The Value Theory of Labour from a Socio-Ecological Reproduction Perspective

Abstract

Marx's theory of value was revolutionary in illustrating the central and contradictory role of labour in the reproduction of socio-ecological systems within capital’s value relations. The antagonism between capital and labour emerges as the “organic exchange” between living labour and its environment becomes alienated through the historical social-ecological organisation of labour based on the commodity form. Renewed engagement with Marxian thought has raised different questions of whether this framework can extend beyond the human domain. Specifically, contemporary debates interrogate how ecosystems’ reproduction, carried out by a trans-species labour force spanning microbes, plants, and animals, contributes to value creation. Grounding this analysis in thermodynamic frameworks, this article rethinks the labour theory of value to centre the role of non-human labour in capital accumulation. Engaging with feminist perspectives on reproductive labour, it argues that life's reproductive capacity is foundational to surplus production and value extraction. From this perspective, expanding the category of labour to include non-human work offers a historical-materialist framework for understanding how commodification functions as an organising principle of socio-ecological relations, alienating both human and non-human labour within the autopoietic system of the web of life.