The Notion of Power and the “Metaphysics†of Labor Values

A labor theory of value is necessary in Marx for two reasons: from an ontological point of view, a theory of value reveals how human transformative power (power1) becomes power as domination and exploitation (power2). From an epistemological point of view, a theory of value is capable of unlocking the mystery of the alienation and fetishism processes through which human beings are reduced to the bearers of abstract labor, thus of helping us to invert the upside-down reality of capitalism.