Where Does Value Come From

[georgephillip]

The mature Marx saw himself addressing the great political economists of his day and attempting to answer the same basic question: Where does value come from?

Marx was perplexed by how profit was possible in markets where things of equal value are swapped for one another. How does the simple act of trading produce value since it tells you nothing about where value comes from?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Capitalist_System

 

[georgephillip]

The work is based on an anonymous 1900 caricature of theRussian Empire hierarchy by the Union of Russian Socialists.[1][8]

"The original picture showed workers supporting the pyramid on their backs, with the stanza: 'The time will come when the people in their fury will straighten their bent backs and bring down the structure with one mighty push of their shoulders.'[1]

"Notable differences between the Russian 1900 original and the American 1911 derivative version include the replacement of the Russian Empire's black eagle with a money bag, the Russian tsar and tsarina with a more generic trio of figures (a monarch and state leaders in suits), two of the three Orthodox clergy with a Catholic cardinal and a Protestant minister, and the Russian Empire army with a more generic group of soldiers; the workers are no longer bent and no revolutionary stanza is present.

"On both pictures, a fallen child or child worker symbolizes the plight of the workers.[2]

"Another shared element is a red flag raised amongst the workers, symbolizing the emergence of the socialist movement.[9]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Capitalist_System