Re: [Marxism] From here to there? The Road Forward

[Paul Cockshott <clyder@xxxxxxxxxx>]

 Waistline:
> I state for the record that there can be no such thing as human labor in the
> abstract as a material reality. The reason Marx speaks of human labor in the
> abstract - which is converted into abstract human labor as an abstraction, is
> to explain the basis of exchange if the social product. What exist and has
> existed on planet earth is real labor and flesh and blood excretion. The 
> common
> denominator of the exchange process is explained as human labor in the 
> abstract
> or the amount of socially necessary labor that goes into the production of
> that, which is exchanged.
>


What distinguishes human labour from that of bees or horses is that it
is
infinitely adaptable, driven by learning not instinct.

Any society has to be able to distribute the labour time of its
population
into different concrete activities. Abstract labour is simply the labour
time of the population in potentia, prior to allocation. This is a
social
reality in the sense that the future labour of our children is abstract,
it only becomes concrete after eduction and their social formation as
workers with particular skills.

The whole education and training system exists to convert abstract
to concrete labour.

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