Internationalcirculation,likedomesticcirculation,requiresaconstantlychangingamountofgoldandsilver。Partoftheaccumulatedhoardsisconsequentlyusedbyeverynationasareservefundofworldmoney,afundwhichissometimesdiminished,sometimesreplenishedaccordingtofluctuationsincommodityexchange。[8]Inadditiontoparticularmovementsofworldmoneywhichflowsbackwardsandforwardsbetweennationalspheresofcirculation,thereisageneralmovementofworldmoney;thepointsofdeparturebeingthesourcesofproduction,fromwhichgoldandsilverflowinvariousdirectionstoallthemarketsoftheworld。Thusgoldandsilverascommoditiesenterthesphereofworldcirculationandinproportiontothelabour—timecontainedinthemtheyareexchangedforcommodityequivalentsbeforereachingtheareaofdomesticcirculation。Theyaccordinglyalreadyhaveadefinitevaluewhentheyturnupintheseareas。TheirrelativevalueontheworldmarketisthereforeuniformlyaffectedbyeveryfallorriseintheircostsofproductionandisquiteindependentofthedegreetowhichgoldorsilverisabsorbedbYthevariousnationalspheresofcirculation。Onebranchofthestreamofmetalwhichiscaughtupinaparticularareaoftheworldofcommoditiesimmediatelyentersthedomesticcirculationofmoneyasreplacementofworn—outcoins;anotherisdivertedintovariousreservoirswherecoin,meansofpaymentandworldmoneyaccumulate;athirdisusedtomakeluxuryarticlesandtherest,finally,isturnedsimplyintohoards。Wherethebourgeoismodeofproductionhasreachedanadvancedstagetheformationofhoardsisreducedtotheminimumneededbythedifferentbranchesofthecirculationprocessforthefreeactionoftheirmechanism。Undertheseconditionshoardsassuchconsistonlyofwealthlyingidle,unlesstheyrepresentatemporarysurplusinthebalanceofpayments,theresultofaninterruptionintheinterchangeofproductsandthereforecommoditiescongealedintheirfirstmetamorphosis。
Justasintheorygoldandsilverasmoneyareuniversalcommodities,soworldmoneyistheappropriateformofexistenceoftheuniversalcommodity。
Inthesameproportionasallcommoditiesareexchangedforgoldandsilverthesebecomethetransmutedformofallcommoditiesandhenceuniversallyexchangeablecommodities。Theyarerealisedasembodimentsofuniversallabour—timeinthedegreethattheinterchangeoftheproductsofconcretelabourbecomesworld—wide。Theybecomeuniversalequivalentsinproportiontothedevelopmentoftheseriesofparticularequivalentswhichconstitutetheirspheresofexchange。Becausetheexchange—valueofcommoditiesisuniversallydevelopedininternationalcirculation,itappearstransformedintogoldandsilverasinternationalmoney。Sinceasaresultoftheirversatileindustryandall—embracingcommercethenationsofcommodity—ownershaveturnedgoldintoadequatemoney,theyregardindustryandcommercemerelyasmeansenablingthemtowithdrawmoneyintheformofgoldandsilverfromtheworldmarket。Goldandsilverasinternationalmoneyarethereforeboththeproductsoftheuniversalcirculationofcommoditiesandthemeanstoexpanditsscope。Justasthealchemists,whowantedtomakegold,werenotawareoftheriseofchemistry,socommodity—owners,chasingafteramagicalformofthecommodity,arenotawareofthesourcesofworldindustryandworldtradethatarecomingintobeing。Goldandsilverhelptocreatetheworldmarketbyanticipatingitsexistenceintheirconceptofmoney。Theirmagicaleffectisbynomeansconfinedtotheinfancyofbourgeoissociety,butistheinevitableconsequenceoftheinvertedwayinwhichtheirownsociallabourappearstotherepresentativesoftheworldofcommodities;aproofofthisbeingtheremarkableinfluencewhichthediscoveryofgoldinvariousnewareasexertedoninternationaltradeinthemiddleofthenineteenthcentury。
