*For context: I want to draft a simple English, intro-level academic explanation of the LTV that, through careful wording and framing, preempts those criticisms.
*For context: I want to draft a simple English, intro-level academic explanation of the LTV that, through careful wording and framing, preempts those criticisms.
Presumably we talk to workers. I have 4/5 general acceptance of "do you think your boss/app would have hired you if he/she/it thought they wouldn't make more money than they are paying you", "Do you think it would be better if they have paid you more in line with what you bring", "you can see how that porsche comes from your sweat therefore". where it crashes is "organize a union". you can't generally convince well paid people (they don't give a fuck), and where the bosses actually do stuff and are nice to workers or at least earn respect, and wage differential is not that crazy in any case (so - small business, pending on bosses behavior)
that's all good, but not directly relevant to the kind of conversation I'm thinking of. Suppose people are already talking about "what communists think about economics." For example, maybe someone says, "I've heard that communists don't believe in supply and demand? is that true?"
But if you go into free markets price construction, you already gone into the weeds. Marxist theory is that exploitation happens at the point of production. When commodity enters market and gets priced at x dollars, you already debating something else, if you debate the x number. Point is capitalist would look at input prices and expected x price and decide to produce it or not, the finding of supply demand happens over very long scale of competition (if one exists), moving to cheaper labor if possible, skirting regualtions etc. But all of that assumes capitalist sees profit in endeavor, people don't front capital to unprofitable ventures (in production)
I agree that you don't need the LTV to argue that we are exploited. You just need a simple moral argument, "my limited time on earth should not be 1000x less valuable than your limited time on earth."
But I also think that if we are Marxists we should be able to articulate and defend some form of Marxism, especially if it comes up organically in conversation. If we can't do that, we look like cranks.