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Subsumption in process: A systematic dialectical theory of the real subsumption of labor under capital, with a qualitative analysis of platform taxi drivers in Oslo
In the text “Results of the Immediate Process of Production” and the 1861-63 manuscripts, Karl Marx distinguishes between the formal and real subsumption of labor under capital. The former refers to the subjection of a given labor process to the capitalist mode of production. The latter refers to th...
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| Format: | Dissertation |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | Request full text |
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| Summary: | In the text “Results of the Immediate Process of Production” and the 1861-63 manuscripts, Karl Marx distinguishes between the formal and real subsumption of labor under capital. The former refers to the subjection of a given labor process to the capitalist mode of production. The latter refers to the changes in the labor process that follows from the former. However, Marx’s account is fragmentary and does not constitute a cohesive “theory”. This thesis contributes to filling this gap in Marxist social theory. The thesis has two parts. The first and main part is dedicated to a theoretical reconstruction and synthesis of Marx and others’ perspectives on real subsumption. Specifically, I highlight the need for a systematic “core” theory of real subsumption which (i) is not limited by an association with a specific period in the history of capitalism and (ii) can adequately conceive of real subsumption in a process-oriented way, as continuous and never completed or reached. The chosen methodology, systematic dialectics, informs the presentation of topics discussed. The purpose of systematic dialectics is to investigate an object through a process of concretization. The structure of the theoretical analysis approximates to that ideal by deploying descending levels of abstraction and by identifying contradictory tendencies within real subsumption. The theoretical analysis covers five chapters. I begin in Chapter 3 by identifying the source of changes in the capitalist labor process in the law of value and discussing the contradictory nature of the labor and valorization processes. Chapter 4 relates formal and real subsumption to Marx’s concepts of absolute and relative surplus-value and inaugurates a discussion of the role of intensification within the theory of subsumption. Chapter 5 concretizes absolute and relative surplus-value using Moishe Postone’s concepts of abstract and historical time. Chapter 6 further concretizes labor-time as the indeterminate realization of the commodity labor-power. Relying on the work of Harry Braverman, I first describe the detail division of labor as a means for capitalists to minimize the exchange-value of labor-power and then discuss Taylorism as a means of maximizing the use-value of labor-power. In Chapter 7, I suspend the assumption of a constant use-value of labor-power that must be squeezed out of the individual worker. I argue that a theory of real subsumption must incorporate the contradictory pressures of Taylorism an |
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