Forming Laws for Curbing Costs: An Analysis of the Code on Wages in India

Since the inception of the capitalist mode of production, it was clear to its early observers that the relationship between capital and labour is antagonistic. Although among Classical Political Economists, Karl Marx, through his demonstration of the origin of surplus value, brought this out most sharply, the conflict of interest between capital (as also land) and labour was fully perceived by even the most prominent advocate of capitalist growth, Adam Smith. Smith’s argument was strongly suggestive of an exploitation theory, when he noted: