I was going to post yesterday to say how easy it is to retrieve this
kind of information. The value added in labour time to units of
product at its point of manufacture But I thought I would actually
try it out. It really did take less than ten minutes although the
person I spoke to did so happen to have the Excel spread sheet open
on his computer for sales to end of Aug 2005. This is not even
secret information, it is published in our monthly factory
newsletter.

Data

Total people who work on site = 214

Homogenous abstract labour comprising canteen staff, office cleaners
and one chemist.

Cases of product to end of Aug 2005 = 12.8 million

As I said this information is on an Excel spreadsheet type thing and
can be broken down to individual products, production by day or by
line , hour or whatever. I am no good at computers but I know what
clever tricks they can do if you know how to ask the question.

This information took 2 minutes to retrieve. I then went to the John
as advised with calculator pen and paper to work out labour time
added per unit of product.

Projection for 12 months = 19.2 million cases

There are about 10 litres on average to a case, it would be simple
enough to give it in litres, cartons or whatever.

Rather than mess about 192 million litres per 214 person years


(214 people x 48 weeks x 40 hours x 60) person minutes make
192,000,000 litres.

we get four weeks holiday a year.

One person minute makes 7.8 liters of packed product or one litre of
product contains 7.7 seconds added labour time. A surprising
figure, I had no idea of what this would be, it also looks like I
packed off one million litres of juice last year, that is 1000
tonnes approximately, Jesus no wonder I feel tired.

I should add we are a pretty high tech factory, robots and all.

This is our added value to the dead labour in the raw material,
constant capital. The ingredient list, including packaging for each
individual product in their correct proportions is also on the
magical spreadsheet.

This kind of information is recoverable by the grunts on the shop
floor as they often need it.

In fact when the sales order comes in to replace product sold in the
stores the production planner just types in 22,000 litres of 1 litre
tetra Banana and Tomato juice to be produced at set time and date
on a certain line. The computer calls all the ingredients out of
stock, makes up short falls by automatic reordering demanding the
required delivery date is met . It re orders, if required, to
maintain set minimum stock levels which are kept very low or
sometimes not at all. This is the "just in time system" or as we call
it the "just too late" system.

Our suppliers could supply us with their added value in labour time
in about ten minutes like I did and so on with their suppliers .
Thus the accumulated added dead labour time in all the raw material,
its value can be very easily determined.

Thus we could if desired provide a labour time value for each
individual product. Overheads could be spread across all products as
could capital depreciation like they do now, ie transfer of dead
labour time from fixed capital to product.

This is anything but complicated , it couldn't be simpler. Even Karl
can do just these kind calculations in Capital despite his terrible
algebra, probably while sitting on the John.




"Also, I think in an economy that proposes the enormous labor
surpluses that socialism does, calculating labor requirements may
well be reduced to something to occupy the time on the john. If
something is needed, it will get produced and we will get ours when
it is our turn - and if it is not needed, it will not be produced.
Simple enough."
>
> Tony
> WSPUS
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: reddeathy <reddeathy@y...>
> To: WSM_Forum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 09:54:02 -0000
> Subject: [WSM_Forum] Value in socialism
>
>
> Lo All,
>
> at the park, I've taken to noting three rough alternatives.
>
> 1) Direct rationing.
>
> i.e. in socialism some goods may well have to be restricted via
> rationing methods - either as in war time rationing of units per
> person (which could be, unlike the war, relatively generous) or
like
> how some councils ration housing which is on a points based system
> which people can use to bid for goods (Is uppose this is more of a
> prioritisation than a rationing, but it counts).
>
>
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>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]