Surplus value is a concept used famously by Karl Marx in his critique of political economy, although he did not himself invent the concept. It refers roughly to that part of the new value created by production which is claimed by enterprises as "generic gross profit". Marx argues its ultimate source is unpaid surplus labor performed by the worker for the capitalist, and that the surplus-value is the primary basis for capital accumulation.
"Surplu...
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Surplus value is a concept used famously by Karl Marx in his critique of political economy, although he did not himself invent the concept. It refers roughly to that part of the new value created by production which is claimed by enterprises as "generic gross profit". Marx argues its ultimate source is unpaid surplus labor performed by the worker for the capitalist, and that the surplus-value is the primary basis for capital accumulation.
"Surplus-value and the rate of surplus-value are... the invisible essence to be investigated, whereas the rate of profit and hence the form of surplus-value as profit are visible surface phenomena" - Karl Marx, Capital Vol. 3, Pelican edition, p. 134
The German equivalent word "Mehrwert" means simply value-added (an output measure of the net increase in product wealth), but in Marx's value theory, the extra or surplus-value has a specific meaning, which is not the new value added to the output of products, but rather the amount of the increase in the...
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