What is capitalist exploitation?

Capitalist exploitation thus consists in the forced appropriation by capitalists of the surplus value produced by workers. Workers under capitalism are compelled by their lack of ownership of the means of production to sell their labor power to capitalists for less than the full value of the goods they produce.

How does a capitalist exploit a worker?

The capitalist compensates the laborer enough for his labor power to reproduce the commodity (the labor power), but the laborers’ power produces additional value: a surplus value for the owner. The worker is exploited when he does not keep or control the value created by his own labor power.

How does exploitation take a specific form under capitalism?

In Chapter 2, I explained that this generic definition of exploitation takes a specific form under capitalism. Unlike slavery, serfdom, and patriarchy, capitalists can claim title to surplus labour through contractual relations between things, that is, through mutually consensual and uncoerced market transactions.