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