{"resolved":true,"match_type":"uuid","source_type":"original_book","book_id":"4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe","title":"Zombie Capitalism Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx","author":null,"edition":null,"publisher":null,"year":null,"isbn":"9781608461042","requested_by":"printed_page","book":{"source_type":"original_book","book_id":"4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe","id":"4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe","uuid":"4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe","title":"Zombie Capitalism Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx","normalized_title":"zombiecapitalismglobalcrisisandtherelevanceofmarx","author":null,"edition":null,"publisher":null,"year":null,"isbn":"9781608461042","isbns":["9781608461042"],"parsed":true,"ai_readable":true,"document_type":"book","page_count":426,"navigation_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/ai/book/4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe","title_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/ai/title/Zombie%20Capitalism%20Global%20Crisis%20and%20the%20Relevance%20of%20Marx","fixed_page_url_template":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/ai/book/4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe/page/{printed_page}","path_api_url_template":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/api/ai/book/4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe/page/{printed_page}","read_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/api/ai/read/4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe","page_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/api/ai/books/4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe/page","search_url":"https://workshop.closeclaw.top/api/ai/books/4a3d22bd-c5b9-47a4-a022-bd35d44d9bfe/search"},"page":{"printed_page":136,"pdf_page":136,"physical_index":136,"physical_index_base":0,"printed_page_status":"recognized","page_sha256":"6ef1ae4f6e45d435dd2bb87ce6af46f5490918a3f64bda817e4d92196b4c0d01"},"chapter":"Zombie Capitalism Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx","content":"A big portion of the labour that goes into the educational system plays an identical role in providing the skills capital needs, although in this case the skills are not available simply for individual capitalists, but for all the capitalists operating from within the state that provides it. The training in skills which future workers get from a teacher in an educational institution adds to the amount of socially necessary labour they can produce in an hour in exactly the same way as the training they might get inside an enterprise. And the cost of the training is part of the cost of providing labour power, just as much as the wage that goes into buying the food, clothing and shelter the workers require. Enterprises under modern capitalism require labour power with at least minimal levels of literacy and numeracy. The teachers who provide this have to be considered as part of the collective worker, ultimately working for the complex of nationally based capitals that the state services. Apologists for capitalism recognise this inadvertently when they refer to the provision of education as \"adding to social capital\" and demand \"value added\" in schools.\n\nThe same general principle applies to health services that cater for actual, potential or future workers. Spending on keeping the workforce fit and able to work is in reality a part of the wage even when it is paid in kind rather than in cash and goes to the workers collectively rather than individually. In Marx's terminology, it is part of \"variable capital\". This is absolutely clear in countries like the US where healthcare is provided for most workers through insurance schemes provided by their employers. It should be just as clear in countries like Britain where the state provides them on behalf of the nationally based capitals. The popularly used term \"social wage\" is an accurate description. It is just as accurate when applied to unemployment benefits available only to those who show they are able and willing to work, and to pension schemes dependent on a lifetime of labour. The capitalist wants contented workers to exploit in the same way that a farmer wants contented cows. Workers cannot be expected to labour with any commitment to their work unless there is some sort of promise that they will not starve to death once they reach retirement age. As Marx put it, there is a historically and socially determined element to the cost of reproducing labour power as well as a physiological one.\n\n136\n\nUnderstanding the System: Marx and Beyond","previous_page":135,"next_page":137}