File spoon-archives/marxism.archive/marxism_1994/94-11-30.000, message 280


Date: Sun, 13 Nov 1994 01:09:35 EST
From: Pete Bratsis <aki-AT-cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu>
Subject: Re: Exploitation and all that...




Let us take Justin's recomendation that exploitation can be measured 
simply in labour time and see how it works when examining domestic 
labour.  Let us suppose that housewife A spends an average of 6 
hours a week cleaning the house.  Housewife B spends an average of 
18 hours a week cleaning the house.  Let us further assume that each
gets the house equally clean.  Everything being equal, should we 
assume housewife B is more exploited for not being as good a 
cleaner as housewife A?  If husband A spends 2 hours a week 
doing the gardining and husband B spends 20 hours a week doing the
gardining because of his passion for his flower garden - is husband
B less of an exploiter?  If both wife B and husband B spend an equal 
amount of time doing what we could call 'domestic labour' but the 
use value of what wife B does is at that particual instance greater to 
husband B then the use value of what he does for his wife - is she being
exploited or is it an equal share of 'domestic labour'?  Of the 18 hours
a week wife B spends cleaning the house - how much is necessary labour
and how much is surplus labour?  

Have to cut it short, I have to take off.  Wile continue later

Peter Bratsis



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