Living labor force. Labor force and labor. Labor force categories in industrial production

popular definition

Concept strength has several meanings. Derived from Latin fortĭa It can be used to emphasize the ability or strength to generate movement in something or someone that causes resistance or has weight; describe the ability to resist a shock; the use of force, whether physical or mental; the natural virtue that things possess in themselves; or the most energetic condition anything.

Strength, as we have determined, comes from the Latin word fortia, which is synonymous with the word "strong". Meanwhile, the second word of the term that we are going to analyze works, has its etymological origin in Latin tripaliare, which came to be used to refer to a three-stick yoke that was used to tie slaves to whom they were about to punish by whipping them.

Work, on the other hand, is a measure of the effort that Human does. From point of view the economy work is one of critical factors production, as well as capital and land... Work can be understood as a productive action carried out by the subject and in exchange for which he receives a reward.

Thus, the concept of labor is associated with physical and mental abilities of each person to develop a specific task ... Expression has been set in motion Karl Marx .

For Marxism labor force should be understood as product, monetary reward which is determined based on the time required for its production. In this case, it is about establishing how long it will take to produce a livelihood. In short, the cost of labor can be related to how much consumer goods a worker needs or is worth.

In this sense, it must be emphasized that it has been established that in capitalism all labor power turns out to be directly a commodity. However, for this fact to take place, there must be two elements or fundamental aspects: the person in question is free to exercise said force, and that there is a need to sell him in order to obtain a livelihood.

These questions and the cited approaches led Karl Marx to establish and demonstrate that there is no equality in capitalist society, because the bourgeoisie is the one that conquered various means production, while workers do not have the ability to own them. Consequently, they see themselves in this situation and in the need to sell the labor that they need to achieve their vital important means existence in order to survive.

This is a circumstance that ultimately leads to the enrichment of those who own these means of production, thanks to the labor and efforts of the workers.

It is interesting to note that Marxist theory distinguishes between labor and work itself, since the second is the realization of the potential presented by the first. In other words, work is what results from the use of labor.

barista

The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) dictionary does not recognize the concept of a barista. The term, however, is often used to refer to a coffee expert. Baristas specializes in the development of coffee-based beverages that combine coffee seeds with liqueurs, milk and other ingredients. This professional can also devote himself to researching and designing these drinks and even decorating espresso with milk in a discipline known as latte art. Barista can distinguish different kinds coffee for preparation

popular definition
migration

Migration occurs when social group, whether human or animal, moves from her place of origin to another, where she believes that she will improve their quality of life. This implies the creation of new life in a different social, political and economic environment and, in the case of animals, in a different habitat that

popular definition
carotene

It is called carotene, a reddish or yellowish pigment that animals can convert into vitamin A. This chemical compound is present in carrots, egg yolk, tomato, butter (butter) and red peppers (peppers, peppers, or chili). Carotene, whose most abundant structure makes it commonly known as beta-carotene, is part of the terpene family. Swiss scientist Paul Carrer, Nobel laureate in chemistry, was the first to

popular definition
call

A challenge is an invitation to grieve, a provocation, or a challenge. It could be a threat or intimidation: “If you are so sure of what you are saying, I urge you to go together to ask Michaela what she thinks about this situation”, “He looked him straight in the eyes and exclaimed: in a firm voice: I challenge him to a duel: whoever loses, he will leave the city. " In another sense, challenging is used synonymously with reprimand or reprimand. Parents often challenge their children or their students' teachers when they are not behaving properly:

The number of people willing to work for hire. V different countries this indicator is calculated in different ways. It usually includes the number of workers with the addition of registered unemployed. There are age and other restrictions. For example, American statistics take into account people who are at least 16 years old. There are certain methodological questions - for example, whether to include in this indicator the “self-employed” population (small entrepreneurs, farmers, artists) or only those who are employed. In most cases, this category of the population is included in another indicator - “economically active population”.

Sometimes the labor force is also understood as employees of an enterprise, often with the exception of administrative personnel.

Work force in popular literature and journalism - workers. Most often, this refers to manual workers performing low-skilled work. Usually no distinction is made between voluntary employment and forced labor. Example: "The objectives of the occupation regime were the destruction of the USSR as a state and the transformation of its territory into an agrarian and raw material appendage and a source of cheap labor for Germany and its allies."