Asmoneydevelopsintointernationalmoney,sothecommodity—ownerbecomesacosmopolitan。Thecosmopolitanrelationsofmentooneanotheroriginallycompriseonlytheirrelationsascommodity—owners。Commoditiesassuchareindifferenttoallreligious,political,nationalandlinguisticbarriers。
Theiruniversallanguageispriceandtheircommonbondismoney。Buttogetherwiththedevelopmentofinternationalmoneyasagainstnationalcoins,theredevelopsthecommodity—owner'scosmopolitanism,acultofpracticalreason,inoppositiontothetraditionalreligious,nationalandotherprejudiceswhichimpedethemetabolicprocessofmankind。Thecommodity—ownerrealisesthatnationality"isbuttheguinea'sstamp",sincethesameamountofgoldthatarrivesinEnglandintheshapeofAmericaneaglesisturnedintosovereigns,threedayslatercirculatesasnapoleonsinParisandmaybeencounteredasducatsinVeniceafewweekslater。Thesublimeideainwhichforhimthewholeworldmergesisthatofamarket,theworldmarket。[9]
FOOTNOTES[1。]Ofcoursecapital,too,isadvancedintheformofmoneyanditispossiblethatthemoneyadvancediscapitaladvanced,butthisaspectdoesnotliewithinthescopeofsimplecirculation。
[2。]Lutheremphasisesthedistinctionwhichexistsbetweenmeansofpurchaseandmeansofpayment。[Noteinauthor'scopy。]
[3。]DespiteMr。Macleod'sdoctrinairepriggishnessaboutdefinitions,hemisinterpretsthemostelementaryeconomicrelationstosuchanextentthatheassertsthatmoneyingeneralarisesfromitsmostadvancedform,thatismeansofpayment。Hesaysinteraliathatsincepeopledonotalwaysrequireeachother'sservicesatthesametimeandtothesamevalue,"therewouldremainacertaindifferenceoramountofserviceduefromthefirsttothesecond,andthiswouldconstituteadebt"。Theownerofthisdebtmayneedtheservicesofathirdpersonwhodoesnotimmediatelyrequirehisservices,and"whatcouldbemorenaturalthanforthesecondtotransfertothethirdthedebtduetohimfromthefirst"。The"evidenceofadebt,wouldpassfromhandtohand;……whatiscalledacurrency……whenapersonreceivesanobligationexpressedbyametalliccurrency,heisabletocommandtheservicesnotonlyoftheoriginaldebtor,butalsothoseofthewholeoftheindustriouscommunity。"H。D。Macleod,TheTheoryandPracticeofBanking,Vol。I,London,1855,Ch。I[pp。24,29]。
[4。]"Moneyisthegeneralcommodityofcontract,orthatinwhichthemajorityofbargainsaboutproperty,tobecompletedatafuturetime,aremade。"
Bailey,op。cit。,p。3
[5。]Senior（op。cit。,p。221）says:"Sincethevalueofeverythingchangeswithinacertainperiodoftime,peopleselectasameansofpaymentanarticlewhosevaluechangesleastandwhichretainslongestagivenaverageabilitytobuythings。Thus,moneybecomestheexpressionorrepresentativeofvalues。"Onthecontrary,gold,silver,etc。,becomegeneralmeansofpayment,becausetheyhavebecomemoney,thatistheindependentembodimentofexchange—value。Itispreciselywhenthestabilityofthevalueofmoney,mentionedbyMr。Senior,istakenintoaccount,i。e。,inperiodswhenforceofcircumstancesestablishesmoneyastheuniversalmeansofpayment,thatpeoplebecomeawareofvariationsinthevalueofmoney。SuchaperiodwastheElizabethanageinEngland,when,becauseofthemanifestdepreciationofthepreciousmetals,anActwasshepherdedthroughParliamentbyLordBurleighandSirThomasSmithtocompeltheuniversitiesofOxfordandCambridgetoprovideforthepaymentofone—thirdoftherentoftheirlandsinwheatandmalt。
