The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man¶
Core Argument¶
The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man
This chapter establishes labour as the fundamental condition of human existence, the very force that created humanity itself. The decisive evolutionary step was the adoption of erect posture, which freed the hands for functions beyond locomotion. Through hundreds of thousands of years of adaptation to ever-new operations, the hand became both the organ and the product of labour. This development reacted upon the entire organism: as labour brought members of early society into closer cooperation, the need for communication arose, driving the evolution of articulate speech from the undeveloped ape larynx. Labour and speech together stimulated the transformation of the ape brain into the larger, more complex human brain, alongside the refinement of the sense organs.
The labour process proper begins with tool-making, the earliest implements being hunting and fishing tools that presupposed a meat diet. Meat shortened digestion, strengthened the body, and crucially provided richer nourishment for brain development. This dietary shift led to mastery of fire and the taming of animals. Through the cooperation of hands, speech organs, and brain within society, humans became capable of ever more complicated operations—from agriculture to art and science. Yet an idealistic outlook arose that ascribed all merit to the mind, obscuring labour’s decisive role.
Animals change their environment unintentionally; human labour makes this a premeditated, planned action directed at known ends. While animals possess planned action in embryo—from protoplasmic reaction to mammalian cunning—this never stamps their will upon nature. Labour alone enables humans to master nature. However, each conquest of nature takes revenge: Mesopotamian and Greek deforestation caused desiccation; Alpine pine removal destroyed dairy farming; the potato’s introduction spread scrofula and precipitated the Irish famine. Humanity does not rule nature as a conqueror but belongs to it, mastering it only by knowing and applying its laws.
Controlling social consequences proves harder than controlling natural ones. The steam engine, intended for production, concentrated wealth, empowered the bourgeoisie, and generated class struggle. Such control requires revolutionising the mode of production and social order. Capitalist production, driven solely by profit, ignores long-term effects—Spanish planters in Cuba destroyed soil for coffee; industrial cycles invert demand and supply; private ownership produces workers’ propertylessness.