Wage Labour and Capital & Value, Price and Profit

Marx uses a lot of metaphors and allegories to help explain his ideas. List two or three examples that you found particularly effective and discuss how they helped (or didn’t help) you understand his argument. Can you think of any downside to using metaphors and allegories in this way?

In both essays, Marx specifies that it is labor power, not labor, that the worker exchanges for wages in their contract with the capitalist. What is the difference between the two for Marx, and why is it important for his labor theory of value? How does his theory compare to that of other influential economists?

For Marx, work is fundamental to human existence, and should be a satisfying, fulfilling process. How does Marx explore the ways in which capitalism distorts or corrupts work? How do capitalist forms of work compare to work under other major economic systems?

Consider the role of technology in the capitalist mode of production. How does Marx depict the nature and impact of technology? In what ways can technology harm the working class? In what ways, if any, could technology aid in worker emancipation?

Using two or three examples from the texts, discuss the role ideology plays in supporting the capitalist mode of production. How does Marx analyze the role and importance of ideology in shaping economic and social relations?

There is a lot of overlap between the two essays in this guide, despite being written (or presented) 20 years apart. What are the differences and similarities between the two texts? In what ways, if any, did Marx’s thought develop or change between the two?

Do you think Marx’s criticisms of capitalism in the 19th century are still relevant in the 21st century? What, if anything, has changed? Are there any aspects of contemporary capitalism that these essays have helped you better understand?

Part of Marx’s case against capitalism is the way that it reproduces itself and continually increases the wealth gap between the working class and capitalists. How does Marx analyze the relationship between economic power and social power? What are the wider implications for this inequality?