[6。]Boisguillebert,whowishestopreventbourgeoisrelationsofproductionfrombeingpittedagainstthebourgeoisiethemselves,preferstoconsiderthoseformsofmoneyinwhichmoneyappearsasapurelynominalortransitoryphenomenon。Previouslyheregardedmeansofcirculationfromtbispointofviewandnowmeansofpayment。Hefailstonotice,however,thesuddentransformationofthenominalformofmoneyintoexternalreality,andthefactthateventhepurelyconceptualmeasureofvaluelatentlycontainshardcash。Boisguillebertsays,wholesaletrade——inwhich,after"theappraisalofthecommodities",cxchangeisaccomplishedwithouttheinterventionofmoncy——showsthatmoneyissimplyanaspectofthecommoditiesthemselves。LedetaildelaFrance,p。210
[7。]Locke,SomeConsiderationsontheLoweringofInterest,pp。17,18
[8。]"Theaccumulatedmoneyisaddedtothesumwhich,tobereallyincirculationandsatisfytbepossibilitiesoftrade,departsandleavesthesphereofcirculationitself。"（G。R。Carli,NoteonVerri,MeditazionisullaEconomiaPolitica,p。192,t。XV,Custodi,I。c。）
[9。]"Intercoursebetweennationsspansthewholeglobetosuchanextentthatonemayalmostsayalltheworldisbutasinglecityinwhichapermanentfaircomprisingallcommoditiesisheld,sothatbymeansofmoneyallthethingsproducedbytheland,theanimalsandhumanindustrycanbeacquiredandenjoyedbyanypersoninhisownhome。Awonderfulinvention。"
Montanari,DellaMoneta（1683）,p。40
ThePreciousMetalsKarlMarx'sACONTRIBUTIONTOTHECRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
4。THEPRECIOUSMETALSAtfirsttheprocessofbourgeoisproductiontakespossessionofmetalliccurrencyasanexistingandready—madeinstrument,which,althoughithasbeengraduallyreorganised,initsbasicstructurehasneverthelessbeenretained。Thequestionwhygoldandsilver,andnotothercommodities,areusedasthematerialofmoneyliesoutsidetheconfinesofthebourgeoissystem。Weshallthereforedonomorethansummarisethemostimportantaspects。
Becauseuniversallabour—timeitselfcanonlydisplayquantitativedifferences,theobjecttoberecognisedasitsspecificembodimentmustbeabletoexpresspurelyquantitativedifferences,thuspresupposingidentical,homogeneousquality。Thisisthefirstconditionthathastobefulfilledifacommodityistofunctionasameasureofvalue。If,forinstance,oneevaluatesallcommoditiesintermsofoxen,hides,corn,etc。,onehasinfacttomeasuretheminidealaverageoxen,averagehides,etc。,sincetherearequalitativedifferencesbetweenoneoxandanother,onelotofcornandanother,onehideandanother。Goldandsilver,ontheotherhand,assimplesubstancesarealwaysuniformandconsequentlyequalquantitiesofthemhaveequalvalues。[1]Anotherconditionthathastobefulfilledbythecommoditywhichistoserveasuniversalequivalentandthatfollowsdirectlyfromitsfunctionofrepresentingpurelyquantitativedifferences,isitsdivisibilityintoanydesirednumberofpartsandthepossibilityofcombiningtheseagain,sothatmoneyofaccountcanberepresentedinpalpableformtoo。Goldandsilverpossessthesequalitiestoanexceptionaldegree。
Asmeansofcirculationgoldandsilverhaveanadvantageoverothercommoditiesinthattheirhighspecificgravity——representingconsiderableweightinarelativelysmallspace——ismatchedbytheireconomicspecificgravity,incontainingmuchlabour—time,i。e。,considerableexchange—value,inarelativelysmallvolume。Thisfacilitatestransport,transferfromonehandtoanother,fromonecountrytoanother,enablinggoldandsilversuddenlytoappearandjustassuddenlytodisappear——inshortthesequalitiesimpartphysicalmobility,thesinequanonofthecommoditythatistoserveastheperpetuummobileoftheprocessofcirculation。
