This refers to the financial profits that a capitalist earns by underpaying his workers. The idea of surplus value was proposed by German philosopher Karl Marx in his various works, including his famous book, Das Kapital . Marx believed that labour is fundamental to all value created in any economy and that underpaid labour is the source of all profits that accumulate to capitalists. Critics, however, have dismissed Marx’s theory by arguing that profits are the rewards enjoyed by capitalists for risking their capital in making investments. To prove their case, they have pointed to the losses incurred by capitalists as a result of poor investment decisions.
