[lbo-talk] exploitation of pro-athletes was Re: Hamid Dabashi on Iran

Left-Wing Wacko leftwingwacko at gmail.com
Thu Jun 18 20:44:56 PDT 2009


On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 8:49 AM, Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:


>
> I have no opinion on the specifics of this issue -- but it _is_
> important to remember that "exploitation" in the Marxian sense is quite
> compatible with the life style Joanna describes. It is a technical term,
> not a description of standard of living: workers are exploited, Marx
> does say, whether their pay be high or low. I would guess that
> professional athletes, including with the highest pay, are among the
> most exploited workers in the u.s.
>
> Carrol
>
>

The "most exploited"? Now that is a stretch that I can't believe you take seriously. How about we designate undocumented workers as the "most exploited" as their illegal status lowers their wages and benefits and downgrades their power to fight back.

Now I do understand your point about exploitation being a technical term in a Marxist sense, that owners in the sports industry appropriate surplus value from athlete workers. Even so, the highly paid professional athlete is still left with a relatively gargantuan share of the surplus product. Often enough to employ as capital to invest and become capitalists themselves.

Sheldon -- http://left-wingwacko.blogspot.com/



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list