Thehighspecificvalueofpreciousmetals,theirdurability,relativeindestructibility,thefactthattheydonotoxidisewhenexposedtotheairandthatgoldinparticularisinsolubleinacidsotherthanaquaregia——allthesephysicalpropertiesmakepreciousmetalsthenaturalmaterialforhoarding。PeterMartyr,whowasapparentlyagreatloverofchocolate,remarks,therefore,ofthesacksofcocoawhichinMexicoservedasasortofmoney。
"Blessedmoneywhichfurnishesmankindwithasweetandnutritiousbeverageandprotectsitsinnocentpossessorsfromtheinfernaldiseaseofavarice,sinceitcannotbelonghoarded,norhiddenunderground！"
（Deorbenovo[Alcala,1530,dec。5,cap。4]。24）
Metalsingeneralowetheirgreatimportanceinthedirectprocessofproductiontotheiruseasinstrumentsofproduction。Goldandsilver,quiteapartfromtheirscarcity,cannotbeutilisedinthiswaybecause,comparedwithironandevenwithcopper（inthehardenedstateinwhichtheancientsusedit）,theyareverysoftand,therefore,toalargeextentlackthequalityonwhichtheuse:valueofmetalsingeneraldepends。Justasthepreciousmetalsareuselessinthedirectprocessofproduction,sotheyappeartobeunnecessaryasmeansofsubsistence,i。e。,asarticlesofconsumption。Anyquantityofthemcanthusbeplacedatwillwithinthesocialprocessofcirculationwithoutimpairingproductionandconsumptionassuch。Theirindividualuse—valuedoesnotconflictwiththeireconomicfunction。Goldandsilver,ontheotherhand,arenotonlynegativelysuperfluousi。e。,dispensableobjects,buttheiraestheticqualitiesmakethemthenaturalmaterialforpomp,ornament,glamour,therequirementsoffestiveoccasions,inshort,thepositiveexpressionofsupraabundanceandwealth。Theyappear,sotospeak,assolidifiedlightraisedfromasubterraneanworld,sincealltheraysoflightintheiroriginalcompositionarereflectedbysilver,whileredalone,thecolourofthehighestpotency,isreflectedbygold。Senseofcolour,moreover,isthemostpopularformofaestheticperceptioningeneral。TheetymologicalconnectionbetweenthenamesofpreciousmetalsandreferencestocolourinvariousIndo—EuropeanlanguageshasbeendemonstratedbyJakobGrimm（seehisHistoryoftheGermanLanguage）。
Finallythefactthatitispossibletotransformgoldandsilverfromcoinintobullion,frombullionintoarticlesofluxuryandviceversa,theadvantagetheyhaveoverothercommoditiesofnotbeingconfinedtotheparticularusefulformtheyhaveoncebeengivenmakesthemthenaturalmaterialformoney,whichmustconstantlychangefromoneformintoanother。
Naturenomoreproducesmoneythanitdoesbankersorarateofexchange。
Butsinceinbourgeoisproduction,wealthasafetishmustbecrystallisedinaparticularsubstance,goldandsilverareitsappropriateembodiment。
Goldandsilverarenotbynaturemoney,butmoneyconsistsbyitsnatureofgoldandsilver。Goldorsilverascrystallisationofmoneyis,ontheonehand,notonlytheproductofthecirculationprocessbutactuallyitssolestableproduct;goldandsilverare,ontheotherhand,finishedprimaryproducts,andtheydirectlyrepresentboththeseaspects,whicharenotdistinguishedbyspecificforms。Theuniversalproductofthesocialprocess,orthesocialprocessitselfconsideredasaproduct,isaparticularnaturalproduct,ametal,whichiscontainedintheearth'scrustandcanbedugup。[2]
