Industrial Reserve Army
산업예비군
A concept formulated by Karl Marx in Chapter 25 of Capital, Volume I, referring to the relative surplus population that necessarily arises from the process of capitalist accumulation. As the organic composition of capital rises, the proportion of variable capital (labour power) declines, structurally generating a body of workers exceeding capital's requirements. Marx argued that this industrial reserve army expands and contracts with the industrial cycle, functioning as a lever that holds down the wages of the active labour army. The concept has been reappraised as a key theoretical tool for analyzing labour displacement under contemporary technological change, including AI-driven automation.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) Wikipedia article confirming the concept, its origin in Marx's Capital Vol. I Ch. 25, synonyms (industrial reserve army, relative surplus population), composition of the surplus population, and modern academic usage
- Marxists Internet Archive Marx, Capital Vol. I, Ch. 25, Section 3: 'Progressive Production of a Relative Surplus-Population or Industrial Reserve Army.' Primary source where Marx argues the industrial reserve army 'weighs down the active labour-army' and is 'the pivot upon which the law of demand and supply of labour works'