Labor force in the theory of Karl Marx

Karl Marx in his work "Capital" asserted the following:

Under the conditions of the capitalist mode of production, labor is a specific commodity. The bearer of the workforce is its owner and is legally free to dispose of it. At the same time, he does not have the means of production for independent management, and in order to obtain a means of subsistence, he is forced to sell his labor power.
The cost of labor is determined by the cost of maintaining the worker's life and the proper level of working capacity, his sufficient training, education and reproduction. These costs greatly depend on the level economic development country, climatic conditions, intensity and complexity of labor, employment of women and children. The cost of labor is manifested in the form of wages, which is additionally influenced by the situation in the economy and on the labor market. During a period of economic growth and increased employment, wages can significantly exceed the cost of labor, which allows workers to significantly improve their financial situation. During a recession, wages can fall below the cost of labor, which leads to the expenditure of previously accumulated stocks and to a sharp deterioration in the situation of workers.

The value (utility) of labor power as a commodity is the ability in the process of labor (use by the capitalist of the purchased labor power) to create a new value, which is usually greater than the value paid to the worker. Such an excess was called by Marx surplus value... It is the surplus value that serves as the basis for the formation of profit.

Labor is not always a commodity. It may not belong to a person and can be taken away without an equivalent exchange (for example, from a slave or serf). A person may not have legal freedom (prisoner, child). A person can work independently and then sell the results of labor, and not his own labor (artisan, artist, farmer, private entrepreneur, if they do not use hired workers).

Criticism of the Marxist approach

Part economic theories do not recognize labor as an independent commodity. They usually claim to be sold directly work... They explain the formation of profit by the special properties of capital or payment for the rarity of entrepreneurial talent.

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Synonyms:

See what "Labor" is in other dictionaries:

See The Power of the Working Dictionary of Business Terms. Academic.ru. 2001 ... Business glossary

- (labor force) The number of people fit for work. It is influenced by many factors. The working age of the population depends on obtaining an average and higher education, which entails a reduction in the number of young people ... ... Economic Dictionary

Noun, number of synonyms: 6 soul (59) working unit (3) workers (5) ... Synonym dictionary

1) in the statistics of most countries, the economically active population includes employed and unemployed; .. 2) a person's ability to work, that is, the totality of his physical and mental abilities, required qualifications, skills, experience, are used ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

WORKER 2, ah, her. Dictionary Ozhegova. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

work force- - EN labor force Topics environmental protection EN labor force DE Arbeitskräfte FR main d oeuvre ... Technical translator's guide

work force- A part of the country's population with the necessary physical development, knowledge and practical experience to work in the national economy. Syn .: manpower ... Geography Dictionary

1) in modern economic science, the economically active population includes employed and unemployed; 2) in Marxist theory, a person's ability to work, that is, the totality of his physical and mental abilities, the required qualifications, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

WORK FORCE- (labor power) 1. General term for employees In the organisation. 2. (Marxism) the ability to work, which is bought and used by capitalists and from which the capitalist derives surplus value (see also Labor theory cost) ... Comprehensive explanatory sociological dictionary

Work force- the ability to work, a set of physical and intellectual abilities that a person has and which are used by him in the production of life benefits. Labor power really exists in the personality of the worker and is the main ... ... Dictionary of Economic Theory

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15. What is labor.

In order to do a certain job, a person must have physical and spiritual abilities. Labor force is a set of physical and spiritual abilities of a person, which are used by him in the process of producing material goods.

The wealth of any society is created by the labor of people, thanks to the functioning of the labor force. But only under capitalism the ability to work becomes a commodity, subject of sale and purchase.

Why does this happen? Let's turn to history.

The slave could not dispose of himself, as he was the property of the slave owner. Essentially the same is the position of the serf peasant. He was dependent on the owner of the land - the feudal lord and had no right to completely dispose of his workforce.

Can a person sell something that does not belong to him?

Clearly not. Anyone who wants to sell his labor must be a legally free person.

But is this condition sufficient for labor power to become a commodity?

No. And that's why. Small peasant or artisan working by themselves- produce grain, meat, clothing, shoes, etc. They do not sell labor, but products of their labor.

In what case would a peasant or a handicraftsman begin to sell not the products of his labor, but his labor power?

Only if he does not have the opportunity to work at home, with the help of his means of production... A peasant or handicraftsman turns into a worker, a proletarian when loses own means of production. Under these conditions, labor power can be used only when it is sold to the owner of the means of production - the capitalist.

The worker sells his labor power of his own free will, since he is the rightful owner of it. In the capitalist world there are no laws obliging workers to be hired by a manufacturer. But at the same time the proletarian can't help but sell his labor power, since he has no other possibilities for existence - he does not have the means of production that would allow him to produce what he needs for life.

It means that in order for the labor force became a commodity, two conditions are required:

first, the personal freedom of the proletarian;

secondly, the small commodity producer has no means of production, his transformation into a proletarian.

This creates the need to sell labor. The transformation of labor into a commodity marks the beginning of a new historical era - the era of capitalism.

