In Economic Manuscripts from 1861 to 1863, Marx systematically explained the two forms of labor’s subsumption to capital: formal subsumption and real subsumption. Formal subsumption refers to the establishment of capitalist production relations in a general sense, but the process and mode of labor have not changed compared with the past. Real subsumption means that with the development of science and technology the process and mode of labor have undergone substantial changes, and capital has established a special mode of production suitable for its own nature. Formal subsumption establishes the formal control power of capital over labor, and real subsumption establishes the actual control power of capital over labor The two are not only the relations of historical continuity, but also interact to form a power system in which labor is subsumption to capital.

　　Editor: Zhong Yao、Liu Tingting

　　From: Studies on Marxist Theory.2023.No.9.