Francisco Paulo Cipolla

Abstract

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.

Keywords

Relative surplus value, degree of separation, value of labor power

From: Review of Radical Political Economics 2018 50 (1)

Editor: Wang Yi