Labour Theory of Value in Cognitive Capitalism
* Article: Life put to work: Towards a life theory of value. By Cristina Morini and Andrea Fumagalli (translated from the Italian by Emanuele Leonardi). Ephemera, special issue on Digital Labour, 10(3/4): 234-252
URL = http://www.ephemeraweb.org/journal/10-3/10-3morinifumagalli.pdf
Abstract
"Starting from the recognition that only a ‘labour theory of value’ is able to provide a measure of the value of the surplus, in this essay we’d like to pose the question of how the labour theory of value must dynamically adjust to the capitalist system and the succession of different modes of accumulation.
Specifically, we focus on structural changes that have invested and partially modified the process of enhancing the transition from industrial-Fordist to ‘bio-capitalism’, at least in that area of the world where this transformation has established itself and is present. It is in this passage that the labour theory of value - intended primarily as a theory of value-time work - requires a redefinition that is able to grasp the qualitative changes that have overtaken and undermined the traditional theory of value labour. In particular, it will be considered a specific form of value creation: one linked to the concept of affective labour. Finally, in the last and final section, we discuss the hypothesis of the theory of life-value, nodding briefly to the related theoretical problems in view of a future research agenda."
Excerpt
"Transformations of biocapitalism and effects on the labour theory of value
The advent of biocapitalism entails an adjustment of the process of valorization. From this perspective, the main points to emphasize are the following:
• The production of wealth and value is no longer based solely and exclusively on material production, but is increasingly based on immaterial elements, namely on intangible ‘raw materials’, which are difficult to measure and quantify since they directly result from the use of the relational, emotional and cognitive faculties of human beings.