Productive labour, technological development and the collapse of value

Marx’s speculative reflections in the Grundrisse have inspired various interpretations concerning crisis and the potential end of the capitalist system. Among the more radical theses is the one put forward by Robert Kurz and others in the Marxist Wertkritik tradition. This article critically revisits the core assumptions underpinning the Wertkritik argument that capitalism is heading towards imminent collapse – an immanent contradiction triggered by the microelectronic revolution of the 1970s, which resulted in the (irreversible) crisis of abstract labour. While acknowledging capitalism’s crisis-prone nature, this article questions the more fundamental premises of the Wertkritik collapse thesis, scrutinises the assumption of a linear trajectory towards full automation of the production process and the consequent disappearance of all labour-intensive activities, and offers a more nuanced interpretation of the role attributed to relative surplus value in shaping technology-driven capitalist development. The analysis thus centres on the Wertkritik tradition, particularly the work of Kurz, providing a reassessment of the concept of productive labour advanced by this tradition and the dynamics of capitalist-driven technological development.