One of the founders of modern sociology, Karl Marx, was also a critic of modern capitalism. Marx understood capitalism as a system of commodity production, or production for the market, through the use of wage labour. As you have already learned, Marx wrote that all economic systems are also social systems. Each mode of production consists of particular relations of production, which in turn give rise to a specific class structure

Which of the following statement is most appropriate for Labour under Capitalism?

In capitalism Labour itself becomes a commodity, a labourer has to sell labour-power for existence.

The correct answer is Option 1: In capitalism Labour itself becomes a commodity, a labourer has to sell labour-power for existence.

Option 1: In capitalism Labour itself becomes a commodity, a labourer has to sell labour-power for existence. – Correct. According to Karl Marx, under capitalism workers do not own the means of production. Therefore, they must sell their labour power to capitalists in exchange for wages. This makes labour a commodity in the capitalist system.

Option 2: In capitalism, labour becomes free. – Incorrect. Marx did not argue that capitalism makes labour free. Instead, workers are compelled to sell their labour power in order to earn wages and survive.

Option 3: In capitalism, labour becomes more assertive. – Incorrect. Marx did not identify increased assertiveness of labour as a defining feature of capitalism. His focus was on the commodification and exploitation of labour.

Option 4: Capitalism gives mobility to labour. – Incorrect. Although labour mobility may occur in capitalist economies, Marx did not describe it as the defining characteristic of labour under capitalism. The central feature is that labour power becomes a commodity.