Reserve army of labour - Revision history

General-KJ: Fixed references

2025-10-11T21:33:11Z

Fixed references

Comwik at 05:10, 22 September 2025

2025-09-22T05:10:06Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:10, 22 September 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' in employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>		The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred to as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' in employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>

	''Reserve army of labour'' is related to another Marxian term, ''[[relative surplus population]]'', except that the reserve army includes only those unemployed people willing and able to work, whereas the relative surplus population also includes people unable to work.		''Reserve army of labour'' is related to another Marxian term, ''[[relative surplus population]]'', except that the reserve army includes only those unemployed people willing and able to work, whereas the relative surplus population also includes people unable to work.

Comwik: /* Marx's discussion of the concept */

2025-09-22T04:08:53Z

Marx's discussion of the concept

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:08, 22 September 2025
Line 4:		Line 4:

	==Marx's discussion of the concept==		==Marx's discussion of the concept==
	Although the idea of the industrial reserve army of labour is closely associated with Marx, it was already in circulation in the British labour movement by the 1830s.<ref>;Michael Denning (2010) "Wageless life" ''New Left Review''. 66: 79-97</ref> The first mention of the reserve army of labour in Marx's writing occurs in a manuscript he wrote in 1847 but did not publish:<ref>http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.html</ref>		Although the idea of the industrial reserve army of labour is closely associated with Marx, it was already in circulation in the British labour movement by the 1830s.<ref>;Michael Denning (2010) "Wageless life" ''New Left Review''. 66: 79-97</ref> The first mention of the reserve army of labour in Marx's writing occurs in a manuscript he wrote in 1847 but did not publish:<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.html Marx, ''Wages''.]</ref>

	<blockquote>Big industry constantly requires a reserve army of unemployed workers for times of overproduction. The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it, i.e., when the overpopulation is the greatest. Overpopulation is therefore in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and it gives the workers good advice which it knows to be impossible to carry out. Since capital only increases when it employs workers, the increase of capital involves an increase of the proletariat, and, as we have seen, according to the nature of the relation of capital and labour, the increase of the proletariat must proceed relatively even faster. The... theory... which is also expressed as a law of nature, that population grows faster than the means of subsistence, is the more welcome to the bourgeois as it silences his conscience, makes hard-heartedness into a moral duty and the consequences of society into the consequences of nature, and finally gives him the opportunity to watch the destruction of the proletariat by starvation as calmly as other natural event without bestirring himself, and, on the other hand, to regard the misery of the proletariat as its own fault and to punish it. To be sure, the proletarian can restrain his natural instinct by reason, and so, by moral supervision, halt the law of nature in its injurious course of development. - Karl Marx, ''Wages'', December 1847</blockquote>		<blockquote>Big industry constantly requires a reserve army of unemployed workers for times of overproduction. The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it, i.e., when the overpopulation is the greatest. Overpopulation is therefore in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and it gives the workers good advice which it knows to be impossible to carry out. Since capital only increases when it employs workers, the increase of capital involves an increase of the proletariat, and, as we have seen, according to the nature of the relation of capital and labour, the increase of the proletariat must proceed relatively even faster. The... theory... which is also expressed as a law of nature, that population grows faster than the means of subsistence, is the more welcome to the bourgeois as it silences his conscience, makes hard-heartedness into a moral duty and the consequences of society into the consequences of nature, and finally gives him the opportunity to watch the destruction of the proletariat by starvation as calmly as other natural event without bestirring himself, and, on the other hand, to regard the misery of the proletariat as its own fault and to punish it. To be sure, the proletarian can restrain his natural instinct by reason, and so, by moral supervision, halt the law of nature in its injurious course of development. - Karl Marx, ''Wages'', December 1847</blockquote>

Comwik: /* Marx's discussion of the concept */

2025-09-22T04:07:25Z

Marx's discussion of the concept

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:07, 22 September 2025
Line 4:		Line 4:

