From: Gerald A. Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Sun Mar 28 2004 - 09:36:05 EST
Hi Paul C. > Depends on the particular product. > I illustrate my argument > initially with the Roman Samian ware industry which introduced > industrialised mass production of consumer goods thanks > to adopting moulding technology for ceramics rather than > turning them on a wheel. > In that case the measure of productivity would be > plates produced per worker. What often happens with technological advances in the means of production is that the material form (and hence use-value) of the commodity is altered. I.e. it often times happens that with advances in constant capital that allow for commodities to be produced at a lower per unit cost, the material character of the commodity is also transformed. In the context of the example you give, is it only a matter of increased productivity in the production of the plates or have the plates themselves been materially changed? E.g. is there an increase or decrease in embellishment? Is the shape the same? Are the non-labor circulating inputs the same? The reason this has significance in measuring the extent of the productivity increase is two-fold: 1) a change in the final material form of the commodity could _itself_ alter the the labor hour requirements to produce the commodity. 2) if there is a change in the non-labor circulating capital inputs this, as well, could alter the total labor hours (or fractions thereof) required to produce a unit of output. Clearly, labor productivity _has_ gone up in the example you cite. Similarly, it is generally known in other branches of production in contemporary capitalism when productivity has increased. But, it is often no simple task to measure the _magnitude_ of that change. > The modern world is dominated by copying technology. > The improvement in the productivity of the semiconductor > industry which has allowed continual exponential growth > in production at a rate of around 40% per annum is all > based on the perfection of copying technology. In this > case the productivity would be measured in terms of > transistors produced per labour hour. The semiconductor industry is a good example of how alongside increases in labor productivity there is also often a increased quality of the commodity product. That increased quality can be seen in increases in processor speed. The 'new generation' transistors could also be seen as a _different_ commodity (having an altered use-value) being produced. In solidarity, Jerry
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