The Subjectivity of Labour Sample Clauses

The Subjectivity of Labour i) Labour as a Subject The notion of labour is central to Xxxx'x argument throughout the Manuscripts. By contrast, other concepts (e.g. communism, industry, and political economy) shift in and out of the frame of his discussion at various points in the text, depending on the particular focus of each section. Although labour is present as a concept at all points in the Manuscripts, we cannot assume that Xxxx'x use of the concept is uniform in its meaning throughout. This is an important point given that Xxxx engages closely with various thinkers of significant but not necessarily coincident perspectives, most notably Xxxxx and Xxxxx.33 In this section, I will attempt to identify the extent to which labour appears as a subject in the Manuscripts. The answer is not easily provided. But, if it is difficult to identify labour as a concrete subject in the Manuscripts, it could be possible to classify labour as a potential subject, one that has yet to be realized as a power belonging to consciousness. Later, I will also investigate the relationship between communism as a theory and the potential realization of labour as a subject. I will begin by examining, as Xxxx does, the relationship of political economy to labour. It is the progressive core of “enlightened political economy” [EW, p.342],34 to have identified labour as the sole essence of wealth from within the system of private property. And yet, Xxxx implies that none of the political economists point to or elaborate labour as a concrete subject. Labour appears, if at 33 The Manuscripts represent an encounter between Xxxxx’x and Xxxxx’x conceptions of labour. Note in this regard Xxxx'x observation that “Xxxxx adopts the standpoint of political economy” (Xxxx Early Writings, p.386). In the concept of labour there is a point of traversal between Xxxxx’x political economy and Xxxxx'x philosophy that Xxxx attempts to mobilise for the mutual benefit of his attempted synthesis. Although this argument has a bearing on our analysis, its full elaboration lies beyond the remit of the current study.