Socially Necessary Labor-Time

The labor-time required to produce a certain use-value under the prevailing socially normal conditions of production and with the socially average degree of skill and intensity. There are three requirements that determine the socially necessary labor-time, i.e., socially normal conditions of production, socially average degree of labor skills and the socially average of labor intensity. These three requirements include both material and human factors; they include both the objective conditions of production determined by the means of production and the subjective conditions of production determined by the labor-power. These conditions of production are not fixed, immutable, and “socially normal conditions of production” refer to the conditions of production and reproduction of most products in a given branch of production in a given period, the most important of which are the conditions of the instruments of production. These conditions generally change along with the development of the productive forces of society, progress in science and technology, but are relatively fixed within a certain period of time.

Since labor is the only source of value and the magnitude of value is determined by the amount of labor spent on the production of a commodity, the magnitude of value of a commodity can only be determined by the socially necessary labor-time spent on the production of that commodity, given that the individual labor-time spent on the production of the same commodity varies. The socially necessary labor-time of different commodities in different branches varies, which also determines the difference in the magnitude of value of different commodities. They can be compared and measured. The value of one commodity is to the value of any other, as the labor-time necessary for the production of the one is to that necessary for the production of the other. In terms of the concrete method of calculation, the sum of individual labor-time spent on the production of the same commodity in a certain period is divided by the total amount of that commodity, and the quotient obtained is the socially necessary labor-time per unit of the commodity.

Socially necessary labor-time is crucial for commodity producers. This is because in the competition of the survival of the fittest in the commodity market, if the individual labor-time spent in the production of a commodity is greater than the socially necessary labor-time, the magnitude of the individual value of the commodity produced is higher than the magnitude of the social value of the commodity, and the commodity can only be sold at its social value, which will result in the producer losing out on the competition in the market exchange and even incurring a loss. Inversely, it will win the competition and achieve more profits. Therefore, each commodity producer will actively improve its own conditions of production, increase the skills of the workers, strengthen the organization and management of production, and reduce the individual labor-time.