Unfree labour

Unfree labour is a generic or collective term for forms of work, especially in modern or early modern history, in which adults and/or children are employed against their will by the threat of destitution, detention, violence (including death), or other extreme hardship to themselves, or to members of their families. Many of these forms of work may be covered by the term forced labour, although this tends to imply forms based on violence. Unfree labour includes all forms of slavery. (Although serfdom is technically a form of unfree labour, the term "serf" is usually only used in relation to pre-modern societies, under feudal political systems.)

Unfree vs. free labour

By contrast, "free labour" is a situation which a worker is able to leave at any time, if they see fit. In practice, however, many nominally free labourers, in some historical periods and/or countries, face significant constraints on their ability to leave their jobs, and may not receive payment which is above the level of subsistence. For these reasons, some scholars prefer to see "free labour" and "unfree labour" as extreme points on a continuum, rather than being sharply distinct entities. According to the labour theory of value, under capitalism, workers never keep all of the wealth they create, as some of it goes to the profit of capitalists. Because of such factors, some people refer to the condition of the working class as "wage slavery". (Others may feel that such terms trivialize the experiences of real slaves.) By contrast, according to the subjective theory of value, labourers deserve no more and no less than the wages they are paid as a result of competition in the labour market.

Related Topics:
Continuum - Labour theory of value - Capitalism - Profit - Capitalist - Working class - Wage slavery - Subjective theory of value - Labour market

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