surplus value
noun
: the difference in Marxist theory between the value of work done or of commodities produced by labor and the usually subsistence wages paid by the employer
Examples of surplus value in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Not with a thoughtful plan to distribute surplus value to all of humanity but with Elon Musk purchasing the Atlantic Ocean.
—
Reuven Perlman, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Back at Wrigley Field, Hawkins has been a heavy influence on Chicago’s push to lean harder on statistical models to evaluate players and hunt for the surplus value in every deal.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
How did the economies of these systems work (when people weren’t being killed or starved to death)?
In Marx’s view of capitalism, the capitalists captured a surplus value created by workers.
—John C. Goodman, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
In other words, the proletariat, employed or otherwise, only increases in number as fewer of its members are necessary for yielding up the surplus value that forms the essence of the system.
—Benjamin Kunkel, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
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Reuven Perlman, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Back at Wrigley Field, Hawkins has been a heavy influence on Chicago’s push to lean harder on statistical models to evaluate players and hunt for the surplus value in every deal.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
How did the economies of these systems work (when people weren’t being killed or starved to death)?
In Marx’s view of capitalism, the capitalists captured a surplus value created by workers.
—John C. Goodman, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
In other words, the proletariat, employed or otherwise, only increases in number as fewer of its members are necessary for yielding up the surplus value that forms the essence of the system.
—Benjamin Kunkel, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surplus value.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surplus%20value. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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