Wertkritik: The Radical Critique of Value and Labour
While many interpret Marxism as a struggle for the fair distribution of wealth, a school of thought known as Wertkritik (Value-Critique) argues that this approach misses the mark. Rather than focusing on the injustice of exploitation, Wertkritik examines the very foundations of capitalist society: the value-form. It suggests that the problem is not how the products of labour are shared, but the existence of "labour" itself as a social category.
By shifting the focus from class struggle to a critique of value, Wertkritik challenges the assumption that labour is a universal human constant, viewing it instead as a historically specific and oppressive mechanism of capitalism.
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Key Facts
- Core Objective: Seeks liberation from labour, rather than the liberation of labour.
- Real Abstraction: Value is viewed as an objective social force that structures human relations regardless of conscious thought.
- Terminal Crisis: Posits that capitalism is collapsing because technological productivity destroys the labour-time basis of value.
- Value-Dissociation: Argues that capitalism requires the exclusion of "feminine" reproductive work to function.
- Subjectivity: Rejects the proletariat as the revolutionary subject, favoring a struggle born from the crisis of value.
Critiquing Traditional Marxism and the Role of Labour
Wertkritik defines itself in opposition to "traditional Marxism" or "workers'-movement Marxism." It argues that traditional views are trapped within capitalist categories because they treat labour as a positive starting point. In these traditional frameworks, exploitation is seen as the unfair appropriation of surplus value, and the goal of socialism is to ensure a just distribution of wealth.
In contrast, Wertkritik views labour in capitalism as an "oppressive, inhumane, and antisocial activity" that produces private property. It argues that labour—defined as a separate sphere of life governed by abstract time for the purpose of valorization (the process of increasing value)—is the fundamental problem. Therefore, the goal is not to improve the conditions of the worker, but to abolish the category of labour entirely.
Value as a Real Abstraction and Fetishism
A cornerstone of this theory is real abstraction (Realabstraktion), a concept from Alfred Sohn-Rethel. Wertkritik argues that categories like money, commodities, and value are not just mental concepts but "actually existing abstractions" that structure society. This is a form of fetishism, where social relations between people are perceived as objective, natural necessities of things.
Production vs. Exchange
While Sohn-Rethel believed real abstraction occurred during exchange, Wertkritik theorists like Norbert Trenkle argue it begins in production. They contend that every production process is oriented toward exchange-value from the start. This means abstract labour—the expenditure of human energy, nerves, and muscles—is embodied in the commodity before it ever reaches the market.
The Substantialist Debate
This view has led to conflict with the Neue Marx-Lektüre. The latter promotes a monetary theory of value, where value is only created during the act of exchange. Wertkritik is often criticized for being "substantialist," meaning it views value as something physically embodied in the commodity during production.
The Theory of Terminal Crisis
Wertkritik is essentially a theory of crisis. It posits that capitalism contains an internal contradiction: it seeks to increase value, but it does so by increasing productivity through technology. Because value is based on socially necessary labour time, higher productivity reduces the amount of labour required per item, thereby reducing the value of each commodity.
Historically, capitalism managed this by expanding into new markets. However, Wertkritik argues that the "third industrial revolution" (microelectronics) in the 1970s created a turning point. Now, the rate at which labour is expelled by technology exceeds the rate at which it can be absorbed. This leads to a progressive fall in the total mass of value produced.
To survive, the system creates fictitious capital through credit and financial speculation. These bubbles defer the collapse but ultimately exacerbate the "terminal crisis," as the foundation of the system—value itself—dissolves.
Value-Dissociation and Patriarchy
Roswitha Scholz expanded Wertkritik by introducing value-dissociation (Wertabspaltung). She argues that for the abstract sphere of value to exist, it must split off or "dissociate" activities that cannot be measured by the logic of value, such as care work, emotionality, and domestic labour.
This dissociated sphere is historically coded as "feminine." Thus, capitalism is not just an economic system but a "commodity-producing patriarchy." Gender hierarchy is not a cultural accident but a structural necessity; the masculine sphere of abstract value relies on the feminine sphere of dissociation to function.
The Subject of Change and Class Struggle
Because it critiques labour itself, Wertkritik rejects the idea of the proletariat as the revolutionary subject. It views traditional class struggle as a conflict within capitalism—a fight for a larger share of the value produced—rather than a fight against the value-form.
Theorists like Anselm Jappe suggest that the traditional worker is a "precapitalist relic." Instead, the potential for change arises from the crisis of value. As people are rendered superfluous to production—a process Norbert Trenkle calls "declassing"—they may move beyond the identity of the "worker" and seek an "emancipatory struggle without classes" to abolish the value-form entirely.
Critics, including John Holloway, argue that this view is too mechanical. They suggest that by treating the collapse of capitalism as an automatic economic process, Wertkritik ignores the role of human agency and social struggle.
Summary of Wertkritik Concepts
| Feature | Traditional Marxism | Wertkritik |
|---|---|---|
| View of Labour | A positive starting point; to be liberated. | A capitalist category; to be abolished. |
| Focus of Critique | Distribution of wealth and exploitation. | The value-form and real abstraction. |
| Revolutionary Subject | The Proletariat (Working Class). | Those "declassed" by the crisis of value. |
| Cause of Crisis | Class conflict and market failures. | Technological erosion of labour-time. |
| Gender Analysis | Often secondary to class. | Integral via value-dissociation. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Wertkritik and traditional Marxism?
Traditional Marxism focuses on the unfair distribution of value (exploitation) and seeks to liberate the worker. Wertkritik argues that labour itself is the problem and seeks liberation from the entire system of value.
What does "real abstraction" mean?
Real abstraction refers to the idea that value is not just a concept in our heads, but an objective social force that governs how society functions, regardless of whether individuals are aware of it.
Why does technology lead to a "terminal crisis" in Wertkritik?
Since value is based on human labour time, automation reduces the amount of labour in each product. Eventually, this reduces the total amount of value the system can produce, making the capitalist logic of endless growth impossible.
What is value-dissociation?
Value-dissociation is the process where capitalism pushes essential but "non-valuable" activities—like care and emotional work—into a separate, undervalued sphere, which is historically associated with women.
Does Wertkritik believe in the power of the working class?
No. It argues that the working class is defined by its relationship to the value-form. True emancipation comes not from the worker's victory, but from the collapse of the value-form itself.