Value Price and Profit

Value Price and Profit is a pamphlet written by Karl Marx in 1865. The pamphlet is a response to an address given by the British economist John Weston to the General Council of the International Workingmens Association in which Weston argued that the wages of workers were determined by the laws of supply and demand. In Value Price and Profit Marx argues that the value of a commodity is determined by the amount of labor that went into producing it. He distinguishes between the use-value of a commodity which is its utility or usefulness to the consumer and its exchange-value which is its value in the marketplace. Marx also argues that the exploitation of workers by capitalists arises from the fact that the value of the workers labor is greater than the wages that they receive. The surplus value created by the worker is appropriated by the capitalist leading to a system of exploitation and class struggle. Marx concludes the pamphlet by arguing that the ultimate goal of the working class should be to overthrow the capitalist system and establish a society in which the means of production are owned collectively by the workers. This he argues will lead to a more equitable distribution of wealth and the elimination of exploitation.