3 ways workers are the backbone of the economy

You may have heard that businesses are the backbone of the economy. Or maybe it was job creators are the backbone of the economy. Or perhaps it was small businesses are the backbone of the economy.

I’m here to tell you it’s none of those things. Workers are the true backbone of the economy.

First, this may come as a surprise to some people, but the value of something you purchase isn’t determined by uncontrollable—even invisible—forces of the market.

Actually, the price you pay is determined by the accumulated value of all the labour that has gone into it. Not only the value of the labour performed by the worker who assembled the thing you purchased, but also the value of the labour performed by the worker who harvested the raw materials for that product; the worker who built the machine used to make that product; the worker who forged the tools to make that product; the worker who transported the raw materials, machinery, and tools; and so on.

We call this the labour theory of value: the value of a commodity is determined by the socially necessary labour time required for its production.

This foundational principle underscores the vital contribution workers make in creating wealth within a capitalist economy.

There are fundamentally two classes in a capitalist society.

The owning class consist of all those who own the means of production—the labour, land, machinery, and entrepreneurship—needed to produce goods. Some people call them the capitalist class.

The working class is everyone else, as far as I am concerned, regardless of whether they are paid for their labour. For example, I consider disabled people, students, stay-at-home parents, and retirees to be part of the working class (with some exceptions).

Overall, the working class performs the essential task of transforming raw materials into commodities through their labour. Despite their critical role in capitalist production, they are systematically exploited by the owning class, who appropriate the surplus value generated by the labour of workers.

Surplus labour value is the value of a product minus the wages of the worker who made that product. If I build a chair that’s then sold for $20 but am paid $5 for my labour, the surplus labour value is $15.

This exploitation lies at the heart of capitalist production relations, where the owners extract profit from the labour of the working class, leading to the accumulation of capital and perpetuating inequalities in wealth and power.

Second, the working class not only creates value through their labour but also sustains the entire economic system through their consumption patterns.

As the primary consumers of goods and services, the working class drives demand, thereby fueling economic growth and prosperity. Every time the working class buys products, from everyday necessities to luxury commodities, their purchasing power shapes the contours of the market, influencing production decisions and driving investment flows.

Third, the working class plays a pivotal role in the reproduction of labour power, ensuring the continuity of capitalist production relations.

Through their labour, the working class not only produces commodities but also reproduces themselves as a class, replenishing the ranks of wage labourers generation after generation.

Despite their indispensable role in sustaining the capitalist system, the working class often faces precarious employment conditions, stagnant wages, and limited access to essential services, such as healthcare and education.

And this precarity has become more pronounced as the owning class has tried to undermine class solidarity among the working class, pitting them against each other through sexism, racism, homophobia and transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, and so on, as well as the many ways the owning class has tried to dismantle unionism through lobbying governments and monopolizing media coverage of economic issues.

Until the working class recognizes their critical role in the economy and the collective strength they have when they stand together, the increasing material struggles we face will only get worse.

The bosses won’t save us. The politicians won’t save us. Only we can save us.

But we must come together.