Labor and simulation. Article one. Capitalism, labor, and signs

Philosophy

Abstract

Modern society exhibits a noticeable increase in simulated activities across almost all spheres of public life. Increasing simulation in the manufacturing sector significantly pushes labor, being the source of social wealth, into the background. A paradoxical situation is emerging: activities that produce no material goods accumulate and consume them at an increasing rate and volume. The reason for this situation lies in the very nature of capitalist-type labor (abstract and partial). Surplus value can be produced only by partial labor, provided that its share is steadily reduced, i.e. through displacing partial labor from the sphere of real production. This displacement stems from increasing productivity of partial labor, driven by the application of scientific and technological achievements. However, the work of scientists and engineers is qualitatively different from partial labor, their work is universal, complex, simultaneously material and mental, and as such it does not create any surplus value. Thus, the departure of displaced part-time workers into the sphere of knowledge-intensive production undermines the objective foundations of the existence of capitalism. Consequently, modern capitalism seeks to form a sphere of activity that, not being directly related to material production, would prevent the individual from ceasing to be a partial worker and would hinder human development. Simulation is such an area. It turns out to be nothing more than a form of activity that masks human degradation.