from which all esoteric and exoteric knowledge and doctrine has grown.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Perennialism has its roots in the Renaissance interest in neo-Platonism and its idea of the One, from which all existence emerges. Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) sought to integrate "Hermeticism" with Greek and Jewish-Christian thought, discerning a "prisca theologia" which could be found in all ages. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–94) suggested that truth could be found in many, rather than just two, traditions. He proposed a harmony between the thought of Plato and Aristotle, and saw aspects of the "prisca theologia" in Averroes (Ibn Rushd), the Quran, the Kabbalah and other sources. Agostino Steuco (1497–1548) coined the term "philosophia perennis".


title: Perennial philosophy

text: A more popular interpretation argues for universalism, the idea that all religions, underneath seeming differences, point to the same Truth. In the early 19th century the Transcendentalists propagated the idea of a metaphysical Truth and universalism, which inspired the Unitarians, who proselytized among Indian elites. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Theosophical Society further popularized universalism, not only in the western world, but also in western colonies. In the 20th century, universalism was further popularized through the Advaita Vedanta and Sufism inspired Traditionalist School, which argued for a metaphysical, single origin of the orthodox religions, and by Aldous Huxley and his book "The Perennial Philosophy", which was inspired by neo-Vedanta.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The idea of a perennial philosophy originated with a number of Renaissance theologians who took inspiration from neo-Platonism and from the theory of Forms. Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) argued that there is an underlying unity to the world, the soul or love, which has a counterpart in the realm of ideas. According to Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494), a student of Ficino, truth could be found in many, rather than just two, traditions. According to Agostino Steuco (1497–1548) there is "one principle of all things, of which there has always been one and the same knowledge among all peoples."


title: Perennial philosophy

text: One such universalist was Aldous Huxley, who propagated a universalist interpretation of the world religions, inspired by Vivekananda's neo-Vedanta and his own use of psychedelic drugs. According to Huxley, who popularized the idea of a perennial philosophy with a larger audience,


title: Perennial philosophy

text: In Huxley's 1944 essay in "Vedanta and the West", he describes "The Minimum Working Hypothesis", the basic outline of the perennial philosophy found in all the mystic branches of the religions of the world:


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The perennial philosophy originates from a blending of neo-Platonism and Christianity. Neo-Platonism itself has diverse origins in the syncretic culture of the Hellenistic period, and was an influential philosophy throughout the Middle Ages.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: During the Hellenistic period, Alexander the Great's campaigns brought about exchange of cultural ideas on its path throughout most of the known world of his era. The Greek Eleusinian Mysteries and Dionysian Mysteries mixed with such influences as the Cult of Isis, Mithraism and Hinduism, along with some Persian influences. Such cross-cultural exchange was not new to the Greeks; the Egyptian god Osiris and the Greek god Dionysus had been equated as Osiris-Dionysus by the historian Herodotus as early as the 5th century BC (see Interpretatio graeca).


