[OPE-L:3552] Re: Productive and Unproductive Labour

Paul Cockshott (wpc@cs.strath.ac.uk)
Tue, 29 Oct 1996 01:41:16 -0800 (PST)

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From: andrew kliman[SMTP:Andrew_Kliman@msn.com]
Sent: 28 October 1996 20:26
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [OPE-L:3549] Re: Productive and Unproductive Labour

In ope-l 3545, Paul Cockshott wrote

"If the wage costs actually were zero, the degree of intensity of labour would
be a matter of indifference. A halving of intensity could always be
compensated for at no cost by using twice as many workers. There would then be
no reason
to spend real money to intensify labour."
Andrew
I have already noted that although Paul wishes to reduce the issue to one of
intensity, it cannot be so reduced. The point is not that firms would spend
money to intensify labor, but that they have an incentive to SUBSTITUTE
MACHINES FOR WORKERS, REPLACE LIVING LABOR WITH DEAD LABOR, MECHANIZE,
AUTOMATE, ROBOTIZE in order to reduce repression costs -- even if v were to
equal zero.

As I have shown, but which is self-evident anyway, if the extra machine cost
per unit of output is less than the repression costs per unit of output which
are saved, then it is cost effective to replace workers with machines when v =
0.
Paul:
My point is that there would be no point spending anything on repression if
wages were zero, It would always be profitable to reduce repression costs
because, whatever the reduction in intensity this brought about could be more
than compensated at zero cost by using more workers. Thus rather than
pay money for machinery to reduce repression costs, simply employ more
workers for nothing.

But this is a complete fantasy world you are constructing anyway, with
no relevance to what actually happens. Do you have any real world costings
to show cases where new means of production have been purchased to
reduce repression costs rather than labour costs?

What do you reckon the current repression costs born by US firms are
as a fraction of their turnover? How much have they been reduced
over the last 20 years by employing machinery?

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