A class of labourers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labour increase capital. These labourers, who must sell themselves piecemeal, are a commodity, like every other article of commerce, and are consequently exposed to all the vicissitudes of competition, to all the fluctuations of the market.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Laborers survive only while they find work, and work is needed only while their labor expands capital, making them commodities subject to market fluctuations.
- In plain terms
- Workers are treated like market commodities.
- What can you take from it?
- Job security is tied to capital's needs.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does commodifying labor affect society?
- What alternatives exist?
Another view
Some labor can be protected through regulation.
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