This paper provides a novel axiomatic analysis of exploitation as the unequal exchange of labour in economies with heterogeneous optimising agents endowed with unequal amounts of physical and human capital. A definition of exploitation is proposed, which emphasises the relational nature of...

The concept of exploitation is central in social and political theory, but there is no precise, widely accepted definition. This paper analyses John Roemerʹs seminal theory, which construes exploitation as a distributive injustice arising from asset inequalities, with no reference to notions...