At an election meeting in Lanark yesterday, after speaking on the labour theory of value, exploitation of the worker and the economic advantages of socialism I was questioned by a small farmer, who claimed that they were the most exploited class in the country, and that they got on average about 1.85 pounds an hour for their labour. He wanted to know what was the socialist response to the problems faced by the small farmer today. I must admit it was not a question that I had anticipated having to answer, and if he is right in his figures, then farmer's labour is only being valued at about 1/9 th of the social norm in the UK, (the MELT is between 15 and 16 pounds per hour). What would participants response to this be? What do you think is the cause of this unequal exchange and what is the remedy for their condition. -- Paul Cockshott, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland 0141 330 3125 mobile:07946 476966 paul@cockshott.com http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/people/personal/wpc/ http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~wpc/reports/index.html
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