The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-01-29
Are Capitalists and Workers
Interests Identical?
By Malcolm Inglis.

Some of our Bourgeois economists, are
making strenuous efforts to hypnotize
the workers into the belief that the in.
terests of the workers and employers
are identical, and that they should get
together and be friends and everything
would be fine.
Let us analyze this statement and see
if it is correct. The present state of |
society is composed of two classes that |
are diametrically opposed to one anoth- |
er 1t does not require very much In
telligence to see the marked distinc-
tions in these two classes in the streets,
theatres, homes, etc, but to show these
class antagonisms you have to 90 deep
er down into economies, that is, of the
MARKHAM school.
Statistics show us that the wealth of
this country is concentrated into few
hands in the shape of mines, mills, and
factories, while on the other hand we
have the mass of the people who 60 to
make up the bulk of the population who
, are wage workers who lack the owner
| ship Of the means of production, but
who make their living by selling their
labor power to the master who takes no
, part in the production, of commodities
We know that man has to have food
clothing and shelter, and the lack of
these things bring misery, poverty, and
disease to him, so in order to obtain
them the wage worker must 90 into the
mills, mines and factories and parti-
cipate in the production of commodities.
For the time spent in this production
of commodities he receives just enough
9 in wages to purchase the necessities of
e life and to maintain him as a laborer
1 So we see that the workers are depend
e ent in the present state of society on
the capitalist class because of the fact
that the Capitalists have control of the
means of wealth production, while they
remain propertyless proletarians.
s We have seen that the workers sci
y their labor power to a master for wages
in this society Now let MS see what il
the value of labor power. Marx tel!
+ us that "the value of laboring power i
d. determined by the value of necessarie
W. required to produce, develope, main
-, tain, and perpetuate their laborin
'u power" At times, due to the suppl
e of labor>being greater than the demand
- the Capitalists take advantage of til
le opportunity and reduce wages, but o
u the average we can say with certaint,
h' that the workers receive the value O
their labor power. Thus you see you
labor power is commodity and el
changes like any other commodity, sue
as wheat, clothing, fuel, etc Only labC
power is measured by the piece or tim
Labor power is bought to make a prof
out of, as the Capitalist is not j
business for philanthropic reasons.
Now enters our free democratic wag
slave after being -loped with Bourgeo
propaganda, and exclaims with gle
"Well, if | get the value of my laborin
power, how am ] exploited' To this "
haste to reply; The value of laborin
power under the Capitalist system
just sufficient to keep the slave
food, clothing, and shelter, and to r
produce its kind. But now we come
the rub. The commodity labor powe
is distinct from all other commoditi
because it possesses that peculiar pro
erty of being able to produce more thi
its value. What the worker produc
and what he receives as reward f
his labor are two different things. II
difference between what he produc
and what he receives is surplus valu
or the exact amount of his exploitatio
This surplus value is taken by q
Capitalist class who do not take al
part in its production, but enjoys d
fullness thereof, because of the priva
ownership of the means of productio
which is the cause Of all wars, povert
and misery prevailing in present di
society. Still we hear Bourgeois eeono
lists prating of the identical intere
of Capital and Labor! What parade
Such a society cannot long, exist.
soon as sufficient class consciousne
manifests itself in the ranks Of {
workers Capitalism will be forced
MS give way to Communism.
cd