Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

The first essay in the collection, “Wages of Labor,” begins with the declaration that the worker is in every respect at a disadvantage to the capitalist. The worker needs the capitalist, of which there are relatively few, for their livelihood, whereas the capitalist has countless potential workers from whom to choose. Capitalists can team up with each other to protect their respective monopolies, whereas workers cannot cooperate because they are in competition with one another for jobs. The workers’ reliance on wages fixed them to a particular location, such as a farm or factory. Since capitalists also derive rents and interest payments from various financial investments, they can make money practically anywhere, and so the worker is utterly reliant on capital investment remaining in place. Due to this imbalance, the worker is ultimately another economic asset, like a machine or head of livestock, whose value is measured not merely in terms of the labor they are capable of generating, but in comparison with every other laborer with similar qualifications. Whenever the supply of laborers exceeds the demand, some segments of the labor force will fall into a desperate state. Even those who can find work will be paid below its value since the employer can always find someone who will work for less.