Joan Robinson Quote: 
 
"It's a terrible thing to be a worker exploited in the capitalist system.   
The only worse thing is to be a worker unable to find anyone to exploit 
you." 
 
I dont know where the quote directly comes from but the relevant background 
reading are the two chapters on exploitation in Robinson's The Economics of 
Imperfect Competition (see also the preface to the second edition and her  
work on Marxian Economics). 
 
The point of the qoute is that: 1)on the basis of a value of marginal  
product definition of exploitation (ie if you dont receive the value of 
your  
marginal product you are exploited)workers will be exploited in imperfectly 
competitive markets; 2) imperfectly competitive markets are the norm; 3)  
therefore it is pretty difficult not to be exploited. 
 
Chamberlin, Bloom and others attacked Robinson principally on the grounds  
that a definition of exploitation should be based on a marginal revenue  
product definition and in any case its best if emotive terms such as  
exploitation were not used. 
 
 
Paul Flatau 
Economics 
Murdoch University 
Murdoch  WA  6150 
Australia