labor is what labor is: the definition is philosophy.nes. The concept of "labor", the characteristic properties of labor and its types

Work- this is a purposeful labor activity of a person in the process of social production, aimed at modifying and adapting natural objects to meet their needs.

Labor activity- this is a rational series of operations and functions, rigidly fixed in time and space, performed by employees united in a production organization. The ultimate goals of this activity are: the creation of wealth, the provision of services, scientific work, the accumulation and transfer of information. Labor behavior as a particular form of social behavior includes a set of actions and deeds, in the course of which a combination of professional abilities and production and technological conditions is achieved.

We note the characteristic properties of labor:

1. Consciousness of actions. This means that before starting to work, a person creates a project in his mind, i.e. mentally imagine the result of labor. For example, as a commodity producer, he determines what products, in what quantity and when to produce. Unconscious, instinctive actions are not labor.

2. The expediency of action. After the project is created, a person thinks over a model of actions, and then proceeds to the implementation of predetermined intentions. In our example, this means: how these products should be produced, what resources to use, with what technology.

3. The effectiveness of actions. Any activity ends with a certain result, but labor is not just a result, but a socially useful result.

4. Public utility of actions. People produce goods not alone, not in isolation from each other, but together, united in labor collectives or on the basis of more or less strong contacts with each other. They produce these goods for themselves and for society.

5. Energy consumption of actions. It is manifested in the fact that a certain physical and mental energy is spent on the implementation of labor activity.

The nature of labor shows how labor is manifested, what are its features, signs, distinctive properties and features. It depends on the connection of the worker with the means of labor and determines his social structure. Content of labor depends on the presence of certain functions in the labor process and characterizes labor in structural terms. It shows the level of development of the productive forces.

From the point of view of the content of labor, the labor process is the interaction of a person with tools and objects of labor, a kind of repetition of labor cycles, each of which ends with the manufacture of a certain product. Let us note that the content and nature of labor are two sides of the same coin; they reflect, respectively, the essence and form of social labor. These two socio-economic categories are in a dialectical relationship, and a change in one of them inevitably leads to a change in the other.

There are various types of labor, and all their diversity can be classified according to the following criteria:

1) Physical and mental labor. Physical labor is the simplest type of labor, requiring mainly the expenditure of the worker's muscular energy. Mental labor - the mental efforts of people aimed at the production of goods and the provision of services. It is characterized by the absence of direct interaction between the worker and the means of production and provides for the needs of production in knowledge, organization, management, etc. The division of labor into mental and physical is conditional, so we are talking about the predominance of mental and physical efforts in labor;

2) Creative and reproductive. Creative- this is creative work, in the process of which something qualitatively new, unique, original, unique is created. reproductive labor is reproduced, known in advance, labor that does not contain creative elements;

3) Simple and complex work. Simple labor is unskilled labor that does not require special professional training from the worker. Difficult labor- this is skilled labor, which creates more value per unit of time than simple labor.

Depending on the nature of the work, there are:

1)private and public work. In commodity production, when individual producers produce certain goods, individual labor acts as private labor in connection with the economic, industrial and legal isolation of the owners of the means of production. Each manufacturer does not produce all the products necessary to meet his needs, and specializes in the manufacture of only a part of them. Therefore, in any society, private labor is always realized as a particle public labor and is of a social nature, which manifests itself in the market through the equating of goods to each other and their exchange;

2) individual and collective work. Individual labor is the labor of individual workers (managers, turners) or entrepreneurs. Collective labor is such labor when people do not work in isolation, but together, uniting in labor collectives, and the size of the collective does not matter;

3) hired and self-employed. Mercenary labor is the relation that arises between the owners of the means of production and workers who are personally free but have no means of production and who sell their labor power in exchange for a certain value in the form of wages. An entrepreneur who opens his own business creates an opportunity for the application of his labor, which can be called self-employment, the nature of such labor is qualitatively different from the nature of wage labor. It is this kind of work that provides an opportunity for the development of a person's initiative, contributes to a thrifty, hospitable attitude to property, the formation of such qualities as independence, enterprise, creativity;

4) concrete and abstract work. As a special expedient human activity, labor appears in a certain useful form, and its result is various use values. The labor involved in creating them is called specific labor. Bringing various specific types of labor to the same and commensurate form presupposes the need to abstract from qualitative features, to reduce individual types of labor to simple labor costs, to the costs of physical, nervous and other energy. This impersonal and commensurate work is called abstract labor. Concrete labor creates use value, while abstract labor creates the value of a commodity.

