The Mechanism of Relative Surplus Value
In: Review of radical political economics, Volume 50, Issue 1, p. 116-135
ISSN: 1552-8502
Lebowitz has argued that for relative surplus value to occur, money wages have to fall. As a consequence, technical progress must be conceived as a weapon to increase the degree of separation among workers, thus leading to lower wages. This article shows that relative surplus value is not strictly dependent on a fall in wages. In fact, when both the value of gold and the expression of wages in terms of the standard of prices are taken into account, it is shown that relative surplus value may arise without any changes in money wages.JEL Classification: B51