[dontlaugh]

Value produced can be measured as the price of commodities sold. Thus there is a clear difference between the cumulative price of commodities a worker produces in an hour and the amount they are paid for that hour. The difference is appropriated by the owner of the means of production (the capitalist) as profit.

The capitalist wants to pay as little as possible per hour, but will on average long term not be able to pay less than the cost of living. Capitalists pay just enough so that workers as a class reproduce themselves (so there are more workers), but less than the value the workers produce.