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Philo of Alexandria (c.25 BCE – c.50 CE) attempted to reconcile Greek Rationalism with the Torah, which helped pave the way for Christianity with neoplatonism, and the adoption of the Old Testament with Christianity, as opposed to Gnostic roots of Christianity. Philo translated Judaism into terms of Stoic, Platonic and neopythagorean elements, and held that God is "supra rational" and can be reached only through "ecstasy." He also held that the oracles of God supply the material of moral and religious knowledge.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Neoplatonism arose in the 3rd century CE and persisted until shortly after the closing of the Platonic Academy in Athens in AD 529 by Justinian I. Neoplatonists were heavily influenced by Plato, but also by the Platonic tradition that thrived during the six centuries which separated the first of the neoplatonists from Plato. The work of neoplatonic philosophy involved describing the derivation of the whole of reality from a single principle, "the One." It was founded by Plotinus, and has been very influential throughout history. In the Middle Ages, neoplatonic ideas were integrated into the philosophical and theological works of many of the most important medieval Islamic, Christian, and Jewish thinkers.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) believed that Hermes Trismegistos, the supposed author of the "Corpus Hermeticum", was a contemporary of Moses and the teacher of Pythagoras, and the source of both Greek and Jewish-Christian thought. He argued that there is an underlying unity to the world, the soul or love, which has a counterpart in the realm of ideas. Platonic Philosophy and Christian theology both embody this truth. Ficino was influenced by a variety of philosophers including Aristotelian Scholasticism and various pseudonymous and mystical writings. Ficino saw his thought as part of a long development of philosophical truth, of ancient pre-Platonic philosophers (including Zoroaster, Hermes Trismegistus, Orpheus, Aglaophemus and Pythagoras) who reached their peak in Plato. The Prisca theologia, or venerable and ancient theology, which embodied the truth and could be found in all ages, was a vitally important idea for Ficino.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494), a student of Ficino, went further than his teacher by suggesting that truth could be found in many, rather than just two, traditions. This proposed a harmony between the thought of Plato and Aristotle, and saw aspects of the "Prisca theologia" in Averroes, the Koran and the Kabbalah among other sources. After the deaths of Pico and Ficino this line of thought expanded, and included Symphorien Champier, and Francesco Giorgio.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The term "perenni philosophia" was first used by Agostino Steuco (1497–1548) who used it to title a treatise, "De perenni philosophia libri X", published in 1540. "De perenni philosophia" was the most sustained attempt at philosophical synthesis and harmony. Steuco represents the renaissance humanist side of 16th-century Biblical scholarship and theology, although he rejected Luther and Calvin. "De perenni philosophia", is a complex work which only contains the term philosophia perennis twice. It states that there is "one principle of all things, of which there has always been one and the same knowledge among all peoples." This single knowledge (or sapientia) is the key element in his philosophy. In that he emphasises continuity over progress, Steuco's idea of philosophy is not one conventionally associated with the Renaissance. Indeed, he tends to believe that the truth is lost over time and is only preserved in the prisci theologica. Steuco preferred Plato to Aristotle and saw greater congruence between the former and Christianity than the latter philosopher. He held that philosophy works in harmony with religion and should lead to knowledge of God, and that truth flows from a single source, more ancient than the Greeks. Steuco was strongly influenced by Iamblichus's statement that knowledge of God is innate in all, and also gave great importance to Hermes Trismegistus.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Steuco's perennial philosophy was highly regarded by some scholars for the two centuries after its publication, then largely forgotten until it was rediscovered by Otto Willmann in the late part of the 19th century. Overall, "De perenni philosophia" wasn't particularly influential, and largely confined to those with a similar orientation to himself. The work was not put on the Index of works banned by the Roman Catholic Church, although his "Cosmopoeia" which expressed similar ideas was. Religious criticisms tended to the conservative view that held Christian teachings should be understood as unique, rather than seeing them as perfect expressions of truths that are found everywhere. More generally, this philosophical syncretism was set out at the expense of some of the doctrines included within it, and it is possible that Steuco's critical faculties were not up to the task he had set himself. Further, placing so much confidence in the prisca theologia, turned out to be a shortcoming as many of the texts used in this school of thought later turned out to be bogus. In the following two centuries the most favourable responses were largely Protestant and often in England.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Gottfried Leibniz later picked up on Steuco's term. The German philosopher stands in the tradition of this concordistic philosophy; his philosophy of harmony especially had affinity with Steuco's ideas. Leibniz knew about Steuco's work by 1687, but thought that "De la vérité de la religion chrétienne" by Huguenot philosopher Phillippe du Plessis-Mornay expressed the same truth better. Steuco's influence can be found throughout Leibniz's works, but the German was the first philosopher to refer to the perennial philosophy without mentioning the Italian.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was a pioneer of the idea of spirituality as a distinct field. He was one of the major figures in Transcendentalism, which was rooted in English and German Romanticism, the Biblical criticism of Herder and Schleiermacher, and the skepticism of Hume. The Transcendentalists emphasised an intuitive, experiential approach of religion. Following Schleiermacher, an individual's intuition of truth was taken as the criterion for truth. The Transcendentalists were largely inspired by Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881), whose "Critical and Miscellaneous Essays" popularised German Romanticism in English and whose "Sartor Resartus" (1833–34) was a pioneer work of Western perennialism. They also read and were influenced by Hindu texts, the first translations of which appeared in the late 18th and early 19th century. They also endorsed universalist and Unitarian ideas, leading in the 20th Century to Unitarian Universalism. Universalism holds the idea that there must be truth in other religions as well, since a loving God would redeem all living beings, not just Christians.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: By the end of the 19th century, the idea of a perennial philosophy was popularized by leaders of the Theosophical Society such as H. P. Blavatsky and Annie Besant, under the name of "Wisdom-Religion" or "Ancient Wisdom". The Theosophical Society took an active interest in Asian religions, subsequently not only bringing those religions under the attention of a western audience but also influencing Hinduism and Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Japan.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Many perennialist thinkers (including Armstrong, Huston Smith and Joseph Campbell) are influenced by Hindu reformer Ram Mohan Roy and Hindu mystics Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, who themselves have taken over western notions of universalism. They regarded Hinduism to be a token of this perennial philosophy. This notion has influenced thinkers who have proposed versions of the perennial philosophy in the 20th century.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The unity of all religions was a central impulse among Hindu reformers in the 19th century, who in turn influenced many 20th-century perennial philosophy-type thinkers. Key figures in this reforming movement included two Bengali Brahmins. Ram Mohan Roy, a philosopher and the founder of the modernising Brahmo Samaj religious organisation, reasoned that the divine was beyond description and thus that no religion could claim a monopoly in their understanding of it.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The mystic Ramakrishna's spiritual ecstasies included experiencing the sameness of Christ, Mohammed and his own Hindu deity. Ramakrishna's most famous disciple, Swami Vivekananda, travelled to the United States in the 1890s where he formed the Vedanta Society.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Roy, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda were all influenced by the Hindu school of Advaita Vedanta, which they saw as the exemplification of a Universalist Hindu religiosity.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The Traditionalist School is a group of 20th- and 21st-century thinkers concerned with what they consider to be the demise of traditional forms of knowledge, both aesthetic and spiritual, within Western society. The early proponents of this school are René Guénon, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Frithjof Schuon. Other important thinkers in this tradition include Titus Burckhardt, Martin Lings, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Jean-Louis Michon, Marco Pallis, Huston Smith, Jean Borella, Elémire Zolla and Julius Evola. According to the Traditionalist School, orthodox religions are based on a singular metaphysical origin. According to the Traditionalist School, the "philosophia perennis" designates a worldview that is opposed to the scientism of modern secular societies and which promotes the rediscovery of the wisdom traditions of the pre-secular developed world. This view is exemplified by René Guénon in his 1945 book "The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times", one of the founding works of the Traditionalist School.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The Traditionalist School continues this metaphysical orientation. According to this school, the perennial philosophy is "absolute Truth and infinite Presence". Absolute Truth is "the perennial wisdom ("sophia perennis") that stands as the transcendent source of all the intrinsically orthodox religions of humankind." Infinite Presence is "the perennial religion ("religio perennis") that lives within the heart of all intrinsically orthodox religions." The Traditionalist School discerns a transcendent and an immanent dimension, namely the discernment of the Real or Absolute, c.q. that which is permanent; and the intentional "mystical concentration on the Real".


