Socially Necessary Labour, labour expended on manufacturing a certain commodity under socially normal conditions of production, i. e., with an average level of technology, average labour intensity and qualification of workers at the enterprises manufacturing the bulk of the products of the given type. The expenditures of the socially necessary labour determine the magnitude of the value of the commodity. They depend on the changes in the labour productivity. The higher the productivity, the less labour is expended on manufacturing a unit of output. Under capitalism, expenditures of socially necessary labour evolve in the process of intra- 333 industry competition on the basis of the law of value. Under socialism, they evolve under the planned impact of the socialist state. In socialist society, the contradiction between socially necessary labour and individual labour outlays is not antagonistic. This advantage of socialism makes it possible to avoid the losses and the squandering of social labour inherent in capitalism and systematically to bring up outlays lagging sections of production where individual outlays are higher than socially necessary outlays. Reducing the expenditures of socially necessary labour per unit of output makes it possible to increase the volume of production, and is the basis for lowering prices and raising people’s standard of living.