Anthony D'Costa wrote:
> Long hours is necessary for surplus generation. There is no short cut to
> it. It's a matter of throughput.
Charlie Andrews wrote:
> Apparently not.
>
> "Moscow passed additional labor laws in October 1940. ... The standard
> workday increased from seven to eight hours, and the work week increased
> from five of each six day period to six of each seven day period."
> (Walter S. Dunn, The Soviet economy and the Red Army, 1930-1945,
> Praeger, 1995, p. 41 per Google Books)
>
> Another source said the seven hour day had been introduced in the early
> 1930s.
>
> In other words, while the Soviet Union was industrializing at a rapid
> pace but not yet on war footing, their work week, converting to a
> seven-day calendar week, was 41 hours.
there are several ways to raise the rate of accumulation:
1) stretch out the working day;
2) depress the real wage;
3) increase labor productivity (output per unit of labor-power hired)
so that the same real wage can be received but costs less labor-time
by either:
a) increasing the intensity of labor (the amount of labor done per
hour of labor-power hired) via speed-up or
b) increasing the effectiveness of labor (output per unit of labor done).
4) reduce the relative role of overhead labor; or
5) dedicate a larger percentage of the surplus-value to accumulation.
the first two are absolute surplus value extraction (though Marx
stressed only #1 in CAPITAL). The third is relative surplus-value
extraction. The fourth refers to reducing the role of indirectly
productive or unproductive labor. The final one would involve reducing
luxury spending.
though there were limits on the workweek in the USSR during the 1930s,
to what extent were the rules broken? to what extent were they evaded
via real wage cuts or speed-up? and to what extent was accumulation
successful? Soviet products were not known for their high quality.
--
Jim Devine
"Those who take the most from the table
Teach contentment.
Those for whom the taxes are destined
Demand sacrifice.
Those who eat their fill speak to the hungry
of wonderful times to come.
Those who lead the country into the abyss
Call ruling too difficult
For ordinary folk." – Bertolt Brecht.
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