The sun., 1912-08-04

take place because in tho existing money.
economy hired Labor IS pail fer accord
ing to the varying conditions o. The iabol
! market. According tn Marx anyway
| III the reduction of slil'ad labor 10 m
skilled i, is impossible to be g,i,ded by ex-
is.ing norms OF money wages. because the
! latter do not CORRESPOND 70 THO inuer value
| OF labor; but it is necessary to take as A
unit the full productivity Of q days work
oil single worker in accordance with the
quantity of commodities produced by him.
that Is. 1t is necessary To find certain
quantity for the determination OF which
, there are 80 far no positive data
The quantity itself. if it wcrs found,
would not bc constant and would be Sub
jcct TO frequent changes and fluctuations;
a day OF single labor has a different mean
ing in factory product ion and in hand
| craft or agriculture; is different in
| rich and poor mines, in regions which
have good or bad harves,s, &c. In
the last analysis the unit Of human
labor becomes something which cannot be
grasped, and the proposition that the
value Of commodities is measured by
the quantity OF simple human labor en-
bodied in them really means nothing.
Such IL the theoretical aspect of the
proposition which is the foundation Of
Marx's theory. The other aspects Of
this doctrine which represent in some
manner the further development Of the
fundamental proposition are intended
mainly to prove and strengthen the pre-
conceived idea that only physical human
labor yields surplus-value which enriches
the capitalist. and that this surplus value
is the exclusive natural gift" Of living
human labor.
This assertion OF Marx is shown to be
false by the daily experience OF those
countries which have reached a high stage
Of industrial development. Capital
strives everywhere to reduce us much
as possible the number of workingmen
in industries on large scale of produc-
ton by the introduction of improved ma
chinery and avoids thus an extensive use
of the particular natural gift" of living
labor power.
In calico printing one machine with the
help OF one man or boy does now in an
hour as much work al was formerly done
by 200 workinGInen: consequently instead
Of the surplus labor of 200 men the capi-
talist obtains now the surplus labor Of
one man or one boy only as the only source
OF his profits. In the days of Adam
Smith ten men were necessary to produce
1900 needles in day; now one machine
makes l45,O 900 needles day. Ono woman
or girl watches four such machines and
produces thus with their help 600, 900
needles day. or more than 1900, 900
in week. Consequently In the produc-
ton Of needles the surplus labor of 1875
workingmen has given place to the sur
plus labor Of one woman or girl by whom
alone, according to Marx, the profits OF
the capitalist in a given enterprise are
created. owing Ia the specific natural
gift of living labor power.
This evident contradiction between the
daily facts Of real life and tho doctrine
of Marx Ia convincing proof that the
theoretical constructions of Marx are one
sided. But the very onesidcdness OF
tho author of Capital secured the wide
acceptance of his views by people who
carried on an active agitation against the