But if labor power is a commodity, then it, like any commodity, must have both value and use value.

How is the cost of labor determined?

It is known that the value of any commodity is determined by the amount of socially necessary labor time for its production and reproduction. But labor is not an ordinary commodity. She, as we have already said, is the totality of the physical and spiritual abilities of a person. If ordinary goods (shoes, cloth, etc.) are created in factories and factories, then the production of labor is inextricably linked with the reproduction of man - the living carrier of labor. Both physical and spiritual abilities, without which work is impossible, are inseparable from a person. In the process of labor, a person spends his labor power, and in order to be able to work daily, he must restore your physical and spiritual abilities.

Consuming various material goods necessary for life, satisfying his spiritual needs, the worker recovers his labor power expended in the labor process, and thus gets the opportunity to work again. That is why it can be said that the value of a commodity, labor power, is essentially the cost of those means of subsistence that are needed for the life of the bearer of the labor force - man, in this case, the worker who sells his ability to work to the capitalist.

What means of subsistence are needed to maintain, restore and permanently reproduce the labor force? In other words, what is included in the cost of labor?

First, the value of the funds required to meet the physical needs of the worker. We are talking about food, clothing, housing, etc.

Second, the value of the funds needed to satisfy the spiritual needs of the worker. As the saying goes, man does not live on bread alone. Workers read newspapers, books, attend movies, sports, etc.

Third, the cost of training a worker. In order to operate machines and mechanisms, a minimum of technical knowledge is required. That is why the cost of general education and industrial training is included in the cost of labor.

Fourth, the cost of the funds needed to support the family. Capitalist production cannot be carried on smoothly if the ranks of the working class are not constantly replenished. Therefore, the cost of labor force inevitably includes the cost of maintaining a family, raising and educating children - the future labor force.

The volume and composition of the worker's needs is greatly influenced by the historical and national characteristics of the development of a particular country. There is a great difference between the cost of labor in England, which for a long time held a monopoly position in the capitalist world, and the cost of labor in economically backward countries, where the people's standard of living is extremely low. Differences in labor costs can also be caused by climatic conditions. For example, in the north, in a harsh, cold climate, a person needs warmer clothes, more nutritious food, a better heated home, etc.

It should be remembered that a person's needs depend on many other conditions. These include national customs, traditions existing in a particular country, among certain peoples.

With the development of human society, human needs expand and change. For example, the needs of an English German or Russian worker in our time are far from what they were, say, in the 19th century. The range of human needs has expanded significantly. Take at least such household items as televisions, refrigerators, computers, mobile phones and so on, about which a person had no idea not only in the 19th century, but about some even in the 20th century.

But no matter how varied the conditions that determine the necessary means of human existence, and no matter how quickly they change, nevertheless, for a certain country and for a specific period, the cost of labor is more or less constant.

Labor power under capitalism is a commodity, and its price is always subject to fluctuations. As a rule, capitalists buy labor power at a price significantly less than the cost calculated on the basis of a decent standard of living for a modern person. At the same time, labor is a special commodity. You can't put it in storage and wait for prices to rise. The worker, who has no other means of subsistence than the sale of labor power, is often forced to agree to a price that does not cover the costs necessary for the normal satisfaction of his needs.

There is, however, lower bound labor cost is cost of physical necessities of life, without the consumption of which a person cannot exist and work. The capitalist who buys his labor power from the worker always strives to get closer to this border, since it is in this case that he receives the greatest profit. How exactly, we'll talk about this.

Labor power, like any other commodity, has, in addition to value, a use-value. How is it expressed?

The use value of many goods is immediately apparent. For example, boots are needed to meet a person's need to protect their feet when moving. The use value of a shoe is realized in the process of wearing it.

In what way is the consumption of labor power expressed?

In labor. Labor is the process of spending labor power. But here the peculiarity of the commodity labor power is revealed. Bread, cloth, shoes and other goods in the process of consumption disappear, are destroyed, and the labor force in the process of labor is not only preserved, but also creates new products... This is the feature of the commodity labor force. The most important quality of this product is that in in the process of consumption, he creates value more than he is worth.

The value of labor power, as we have found out, is equal to the value of the worker's means of subsistence - the cost of food, clothing, housing, etc. Let us assume that the value of a worker's means of subsistence can be created in 4 hours of labor. The capitalist bought labor. Thus, he received the right to dispose of its use-value. Therefore, the capitalist can make the worker work not 4 hours, but more, for example 6, 7, 8, 10 or even 12 hours. But the worker in the first 4 hours of work already created a value equal to the value of his labor, that is, he actually returned to the capitalist what he spent on buying it. But the worker does not stop working, he works on as long as the capitalist says, creating value for each next hour of his work. This surplus, this surplus of value created by the labor of the worker in excess of the value of his labor power, is surplus value .

