RE: [xmca] Jones on 'value' of Learning and intensified/enhanced labour under capitalism

[Julian Williams <julian.williams@manchester.ac.uk>]

Hi, sorry I got lost in the discussion for a few days.

To open another point that sparked my interest in Peter's response: Peter Jones referred to my use of the idea of 'enhanced labour power', and pointed to marx's use of 'intensified' etc.

This is an interesting and important issue: I chose a new term, because of my concern that Marx's understanding is based on the idea of reducing the value of labour to a 'simple' labour time - thus 1 hour of skilled labour might be equivalent of 2 hours of simple labour as far as production is concerned.  

This is certainly one aspect of 'enhancement' of labour power, but it is all a bit one-dimensional, and assumes that all labour power is commensurable with this one dimension of simple labour, through the exchange system, and ultimately monetary valuation in wages and prices (though we have to  take care not to simply equate exchange value with 'wages and prices').

But I also had in mind that labourers skills and knowledge might be enhanced for other purposes than merely the exchange value of their labour in the labour market /wages... in particular that of 'literacy' and the power of critique. This raises other dimension of 'the values' of labour power more widely: now the issue becomes largely ideological, and the educational field becomes a site for contesting educational values of 'compliance' versus 'critique'.  There seems to be a contradiction here: while the State would like to ensure 'compliance' in general (for the majority) still there is a (perhaps growing?) role for 'creatives', critical thinkers and problem solvers in production....?

What does anyone think?

Julian__________________________________________
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