title: Perennial philosophy

text: According to Soares de Azevedo, the perennialist philosophy states that the universal truth is the same within each of the world's orthodox religious traditions, and is the foundation of their religious knowledge and doctrine. Each world religion is an interpretation of this universal truth, adapted to cater for the psychological, intellectual, and social needs of a given culture of a given period of history. This perennial truth has been rediscovered in each epoch by mystics of all kinds who have revived already existing religions, when they had fallen into empty platitudes and hollow ceremonialism.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Shipley further notes that the Traditionalist School is oriented on orthodox traditions, and rejects modern syncretism and universalism, which together create new religions from older religions and compromise the standing traditions.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The term was popularized in the mid-twentieth century by Aldous Huxley, who was profoundly influenced by Vivekananda's Neo-Vedanta and Universalism. In his 1945 book "The Perennial Philosophy" he defined the perennial philosophy as:


title: Perennial philosophy

text: According to Aldous Huxley, in order to apprehend the divine reality, one must choose to fulfill certain conditions: "making themselves loving, pure in heart and poor in spirit." Huxley argues that very few people can achieve this state. Those who have fulfilled these conditions, grasped the universal truth and interpreted it have generally been given the name of saint, prophet, sage or enlightened one. Huxley argues that those who have, "modified their merely human mode of being," and have thus been able to comprehend "more than merely human kind and amount of knowledge" have also achieved this enlightened state.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The idea of a perennial philosophy is central to the New Age Movement. The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational psychology, holistic health, parapsychology, consciousness research and quantum physics". The term "New Age" refers to the coming astrological Age of Aquarius.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The New Age aims to create "a spirituality without borders or confining dogmas" that is inclusive and pluralistic. It holds to "a holistic worldview", emphasising that the Mind, Body and Spirit are interrelated and that there is a form of monism and unity throughout the universe. It attempts to create "a worldview that includes both science and spirituality" and embraces a number of forms of mainstream science as well as other forms of science that are considered fringe.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: The idea of a perennial philosophy, sometimes called perennialism, is a key area of debate in the academic discussion of mystical experience. Huston Smith notes that the Traditionalist School's vision of a perennial philosophy is not based on mystical experiences, but on metaphysical intuitions. The discussion of mystical experience has shifted the emphasis in the perennial philosophy from these metaphysical intuitions to religious experience and the notion of nonduality or altered state of consciousness.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: William James popularized the use of the term "religious experience" in his 1902 book "The Varieties of Religious Experience". It has also influenced the understanding of mysticism as a distinctive experience which supplies knowledge. Writers such as W.T. Stace, Huston Smith, and Robert Forman argue that there are core similarities to mystical experience across religions, cultures and eras. For Stace the universality of this core experience is a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for one to be able to trust the cognitive content of any religious experience.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Wayne Proudfoot traces the roots of the notion of "religious experience" further back to the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. The notion of "religious experience" was used by Schleiermacher to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique. It was adopted by many scholars of religion, of which William James was the most influential.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Critics point out that the emphasis on "experience" favours the atomic individual, instead of the community. It also fails to distinguish between episodic experience, and mysticism as a process, embedded in a total religious matrix of liturgy, scripture, worship, virtues, theology, rituals and practices. Richard King also points to disjunction between "mystical experience" and social justice:


