The point of the intensification of labour is so important that it demands a word or two in passing; the gist of the matter as put forward by Marx resolves itself into this: As the organisation of production progresses towards 261 perfection, the wear and tear of the workman in a given space of labour-time is increased; and this is true of the organisation of the “division-of-labour” period, only it is limited by the fact that the man himself is the machine, and no such limitation exists in the period of fully-developed machinery, in which the workman is an adjunct of the machine, which latter dictates to its supplement, the workman, in its constant craving for increasing productivity, the amount of wear and tear of his body in each hour’s work. This emphasizes as plainly as possible the subjection of the man to the machine.
Marx also deals with the theory of compensation to the workman displaced by machinery; that is, the common view, that by the labour-saving of machinery, which at first sight would seem to tend to the lessening of the number of men employed, more capital is set free for employment. But, says Marx: “Suppose a capitalist to employ 100 workmen at £30 a-year each in a carpet factory. The variable capital annually laid out amounts therefore to £3000. Suppose 262 also that he discharges fifty of his workmen, and employs the remaining fifty with machinery that costs him £1500. To simplify matters we take no account of buildings, coal, etc. Further, suppose that the raw material annually consumed costs £3000 both before and after the change. Is any capital set free by this metamorphosis? Before the change the total sum of £6000 consisted half of constant, half of variable, capital. The variable capital, instead of being one-half is only one-quarter of the total capital. Instead of being set free, a part of the capital is here locked up in such a way as to cease to be employed in labour-power ; variable has been changed into constant capital. Other things remaining unchanged, the capital of £6000 can in future employ no more than fifty men. With each improvement in machinery, it will employ fewer.”