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A factor that he finds nutrients to the structure of capitalism is the Mode Of Production. Marx states that this is defined as meeting the needs of our existence and it plays a large roll on the organization Of society. In the capitalist society there are two different classifications of mankind, the Bourgeoisie and proletariat. The Bourgeoisie are capitalists, also the wealthiest people; while the proletariat are the working class striving to survive. Generally the bourgeoisie have control over the proletariat’s.
They both have a type of species being which they supply to the capitalist society, which is known as their means of existence (Dillon 33-40). In the capitalist society the only concerns are producing capital to increase profit of companies toward the capitalists. The Bourgeoisie looks to the proletariat’s for their use-value and how productive that one person can be in producing capital (Dillon 44). In the capitalist society many people would say that all workers are free, but it is more a system of labor exploitation. Weekenders are all marked with a value from both experience and what their means of production is.
These factors along with others influence the cost of production. New workers of the same or different race will replace those of higher experience that are getting worn out. These new workers will work for a lower wage, and also more efficiently because of ones will to survive. Those in the capitalist class push proletariat’s to their highest ability every day, leading them to work underpaid for the demands they are required to meet. A fine line runs between the surplus value and the exchange value which workers receive .
Each Wagoner has a production cost which they need to meet to become equal with the amount that they are being paid by the capitalist. That amount generally tends to be half of the work that they actually do in the time period that they are working. For example a person may only have to make 12 pizzas during their shift to level out the cost but they actually make 48. This causes the company to have a surplus value, which is only received by the capitalist. This surplus value is one of the leading factors to the production of capitalism.
The United States has a high population of illegal immigrants who have come over to find jobs and earn money for their families. In utter desperation for jobs these workers re undocumented and simply increase the surplus value of the capitalist (Dillon 49-51 Because of the structure of capitalism and the high demand of weekenders to constantly be available it makes it difficult for people to take advantage of the opportunities life throws at you. Capitalism confines you to mostly only having time to participate in activities that you have the most use-value for, to make capital.
In each field of production a person chooses they are automatically alienated. People alienate them selves to be specialized in a specific field where they can have a higher means of production. Each worker is alienated simply as the creator of a product, which a different person sells and disposes to make capital. While the workers makes a product they are alienated to their specific area of production that they specialize in, and this skill they have mastered is labeled as their means of existence (Dillon 52-55).
Their existence is labeled into creating capital rather than having a positive impact of society and the life that people live. The Bourgeoisie however thinks that the proletariat’s are bettering society by increasing the capital that they inquire. If an employee is not increasing UAPITA from there position then it is not a tough decision to fire that employee and hire someone who is unemployed. The capitalist believes that by doing this the new employee will be more productive and better the company. The article that I chose to read about is from October 2, 2006 titled ‘Wall- Mart to add Wage Caps and Part-Timers. The focus of the article was on the cut backs which Wall-Mart has been making and the demanding flexibility that is being asked of the employees. Many of the workers mentioned in the article had been working there for over a year and had been angered by the emends of how all of a sudden they are being required to be available at any time of day, in some states meaning 24/7 if the store never closes. Wall-Mart has also been cutting back on their full time workers to part-time workers because it saves more money.
The percentage of part-time workers that Wall- Mart now has is 40% from previous years being 20%. Some employees who were asked to be available all the time requested only to be available at certain times, and those employees faced massive cuts in the amount of hours that they worked. Having these cuts in hours made family life more trustful because the income that the person made drops. Also for those who say that they can be available all the time would have a more stressful family life, and a large chunk of their pay check would also have to be put toward chi lid care if their children were young enough.
Capitalists of Wall-Mart believe that both new and old employees have the same level of productivity, so by getting rid of older workers with more experience they will save on health insurance and also on wages. All of these horrible working stories that ex or current employees have brought up to the press are nothing that such a large many wants to have out in the public, so when the stories get out it is often that they lie about the way that they actually run their company. Wall-Mart is a company that has always faced controversial issues with their workers and the way the workers are treated.
This article on its own shows perfect examples of the corruption that the capitalist system has placed on the working class, also known as weekenders. Karl Marx talks continuously talks about the way that companies don’t fear the firing and hiring process of employees. In the article it talks about how Wall-Mart likes hiring people with sees experience who are less stable so that they can be paid less. They also favor hiring new employees so they can be full time, and the company will not have to use money for retirement funds or health insurance.
With the low pay that employees receive this also causes a strain on people financially and emotionally. Enraged workers mention their stories of how wages had been capped so there would no longer be annual raises in their salary. Not only did they suffer from wage cuts, the demanding hours required workers to put their children into child care nearly 24/7, which becomes very costly. The costly price of childcare can come close to canceling out a weeks paycheck, as if they are working for free. Marx speaks about how in the capitalist society you devote your life to working in specialized fields and that job is what you live for.
This is very true with Wall-Mart because the high demands Of the job make it so families can’t have regular routines at night or in the morning, because the employee never knows if they will be needed for work. Wall Street supported all of the changes that Wall-Mart decided to make because it saves the capitalist money while increasing profit. After the wage caps had been put into place employees being paid close to what the wage cap amount was were given $200-$400 to compensate for future raises that have now been cut.
Employees look at this money as hush money so they do not cause a scene, as they are angered about the capping. Wall-Mart sees the capping as a way for workers to want to work harder to reach higher paying job positions within the company. Even though workers may work hard it does not mean that they will receive that job opportunity or raise unless that position has opened up in the company. A worker talked about how he had rocker there for over six years and works extremely hard but still does not receive any opportunities to move up to a higher paying job.
They also give workers the opportunity to be employee of the month. These are all capitalist examples of alienation. Workers are alienated to the job position they are hired for also alienated into rank of how well they work. Karl Marx theories that he had came up with prior to the corruption in society all fit with the production process of Wall-Mart. They show evidence of alienation, demanding hours, and reducing pay. Other issues that were rough up have to do with the seclusion of workers from having hobbies and order outside of their time working.