	==Marx's discussion of the concept==		==Marx's discussion of the concept==
	Although the idea of the industrial reserve army of labour is closely associated with Marx, it was already in circulation in the British labour movement by the 1830s.~~<~~ref~~&gt~~;Michael Denning (2010) "Wageless life" ''New Left Review''. 66: 79-97~~<~~/ref~~>~~ The first mention of the reserve army of labour in Marx's writing occurs in a manuscript he wrote in 1847 but did not publish:<ref>http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.html</ref>		Although the idea of the industrial reserve army of labour is closely associated with Marx, it was already in circulation in the British labour movement by the 1830s.<ref>;Michael Denning (2010) "Wageless life" ''New Left Review''. 66: 79-97</ref> The first mention of the reserve army of labour in Marx's writing occurs in a manuscript he wrote in 1847 but did not publish:<ref>http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.html</ref>

	<blockquote>Big industry constantly requires a reserve army of unemployed workers for times of overproduction. The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it, i.e., when the overpopulation is the greatest. Overpopulation is therefore in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and it gives the workers good advice which it knows to be impossible to carry out. Since capital only increases when it employs workers, the increase of capital involves an increase of the proletariat, and, as we have seen, according to the nature of the relation of capital and labour, the increase of the proletariat must proceed relatively even faster. The... theory... which is also expressed as a law of nature, that population grows faster than the means of subsistence, is the more welcome to the bourgeois as it silences his conscience, makes hard-heartedness into a moral duty and the consequences of society into the consequences of nature, and finally gives him the opportunity to watch the destruction of the proletariat by starvation as calmly as other natural event without bestirring himself, and, on the other hand, to regard the misery of the proletariat as its own fault and to punish it. To be sure, the proletarian can restrain his natural instinct by reason, and so, by moral supervision, halt the law of nature in its injurious course of development. - Karl Marx, ''Wages'', December 1847</blockquote>		<blockquote>Big industry constantly requires a reserve army of unemployed workers for times of overproduction. The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it, i.e., when the overpopulation is the greatest. Overpopulation is therefore in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and it gives the workers good advice which it knows to be impossible to carry out. Since capital only increases when it employs workers, the increase of capital involves an increase of the proletariat, and, as we have seen, according to the nature of the relation of capital and labour, the increase of the proletariat must proceed relatively even faster. The... theory... which is also expressed as a law of nature, that population grows faster than the means of subsistence, is the more welcome to the bourgeois as it silences his conscience, makes hard-heartedness into a moral duty and the consequences of society into the consequences of nature, and finally gives him the opportunity to watch the destruction of the proletariat by starvation as calmly as other natural event without bestirring himself, and, on the other hand, to regard the misery of the proletariat as its own fault and to punish it. To be sure, the proletarian can restrain his natural instinct by reason, and so, by moral supervision, halt the law of nature in its injurious course of development. - Karl Marx, ''Wages'', December 1847</blockquote>

Comwik: Relative surplus population

2025-09-22T04:05:58Z

Relative surplus population

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:05, 22 September 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' in employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>		The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' in employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>

			''Reserve army of labour'' is related to another Marxian term, ''[[relative surplus population]]'', except that the reserve army includes only those unemployed people willing and able to work, whereas the relative surplus population also includes people unable to work.

	==Marx's discussion of the concept==		==Marx's discussion of the concept==

Comwik: /* Marx's discussion of the concept */

2025-09-22T03:52:50Z

Marx's discussion of the concept

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:52, 22 September 2025
Line 8:		Line 8:
	Marx introduces the concept in chapter 25 of the first volume of [[Das Kapital]], which he did publish twenty years later in 1867, stating that:		Marx introduces the concept in chapter 25 of the first volume of [[Das Kapital]], which he did publish twenty years later in 1867, stating that:

	~~{{Quotation\|"~~capitalistic accumulation itself... constantly produces, and produces in the direct ratio of its own energy and extent, a relatively redundant population of workers, i.e., a population of greater extent than suffices for the average needs of the [[valorisation]] of capital, and therefore a surplus-population... It is the absolute interest of every capitalist to press a given quantity of labour out of a smaller, rather than a greater number of labourers, if the cost is about the same... The more extended the scale of production, the stronger this motive. Its force increases with the accumulation of capital.~~"}}~~		<blockquote>capitalistic accumulation itself... constantly produces, and produces in the direct ratio of its own energy and extent, a relatively redundant population of workers, i.e., a population of greater extent than suffices for the average needs of the [[valorisation]] of capital, and therefore a surplus-population... It is the absolute interest of every capitalist to press a given quantity of labour out of a smaller, rather than a greater number of labourers, if the cost is about the same... The more extended the scale of production, the stronger this motive. Its force increases with the accumulation of capital.</blockquote>

