>But back to exploitation (which Marx defined simply as the act of an owner
>keeping the surplus value generated by a worker's efforts). Exploitation
>is the foundation of all economic activity, including farming.
Karl Marx is not a "Hero" I would want to be quoting! In every country
where his theories and ideas were implemented or were even tried and
discarded, the level of "exploitation" was much more severe than any you
will find in any capitalistic society.
The key difference between a free "exploited" worker who may be underpaid
and a prisoner who almost surely will be underpaid, is the free worker has
the option of quitting and finding other work. That may not always be
practical, but it is an option that is technically available.
Capitalism may not be a great system, but it is the best that has been
devised by man thus far. And in its pure form, it is based on a worker
being paid "an honest day's pay for an honest day's work". The capitalist
(owner) who puts his/her money at risk investing it in what ever venture,
deserves a reasonable profit for his investment and effort. A lot of
people have attempted over the years to define "reasonable" in the above
context and have come up short. I do not intend to go there myself.
I will say that any exploitation of prison labor for private profit is
unreasonable. And it certainly has no place in sustainable agriculture.
--Dan in Sunny Puerto Rico--
dan.worley@mindless.com
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