I read Capital, and the whole thing just went over my head. I really couldn't understand what he was getting at. Could any comrades help explain the LTV? Thanks! 
this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
34 points (100.0% liked)
marxism
3865 readers
1 users here now
For the study of Marxism, and all the tendencies that fall beneath it.
Read Lenin.
Resources below are from r/communism101. Post suggestions for better resources and we'll update them.
Study Guides
- Basic Marxism-Leninism Study Plan
- Debunking Anti-Communism Masterpost
- Beginner's Guide to Marxism (marxists.org)
- A Reading Guide (marx2mao.com) (mirror)
- Topical Study Guide (marxistleninist.wordpress.com)
Explanations
- Kapitalism 101 on political economy
- Marxist Philosophy understanding DiaMat
- Reading Marx's Capital with David Harvey
Libraries
- Marxists.org largest Marxist library
- Red Stars Publishers Library specialized on Marxist-Leninist literature. Book titles are links to free PDF copies
- Marx2Mao.com another popular library (mirror)
- BannedThought.net collection of revolutionary publications
- The Collected Works of Marx and Engels torrentable file of all known writings of Marx and Engels
- The Prolewiki library a collection of revolutionary publications
- Comrades Library has a small but growing collection of rare sovietology books
Bookstores
Book PDFs
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Would it be sufficient to say that labor that is employed to produce commodities at the social average of costs, quality, the utility of the final product, etc. is what gives commodities their value? That would account for ineffective utilization of labor as you state.
That commodities/services are a consequence of labor applied to capital over time.
And the labor value actualized/squandered is equal to the utility of the commodities/services they produced as a percentage of the maximal utility value they could have produced.
Labor value exists as a function of potential man hours * time * most-efficient-product/service rendered. And that labor value can be realized or lost, depending on whether the laborer is employed efficiently. Thus, the goal of a well-run economy is to maximize the utility output of individuals in order to achieve a long-term improvement in quality of life for the polity.
Hence "from each according to their skill, to each according to their need". Maximize utility of labor inputs. Equitably distribute outputs.