Volunteering: Another Loophole for Capitalists to Exploit Unpaid Labor (pt. 1)

Marx revealed the nature of the capitalist economy, demonstrating that the goal of capitalist production is neither the direct satisfaction of society’s needs, nor the act of selling or buying, nor even “money” understood as a universal commodity, but rather the production of surplus value to be used, on the one hand, for the capitalist’s private consumption and, more importantly, since capitalists are simply capital personified, for reinvestment as additional capital in perpetual and ever-larger cycles of reproduction and accumulation. Money and commodities are simply forms that Capital temporarily takes on, while labor power (a commodity in itself) is the only source of surplus value. The unique ability of labor power to produce surplus value stems from the fact that the capitalist derives a greater use value from it than he has to pay for its exchange value. That is to say, the value of the goods (or services) produced by the worker in, say, a month is greater than the value of the goods he needs for subsistence in the same month. As a general rule, wages consist only of the equivalent of the goods the worker needs for subsistence (which is determined historically and socially), never the equivalent of all the work performed by that worker in that period of time. Capitalism needs surplus labor—labor for which no equivalent has been paid—in order to survive.

To increase profits, the capitalist must constantly shift the balance in favor of unpaid hours over paid hours. There are many methods he can employ: increasing productivity, extending the working day, reducing wages below the subsistence level, and so on. One of these methods is the one we will analyze in this article: the use of voluntary labor. This is, in essence, work performed without pay (except for some purely symbolic “benefits”). What could this be if not music to the ears of capitalists? The rate of exploitation of voluntary labor is not 100%, as it might seem at first glance. A 100% rate is that of an 8-hour working day in which 4 hours are paid and 4 are not, which is still a rather weak ratio compared to what it actually is in the context of the high productivity of modern industry. The rate of exploitation of voluntary labor is in fact incalculable, since there are no paid hours; this is perhaps the most wonderful equation for the capitalist and his obedient accountants, in which the entire arithmetic of bourgeois political economy culminates!

Of course, this does not mean that volunteering can ever become the general form of capitalist production: wage labor will always remain the only dominant social form of production in capitalism. Volunteering is only sustainable for certain social strata, such as young people who still live with their family and therefore have their livelihood secured, or people who have a job and volunteer in their limited free time. Therefore, it will always remain a niche in the grand scheme of social production. This is also reflected in the available data, as only 12.3% of the adult population in the EU was engaged in formal volunteer work in 2022. However, it is important to emphasize the degree of exploitation in this type of work, despite it being an exception.

Shortly after the bourgeoisie appeared on the historical scene, its “philanthropic” branch also made its appearance, the pious bourgeoisie, those openly interested in the moral and spiritual elevation of human society. Of course, what could be more noble than leading by example and encouraging the propertyless masses to also achieve this elevated moral state of altruism, of “working-class philanthropy”—philanthropy without capital? This is the nature of the discourse on volunteering: the lack of remuneration ennobles the work; it is a sign of honor. After all, the appreciation and esteem of the community are worth more than any sum of money! Not paying these volunteer workers is a favor on the part of the capitalist who employs them, allowing them to see beyond the petty greed characteristic of the less noble members of society.

Volunteer work is, in reality, just another form of capitalist exploitation. Within the capitalist system, it is in no way more noble, but, on the contrary, more miserable. We can understand this phenomenon even better if we take a closer look at the types of work usually found in volunteer programs.

To be continued