	His argument is that as capitalism develops, the [[organic composition of capital]] will increase, which means that the mass of [[constant capital]] grows faster than the mass of [[variable capital]]. Fewer workers can produce all that is necessary for society's requirements. In addition, capital will become more concentrated and centralized in fewer hands.		His argument is that as capitalism develops, the [[organic composition of capital]] will increase, which means that the mass of [[constant capital]] grows faster than the mass of [[variable capital]]. Fewer workers can produce all that is necessary for society's requirements. In addition, capital will become more concentrated and centralized in fewer hands.
Line 16:		Line 16:
	However, as Marx develops the argument further, it also becomes clear that, depending on the state of the economy, the reserve army of labour will either expand or contract, alternately being absorbed or expelled from the employed workforce. Thus,		However, as Marx develops the argument further, it also becomes clear that, depending on the state of the economy, the reserve army of labour will either expand or contract, alternately being absorbed or expelled from the employed workforce. Thus,

	~~{{Quotation\|"~~Taking them as a whole, the general movements of [[wages]] are exclusively regulated by the expansion and contraction of the industrial reserve army, and these again correspond to the periodic changes of the industrial cycle. They are, therefore, not determined by the variations of the absolute number of the working population, but by the varying proportions in which the working-class is divided into active and reserve army, by the increase or diminution in the relative amount of the surplus-population, by the extent to which it is now absorbed, now set free.~~"}}~~		<blockquote>Taking them as a whole, the general movements of [[wages]] are exclusively regulated by the expansion and contraction of the industrial reserve army, and these again correspond to the periodic changes of the industrial cycle. They are, therefore, not determined by the variations of the absolute number of the working population, but by the varying proportions in which the working-class is divided into active and reserve army, by the increase or diminution in the relative amount of the surplus-population, by the extent to which it is now absorbed, now set free.</blockquote>

	Marx concludes that: "Relative surplus-population is therefore the pivot upon which the law of demand and supply of labour works." The availability of labour influences wage rates, and the larger the unemployed workforce grows, the more this forces down wage rates; conversely, if there are plenty jobs available and unemployment is low, this tends to raise the average level of wages - in that case workers are able to change jobs rapidly to get better pay.		Marx concludes that: "Relative surplus-population is therefore the pivot upon which the law of demand and supply of labour works." The availability of labour influences wage rates, and the larger the unemployed workforce grows, the more this forces down wage rates; conversely, if there are plenty jobs available and unemployment is low, this tends to raise the average level of wages - in that case workers are able to change jobs rapidly to get better pay.

Comwik: /* Marx's discussion of the concept */

2025-09-22T03:50:53Z

Marx's discussion of the concept

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:50, 22 September 2025
Line 2:		Line 2:

	==Marx's discussion of the concept==		==Marx's discussion of the concept==
	Although the idea of the industrial reserve army of labour is closely associated with Marx, it was already in circulation in the British labour movement by the 1830s.<ref>Michael Denning (2010) "Wageless life" ''New Left Review''. 66: 79-97</ref> The first mention of the reserve army of labour in Marx's writing occurs in a manuscript he wrote in 1847 but did not publish:		Although the idea of the industrial reserve army of labour is closely associated with Marx, it was already in circulation in the British labour movement by the 1830s.<ref>Michael Denning (2010) "Wageless life" ''New Left Review''. 66: 79-97</ref> The first mention of the reserve army of labour in Marx's writing occurs in a manuscript he wrote in 1847 but did not publish:<ref>http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.html</ref>