The ability to create surplus value is the use value of the commodity labor power. It is she who interests the capitalist. If labor power did not have this ability, the capitalist would not buy it.

Having discovered the difference between the value of labor power and the value that is created by the labor of the worker, Marx unraveled the mystery of the emergence of surplus value, scientifically, irrefutably proved, how the capitalist class lives and enriches itself... The source of surplus value is the labor of workers, the results of which gratuitously appropriated by the capitalists.

Now it becomes clear how the contradictions of the universal capital formula are resolved under the conditions of the capitalist mode of production. Surplus value cannot arise without circulation, since the capitalist purchases labor power not somewhere, but in the market, an act of sale and purchase takes place: M - T.

But, on the other hand, surplus value is created not in the process of circulation, but in production, since the proletarian by his labor creates surplus value in addition to the value of his labor power. The capitalist, having sold the goods produced by the workers in his factory, realizes this surplus value and thereby receives large amount money: D + d or D '.

We now come to the question of how surplus value is created.

Definition 1

Labor force is the ability to labor activity, i.e. a set of characteristics and properties of a person that are necessary for him to work.

The concept of labor and its formation

In some cases, the labor force is considered to be real and potential workers, i.e. labor resources. Often the concept of labor power implies the total number of workers in a particular branch of the economy.

Labor force is the ability to work, includes physical and intellectual abilities that a person has and uses them in the production of vital goods. Labor force can operate only in a system of concrete production relations, forms the main productive force of society, is the determining element of the forces of production.

Influencing the substance of nature in the process of labor, changing it, a person improves his labor skills, gains production experience, receives both theoretical and technical knowledge. Defining role in the composition labor functions the level of development of means of labor plays.

The conditions for the use of labor force directly depend on the method of its connection with the means of production. In a market economy, labor is a commodity, therefore it has a use value. The cost of labor depends on the value of the means of subsistence, which are necessary for normal labor activity. The price of labor power changes along with the level of political and economic development of the state, depends on natural and climatic conditions, the organization of workers, national traditions, etc.

Scientific and technological progress has a contradictory effect on the change in the cost of labor. The huge development of production, the growth of labor productivity in society lead to a decrease in the cost of means of consumption, which in turn reduces the cost of labor as a commodity. However, there are other factors that, on the contrary, increase the price of labor. For example, the intensification of production processes causes additional costs to compensate for the large expenditure of human nervous and physical energy.

The process of forming the workforce includes preparing the employee for work, which dates back to preschool institutions... Education is the main value, without which it is impossible to form a labor force.

The role of the labor force in the modern economy

Labor demand and supply depend on demographic, migration and socio-psychological factors. Labor demand can be:

Satisfactory. This is the number of workers employed by companies over time;
Unsatisfactory - the number of vacancies;
Predictable. This is the demand for specialists and workers, taking into account the prospects for the development of the company.

Scientific and technological progress and the development of a market economy increase the requirements for the characteristics of the labor force (its quality).

Remark 1

The quality of the labor force is understood as the totality of professional, educational and psychophysiological characteristics that make a person capable of performing labor activities.

The quality criteria include the level of education, professional training, employee motivation, the ability of the organizational structure of the company to disclose everything professional quality employee.

An important part of social reproduction is the reproduction of labor, i.e. continuous restoration of the physical and maintenance of the mental abilities of workers, continuous improvement of the qualifications of personnel, ensuring their professional development.

The cost of labor can change both up and down.

In the direction of increasing the cost, the following factors influence:

Increasing the intensity of labor;
Increasing material, social and spiritual needs;
Increased complexity of labor resources;
The degree of pollution of the environment;
Increase in value educational services, health services, etc .;
Improving the quality of labor.

The decrease in the cost of labor is associated with:

An increase in social productivity of labor;
Deterioration in the quality of labor;
Increase in payroll taxes;
Frequent use of female and child labor, as well as labor of migrants, which is cheaper.

Labor force categories in industrial production

The payroll of the enterprise contains both industrial and production personnel and employees of non-industrial divisions.

Industrial production personnel include those employed directly in the production and maintenance of production. We list the categories of industrial production personnel:

Workers, which include workers involved in the production of goods, maintenance of equipment, movement finished products etc.;
Specialists, i.e. employees who are engaged in the preparation and execution of documents, keep records and control;
Leaders are workers who take leadership positions at various levels.

The personnel of non-industrial subdivisions consists of employees employed in housing, communal services, subsidiary plots, educational institutions, dispensaries, etc.

The criterion for assessing personnel management is the turnover of the labor force. There are some measures that can be taken to reduce fluidity: