Thevalueofthemeansoflabor
Themeansoflaborarealsocalledmeansoflabor,whichareusedtochangeorinfluencetheobjectsoflaborintheprocessofproducingandoperatingproductsandprovidingvariousservices.Allthings,includingsubstantivemeansoflaborandnon-substantialmeansoflabor.Correspondingly,itsvalueisdividedintothevalueofsubstantivemeansoflaborandthevalueofnon-substantialmeansoflabor.
Substantiallabormeansandtheirvalue
Substantiallabormeansreferstothematerialdataandmaterialconditionsusedtochangeoraffectthelaborobjectintheprocessofproducingandoperatingproductsandprovidingvariousservices.
Thescopeofphysicallabormethodsisverywide.Thefirstislabortools,suchashumanmachines,handsofallhigherprimates,simpletools,feetofbeesandants,etc.MarxoncecalledthemvividlyItistheskeletalsystemandmuscularsystemofproduction;secondly,itistheconditionofthecontainerthatservesastheobjectoflabor,suchashumantubes,barrels,bottles,etc.,whichMarxcalledthevascularsystemofproduction;inaddition,inabroadsense,themeansofphysicallaborarealsoIncludingallothermaterialconditionsnecessaryexceptfortheobjectoflabor.Substantiallabormeansconsumeordinarylaborandhavevalue.Itcanbecalledthevalueofsubstantivelabormeans,anditisanimportantpartofthevalueofcommodities.
Intangiblemeansoflaboranditsvalue
Intangiblemeansoflaborrefertotheintangiblemeansoflaborthatareusedtochangeoraffecttheobjectsoflaborintheprocessofproducingandoperatingproductsandprovidingvariousservices.Labormeans,includingscienceandtechnology,intellectualproperty,technicalsecrets,businesssecrets,franchiserights,goodwill,etc.Usuallypeculiartohumans.
(1)Scienceandtechnology
Scienceandtechnologyrefertotheknowledgesystemthathumanbeingshaveaccumulatedinthelong-termhistoricalprocessofunderstandingandtransformingtheworldtounderstandthingsintheworld,andhumanbeingsbasedonthepracticalexperienceofproductionVarioustechnologicaloperationmethodsandskills,aswellasvariousmaterializedproductiontechniquesandmaterialequipmentdevelopedbyapplyingscientificprinciples.Scienceandtechnology,asthefruitsandtoolsformankindtounderstandandtransformtheworld,isanorganicwholewithinternalconnections.Thescientificandtechnologicalsystemispreciselythereflectionoftheobjectiveworld'ssystematicandhierarchicalnature.Themodernscienceandtechnologysystemiscomposedofphilosophy,naturalscienceandtechnology,socialscienceandtechnology,thinkingscienceandtechnology,mathematicsanditsintersection,marginal,horizontal,comprehensivescienceandtechnologyandotherdisciplines.Thesescienceandtechnologydisciplinesarethebasicunitsofthemodernscienceandtechnologysystem.Theyareinterconnected,infiltrated,restricted,transformed,andcombinedtoformascienceandtechnologywithacertainstructureandfunction,aswellasacertaintimesequenceandspacedimension.Networksystem.Scienceandtechnologyareprimaryproductiveforces.
(2)Intellectualpropertyrights
Intellectualpropertyrights,alsoknownas"intellectualachievement"rights,refertothespiritualwealthcreatedbyintellectualactivitiesinthefieldsofscience,technology,culture,andart.,Exclusiverightsenjoyedwithinacertainperiodoftime,includingindustrialpropertyrightsandcopyrights.Industrialpropertyrightsmainlyincludepatentrights,trademarkrights,manufacturernamerights,anddomainname(alsocalledwebsite)rights;copyrightsmainlyincludeculturalandartisticcopyrightandscientificandtechnologicalcopyright(includingcomputersoftwareandintegratedcircuits).Intellectualpropertyhasthecharacteristicsofterritoriality,timelinessandopenness.Territorialitymeansthattheeffectivenessofintellectualpropertyrightsinspaceissubjecttocertaingeographicalrestrictions,andisonlyvalidincountriesorregionsthatarerecognizedandprotectedbylaw;temporalitymeansthatintellectualpropertyrightsaresubjecttoacertaintimelimitintime,onlyinlegalprovisionsItsexclusiverightsarevalidwithinthetimelimit;publicitymeansthattheacquisitionofintellectualpropertyrightsmustbebasedonthepremiseofpublishingitsbasiccontenttothepublic.
(3)Technicalsecrets
Technicalsecretsrefertotheundisclosedandunpatentedknowledgeandtechniquesusedintheproductionandoperationofenterprises,includingvariousdesignmaterials,drawings,Technicalinformationsuchasdata,technicalspecifications,processflow,materialformula,etc.,aswellasunwrittenknowledge,technologyandknow-howpossessedbyexperts,techniciansandworkers.Thereasonwhytechnicalsecretsarekeptsecretisthelong-termapplicationofthistechnology,whichmakestheproductinafavorablepositioninthefiercemarketcompetition,andbringsexcessprofitstotheenterprisehigherthanthegeneralleveloftheindustry.Technicalsecretsaretheunityofadvancementandconfidentiality.The"advancednature"enablesittosolveacertainspecialproblemintheproductionandoperationprocess;the"secret"preventstheoutsideoftheenterprisefromknowingeasily,andkeepsthetechnologicaladvantageinastateofconfidentiality:inthisway,theenterprisecanoccupyadominantpositioninthemarketandcompeteinthemarket.InvincibleinChina.
(4)Businesssecrets
Inabroadsense,businesssecretsincludeproductiontechnologysecrets,managementtechnologysecrets,andmarketingtechnologysecrets.Theoreticallyspeaking,itisgenerallybelievedthatbusinesssecretsalreadyincludetechnicalsecrets,butinthepracticeofinternationaltechnologytrade,technologyisoftenusedtosummarizeallsecrettechnologiesincludingbusinesssecrets.Wehererefertotechnicalsecretsexclusivelyasproductiontechnicalsecrets,andincludemanagementtechnicalsecretsandmarketingtechnicalsecretsasbusinesssecrets.Businesssecretsareanimportantinvisiblemeansoflaborformodernenterprises.Thesecretsofmanagementtechnologymainlyincludebusinessdecision-making,managementmethodsandmaterials,financialmanagementmethodsandmaterials,qualitycontrolmethods,etc.;thesecretsofmarketingtechnologymainlyincludespecialmarketingmethods,marketingnetworks,andcustomerlists.Businesssecretsareconfidential,butthereisnospeciallegalprotection.Theycanonlybeprotectedbythecompany'sstrictprotectionmeasures.
(5)Franchiseright
Franchiserightisalsocalledfranchise,franchiseorfranchise.Ithastwobasicforms.Oneisthefranchisegrantedbythegovernment.Mostoftheserightsaresocialpublicwelfareundertakings,suchaselectricpower,tapwater,postandtelecommunications,telephone,telegraph,gasandotherpublicutilities;theexclusiverightofresourceextractionindustry,suchastheexplorationrightandminingrightofmineralresources;therearealsosomespecialcommodities,suchasThesaleofduty-freecommodities,theproductionandoperationlicensesoftobacco,alcoholandothercommodities,andthefranchisingofsomespecialindustriessuchasprinting,cultureandentertainment,healthcare,etc.Inaddition,thestategrantssomecompaniesspecialpermissiontooperate,suchaslotterytickets,racetracks,travelroutesoftravelagencies,outreachrights,andoutreachrightsforoverseastourists.Theseenterpriseshaveanexclusivenature,whichallowstheoperatorstoobtaingenerousbenefits.Theotheristhefranchisegrantedbytheenterprise.Thishasonlyappearedinrecentyears.Itmeansthatanenterprise(franchiser)grantsanotherenterprise(thefranchisee)therighttouseitspatentrights,trademarkrights,tradenames,technicalsecrets,etc.withinacertainperiodoftimeinaccordancewithacontractsignedbybothparties.The"namingright"isaderivativeformoffranchiserights.Itistherightofaunittoallowotherstonamethevariousundertakingsunderitsjurisdiction.Thisrightcanbegrantedtootherswithcompensation,andthepurchaserwillgrantitwithinacertainperiodoftime."Fontsize","trademarkrights"orlogosarenamedonaspecificcarrier.Generally,therearenamingrightsfortrains,roadsandbridges,sportsevents(expositions),andconcerts.
(6)Goodwill
Goodwillreferstothefactthatacompanyhaswoncustomers’favorbecauseofitssuperiorgeographiclocation,orbecauseofitsoutstandingreputation,excellentproductquality,andthoughtfulandmeticulousservice.Trust,orbecauseofitsproperorganizationandmanagement,highefficiencyofproductionandoperation,orbecauseofitslonghistoryandaccumulatedrichexperienceintheindustry,orbecauseofitssuperbtechnologymasteryofproductionknow-how,orbecauseofotherreasons,thebusinessisparticularlyprosperous,formingExcessprofitabilitythatishigherthantheprofitabilityofothergeneralcompaniesinthesameindustry.Goodwillincludesthegoodwillcreatedbythecompanyitselfandthegoodwillpurchasedfromothercompanies.Thegoodwillpurchasedbythecompanyoftenreferstothepartofthepricepaidforthepurchaseormergeroftheentirecompanythatexceedsthevalueofitstangiblenetoutput.
Theabove-mentionednon-physicallabormethodssuchasscienceandtechnology,intellectualpropertyrights,technicalsecrets,businesssecrets,franchiserights,goodwill,etc.arealsothecondensationofordinaryhumanlabor.Theyhavevalueinthemselvesandareanimportantcomponentofcommodityvalue.part.Comparedwiththevalueofphysicalmeansoflabor,thevalueofnon-physicalmeansoflaborismainlythecondensationofcomplexmentallabor,whilethevalueofphysicalmeansoflaborismainlymanuallabor.
Thethreemediatingeffectsofthemeansoflabor
Firstofall,themeansoflaborexistasanintermediarythatconnectsthelaborerandthe"free"nature.
Firstofall,themeansoflaborexistasanintermediarybetweenthepartsaftercontactingindividuals.
Firstofall,themeansoflaborexistasanintermediarythatconnectsthepreviousgenerationandthenextgeneration.
Thethreeintermediaryeffectsofthemeansoflabormeansthatworkersformtheirown"organs"fromthenaturalforcesoutsidethebody,theoverallsocialforces,andthesumofthelaborers'previousstrengthandwisdom,andusethese"organs"."Organ"struggleswithnatureandgainsfreedom.EvenifRobinsonisaloneonadesertisland,whenheisfightingwithnature,heisnotinfrontofhim.Becauseinhim,italsoshowstheability,strengthandwisdomoftheentiremankind.Thethreeintermediaryeffectsofthemeansoflaborarealsotheessentialreasonwhyhumanbeingsaresopowerful.
Thesocialnatureofthemeansoflabor
Themeansoflaboristheunityofitstechnicalandsocialaspects.Ontheonehand,themeansoflaborisanaturalobjectandanelementofproduction.Ontheotherhand,itisanaturalobjectprocessedinhistoryandanelementofsocialreproduction.Seenasanaturalobject,asanelementofproduction,themeansoflaborrevealitstechnicalaspect,whichistheexpressionofitsquantity.Viewedasanaturalobjectprocessedinhistory,asanelementofsocialreproduction,themeansoflaborrevealitssocialaspects,whichisitsqualitativemanifestation.Therefore,themeansoflaborarenotonlymaterials,butmaterialswithacertainshape.Themeansoflaboristheyardstickofsocialreproduction,theunityofitsquantityandquality.Intheeyesoftechnologists,stonetoolsandirontoolsindicatetheprosandconsoffactorsofproduction;intheeyesofhistorians,thesametoolisanindicatorofthespecificproductionprocess.Therefore,"themeansoflaborisnotonlyameasureofthedevelopmentofhumanlabor,butalsoanindicatorofthesocialrelationsbywhichlaboriscarriedout,"thesameistrueforotheranimals.Thesocialnatureofthemeansoflaborisreallyobvious.