Wehaveseenthatgoldandsilvercannotcomplywiththedemandthatasmoneytheyshouldhaveaninvariablevalue。Theirvalueisneverthelessmorestablethanthatofothercommoditiesontheaverage,asevenAristotlenoted。Apartfromthegeneraleffectofanappreciationordepreciationofthepreciousmetals,variationsintherelativevalueofgoldandsilverareofparticularimportance,sincebothareusedsidebysideasmonetarymaterialontheworldmarket。Thepurelyeconomicreasonsofsuchchangesinvalue——conquestsandotherpoliticalupheavals,whichexertedasubstantialinfluenceonthevalueofmetalsinantiquity,havemerelyalocalandtemporaryeffect——mustbeattributedtochangesinthelabour—timerequiredfortheproductionofthesemetals。Thislabour—timeitselfwilldependontherelativescarcityofnaturaldepositsandthedifficultiesinvolvedinprocuringtheminapurelymetallicstate。Goldisinfactthefirstmetalthatmandiscovered。Ontheonehand,itoccursinnatureinpurecrystallineform,asaseparatesubstancenotchemicallycombinedwithothersubstances,orinavirginstate,asthealchemistssaid;ontheotherhand,natureherselfperformsthetechnicalworkbywashinggoldonalargescaleinrivers。Onlythecrudestlabourisrequiredonthepartofmanforextractinggoldeitherfromriversorfromalluvialdeposits;
whereasproductionofsilverrequiresminingandingeneralarelativelyhighleveloftechnicaldevelopment。Thevalueofsilveristhereforeoriginallyhigherthanthatofgold,althoughitisabsolutelylessscarce。Strabo'sstatementthatanArabiantribegavetenpoundsofgoldforonepoundofiron,andtwopoundsofgoldforonepoundofsilver,isbynomeansincredible。
Butthevalueofsilvertendstofallinrelationtothatofgold,astheproductivepowersofsociallabourdevelopandconsequentlytheproductofsimplelabourbecomesmoreexpensivecomparedwiththatofcomplexlabour,andwiththeearth'scrustbeingincreasinglyopeneduptheoriginalsurface—sourcesofgoldareliabletobeexhausted。Finally,atagivenstageofdevelopmentoftechnologyandofthemeansofcommunication,thediscoveryofnewterritoriescontaininggoldorsilverplaysanimportantrole。TheratioofgoldtosilverinancientAsiawas6to1or8to1;thelatterratiowasprevalentinChinaandJapanevenintheearlynineteenthcentury;10to1,theratioobtaininginXenophon'stime,canberegardedastheaverageratioofthemiddleperiodofantiquity。TheworkingoftheSpanishsilverminesbyCarthageandlaterbyRomeexertedarathersimilarinfluenceontheancientworldtothatofthediscoveryoftheAmericanminesonmodernEurope。
DuringtheeraoftheRomanemperors,15or16to1canbetakenastheroughaverage,althoughthevalueofsilverinRomeoftensankevenlower。DuringthefollowingperiodreachingfromtheMiddleAgestomoderntimes,asimilarmovementwhichbeginswitharelativedepreciationofgoldandendswithafallinthevalueofsilvertakesplace。TheaverageratiointheMiddleAges,asinXenophon'stime,was10tol,andasaresultofthediscoveryofminesinAmericatheratioonceagainbecomes16or15to1。ThediscoveryofgoldinAustralia,CaliforniaandColombiawillprobablyleadtoanotherfallinthevalueofgold。[3]
FOOTNOTES[1。]"Apeculiarfeatureofmetalsisthatinthemaloneallrelationsarereducedtoasingleone,thatistheirquantity,forbynaturetheyarenotdistinguishedbydifferencesinqualityeitherintheirinternalcompositionorinthcerexternalformandstructure"（Galiani,op。cit。,pp。126—27）。
