From: Jurriaan Bendien (adsl675281@TISCALI.NL)
Date: Mon Oct 08 2007 - 14:45:12 EDT
Paul, I meant labour-services such as personal services, cleaning services, maintenance work and so forth. You argued "labour embodied" and the question then is "embodied in what"? (As a reference, I attach below the US occupational division of labour in 2002 again which I calculated some years ago, ranked by size of group). What can be proved is a close correlation between the magnitude of net valued added and labour-time worked to produce it, but to prove the relationship between value and exchange value I really need a MELT and I haven't got one. To get a MELT, I need to rework the whole product account with different definitions, but I don't even have all the data required. The production of gross output is frequently confused with the whole economy, i.e. with all economic activity and all transactions pertaining to that activity. This is simply not the case. The concept of gross output selects out those transactions thought to be related to new production, but this is a subset of all economic transactions. Property income, many rents, transfers, business and government financial flows, many private transactions, and second-hand items of any kind - among other items - are excluded from the valuation of Gross Output because they are considered to have nothing to do with the value of new production. In addition, real profit, interest and rent income totals are modified in line with the concept of value-added. The laws of value Marx defined pertained to the production of new output, not to all assets held and traded in an economy. The corollary is, that the "conservation law" would apply to the production of new output, not necessarily to all existing assets. Your assumption is that capital can exist only in labour-products which have value. But capital can also exist simply as a financial claim. If I divest from $1m of means of production and invest in $1m of gold, and thereafter divest from $1m of gold and invest in $1m of government bonds, then other things being equal, my capital is still $1m, only the form of that capital has changed. Jurriaan US occupational division of labour, 2002 a.. Managers and executives 15,800,000 b.. Supervisors 9,100,000 c.. Teaching staff, all kinds 6,600,000 d.. Machine operating and assembly workers 6,400,000 e.. Food & beverage preparing and service workers 6,100,000 f.. Administrative support clerks n.e.c. 5,800,000 g.. Construction trade workers 5,300,000 h.. Aides, ushers, guides, orderlies, and attendants 4,800,000 i.. Mechanics and repairs workers 4,500,000 j.. Technicians 4,300,000 k.. Cleaners, janitors, private cooks, maids & housekeepers 3,700,000 l.. Retail sales workers 3,400,000 m.. Truck drivers 3,200,000 n.. Secretaries, stenographers, and typists 3,000,000 o.. Scientists 3,000,000 p.. Sales representatives in finance and business services 2,900,000 q.. Cashiers 2,900,000 r.. Accountants, auditors, underwriters, and other financial officers 2,600,000 s.. Engineers, architects, and surveyors 2,600,000 t.. Freight & stock handlers, baggers & packers, machine feeders 2,400,000 u.. Labourers & helpers 2,400,000 v.. Registered nurses 2,300,000 w.. Financial records processing clerks 2,200,000 x.. Management analysts, specialists & consultants in human resources, PR and labour relations 2,100,000 y.. Materials recording, scheduling, and distributing clerks 1,900,000 z.. Sales representatives in mining, manufacturing, and wholesale 1,500,000 aa.. Childcare workers and childcare assistants 1,400,000 ab.. Lawyers, judges and legal assistants 1,300,000 ac.. Barbers, hairdressers, cosmeticians, pharmacists, dietitians 1,300,000 ad.. Therapists, counselors, social workers and welfare service aides 1,200,000 ae.. Artists, entertainers & designers 1,200,000 af.. Police, detective, and law enforcement officers 1,200,000 ag.. Military personnel 1,100,000 ah.. Medical doctors, dentists, vetinarians, optometrists, and podiatrists 1,100,000 ai.. Receptionists 1,000,000 aj.. Security guards 1,000,000 ak.. Working children under 16 1,000,000 al.. Prostitutes 1,000,000 am.. Farmers 968,000 an.. Non-financial records processing clerks, 995,000 ao.. Inspectors (construction, production and compliance) 955,000 ap.. Groundskeepers and gardeners (non-farm) 940,000 aq.. Earthmoving equipment, crane, industrial truck, forklift, lorry and tractor operators 898,000 ar.. Metal workers 826,000 as.. Farm workers 726,000 at.. Computer programmers 605,000 au.. Bus drivers 605,000 av.. Bank tellers 477,000 aw.. Postal delivery workers, messengers & couriers 468,000 ax.. Editors, writers, reporters and proofreaders 417,000 ay.. Religious clergy, and employees of religious institutions 393,000 az.. Personal services n.e.c. 348,000 ba.. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs 340,000 bb.. Street and door-to-door sales workers 334,000 bc.. Corrective institution & prison officers 328,000 bd.. Doctor's and dental assistants 318,000 be.. Firefighting and fire prevention workers 262,000 bf.. Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers 237,000 bg.. Librarians, archivists, and curators 231,000 bh.. Butchers and meat cutters 229,000 bi.. Dressmakers, tailors and shoe repairers 189,000 bj.. Professional photographers 178,000 bk.. Animal caretakers (non-farm) 170,000 bl.. Interviewers 169,000 bm.. Airplane pilots, airplane staff, air traffic controllers 152,000 bn.. Bakers and baking workers 148,000 bo.. Recreational services workers 129,000 bp.. Telephone operators 119,000 bq.. Oil & mining extraction workers 115,000 br.. Railway workers 111,000 bs.. Cabinet makers, furniture & wood finishers, and other woodworkers 104,000 bt.. Newspaper vendors 103,000 bu.. Ship captains, sailors, mates & deckhands, fishermen 98,000 bv.. Professional athletes 95,000 bw.. Social welfare eligibility clerks 86,000 bx.. Sales demonstrators, promoters, and models 77,000 by.. Water and sewage treatment plant operators 77,000 bz.. Forestry & logging workers 77,000 ca.. Optical goods workers 72,000 cb.. Other precision production workers n.e.c 72,000 cc.. Pest control workers 63,000 cd.. Food batchmakers 54,000 ce.. Other plant & system operators 45,000 cf.. Electric power plant operators 35,000 cg.. Bookbinding workers 35,000 ch.. Nursery workers 33,000 ci.. Hand molders & shapers 21,000 cj.. Patternmakers, layout workers, & cutters 12,000 ck.. Bridge, lock, & lighthouse tenders 3,000 cl.. Hunters & trappers 2,000
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