The Anatomy of Twenty-First Century Exploitation: From Traditional Extraction of Surplus Value to Exploitation of Creative Activity *

The modern system of exploitation presupposes integration of four historico-logical "layers" of the exploitation of labor by capital: 1) the "classical" system of hired labor and appropriation by capital of surplus value; 2) appropriation of monopoly (super) profits and financial profits; 3) partial social redistribution of a part of surplus value, and "diffusion" of capital; and 4) relations of exploitation that pertain to creative activity and appropriation of intellectual rent, which are specific to the current stage. The exploitation of creative activity is the most important resource for future development of the capitalist economy. Capitalist exploitation of intellectual activity (of creative workers) is quite different from "classical" exploitation. This difference involves 1) the appropriation of intellectual rent instead of surplus value; 2) exploitation of the human being (not only of his or her labor power), under conditions where 3) there is no precise border between labor time and free time, between necessary and surplus labor. Moreover, the exploitation of any individual creative worker is at the same time exploitation of the whole of human culture, since the creative labor of any one person is always in dialog with the culture of humankind.