Guard labor is wage labor and other activities that are said to maintain (hence "guard") a capitalist system."Guard labor ," Michael Perelman, Dollars and SenseJayadev, A., and Bowles, S. (2006). Guard labor. SFI WORKING PAPER: 2005-07-030 Things that are generally characterized as guard labor include: management, guards, military personnel, and prison officers. Samuel Bowles has expanded the notion of guard labor to include IT professionals whose duties include protecting corporate networks from costly misuse. Guard labor is noteworthy in economics because it captures expenditures based on mistrust and does not produce future capital.Corey Pein, "Born Poor" Santa Fe Reporter (Feb 3, 2010)
The term was originally coined by Arjun Jayadev and Samuel Bowles and has since been used by economists such as Michael Perelman and Mark Thoma."Guard Labor: Inequality’s Hidden Price Tag," Sam Pizzigati Too Much.Inequality and "Guard Labor", Economist's View
See also Capitalist mode of production Management Wage slavery
References