By product of labor distinguish productive and unproductive labor. Productive labor is labor directly involved in the creation of the natural-material form of social wealth, the total social product, and the national income. This is labor in the process of which material goods, services are produced and which makes a profit. Unproductive labor is labor that creates social and spiritual benefits. Such labor is socially useful, but not productive, since it does not materialize and is not embodied in a separate product.

depending over time labor costs distinguish living and past work. Alive labor is labor expended at a given moment and its results are still uncertain. An employee, performing a certain amount of work, spends some working time on this, the so-called living labor. But in producing products, the worker also expends past labor. Last labor embodies the previously created result - it is raw materials, energy, equipment, computers, technical controls, etc. In the transition from manual to mechanized labor, the costs of living labor are sharply reduced, while the costs of the past increase.

According to the degree of human participation in the labor process distinguish:

- manual labor that is carried out either entirely by hand or with the help of manual tools;

- mechanized labor that is carried out with the help of mechanized tools (for example, welding using a specialized apparatus);

- machine labor, when the main work is performed by a machine controlled by an employee without the direct application of physical effort by him.

The worker manually performs only auxiliary work on the management of the machine and its maintenance;

- automated labor, when the main work is fully automated, and auxiliary work is partially automated. The employee controls the correctness and stability of the equipment settings and its loading;

- computerized labor, when work is performed with the help of specially designed computer programs, and the employee only manages and controls the operation of the computer;

- high-tech labor is classified depending on the degree of progressiveness of the technologies used in the labor process.

depending from methods of attracting people to work distinguish:

- forced labor when there is direct coercion. Such work is characterized by the restriction of personal freedom, and an example is direct and debt slavery. In addition to direct coercion, such labor may be the result of criminal, administrative or other norms enshrined in law;

- necessary labor is labor out of necessity in order to earn a livelihood. Such work is characteristic of the overwhelming mass of people;

- voluntary labor is labor at will. Such work takes place when a person is economically secure, may not work, but works to realize his potential. Work for him is a means of self-expression and self-affirmation.

On the subject of labor distinguish:

- managerial labor - a type of labor activity for the performance of management functions in an organization, the purpose of which is to ensure the purposeful and coordinated activity of the labor collective in solving the tasks facing it;

- scientific and technical labor - a type of labor activity for conducting scientific research, developing design and technological documentation, providing design technological support for production, testing, technical control, equipment repair, energy service, etc.;

- production labor - a type of labor activity directly related to the production of products or the provision of services;

- entrepreneurial labor is independent labor carried out at one's own risk, aimed at the systematic receipt of profit from the use of property, the sale of goods or the provision of services, by persons registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law.

depending from working conditions distinguish:

- stationary And mobile work. The first is carried out on the premises and on the territory of enterprises and organizations. The second is associated, as a rule, with work in transport, tourism and other enterprises and organizations; ground And underground work. Most of the workers do the first. The second is related to work in the extractive industries of the national economy, as well as work in the subway;

- light, medium and heavy work. Such a gradation is carried out depending on the size of the application of physical effort in the process of its flow; harmless, moderate And harmful labor is characterized by dependence on the degree of influence of working conditions on human health;

- attractive And unattractive work . As a rule, hard and unhealthy work is unattractive;

- regulated And unregulated work. The first refers to the vast majority of those working in all spheres of human activity. The second is connected with the creative, mental work of the staff.

By belonging to the carrier of labor functions distinguish:

Work leader- mental work associated with the management of a work collective that unites people of various specialties whose work is aimed at creating a certain result (product, service, etc.);

Work specialist- mental work, characterized by professional content, complexity and intelligence, requiring special education for its implementation;

Work performer- the work of an employee performing work or providing services on the instructions of another employee (manager).

It should be noted that this classification is conditional and is intended to highlight the essential features of labor. In real life, in each specific work, the previously listed features may be present in various combinations.

expedient human activity, in the course of which, with the help of tools, he influences nature and uses it in order to create objects necessary to satisfy his needs. T. represents the unity of three points: 1) purposeful, expedient human activity or labor itself; 2) items; 3) means of labor.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

WORK

expedient, conscious activity in the process of which a person, with the help of tools of technology, masters, changes, and adapts objects of nature to his goals. That is, as the exchange of substances between man and nature means that man uses the mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of objects and natural phenomena and forces them to mutually influence each other in order to achieve a predetermined goal. At the same time, labor activity is inherent, as Marx noted, mediating, regulating and controlling functions that change with the development of science and technology.

