How much do "super-profits" really matter?

[Questionable]

I've been hearing a lot about super-profits lately, and they're starting to sound like something of an excuse or a handwave. Why is life better in the West? Oh, imperialist super-profits. Why do workers get higher wages? Super-profits. Socialized programs? Yep, super-profits. Low class consciousness? You bet your ass it's because of super-profits.

What is the actual distribution of these super-profits? How many businesses actually have the opportunity to take advantage of overseas labor? Do these super-profits really go into the wages of the workers or is it more valuable for constant capital and the expansion of business? How does the American government play a role in this?

I guess I'm asking how directly these super-profits go into the working class, because I keep hearing them as a scapegoat for the labor aristocracy so much (Especially since my recent bout with MTWists) that I'm starting to become skeptical of how much of an impact they really have. It's like super-profits are some God-force, capable of making or breaking revolutionary situations single-handedly, the ultimate weapon of capitalists.

I'm most concerned with a claim I've heard that first-world workers get the full value of their labor back in wages, plus a little extra thanks to super-profits, and this is what allows us to be so "wealthy" over here.

[Philosophos]

I've been hearing a lot about super-profits lately, and they're starting to sound like something of an excuse or a handwave. Why is life better in the West? Oh, imperialist super-profits. Why do workers get higher wages? Super-profits. Socialized programs? Yep, super-profits. Low class consciousness? You bet your ass it's because of super-profits.

What is the actual distribution of these super-profits? How many businesses actually have the opportunity to take advantage of overseas labor? Do these super-profits really go into the wages of the workers or is it more valuable for constant capital and the expansion of business? How does the American government play a role in this?

I guess I'm asking how directly these super-profits go into the working class, because I keep hearing them as a scapegoat for the labor aristocracy so much (Especially since my recent bout with MTWists) that I'm starting to become skeptical of how much of an impact they really have. It's like super-profits are some God-force, capable of making or breaking revolutionary situations single-handedly, the ultimate weapon of capitalists.

I'm most concerned with a claim I've heard that first-world workers get the full value of their labor back in wages, plus a little extra thanks to super-profits, and this is what allows us to be so "wealthy" over here.


From what I know capitalism can't get the profits it wants from just selling their products but also taking advantage of the workers by cutting their wages or not giving them the exact money for their work. For example there is this friend of mine whose mother works in a factory for packing some foods. She works extra hours and they don't pay her more money for the extra hours, they count it just like a normal hour. So instead of getting payed for example 40$ for the 8 hours (5$ per hour) and then get 7$ for example for the extra hours she gets 5$ once again. The thing is that if you do this to every worker out there and for more than 2$ difference you get the super-profit you mentioned.

So the workers don't get any of the extra profit from the capitalists. The capitalists just keep it for themselves

[Questionable]

From what I know capitalism can't get the profits it wants from just selling their products but also taking advantage of the workers by cutting their wages or not giving them the exact money for their work. For example there is this friend of mine whose mother works in a factory for packing some foods. She works extra hours and they don't pay her more money for the extra hours, they count it just like a normal hour. So instead of getting payed for example 40$ for the 8 hours (5$ per hour) and then get 7$ for example for the extra hours she gets 5$ once again. The thing is that if you do this to every worker out there and for more than 2$ difference you get the super-profit you mentioned.

So the workers don't get any of the extra profit from the capitalists. The capitalists just keep it for themselves

But how are these super-profits put back into the working class, if at all? The person I'm talking to is claiming that super-profits allow first-world workers to gain back the full labor of their work plus a little extra. Are the bourgeoisie really that concerned with creating a labor aristocracy, or does most of this go into the growth of capital?

[Philosophos]

But how are these super-profits put back into the working class, if at all? The person I'm talking to is claiming that super-profits allow first-world workers to gain back the full labor of their work plus a little extra. Are the bourgeoisie really that concerned with creating a labor aristocracy, or does most of this go into the growth of capital?


Again from what happens in most countries and from the most workers that I've talked too the profits go back to the pockets of the capitalists and they might expand their buisness. If there are any gains for the workers they are tiny little drops in the ocean.

[The Douche]

What you guys are talking about are not super-profits. I can't really give a solid definition from my phone. But it has to do with imperialism granting access to cheap labor, and then selling the product back to the home country for a much higher profit margin. Hence the claim that first world workers benefit from imperialism/super profits through access to cheap goods.

[Questionable]

What you guys are talking about are not super-profits. I can't really give a solid definition from my phone. But it has to do with imperialism granting access to cheap labor, and then selling the product back to the home country for a much higher profit margin. Hence the claim that first world workers benefit from imperialism/super profits through access to cheap goods.

So it doesn't really go into wages then? Basically this person I'm speaking to made the claim that workers in the first-world get the full value of their labor plus a little extra from surplus-labor is periphery nations, which sounds extremely overblown to me.

[The Douche]

So it doesn't really go into wages then? Basically this person I'm speaking to made the claim that workers in the first-world get the full value of their labor plus a little extra from surplus-labor is periphery nations, which sounds extremely overblown to me.

It is. Don't bother talking to TWists and you won't have this problem.;)

I dunno how they can argue that super-profits figure into the 1st world worker's wage, but I'm sure they have some kind of twisted math problem that "proves" it.

Once, before they disolved, a MIM member told young, teenage me, that I was not a proletarian because I owned a car while Indian peasants had to walk 10 miles to work. How very scientific of them...