	~~{{Quotation\|"~~Big industry constantly requires a reserve army of unemployed workers for times of overproduction. The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it, i.e., when the overpopulation is the greatest. Overpopulation is therefore in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and it gives the workers good advice which it knows to be impossible to carry out. Since capital only increases when it employs workers, the increase of capital involves an increase of the proletariat, and, as we have seen, according to the nature of the relation of capital and labour, the increase of the proletariat must proceed relatively even faster. The... theory... which is also expressed as a law of nature, that population grows faster than the means of subsistence, is the more welcome to the bourgeois as it silences his conscience, makes hard-heartedness into a moral duty and the consequences of society into the consequences of nature, and finally gives him the opportunity to watch the destruction of the proletariat by starvation as calmly as other natural event without bestirring himself, and, on the other hand, to regard the misery of the proletariat as its own fault and to punish it. To be sure, the proletarian can restrain his natural instinct by reason, and so, by moral supervision, halt the law of nature in its injurious course of development.~~"~~ - Karl Marx, ''Wages'', December 1847~~<ref>http:~~/~~/www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.htm</ref>}}~~		<blockquote>Big industry constantly requires a reserve army of unemployed workers for times of overproduction. The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it, i.e., when the overpopulation is the greatest. Overpopulation is therefore in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and it gives the workers good advice which it knows to be impossible to carry out. Since capital only increases when it employs workers, the increase of capital involves an increase of the proletariat, and, as we have seen, according to the nature of the relation of capital and labour, the increase of the proletariat must proceed relatively even faster. The... theory... which is also expressed as a law of nature, that population grows faster than the means of subsistence, is the more welcome to the bourgeois as it silences his conscience, makes hard-heartedness into a moral duty and the consequences of society into the consequences of nature, and finally gives him the opportunity to watch the destruction of the proletariat by starvation as calmly as other natural event without bestirring himself, and, on the other hand, to regard the misery of the proletariat as its own fault and to punish it. To be sure, the proletarian can restrain his natural instinct by reason, and so, by moral supervision, halt the law of nature in its injurious course of development. - Karl Marx, ''Wages'', December 1847</blockquote>

	Marx introduces the concept in chapter 25 of the first volume of [[Das Kapital]], which he did publish twenty years later in 1867, stating that:		Marx introduces the concept in chapter 25 of the first volume of [[Das Kapital]], which he did publish twenty years later in 1867, stating that:

Comwik: Salvaged material from Communpedia

2025-09-22T03:47:13Z

Salvaged material from Communpedia

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' in employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>
-== See also ==
+==Marx's discussion of the concept==
 * [[Precariat]]

Comwik at 03:23, 22 September 2025

2025-09-22T03:23:18Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:23, 22 September 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' of employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>		The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' in employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>

	== See also ==		== See also ==

Comwik at 03:21, 22 September 2025

2025-09-22T03:21:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:21, 22 September 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. ~~That is why~~ the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' of employing all of the available labour~~. It would not be to their advantage to do so~~.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>		The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' of employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. ''Political Economy,'' (Lawrence and Wishart) p. 168.</ref>

	== See also ==		== See also ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:33, 11 October 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred to as the '''Industrial reserve army (IRA)''' is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' in employing all of the available labour.<ref>Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957~~. ''~~Political Economy~~,'' (~~Lawrence and Wishart~~) p. 168.~~</ref>		The '''Reserve army of labour''', also referred to as the '''Industrial reserve army''' ('''IRA''') is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in [[capitalism]]. The reserve army of labour serves as a pool of potential replacements for those workers who are currently employed, thus enabling the capitalists to maintain a high degree of [[exploitation]] of the employed workers by holding against them the threat of dismissal and replacement by someone from the reserve army. For this reason the capitalists, despite their occasionally professed concern about unemployment, are in fact not interested in abolishing the reserve army of labour -- ''i.e.,'' in employing all of the available labour.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Academy of Sciences of the USSR\|year=1957\|title=Political Economy\|title-url=https://www.marxists.org/subject/economy/authors/pe/index.htm\|page=168\|publisher=Lawrence and Wishart\|trans-lang=Russian}}</ref>

	''Reserve army of labour'' is related to another Marxian term, ''[[relative surplus population]]'', except that the reserve army includes only those unemployed people willing and able to work, whereas the relative surplus population also includes people unable to work.		''Reserve army of labour'' is related to another Marxian term, ''[[relative surplus population]]'', except that the reserve army includes only those unemployed people willing and able to work, whereas the relative surplus population also includes people unable to work.