Using manual, handicraft techniques and empirical knowledge, a person established new relationships between objects of nature and its processes and thus carried out an exchange of substances with nature (mediating function). Machine technology and natural science knowledge allowed a person to influence the interaction between various natural phenomena and objects (regulatory function). And finally, the modern scientific and technological revolution gives him the opportunity to master, control the internal mechanism of phenomena and objects of nature (controlling function). In this case, the content of labor is revealed in the concrete definiteness of labor functions, determined by technique, technology, organization of production, and the skill of the worker. It reflects the method of connecting the producer with the means of production, determined by the level of development of the productive forces, the central link of which is man. Being a natural condition of life, t. has always been carried out within the framework of historically determined social relations that leave an imprint on its character.

The nature of capitalism reflects the way in which the producer is connected with the means of production, which is determined by the property relations that prevail in a given society. For example, in a slave-owning society, the slave and the means of production were united as the property of the slave owner, and this gave rise to the personal dependence of the worker on the one who appropriated the results of his production. In a society based on private ownership of the means of production, the worker can unite with them by selling his labor strength. Therefore, the nature of labor in such a society reflects the conditions for hiring labor. T.'s character reflects its socioeconomic nature in a society at a certain stage of development. From this point of view, such historical forms of tourism as slave-owning, feudal, and various forms of hired employment can be considered as qualitatively different.

The nature of social production determines the goals of social production in a wide range (from a simple increase in profits to making the growth of the material and spiritual well-being of workers the cornerstone), and in the sphere of distribution, products in which social wealth is distributed among various strata in society. As for the amount of this wealth, it depends on the level of development of the productive forces.

The content and character of t. represent the unity of the two sides of the same phenomenon, the essence and form of social t. and are defined as paired categories. What they have in common is the way in which the producer is connected to the means of production; their difference lies in the fact that the content of technology develops depending on the level of development of the productive forces, and the nature of technology depends on the state of economic relations in society. Feudal society was characterized by handicraft technology based on the use of hand tools and empirical technology. The qualifications of an artisan directly depended on the complexity of the subject matter and, consequently, on the functions involved in processing it. Whoever wanted to be a master was forced to master the craft in its entirety. The characteristics of the craftsman's T. also determined the specifics of his training, which actually excluded theoretical training and acquired the character of practical apprenticeship, stretched out for many years. The universality of labor functions entailed high craft qualifications. However, this qualification was combined with the low cultural level of the worker, due to the low level of knowledge about the world at that time, as well as the fact that general education for most artisans was short or completely absent. The success of the business in handicraft production depended primarily on the talent of the artisan, his personal qualities and abilities. Acquiring a high professional culture through many years of training, being a manufacturer and entrepreneur producing and selling his goods, the artisan acted as a subject, a creator of culture, but on that low cultural and technical basis, which led to an extremely slow organizational and technical development.

The transition to machine production caused the development of capitalist relations associated with the use of hired technology, profound qualitative changes took place in the content of the worker's technology, in which the most important regularity of technical progress is realized, namely, the transfer of mediating functions from man to machine. Machine production marks the beginning of the transformation of science into a direct productive force and the familiarization of the worker with the scientific and technological achievements necessary to control the machine. Empirical experience in technology continues to play a significant role, but the worker can no longer confine himself to it. He is required to have a certain level of general and special education, a certain amount of professional knowledge, and along with this, possession of rather complex skills of physical fitness.

In modern conditions, when much more profit is "squeezed out" from qualifications than from physical strength, it is advisable to form a universal workforce with a high level of education. The technical structure of domestic production in the current conditions is heterogeneous. In the technique, technology, and organization of t., coexist and intertwine: first, the remnants of the past—significant volumes of manual unskilled and heavy physical t.; secondly, the basis of today's production is the complex-mechanized tractor; thirdly, the general goal of scientific and technological progress is automated technology. This determines the variety of types of technology of the total worker in terms of its content and, at the same time, the preservation in modern production of those types of technology that have historically replaced each other. If technological progress is the basis for the change in types of technology, then the main reason for their coexistence is its unevenness, the intertwining in the technical basis of the production of technology of the past, present, and elements of technology of the future. The uneven development of technology, technology, and the organization of production in different sectors and at various industrial enterprises determines the persistence of the mass character of unskilled manual and heavy physical equipment, which does not contribute to the social and professional development of the working people.

