He works that he may keep alive.He does not count the labor itself as a part of his life； it is rather a sacrifice of his life.It is a commodity that he has auctioned off to another.The product of his activity， therefore， is not the aim of his activity.What he produces for himself is not the silk that he weaves， not the gold that he draws up the mining shaft， not the palace that he builds.What he produces for himself is wages ； and the silk， the gold， and the palace are resolved for him into a certain quantity of necessaries of life， perhaps into a cotton jacket， into copper coins， and into a basement dwelling.And the laborer who for 12 hours long， weaves， spins， bores， turns， builds， shovels， breaks stone， carries hods， and so on -- is this 12 hours' weaving， spinning， boring， turning， building， shovelling， stone-breaking， regarded by him as a manifestation of life， as life？ Quite the contrary.Life for him begins where this activity ceases， at the table， at the tavern， in bed.The 12 hours' work， on the other hand， has no meaning for him as weaving， spinning， boring， and so on， but only as earnings， which enable him to sit down at a table， to take his seat in the tavern， and to lie down in a bed.If the silk-worm's object in spinning were to prolong its existence as caterpillar， it would be a perfect example of a wage-worker.
Labor-power was not always a commodity (merchandise).Labor was not always wage-labor， i.e.， free labor.The slave did not sell his labor-power to the slave-owner， any more than the ox sells his labor to the farmer.
The slave， together with his labor-power， was sold to his owner once for all.He is a commodity that can pass from the hand of one owner to that of another.He himself is a commodity， but his labor-power is not his commodity.
The serf sells only a portion of his labor-power.It is not he who receives wages from the owner of the land； it is rather the owner of the land who receives a tribute from him.The serf belongs to the soil， and to the lord of the soil he brings its fruit.The free laborer ， on the other hand， sells his very self， and that by fractions.He auctions off eight， 10， 12， 15 hours of his life， one day like the next， to the highest bidder， to the owner of raw materials， tools， and the means of life -- i.e.， to the capitalist.The laborer belongs neither to an owner nor to the soil， but eight， 10， 12， 15 hours of his daily life belong to whomsoever buys them.The worker leaves the capitalist， to whom he has sold himself， as often as he chooses， and the capitalist discharges him as often as he sees fit， as soon as he no longer gets any use， or not the required use， out of him.But the worker， whose only source of income is the sale of his labor-power， cannot leave the whole class of buyers， i.e.， the capitalist class ， unless he gives up his own existence.He does not belong to this or that capitalist， but to the capitalist class ； and it is for him to find his man -- i.e.， to find a buyer in this capitalist class.
Before entering more closely upon the relation of capital to wage-labor， we shall present briefly the most general conditions which come into consideration in the determination of wages.
Wages， as we have seen， are the price of a certain commodity， labor-power.
Wages， therefore， are determined by the same laws that determine the price of every other commodity.The question then is， How is the price of a commodity determined？
第一章Karl Marx Wage Labour and Capital By what is the price of a commodity determined？
By the competition between buyers and sellers， by the relation of the demand to the supply， of the call to the offer.The competition by which the price of a commodity is determined is threefold.
The same commodity is offered for sale by various sellers.Whoever sells commodities of the same quality most cheaply， is sure to drive the other sellers from the field and to secure the greatest market for himself.The sellers therefore fight among themselves for the sales， for the market.
Each one of them wishes to sell， and to sell as much as possible， and if possible to sell alone， to the exclusion of all other sellers.Each one sells cheaper than the other.Thus there takes place a competition among the sellers which forces down the price of the commodities offered by them.
But there is also a competition among the buyers； this upon its side causes the price of the proffered commodities to rise.
Finally， there is competition between the buyers and the sellers： these wish to purchase as cheaply as possible， those to sell as dearly as possible.
The result of this competition between buyers and sellers will depend upon the relations between the two above-mentioned camps of competitors -- i.e.， upon whether the competition in the army of sellers is stronger.Industry leads two great armies into the field against each other， and each of these again is engaged in a a battle among its own troops in its own ranks.The army among whose troops there is less fighting carries of the victory over the opposing host.
Let us suppose that there are 100 bales of cotton in the market and at the same time purchasers for 1，000 bales of cotton.In this case， the demand is 10 times greater than the supply.Competition among the buyers， then， will be very strong； each of them tries to get hold of one bale， if possible， of the whole 100 bales.This example is no arbitrary supposition.