	==Marx's discussion of the concept==		==Marx's discussion of the concept==
	Although the idea of the industrial reserve army of labour is closely associated with Marx, it was already in circulation in the British labour movement by the 1830s.<ref>;Michael Denning (2010~~) "~~Wageless life~~" ''~~New Left Review~~''.~~ 66~~: 79-97~~</ref> The first mention of the reserve army of labour in Marx's writing occurs in a manuscript he wrote in 1847 but did not publish:~~<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.html Marx, ''Wages''.]</ref>~~		Although the idea of the industrial reserve army of labour is closely associated with Marx, it was already in circulation in the British labour movement by the 1830s.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Michael Denning\|year=2010\|title=Wageless Life\|title-url=https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii66/articles/michael-denning-wageless-life\|page=79-97\|series=New Left Review\|volume=66}}</ref> The first mention of the reserve army of labour in Marx's writing occurs in a manuscript he wrote in 1847 but did not publish:

	<blockquote>Big industry constantly requires a reserve army of unemployed workers for times of overproduction. The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it, i.e., when the overpopulation is the greatest. Overpopulation is therefore in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and it gives the workers good advice which it knows to be impossible to carry out. Since capital only increases when it employs workers, the increase of capital involves an increase of the proletariat, and, as we have seen, according to the nature of the relation of capital and labour, the increase of the proletariat must proceed relatively even faster. The~~...~~ theory~~...~~ which is also expressed as a law of nature, that population grows faster than the means of subsistence, is the more welcome to the bourgeois as it silences his conscience, makes hard-heartedness into a moral duty and the consequences of society into the consequences of nature, and finally gives him the opportunity to watch the destruction of the proletariat by starvation as calmly as other natural event without bestirring himself, and, on the other hand, to regard the misery of the proletariat as its own fault and to punish it. To be sure, the proletarian can restrain his natural instinct by reason, and so, by moral supervision, halt the law of nature in its injurious course of development. - Karl Marx~~, ''~~Wages~~'', December~~ 1847</blockquote>		<blockquote>Big industry constantly requires a reserve army of unemployed workers for times of overproduction. The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it, i.e., when the overpopulation is the greatest.

			Overpopulation is therefore in the interest of the bourgeoisie, and it gives the workers good advice which it knows to be impossible to carry out.

			Since capital only increases when it employs workers, the increase of capital involves an increase of the proletariat, and, as we have seen, according to the nature of the relation of capital and labour, the increase of the proletariat must proceed relatively even faster.

			The above theory, however, which is also expressed as a law of nature, that population grows faster than the means of subsistence, is the more welcome to the bourgeois as it silences his conscience, makes hard-heartedness into a moral duty and the consequences of society into the consequences of nature, and finally gives him the opportunity to watch the destruction of the proletariat by starvation as calmly as other natural event without bestirring himself, and, on the other hand, to regard the misery of the proletariat as its own fault and to punish it. To be sure, the proletarian can restrain his natural instinct by reason, and so, by moral supervision, halt the law of nature in its injurious course of development.<ref>{{Citation\|author=Karl Marx\|year=1847\|title=Wages\|title-url=https://marxists.architexturez.net/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.htm\|chapter=VI. Suggestions for Remedies}}</ref></blockquote>

	Marx introduces the concept in chapter 25 of the first volume of [[Das Kapital]], which he did publish twenty years later in 1867, stating that:		Marx introduces the concept in chapter 25 of the first volume of [[Das Kapital]], which he did publish twenty years later in 1867, stating that:

	<blockquote>capitalistic accumulation itself... constantly produces, and produces in the direct ratio of its own energy and extent, a relatively redundant population of workers, i.e., a population of greater extent than suffices for the average needs of the [[valorisation]] of capital, and therefore a surplus-population... It is the absolute interest of every capitalist to press a given quantity of labour out of a smaller, rather than a greater number of labourers, if the cost is about the same... The more extended the scale of production, the stronger this motive. Its force increases with the accumulation of capital.</blockquote>		<blockquote>capitalistic accumulation itself... constantly produces, and produces in the direct ratio of its own energy and extent, a relatively redundant population of workers, i.e., a population of greater extent than suffices for the average needs of the [[valorisation]] of capital, and therefore a surplus-population... It is the absolute interest of every capitalist to press a given quantity of labour out of a smaller, rather than a greater number of labourers, if the cost is about the same... The more extended the scale of production, the stronger this motive. Its force increases with the accumulation of capital.<ref name=":0">{{Citation\|author=Karl Marx\|year=1867\|title=Capital\|title-url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch25.htm\|chapter=The General Law of Capitalist Accumulation\|volume=1}}</ref></blockquote>

