MARXIAN VALUE THEORY AND THE LABOR-LABOR POWER DISTINCTION

In Volume I of Capital, Marx invokes the distinction between labor pow er and labor to explain how surplus value might arise from the circuit of capital, given that all commodities exchange at their respective l abor values. Contrary to Marx's representation, however, the stipulati on of price-value equivalence is neither necessary nor adequate for a coherent account of capitalist exploitation. The significance of the l abor-labor power distinction is instead best understood in historicall y contingent strategic terms that are essentially independent of Marx' s value theory. Historical-strategic analysis suggests that the distin ction has implications extending beyond the labor extraction problem t ypically emphasized in the modern literature on class struggle in prod uction.