[PEN-L:4758] Re: "Worker" (fwd)

[Carl Dassbach <dassbach@xxxxxxx>]

A worker can only be defined in relationship to an owner and both worker
and owner can only be defined in relationship to material "things".
(Relations between individuals are the result of their relationships to
things). A worker is the antithesis of an owner, i.e., a non-owner of the
means of production.  Non-ownership of the means of production forces the
worker to sell his labor power (as a commodity) through the wage relation
whose appearance (scheinform) is an exchange of equivalents but
whose essence (kernform) is an exchange of inequivalents.  It is
immaterial what form this labor power takes (productive or non-productive
labor) and how it is appropriated (rents, interest, etc).  All that
matters is that the value of the labor extracted exceeds the value
returned to the laborer.