	His argument is that as capitalism develops, the [[organic composition of capital]] will increase, which means that the mass of [[constant capital]] grows faster than the mass of [[variable capital]]. Fewer workers can produce all that is necessary for society's requirements. In addition, capital will become more concentrated and centralized in fewer hands.		His argument is that as capitalism develops, the [[organic composition of capital]] will increase, which means that the mass of [[constant capital]] grows faster than the mass of [[variable capital]]. Fewer workers can produce all that is necessary for society's requirements. In addition, capital will become more concentrated and centralized in fewer hands.
Line 18:		Line 24:
	However, as Marx develops the argument further, it also becomes clear that, depending on the state of the economy, the reserve army of labour will either expand or contract, alternately being absorbed or expelled from the employed workforce. Thus,		However, as Marx develops the argument further, it also becomes clear that, depending on the state of the economy, the reserve army of labour will either expand or contract, alternately being absorbed or expelled from the employed workforce. Thus,

	<blockquote>Taking them as a whole, the general movements of [[wages]] are exclusively regulated by the expansion and contraction of the industrial reserve army, and these again correspond to the periodic changes of the industrial cycle. They are, therefore, not determined by the variations of the absolute number of the working population, but by the varying proportions in which the working-class is divided into active and reserve army, by the increase or diminution in the relative amount of the surplus-population, by the extent to which it is now absorbed, now set free.</blockquote>		<blockquote>Taking them as a whole, the general movements of [[wages]] are exclusively regulated by the expansion and contraction of the industrial reserve army, and these again correspond to the periodic changes of the industrial cycle. They are, therefore, not determined by the variations of the absolute number of the working population, but by the varying proportions in which the working-class is divided into active and reserve army, by the increase or diminution in the relative amount of the surplus-population, by the extent to which it is now absorbed, now set free.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>

	Marx concludes that: "Relative surplus-population is therefore the pivot upon which the law of demand and supply of labour works." The availability of labour influences wage rates, and the larger the unemployed workforce grows, the more this forces down wage rates; conversely, if there are plenty jobs available and unemployment is low, this tends to raise the average level of wages - in that case workers are able to change jobs rapidly to get better pay.		Marx concludes that: "Relative surplus-population is therefore the pivot upon which the law of demand and supply of labour works." The availability of labour influences wage rates, and the larger the unemployed workforce grows, the more this forces down wage rates; conversely, if there are plenty jobs available and unemployment is low, this tends to raise the average level of wages - in that case workers are able to change jobs rapidly to get better pay.

	==Composition of the relative surplus population==		==Composition of the relative surplus population==
	Marx argues the relative surplus population always has three forms: the ''floating'', the ''latent'' and the ''stagnant''.		Marx argues the relative surplus population always has three forms: the ''floating'', the ''latent'' and the ''stagnant''.<ref name=":0" />

	*The ''floating'' part refers to the temporarily unemployed ("conjunctural unemployment").		*The ''floating'' part refers to the temporarily unemployed ("conjunctural unemployment").
Line 30:		Line 36:

	*The ''stagnant'' part consists of marginalised people with "extremely irregular employment". Its lowest stratum (excepting criminals, vagabonds and prostitutes) "dwells in the sphere of pauperism", including those still able to work, orphans and pauper children, and the "demoralised and ragged" or "unable to work".		*The ''stagnant'' part consists of marginalised people with "extremely irregular employment". Its lowest stratum (excepting criminals, vagabonds and prostitutes) "dwells in the sphere of pauperism", including those still able to work, orphans and pauper children, and the "demoralised and ragged" or "unable to work".

	~~Marx then analyses the reserve army of labour in detail, using data on [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland\|Britain]] where he lived.~~

	==See also==		==See also==