However,althoughlabormeansareindicatorsofsocialrelations,theyarenotthedrivingforcebehindsocialdevelopment.Becausethemeansoflaborisapossibleproductiveforcebelongingtoacertainsociety,andonlywhenitisusedinproductioninaspecificsocietycanitbetransformedintoactualproductiveforces.Therefore,thesocialnatureofthemeansoflabormustbeexaminedintherelationshipbetweenitandtheworkersinaparticularsociety,andinthestructureoftheparticularsocietytowhichitbelongs.Ifitleavesitssocialaspectsandonlyexaminesitstechnicalaspects,itcannotbeanindicatorofsocialrelations,norameasureofthedevelopmentoflabor.Forexample,machineryisacharacteristicofcapitalistproductioninitsconnectionwithcapitalistsociety;butthesamemachineryhasasocialistnatureinitsconnectionwithsocialistsociety.Therefore,althoughtheuseofmachineryisacharacteristicofcapitalism,capitalismdoesnotnecessarilyexistwheremachineryisused.Onthecontrary,inaplacewheremachineryhasnotbeenusedtoday,itisnotnecessarilywithoutcapitalism.Anotherexampleisahandcraftedappliance.Infeudalsociety,itisameasureoffeudalsocialrelations.Butthesamehandcraftedtoolhasthenatureofcapitalisminacapitalistsociety.Moreover,whenthissamehand-madetoolisusedinthehandsofvariousprivateproducers,ithasarelativelysmalleffectonthedevelopmentoflabor;butwhenitisusedcollectively,ithasagreatereffectonthedevelopmentoflabor.Thesocialityisalsodrasticallydifferent.
Thedepreciationrateofthemeansoflabor
Thedepreciationrateisusuallyusedtodescribehumanlabor.Intheprocessofhumansocialproduction,itisself-evidentthatdepreciationmustbewithdrawnbymeansoflabor.Becausesomesocialproductsareactuallyjusttheembodimentofthevalueoftheconsumedlabormethods,andtheusedlabormethodsalwaysneedtobeupdatedastheybecomeobsolete.However,becausethemeansoflaboraretransferredtotheproductsproducedinadditiontotheirvaluecorrespondingtothedegreeofwearandtear,aslongastheirlifespanisnotover,theyalwaysexistintheirsolidphysicalformthatcancontinuetobeused,sotheytendtobeMakepeoplehaveallkindsofillusions.Orthinkthatdepreciationisanadditionalexpense.Infact,itisnot,justtheexistenceandreappearanceofacertainamountofvalueinanotherphysicalform.Orthinkthatdepreciationisanegativeloss.Thisunderstandingisalsoincorrect.Undergeneralproductionconditions,thetangibleandintangiblelossoflabormeansarenotnegativelosses,andthedepreciationandtherenewalofthemeansoflaborareonlytomaintainsimplereproduction.Inotherwords,asfarasthegeneralandstandardproductionprocessisconcerned,suchextractionanduseofdepreciationisnecessarytomaintainsimplereproduction.Thedepreciationitselfisonlythetransfervalueoflabormeans,whichisneitherpureincomenorloss.Wemustunderstandthispointclearly.Forexample,iftheservicelifeofthelabormeansisartificiallyextended,evenlongerthantheeconomiclifeofthelabormeanscalculatedwhenthesociallaborproductivityisconstant,thensocialreproductionwillbedifficulttocarryoutnormally,andthesociallaborproductivitywillbereduced.Inonepoint,atthistime,thetotalsocialproductswillalsodecreaseintermsofusevalue.
