Wage-Labour and Capital

MP3 Audio CD. Wage-Labour and Capital

What are Wages?
How are they Determined?

If several workmen were to be asked: “How much wages do you get?”, one would reply, “I get
two shillings a day”, and so on. According to the different branches of industry in which they are
employed, they would mention different sums of money that they receive from their respective
employers for the completion of a certain task; for example, for weaving a yard of linen, or for
setting a page of type. Despite the variety of their statements, they would all agree upon one
point: that wages are the amount of money which the capitalist pays for a certain period of work
or for a certain amount of work.

Consequently, it appears that the capitalist buys their labour with money, and that for money they
sell him their labour. But this is merely an illusion. What they actually sell to the capitalist for
money is their labour-power. This labour-power the capitalist buys for a day, a week, a month,
etc. And after he has bought it, he uses it up by letting the worker labour during the stipulated
time. With the same amount of money with which the capitalist has bought their labour-power
(for example, with two shillings) he could have bought a certain amount of sugar or of any other
commodity. The two shillings with which he bought 20 pounds of sugar is the price of the 20
pounds of sugar. The two shillings with which he bought 12 hours' use of labour-power, is the
price of 12 hours' labour. Labour-power, then, is a commodity, no more, no less so than is the
sugar. The first is measured by the clock, the other by the scales.

Their commodity, labour-power, the workers exchange for the commodity of the capitalist, for
money, and, moreover, this exchange takes place at a certain ratio. So much money for so long a
use of labour-po