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Exploitation

What is it?

Exploitation is a form of oppression in which one group has unequal power and benefits over another group, whose source lies in the labor of the latter group.

How does it work?1. Exploitation in Family

Men in the labor market are paid minimum wage for extreme manual work, they are alienated in the nature of their work in that they have no personal gratification from it. The function of the family and women is to help men recuperate from the distress of their work place and make them feel like ‘the man of the house.’ They are expected to provide physical and emotional support, fulfill sexual needs as well as reproduce children and socialise them into future obedient workers for the labour market.

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2. Exploitation in Religion

According to Marx, religion is the ‘opium for the masses.’ It legitimizes exploitation and inequality within the class system by convincing the lower classes that their plan in society has been preordained by God. This prevents a revolution and perpetuates the ruling class ideology. John Calvin’s doctrine in the 1500s called ‘Calvinism’ also played a role in the growth of capitalism.

3. Exploitation in Politics

The minimum wage is far from the living wage, and large companies are exploiting their workers by paying them less than they deserve. Workers often do not

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have other options to make money, so this system perpetuates the pattern of the haves and have-nots.

4. Exploitation in Education

The banking system prepares students for the capitalism by conditioning them to do what they’re told and not recognize their rights. It shapes them into an obedient, docile workforce (student vs teacher relationship) for the future to benefit the capitalist system and the owners of the means+modes of production.