The social situation is such that at the present stage, domestic production still needs 70% of carriers, predominantly physical and 30%, predominantly mental. In the organization of workers employed by the indicated types of workers, T. appears in the current conditions as a social and cultural difference. The social nature of the differences is manifested in the fact that physical and mental, qualified and unskilled t. dictate different requirements for the level of general and special education and professional training of workers, their professional culture, and create different opportunities for the realization of professional and personal abilities in the course of labor activity.

The basic laws that govern the development of social technology are the laws of division and change of technology and the law of competition that enhances their interaction. The content of the law of division of trade is that social formations give rise to their own methods of division of trade, and each new formation adds new types of division of trade, inherent only to it, arising from the level of development of the productive forces and the nature of economic relations. Paving its way spontaneously and at the same time as an objective necessity, this law determines the dynamics of the division of technology into its various types (physical and mental, industrial and agricultural, skilled and unskilled, executive and managerial, etc.) and at the same time - the basis for the division of society on the social groups employed by the named types of manufacturing and the relations between groups depending on their social status and prestige of manufacturing. developed workforce capable of permanent training and retraining in the course of changing production processes. An immutable requirement of the law of change of T. is the accelerating mobility of labor functions. The objective law that influences the interaction of the laws of division and change of capital through the relations of the subjects of ownership is the law of competition, which compels capital, in Marx's words, to strain the productive forces of capital because it strained them before. All social production becomes the arena of the law of competition in the process of its permanent revolutionization.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

And it explains what it is used for and what types it happens.

Fire

Fire has been a relentless companion of man for many millennia. In ancient times, it gave people the opportunity to keep warm in the cold winter, protect themselves from wild animals, prepare soft food that the elderly and children could eat, send a distress signal and, in the end, light up the room.

It is difficult to say exactly when our ancestors first began to use fire and produce it on their own, and how many situations there were when this knowledge and skill was lost. If we talk about the method that then existed for many centuries, then probably its origin is as follows: when processing stone tools, someone noticed sparks flying off the workpiece and decided to try to make a fire with their help, and not by rubbing wood against wood, which is extremely long and laborious process.

Later, this method was changed, and instead of one of the stones, people began to use a strip of iron with notches, and a special pre-prepared tinder replaced the ignition material. That is how the flame was born. But what is it like and how is it made? We will talk about this.

Definition

Tinder is a material that is used to make fire with a flint and flint. As a rule, it ignites very easily or begins to smolder even from minor sparks. Rags, fluffy cotton wool, dried fir cones, paper rubbed with wax or impregnated with vapors of combustible substances, and much more can act as tinder. But if we disassemble the meaning of the word "tinder", then its name comes from the tinder fungus, which grows in almost the entire territory of Russia and part of Europe and has been used since ancient times as a material for making fire. Over time, the word "tinder" has become a household word and is used to refer to any substances that are used in conjunction with a steel.

Now consider the process of making tinder from a fungus and some other materials.

Manufacturing

Burnt cotton fabric was the second most popular material for making tinder. To give the desired properties, it was “baked” in the fire, placed in a fire-resistant container, for example, in a clay bowl or a tin can. After that, such tinder ignited very easily from even imperceptible sparks. So now we know what tinder is.

But still, initially and historically, tinder was made from a tinder fungus. To do this, it is necessary to cut its spongy, porous part into thin slices. Then they were mixed with wood ash, filled with water and boiled over low heat for several hours. After boiling, the broth itself was drained, and the resulting substance was kneaded, beaten to a pancake-like state and dried. After all these procedures, such tinder could be easily set on fire with the help of sparks, and then fan the smoldering flame and set fire to any other material. Now we know exactly what the word "tinder" means.

Flint

As already mentioned, various materials of natural origin could act as tinder, but since making fire with the help of a flint and steel required skill, our ancestors preferred to prepare tinder in advance and from such materials that ignited most simply and easily. After all, sometimes it was necessary to make a fire under a strong wind or in damp weather. We figured out what tinder is, now let's look at the details of the steel itself.

Kresalo. Usually it is a strip of durable metal, the surface of which is covered with small notches in the manner of a file. This was done to facilitate the process of extraction of sparks. When it hits the surface of the “flint”, the smallest particles break off from the latter, which ignite in air and have a temperature of about 900-1000 degrees Celsius. And, falling on the tinder, these particles cause it to ignite or smolder.
Flint. Since ancient times, a piece of iron sulfide - pyrite has been used as this item. It was selected taking into account the convenience of holding, the absence of cracks (pyrite is very fragile) and the absence of large pores, since because of them it will constantly get wet. It is not known exactly when exactly our ancestors began to use iron sulfide. According to one version, the miners of the early Middle Ages noticed that as a result of hitting this mineral with a pick, a significant amount of bright and hot sparks was formed, and this property of pyrite was then used in the mechanism for producing fire.
Tinder. What is it, we have already sorted it out. But in the absence of a pre-prepared special combustible material, dry grass, wool, cotton wool, moss, bird fluff and anything that could ignite from sparks could be used as such.

