“labor was the first price, the original purchase-money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver but by labor that all wealth of the world was originally purchases”. Adam Smith.

Structural exploitation proceeds surreptitiously and sacks laborer of his honorable labor impoverishing him further to the nadir position. It is backed and maneuvered by strong hegemonic and capitalistic ideologies that never let it get caught and noticed. It works smoothly stripping away the working class from its only source and wealth- labor. Under it, not only physical potentials are hegemonized by the capitalists but the intellectual potentials are also influenced, infected, neutralized and hijacked. Hazrat Ali says, “poverty throttles the intellectual thought because it is not recognized and appreciated”. These organized structures work in such a way that proletariat class never look doubtfully towards their aims and objectives. The labor of the laborer is exploited in a very clever way. The laborer experience satisfaction over being remunerated due to him being the victim of “false consciousness” .He is scantily paid that satisfy his basic needs and he is brainwashed that it is enough for him and he should not aim and desire more. A huge surplus value is harvested by his master that should have gone to the laborer as it was his right and deserve. To get enlightened and rebel against exploitation, proletariats required “social consciousness”. It is this consciousness that familiarizes them with the deep structures of exploitation and enlightens them to observe the pillage of their labor. Their perspiration fills the treasury and granary of their master and enriches him by leaps and bounds. The champion who brought and developed this consciousness among people was Karl Marx who comprehended the surreptitious structures of exploitation and took it as his mission to aware and acquaint people about its working and the way to fight against it. Karl Marx along with Fredrick Engels noticed the suffering of working class and determined to enlighten them about it. They collectively strived to find out means to destabilize these exploitative structures and bring a new revolution toppling down capitalistic system and replacing it with egalitarian system in which laborer is not alienated from his labor and his fair due is completely rewarded to him only. Capitalism was an economic, social and political system that exploited working class both economically, intellectually and politically as well. Common masses had no say in the political and intellectual affairs of the state. Their thoughts and ideas were neglected on the bases of their poverty and penury. Karl Marx says that “the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas. I.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it. The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.” it is such a grave issue that it hollows out our societies and handicaps its growth and development and leaving it as a crippled society grappling with its own painful existence.
Remembering and celebrating international Labor Day means to revive the ideas of Karl Marx and resolve the grappling issues of proletariat class. We may not find workers working for eighteen or fourteen hours but we can definitely find other hundreds of issues that crippled the life of laborers and made it full of suffering. Working class still want the basic facilities like houses, tap water, electricity, food, clothes etc. We should help them to change their pitiable condition of lives by improving their living standard. We should help their children achieve good education whom we usually found begging on roads and streets to fulfill their basic necessities of life. Celebrating labor Day should aim to admit these children into the schools and bear their educational expenses. We should train this working class for different occupations so that they emerge out from the vicious circle of poverty. It is our responsibility and if we don’t shoulder this responsibility, we don’t have right to celebrate this day in honor of working class and sympathize their abject and abysmal conditions.
Labor Day aims to recognize the hard work of laborers. Their efforts and endeavors should be accoladed. Their struggles should be appreciated. Laborers are dignifies because they profusely contribute to the upliftment of humanity. The are fundamental to the economic progress and prosperity. Their work is sacred and dignifies. They drudge for the growth and development of our society. Martin Luther king says, “all labor that uplifts humanity has dignity”. Laborer is the central figure in giving boost to our economy. The schools, hospitals, bridges, roads and other infrastructures are built by laborers. Without laborers, life would be tough and difficult. Celebrating labor day is a tribute to the work of laborers that makes our lives possible.

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