Valorization is the addition of surplus value into capital.
Begins with the curiosity:
- Where did this M-C-M’ increase come from? ← magic! (actually capital?)
Pedagogical process of explaining valorization
- The evolution of the money-owner to the capitalist
- capitalist’s rant
\Delta Mis the capitalist’s focus. C, or commodity, doens’t matter → overproduction, labor commoditization
Here is the answer:
- labor’s use-val > ex-val [=wages]
- Capitalist pays ex-val to buy the labor-hours. But what the laborer gives [=capitalist gets] is use-val (The distinguished character) for the amount of hours bought (by-hours)
- Surplus value is this difference
- A→B→C. C can be lengthened for abs. S-V. A-B can be shorted for rel. S-V
Importance to marx’s pedagogy
- pol-econ’s idea that wage = value of labor is an illusory description (Ch.19), they confuse the value of labor-power and value of labor i.e., the commiditized ex-val labor and the actual use-val of labor.
- To pol-econ, wage = price ⇒ det. by demand/supply; if not the “natural price [=necessary price]”
- → clarifies the source of M-C-M’, why is M<M’ ← capital making capital
- → reveals the justification/lawful pursuit of surplus-value, but why it doesn’t make sense on closer examination