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Religious pluralism holds that various world religions are limited by their distinctive historical and cultural contexts and thus there is no single, true religion. There are only many equally valid religions. Each religion is a direct result of humanity's attempt to grasp and understand the incomprehensible divine reality. Therefore, each religion has an authentic but ultimately inadequate perception of divine reality, producing a partial understanding of the universal truth, which requires syncretism to achieve a complete understanding as well as a path towards salvation or spiritual enlightenment.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Although perennial philosophy also holds that there is no single true religion, it differs when discussing divine reality. Perennial philosophy states that a divine reality can be understood and that its existence is what allows the universal truth to be understood. Each religion provides its own interpretation of the universal truth, based on its historical and cultural context, potentially providing everything required to observe the divine reality and achieve a state in which one will be able to confirm the universal truth and achieve salvation or spiritual enlightenment.


title: Perennial philosophy

text: Cognitive archeology such as analysis of cave paintings and other pre-historic art and customs suggests that a form of perennial philosophy or Shamanic metaphysics may stretch back to the birth of behavioral modernity, all around the world. Similar beliefs are found in present-day "stone age" cultures such as Aboriginal Australians. Perennial philosophy postulates the existence of a spirit or concept world alongside the day-to-day world, and interactions between these worlds during dreaming and ritual, or on special days or at special places. It has been argued that perennial philosophy formed the basis for Platonism, with Plato articulating, rather than creating, much older widespread beliefs.


title: Vacuole

text: A vacuole () is a membrane-bound organelle which is present in plant and fungal cells and some protist, animal, and bacterial cells. Vacuoles are essentially enclosed compartments which are filled with water containing inorganic and organic molecules including enzymes in solution, though in certain cases they may contain solids which have been engulfed. Vacuoles are formed by the fusion of multiple membrane vesicles and are effectively just larger forms of these. The organelle has no basic shape or size; its structure varies according to the requirements of the cell.


title: Vacuole

text: Contractile vacuoles ("stars") were first observed by Spallanzani (1776) in protozoa, although mistaken for respiratory organs. Dujardin (1841) named these "stars" as "vacuoles". In 1842, Schleiden applied the term for plant cells, to distinguish the structure with cell sap from the rest of the protoplasm.


title: Vacuole

text: The function and significance of vacuoles varies greatly according to the type of cell in which they are present, having much greater prominence in the cells of plants, fungi and certain protists than those of animals and bacteria. In general, the functions of the vacuole include:


title: Vacuole

text: Vacuoles also play a major role in autophagy, maintaining a balance between biogenesis (production) and degradation (or turnover), of many substances and cell structures in certain organisms. They also aid in the lysis and recycling of misfolded proteins that have begun to build up within the cell. Thomas Boller and others proposed that the vacuole participates in the destruction of invading bacteria and Robert B. Mellor proposed organ-specific forms have a role in 'housing' symbiotic bacteria. In protists, vacuoles have the additional function of storing food which has been absorbed by the organism and assisting in the digestive and waste management process for the cell.


title: Vacuole

text: In animal cells, vacuoles perform mostly subordinate roles, assisting in larger processes of exocytosis and endocytosis.


title: Vacuole

text: Animal vacuoles are smaller than their plant counterparts but also usually greater in number. There are also animal cells that do not have any vacuoles.


title: Vacuole

text: Exocytosis is the extrusion process of proteins and lipids from the cell. These materials are absorbed into secretory granules within the Golgi apparatus before being transported to the cell membrane and secreted into the extracellular environment. In this capacity, vacuoles are simply storage vesicles which allow for the containment, transport and disposal of selected proteins and lipids to the extracellular environment of the cell.


title: Vacuole

text: Endocytosis is the reverse of exocytosis and can occur in a variety of forms. Phagocytosis ("cell eating") is the process by which bacteria, dead tissue, or other bits of material visible under the microscope are engulfed by cells. The material makes contact with the cell membrane, which then invaginates. The invagination is pinched off, leaving the engulfed material in the membrane-enclosed vacuole and the cell membrane intact. Pinocytosis ("cell drinking") is essentially the same process, the difference being that the substances ingested are in solution and not visible under the microscope. Phagocytosis and pinocytosis are both undertaken in association with lysosomes which complete the breakdown of the material which has been engulfed.


title: Vacuole

text: "Salmonella" is able to survive and reproduce in the vacuoles of several mammal species after being engulfed.