Tinder. Check word

If we talk about etymology, then in this case the test word is "tinder fungus" or "tinder fungus" - a type of mushroom, from which this combustible material for flint was historically made.

Modern flint and flint

Despite the fact that in our time, the production of fire has long ceased to be a problem, hunters, tourists, fishermen and residents of especially remote taiga villages still continue to use the steel. But the armchair and "flint" of a modern fire starter are made of special metal alloys, which give whole sheaves of hot sparks, and even large birch bark can be set on fire with them without difficulty.

WORK

(labour) Human resources, acting as one of the factors of production. The labor supply consists of all those who are able and willing to work, including both the self-employed and the unemployed, as well as employees. Labor is characterized by different levels of skills and qualifications. Labor economics is a branch of economic theory that studies the supply and demand for labor (labor force). Organized labor refers to the role of trade unions in negotiating wages, working hours and working conditions, disciplinary action and terms of termination, and representing labor interests at the political level.

Economy. Dictionary. - M.: "INFRA-M", Publishing house "Ves Mir". J. Black. General editorial staff: Doctor of Economics Osadchaya I.M.. 2000 .

conscious, energy-consuming, generally recognized expedient activity of a person, people, requiring the application of efforts, the implementation of work, one of the four main factors of production.

Raizberg B.A., Lozovsky L.Sh., Starodubtseva E.B.. Modern economic dictionary. - 2nd ed., corrected. Moscow: INFRA-M. 479 p.. 1999 .

Economic dictionary. 2000 .

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

See what "WORK" is in other dictionaries:

work- labor and... Russian spelling dictionary

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Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

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the conscious process of human activity, the factor of production, all the mental and physical costs incurred by people in the process of production. It is characterized by the number of employees, their qualifications, the duration and intensity of the performance of production functions. The specificity of agricultural labor conditions determines its high seasonality (especially in agriculture) as a result of the discrepancy between the period of production and the working period, and the variety of work performed in agriculture. The final results of labor in agriculture largely depend on the natural-climatic and socio-economic conditions, the territorial location of the enterprise. Agrarian labor has features due to the specifics of the production environment and economic relations in agriculture. Therefore, agricultural labor is more complex and probabilistic in its results compared to industrial labor, which leaves a significant imprint on its organization and efficiency. Agrarian labor is socially heterogeneous: it is used both in the social production of an agricultural enterprise and in the personal subsidiary plots of village workers. In the conditions of market relations, a person - the subject of labor can realize his labor potential in two ways: either on the basis of self-employment, i.e. when he acts as an independent commodity producer selling his products on the market; or as an employee offering his services to a commodity producer, a subject of ownership. In this case, an exchange is made according to the principle: the qualifications and working hours of the employee for wages and profits. Determining the goals, methods and results of labor, the commodity producer decides three main questions: what products, in what quantity and when should be produced; how these products should be produced, from what resources, with the help of what technologies; for whom these products should be produced. Consequently, the first question predetermines labor as a conscious activity, the second - as an expedient, rational activity, the third - as a socially useful activity. Types of labor: living and materialized; necessary and surplus; physical and mental; concrete and abstract. Objects of labor: land, raw materials, semi-finished products, components, etc. Means of labor: machines, various equipment and transmission devices, devices, organizational equipment of the workplace, etc. Features of labor in agriculture: labor in agricultural production is aimed at growing plants and maintenance of animals, which requires elementary knowledge of biological laws, consideration of their requirements, attentive and caring attitude, use of accumulated experience; work is associated with various risks; the industry has a significant proportion of manual labor; limited deadlines for the performance of work make it necessary to carry out work processes under adverse weather conditions; the seasonal nature of production causes uneven use of labor (excessive workload in some periods and underloading in others); labor in agriculture is carried out during the year, and the result, i.e. e. manufactured products, obtained once a year, as a rule, these are crop products; labor is used both in public and in personal subsidiary farming, which is a significant source of income for the population at a relatively low level of wages; the same quantity of the same quality and intensity on soils of different fertility gives an unequal amount of production, while under the same fertility conditions, but in different weather conditions, the results of labor are also different.