Variousformsoflabor,duetotangibleandintangiblelosses,alwaysneedtobeupdatedintheprocessofsocialproduction,butsomehavealongerservicelife,andsomehavealongerservicelife.short.Fromtheperspectiveoftheentiresociety,ifwetaketheconstantamountofvalueasthestandardformaintainingsimplereproductionandthenormalrenewaloflabormeans,thenitisobviousthatthevaluerequiredfortherenewaloflabormeanscomesfromtheuseandconsumptionoflabormeans.Thevaluetransferredtotheproductintheprocess.Sincethetransferprocessofthevalueofthelabormeanstotheproducedproductiscompletedduringtheuseofthelabormeans,theactualdepreciationrateofthelabormeansdependsontheactualaverageservicelifeofthelabormeans.Theso-calledactualdepreciationrateofthemeansoflaborandthecorrespondingactualdepreciationofthemeansoflabormeansthattheactualrateofdepreciationofthemeansoflaborissofast,andthecost(depreciationcost)fortherenewalofthemeansoflaborisactuallythismany.Obviously,whatdeterminesthekeyhereistheactualrenewalcycleofthemeansoflabor,thatis,theactualaverageservicelifeofthemeansoflabor.
Wecallthedepreciationratecorrespondingtotheactualeconomiclifeofthemeansoflaborastheeconomicdepreciationrateofthemeansoflabor.Theeconomiclifeofthemeansoflabordependsontheleveloflaborproductivityofthesociety,onthespecificproductionconditions,andalsoonthesocialproductionmethods.——Theeconomiclifeofthemeansoflaborundercommunismisfundamentallydifferentfromtheeconomiclifeofmeansoflaborundertheconditionsofcapitalism;theeconomiclifeofthemeansoflaborundersocialismandcommunismisalsodifferent.Althoughtheeconomiclifespanofthemeansoflaborhasalsochangedwiththechangesinsocialproductionmethodsandthechangesintheproductionconditionsformulatedbythesociety,theeconomiclifeofthemeansoflabor,andthustheeconomicdepreciationrateofthemeansoflabor,isthesameastheactualsocialproduction.Importanteconomicfactsrelatedtothesituation.
Thecorrespondingdepreciationratesofvariouslabormethodsthatpeoplesetandactuallyimplementfinanciallyaretheperformanceofpeople'sunderstandingoftheeconomicdepreciationrateoflabormethods.However,becausethedepreciationratedeterminedinthiswayandtheactualeconomicdepreciationrateoflabormeanswillalwayshavealargerorsmallergap,thedepreciationratedeterminedisactuallyonlytheexpecteddepreciationrate.Theexpecteddepreciationrateisalsodifferentfromtheactualdepreciationrate.Regardingthisissue,wehavepointedoutthatforeverycertainperiod,thevalueoftheproducedproductisalwaysacertainamount.Theactualdepreciationrateoflabormeansandtheestablisheddepreciationrate,thatis,theinconsistency(difference)oftheestimateddepreciationrate,actuallymeansthatitcorrespondstothisdifference,orthedepreciationfeeextractedcontainsfalsecomponents,andthereisapartoftheso-calledactualdepreciationfee.It’sjustnewlycreatedvalue;or,thecalculatednewlycreatedvaluecontainsfalseelements.Someoftheso-callednewlycreatedvalueisactuallythehiddentransfervalueoflabormeans,becausethecorrespondingpartoftheso-callednewlycreatedvalueisactuallyusedforlabormeans.Itwasupdatednormally-andjusttomaintainsimplereproduction.Intheformercase,theactualaveragelifeexpectancyoflabormeansislongerthantheexpectedaveragelife,whichindicatesthatthevalueofthesemeansoflaborisgraduallytransferredtotheproductduringarelativelylongperiodofuse,sothetransfervalueofthefixedfundiscorrespondingtothetransfervalueeveryyear.Partofitisreduced.Correspondingtothissituation,ifthetotalnumberoflabormethodsusedinsocialproductionisconstant,thenonaverage,theamountthatneedstobeupdatedeachyearwillbecorrespondinglysmaller.However,whenthishappens,theannualproductvalueitselfappearsasacertainamountthathasalreadybeenrealized.Thisobjectivefactshowsusthatthecalculatedandestimatedfixedfunddepreciationexpensescontainfalseelements,partofwhichisactuallynewlycreatedvalue.
