surplus value
Unpaid labor's yield
Surplus value is a Marxist economic term for the difference between what workers produce and what they're paid—the value extracted by capitalists as profit.
A factory worker creates goods worth $500 daily but earns $150; the $350 difference is surplus value.
The concept is central to critiques of capitalism: The entire system depends on extracting surplus value from labor.
Selfish use of others
- commodityFungible traded good
- proletariatLaborers lacking capital ownership
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
- means of productionTools and facilities for manufacturing
alienation · socialism · communism · Karl Marx · Das Kapital · labor power · reproduction
Work done without payment
- wage laborWork exchanged for payment
- working hoursScheduled time for labor
- productivityOutput relative to input
- outputWhat something generates
labor power · subsistence wage · overwork · intensification · deskilling · piece rate · time theft · speedup
Wealth used for investment
- profitGain exceeding expenditure
- wealthAbundance of valuable resources
- investmentDeploying capital for returns
- assetsOwned items of value
reinvestment · concentration · centralization · expansion · growth · compound interest · hoarding · extraction
Unequal distribution of resources
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- wage theftEmployer withholding earned compensation
power imbalance · corporate greed · class conflict · resistance · labor movement · unionization · strike · collective bargaining
exploitation
Selfish use of others
- commodityFungible traded good
- proletariatLaborers lacking capital ownership
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
means of production · alienation · socialism · communism · Karl Marx · Das Kapital · labor power · reproduction
unpaid labor
Work done without payment
- wage laborWork exchanged for payment
- working hoursScheduled time for labor
- productivityOutput relative to input
output · labor power · subsistence wage · overwork · intensification · deskilling · piece rate · time theft · speedup · overtime
capital
Wealth used for investment
- profitGain exceeding expenditure
- wealthAbundance of valuable resources
- investmentDeploying capital for returns
assets · reinvestment · concentration · centralization · expansion · growth · compound interest · hoarding · extraction · appropriation
inequality
Unequal distribution of resources
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- exploitationSelfish use of others
wage theft · power imbalance · corporate greed · class conflict · resistance · labor movement · unionization · strike · collective bargaining · solidarity
surplus valuedeficit
Amount still owed
loss · depreciation · capital loss · economic loss · shortfall
surplus valuefair wages
Reasonable compensation for labor
equitable pay · full payment · living wage · earned income · economic justice
value, valuable, evaluate, surplus, values, devalue, undervalue, valuation, overvalue