I disagree with tax & rent being lumped together. I have no problem with my (high) tax rate as it supports education, infrastructure, etc. The outrageously inflated rent goes to the same guy that stole 95% of your pizza in the first place.
this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2023
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While I agree in principle, when tax dollars go to corporate tax cuts, handouts to failing financial institutions, and billionaire lunatics selling snake-oil space-based internet "solutions", its easy to get disillusioned about taxes.
We absolutely should be taxed to a high degree, but that money needs to be spent on collective benefits, not private corporate interests.
That’s a different topic though! Don’t conflate collecting funds with usage/distribution of funds. We all need to accept that we have to pay (high) taxes. That the upper 10% haven’t paid their fair share in decades and that there is misuse has nothing to do with my tax rate. We need the upper 10% to pay way way more and we need better accountability for usage of the money. Pretty much regardless of where you live on this planet by the way.
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And to blowing up children for being born to the wrong group of people.
Yeah I think playing into the idea that it’s being taken unjustly though is bad. It’s better to portray it like the rich roommate never paying their portion of any of the bills and leaving you to cover it all.
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Some people don't seem to understand the meme and think this pie represents a companies whole revenue. This pie represents the revenue generated from an individuals labor. The current glaring issue with capitalism is that people think your employer is entitled to a slice of the labors pie. Your employer is entitled to Zero percent of the revenue you generate from your labor! But sadly the only reason the imaginary line in the stock market goes up is become employers and "investors" have stolen your value. While the meme is over simplified it's accurate. Also your bosses/CEOs labor value is far lower than they would have you believe.
Shop local, give money to co-ops, unionize your work place, unionize your living space (renter unions are a thing.), volunteer as often as possible, give leftovers to the homeless if you regularly don't eat your leftovers, VOTE, attend town halls when able, get to know your neighbors even if you don't speak the same language or have a rough past with them, I can go on but these things can help at the local level and prevent the race to the bottom we're currently stuck in.
Eh, actually there are arguments to be made for the employer being entitled to a share of the value, yes.
They provide the materials, the tools and machinery, the designs that are being made (assuming some sort of manufacturing company for this example). They also carry the risk (unless of course they are a corporation, the ridiculous entity created to reap the advantages of personhood while avoiding all its responsibilities and drawbacks).
So, a slice of the pizza should be for them, but certainly not 7/8.
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Also your bosses/CEOs labor value is far lower than they would have you believe.
Zero is a very low number, yet they make my annual every month
I wouldn't call it zero, per say - they are pretty good actors, performing for a crowd of rich fucks.
They might be good at what they do, but where's the value?
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YES
I know my enemies
They’re the teachers who taught me to fight me:
✔ Compromise
✔ Conformity
✔ Assimilation
✔ Submission
✔ Ignorance
✔ Hypocrisy
✔ Brutality
✔ The elite
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Reminder that while the labour theory of value can be practical to understand certain aspects of society, it is still culturally biased and not "objectively" true.
What creates value can only be answered in a cultural framework.
I'm not following what you specifically mean.
Could you provide an example of when the theory fails due to a culture's differing views of value?
There's not even academical consensus what value actually is, AFAIK. Do preasts add value to anything with their labour? If not: Do social counsellors? What if a priest acts as a counsellor? Ask different economists with their theories of value and you'll get several answers.
Economic theories aren't as rigid as theories from the natural sciences or mathematics. They are dependent on the culture in which they are perceived. A non-capitalist society would have different theories or value (or none at all) than we do.
This guy can explain it properly, I'm not an economist and kinda regret making that comment.
I actually watch Unlearning Economics, though only his video essays and not his streams. It's been a while since I've seen this one.
So what we're meaning is how much of Western culture undervalues care-giving since it produces no product, so stay at home moms, nannies, therapists, etc.
I thought of another example. In more nomadic and naturalist cultures, actually doing things to the environment destroys value, while leaving it be and allowing it to recover creates value. That is something else that is not accounted for in any theory of value to my knowledge.
An example would be American Indians in their dependance on foraging and hunting. I think that gives creedance to the idea that they thanked the things they harvested/hunted (I don't know the factuality of that), since from their perspective they were only a burden that the ecosystem was 'kind' enough to support.
Thank you for that comment. I feel like finally someone understood what I was trying to get across.
Probably formulated it badly, but still: the answers are a bit exhausting.
EDIT: Thought of another example of your qase where harming nature decreases value. Having to buy carbon certificates for releasing CO2 models the destruction of value by polluting the environment.
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How is it culturally biased? It's a theory of how exchange value functions within capitalism
You're right. It's one theory. There is however ongoing debate on which theory is "correct".
This vid explains it quite well and with Simpsons clips so the hour of video is bearable:
Yeah but the way you said made it seem that value (exchange value according to Marx) is determined by cultural factors, thus making it untrue. The debate around labour theory of value have existed since the 19th century.
I was talking about the theory, not value. Sorry if that didn't come across.
Now that I think about it: isn't value culturally determined in many things? Why are apple products more expensive than other computers with the same specs? Why is a ticket to a Billie Eilish concert more valuable than one to my neighbor's indie rock band?
There is a difference between use value and exchange value
isn’t value culturally determined in many things? Why are apple products more expensive than other computers with the same specs? Why is a ticket to a Billie Eilish concert more valuable than one to my neighbor’s indie rock band?
It really seems like you're conflating 'value' and 'price' here.
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A reminder that the labour theory of value is not a marxist concept. When people wave their hands around and say "labor theory of value isn't objectively true!!", they're shadowboxing a ghost.
Value != price
Umm... Thanks for that unnecessarily aggressive seeming and a bit incompehensible addendum, I guess?
I think it's more assertive than aggressive.
What part of my response did you find incomprehensible?
Sorry, I interpreted it as aggressive. Figuring out tone in text form is hard and all that. Sorry that I wrongly accused you.
Things I didn't get:
A reminder that the labour theory of value is not a marxist concept.
Marx hasn't been explicity brought up yet (at least not in my comment). Only implicitly in the original post. Again: thought you were attacking me and was like "umm... So what?"
When people wave their hands around and say “labor theory of value isn’t objectively true!!”, they’re shadowboxing a ghost.
I thought you meant me, since that was what I was basically saying. 😅
Value != price
Now, that one wasn't even implicitly mentioned.
I hope you don't hold my misunderstanding against me.
I was certainly being critical, though it was unclear by your phrasing if you were saying what I thought you were. That's why I was using passive language.
Marx hasn’t been explicity brought up yet
True enough, but I assume the implicit connection your comment was making to the op was the reference to "your stolen labour value", which would be a marxist concept, and "labor theory of value" is commonly misused as a counterargument against marx's central critique of stolen surplus labor. Feel free clarify if I got that wrong.
"Value != price"
Now, that one wasn’t even implicitly mentioned.
Well now i'm confused. If 'labor theory of value isn't objectively true' isn't making an argument about the price of a commodity not being equal to the labor it embodies, I am not sure what you're trying to say by it.
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But I have moved 8 tons of dirt from location A to location B. Who else is going to do it? I deserve compensation for my task.
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