Theeconomicdepreciationrate,actualdepreciationrate,andexpecteddepreciationrateofthemeansoflaborarethreedifferentconcepts,andthespecificvaluesofthethreeareusuallynotexactlyequal,thatis,thereareusuallyquantitativedifferences.Theyareconnectedandinfluenceeachother.Theactualdepreciationrateisanaspectofthesocialproductionprocess.Theeconomicdepreciationratealsoexistsobjectively.Thismeansthatundersuchsocialproductionconditions,inaccordancewithsuchadepreciationrate(thatis,therenewaloflabormeansaccordingtothecorrespondingperiodofuse)willbethemostconducivetothesavingofsociallaborandtheimprovementofsociallaborproductivity;and,Regardlessofwhetherpeoplerealizethis,whethertheyhaveaccuratelycalculatedtheeconomiclifespanofthemeansoflabor,regardlessofwhetherthedepreciationrateformulatedandimplementedbypeopleisloworhigh,forvariousmeansoflabor,theyhavetheirownactualeconomiclife.Theeconomicdepreciationrate.Sincetheexpecteddepreciationrateisamanifestationofpeople'sunderstandingoftheeconomicdepreciationrate,theexpecteddepreciationrateisofcoursealsoveryimportant.Thedepreciationratedeterminedtoalargeextentdeterminesandaffectsthechangeintervaloftheactualdepreciationrate.Therefore,itisnecessarytostriveforthedepreciationratetobeclosetotheeconomicdepreciationrateoflabormeans.Thecalculationofsocialproductionandtheupdateoffixedfundsarebasedontheestimateddepreciationrate.Ifthereisalargegapbetweentheestimateddepreciationrateandtheeconomicdepreciationrate,itwillofcoursebedetrimentaltotheimprovementofsociallaborproductivity.Evenifthisproblemisdiscoveredintheprogressofsocialproduction,itwillbeverypassiveandcomplicatedtotakemeasurestobringtheactualdepreciationrateclosertotheeconomicdepreciationrate,anditisoftendifficulttomakesubstantialcorrections,sothattheactualdepreciationrateandtheeconomicTherewillbealargergapinthedepreciationrate.Toclarifytheeconomiclifeoflabormeans,ofcourse,isnotonlytheneedoftheoreticalanalysis,butalsotoguideactualproduction.Therefore,itisnecessarytoanalyzeandestimatetheeconomiclifeofvariouslabormethodsthatexistinrealityasmentionedabove.Butitisnotenoughtodoso.Itisalsonecessarytounderstandandcounttheactualaveragelifeexpectancyofvariouslabormethods.Finally,thedepreciationrateoftheestablishedmeansoflaborisofcourseknown.Thesethreefactorsmustbeconsideredwhenrevisingthedepreciationrateofthemeansoflabor.Fromouranalysisoftheeconomiclifeoflabormeans,thegeneralprincipleistomakethedepreciationratesetclosetotheeconomicdepreciationrateoflabormeans.Therefore,thegreaterthegapbetweenthecurrentdepreciationrateestablishedinthepastandtheeconomicdepreciationrate,thegreatertheamountofrevisionofthisestablisheddepreciationrate.Totalkaboutthisproblemfromanotherangle,thegreaterthegapbetweentheactualdepreciationrateandtheeconomicdepreciationrate,thegreaterthecorrectionamountrequiredfortheactualdepreciationrateoflabormeans.Fundamentallyspeaking,itisnecessarytomaketheactualdepreciationrateclosetotheeconomicdepreciationrate,becausethisistheactualproductionprocess,butfromtheformalpointofview,itisnecessarytomaketheestablishedorprojecteddepreciationrateclosetotheeconomicdepreciationrate.Itgoeswithoutsayingthatthedifferencebetweentheactualdepreciationratesofvariousexistinglabormethodsandtheireconomicdepreciationratesislarge,somesmall,andsomearebasicallythesame.Therefore,theactualservicelifeofthemeansoflaborneedstobechangedbysomelargerones,somesmallerones,andsomerequirenochange.Fromanotherperspective,itistheamountthatthedepreciationrateneedstoberevised.Somearesmallerandsomearelarger.