The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1916-10-26
The Genesis and
Evolution of Slavery
Showing How the Chattel Slaves Of Pagan Times
Have Been Transformed Into the Capt.
talist Property of Today

made by any one or more persons
must mean AN equivalent amount lost
by some other person or persons.
Commodities exchange in the market,
one with another, upon the basis of
their relatively necessary cost That
is, value is exchanged for value. Out
of such a transaction, no profit can
be made Suppose a farmer sells a
bushel of wheat for one dollar, and
for the dollar purchases monkey
wrench. Now then he has exchanged
u bushel of wheat for the monkey
wrench. value for value. Neither he
or the merchants with whom he has
dealt, have made any profit out of
these transactions. The farmer re-
ceived for his wheat what it was
worth at that stage of its journey
from the soil to the consumers table.
He paid for the monkey wrench what
it was worth at the end of its journey
from raw resources in the bosom of
the earth to the hands of consumer.
AT each successive step along it's line
Of travel it increased in exchange
value, because of the labor time CON
tinually being added to it. BY the
same token will the exchange value
of the bushe of wheat increase as it
goes through the various stages of
transformation into the finished pro-
duct bread and it's transportation to
the hands of a consumer somewhere
on earth.
Labor produces all exchange value
and as all profit is gathered in the
shape of exchange value, in order to
fathom the mystery of its gathering,
we must delve down into the product
i've process and discover, if possible,
what occurs there. Mention has al
ready been made of the fact that the
| expenditure of the commodity labor
power, in the production of further
wealth not only reproduced the value
of that labor power, but brought into
existence values that did not previ-
ously exist. That result is due to the
fact that one days labor in the pro-
duction of those things that are nee
essary to the sustenance of worker
will bring forth sufficient food, cloth
| ing, shelter, etc, to sustain worker
for much longer period than one
day. This power of production has
been brought about as consequence
Of the introduction of highly develop
ed tools into the industrial processes,
and this power is constantly increas-
| ing as the tools are made more per-
feet. 1t is safe to say that the aver
age daily product of labor in the pro-
| duction of the actual necessaries of
| life is sufficient to feed, clothe and
shelter the ordinary family for
week. But all that worker gets as
wages is just what his labor power
is worth as a commodity. All of the
value that the expenditure Of that la
Dor power brings forth in excess of
its value as measured by the wage he
receives, constitutes the reservoir
from which is drawn all the rich pro-
fit of the capitalist world. The wage
slave, and the farmer whose slavery
is masked beneath his fancied prop
erty ownership, constitute the slave
army that keeps the reservoir we'll
supplied with the delicious juice.
That which is left after the ex-
penses of production and distribution
have been met, is what has been term
ed by Marx as surplus value. 1t
should be remembered that all the
expense of production is embodied in
the cost Of labor, this must neces-
sarily be so. The assertion is often
made that capital is required in order
to carry on production. Capital being
nothing but the control of labor, it
may be easily seen that it's signifi-
canoe in production can only express
! itself within a society based upon
human slavery. Instead of being an
aid to production, it is scourge upon
the backs of slaves. It's iniquities
and infections are the penalties the
workers are called upon to pay for
the supreme folly of being slaves.
(To be continued.)