Karl Marx Quotes About Labour

Quotes about: Labour

• The fact that labour is external to the worker, i.e., it does not belong to his intrinsic nature; that in his work, therefore he does not affirm himself but denies himself, does not feel content but unhappy, does not develop freely his physical and mental energy but mortifies his body and his mind. The worker therefore only feels himself outside his work, and in his work feels outside himself.

  Karl Marx

  Mind, Unhappy, Energy

  Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Wolfgang Schirmacher (1997). “German socialist philosophy”, Continuum Intl Pub Group

• Communism deprives no man of the ability to appropriate the fruits of his labour. The only thing it deprives him of is the ability to enslave others by means of such appropriations.

  Karl Marx

  Mean, Men, Fruit

• In proportion as the bourgeoisie, i.e., capital, is developed, in the same proportion is the proletariat, the modern working class, developed - a class of labourers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labour increases 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.

  Karl Marx

  Class, Long, Competition

  Karl Marx, David McLellan (2000). “Karl Marx: Selected Writings”, p.251, Oxford University Press, USA

• In capitalist society spare time is acquired for one class by converting the whole life-time of the masses into labour-time.

  Karl Marx

  Class, Spare Time, Mass

  Karl Marx (2007). “Capital: A Critique of Political Economy - The Process of Capitalist Production”, p.581, Cosimo, Inc.

• The monopoly of capital becomes a fetter upon the mode of production, which has sprung up and flourished along with, and under it. Centralisation of the means of production and socialisation of labour at last reach a point where they become incompatible with there capitalist integument. This integument is burst asunder. The knell of capitalist private property sounds. The expropriators are expropriated.

  Karl Marx

  Mean, Sprung Up, Sound

  Karl Marx (1999). “Capital: An Abridged Edition”, p.29, OUP Oxford

• Be aware that the reward for labour, and quantity of labour, are quite disparate things.

  Karl Marx

  Rewards, Quantity, Labour

  Karl Marx, Hugh Griffith, F. Engels (2009). “Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels”, p.97, Collector's Library

• The circulation of capital realizes value , while living labour creates value .

  Karl Marx

  Realizing, Circulation, Labour

  "Grundrisse". Book by Karl Marx, Notebook V, The Chapter on Capital, p. 463, 1857-1858.

• As a beast of toil an ox is fixed capital. If he is eaten, he no longer functions as an instrument of labour, nor as fixed capital either.

  Karl Marx

  Toil, Beast, Instruments

  Karl Marx, Samuel Moore, Edward Bibbins Aveling, Friedrich Engels (1961). “Capital: A Critical Analysis of Capitalist Production”

• The capitalist cannot store labour-power in warehouses after he has bought it, as he may do with the raw material.

  Karl Marx

  Raw Materials, May, Stores

  Karl Marx, Samuel Moore, Edward Bibbins Aveling, Friedrich Engels (1961). “Capital: A Critical Analysis of Capitalist Production”

• In the United States of North America, every independent movement of the workers was paralysed so long as slavery disfigured a part of the Republic. Labour cannot emancipate itself in the white skin where in the black it is branded.

  Karl Marx

  Independent, White, America

  Karl Marx (2007). “Capital: A Critique of Political Economy - The Process of Capitalist Production”, p.329, Cosimo, Inc.

• The labour-power is a commodity , not capital, in the hands of the labourer, and it constitutes for him a revenue so long as he can continuously repeat its sale; it functions as capital after its sale, in the hands of the capitalist, during the process of production itself.

  Karl Marx

  Hands, Long, Commodity

  Karl Marx (1957). “Capital”

• An increase in the productivity of labour means nothing more than that the same capital creates the same value with less labour, or that less labour creates the same product with more capital.

  Karl Marx

  Mean, Increase, Labour

  Karl Marx (2005). “Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy”, Penguin UK

• As the chosen people bore in their features the sign manual of Jehovah , so the division of labour brands the manufacturing workman as the property of capital .

  Karl Marx

  People, Division, Jehovah

  Karl Marx (2007). “Capital: A Critique of Political Economy - The Process of Capitalist Production”, p.396, Cosimo, Inc.

• Labour is ... not the only source of material wealth, i.e, of the use-values it produces. As William Petty says, Labour is the father of material wealth, the earth is its mother.

  Karl Marx

  Mother, Father, Use

  Karl Marx, Lawrence H. Simon (1994). “Marx: Selected Writings”, p.227, Hackett Publishing

• Since labour is motion, time is its natural measure.

  Karl Marx

  Natural, Labour

  Karl Marx (1973). “Grundrisse: Foundations of the critique of political economy”, Vintage Books USA

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