Reserve army of labour

Reserve army of labour is Karl Marx's term for the pool of unemployed and partly-employed workers in capitalism. Marx sometimes also referred to it as the "industrial reserve army". The existence of the industrial reserve army enables the capitalists to intensify their exploitation of the workers. Unemployed workers have to accept the most onerous conditions of work. The presence of unemployment creates an unstable situation for the employed workers and sharply reduces the standard of life of the working class as a whole. That is why the capitalists are not interested in abolishing the industrial reserve army, which exercises pressure on the labour market and ensures them a supply of cheap labour-power.

See also

• Precariat