[2。]Intheyear760acrowdofpoorpeopleturnedouttowashgoldfromthesandoftheriversouthofPrague,andthreemenwereableinadaytoextractamark[halfapound]ofgold;andsogreatwastheconsequentrushto"thediggings"andthenumberofhandsattractedfromagriculturesogreat,thatinthenextyearthecountrywasvisitedbyfamine。（SeeM。G。Korner,AbhandlungvondemAlterthumdesböhmischenBergwerks,Schneeberg,17581P。37seg。]。）
[3。]TherelativevalueofgoldandsilveruptonowhasnotbeenaffectedbytheAustralianandotherdiscoveries。MichelChevalier'scontentionthattheoppositeisthecaseisworthnomorethanthesocialismofthisex—St。—Simonist。
QuotationsontheLondonmarketshow,indeed,thatbetween1810and1858
theaveragepriceofsilverintermsofgoldwasnearly3percenthigherthanintheperiodbetween1830and1850;butthisrisewassimplyduetothedemandofAsiancountriesforsilver。Silverpricesbetween1852
and1858changeindifferentyearsandmonthssolelyinaccordancewiththisdemandandbynomeansinaccordancewiththesupplyofgoldfromthenewlydiscoveredsources。
HistoricalNotesontheAnalysisofCommoditiesKarlMarx'sACONTRIBUTIONTOTHECRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
B。TheoriesoftheStandardofMoneyThefactthatcommoditiesareonlynominallyconvertedintheformofpricesintogoldandhencegoldisonlynominallytransformedintomoneyledtothedoctrineofthenominalstandardofmoney。Becauseonlyimaginarygoldorsilver,i。e。,goldandsilvermerelyasmoneyofaccount,isusedinthedeterminationofprices,itwasassertedthatthetermspound,shilling,pence,thaler,franc,etc。,denoteidealparticlesofvaluebutnotweightsofgoldorsilveroranyformofmaterialisedlabour。If,forexample,thevalueofanounceofsilverweretorise,itwouldcontainmoreoftheseparticlesandwouldthereforehavetobedividedorcoinedintoagreaternumberofshillings。Thisdoctrine,whicharoseatthecloseoftheseventeenthcentury,wasagainadvancedduringthelastcommercialcrisisinEnglandandwasevenadvocatedbyMembersofParliamentintwospecialreportsappendedtothe1858ReportoftheSelectCommitteeontheBankActs。InEnglandatthetimeoftheaccessionofWilliamIII,themint—priceofanounceofsilverwas5s。2d。,thatis1/62ofanounceofsilverwascalledapennyand12ofthesepencewerecalledashilling。
Abarofsilverweighingsaysixounceswould,accordingtothisstandard,becoinedinto31coinswhichwouldbecalledshillings。Butwhereasthemint—priceofanounceofsilverwas5s。2d。,itsmarket—priceroseto6s。3d。,thatistosayinordertobuyanounceofuncoinedsilver6s。3d。hadtobehandedover。Howwasitpossibleforthemarket—priceofanounceofsilvertoriseaboveitsmint—price,ifthemint—pricewasmerelyanameofaccountforfractionsofanounceofsilver？
Thesolutionofthisriddlewasquitesimple。Fourmillionofthe£5,600,000
ofsilvermoneyincirculationatthattimewerewornoutorclipped。A
trialshowedthat£57,200insilvercoins,whoseweightoughttohavebeen220,000ounces,weighedonly141,000ounces。Themintcontinuedtocoinsilverpiecesaccordingtothesamestandard,butthelightershillingswhichwereactuallyincirculationrepresentedsmallerfractionsofanouncethantheirnamedenoted。Alargerquantityofthesereducedshillingshadconsequentlytobepaidforanounceofuncoinedsilveronthemarket。
When,becauseoftheresultingdifficulties,itwasdecidedtorecoinallthemoney,Lowndes,theSecretarytotheTreasury,claimedthatthevalueofanounceofsilverhadrisenandthatinfutureaccordingly6s。3d。wouldhavetobestruckfromanounceinsteadof5s。2d。aspreviously。
Hethusineffectassertedthat,becausethevalueofanounceofsilverhadrisen,thevalueofitsaliquotpartshadfallen。Buthisfalsetheorywasmerelydesignedtomakeacorrectpracticalmeasuremorepalatable。
Thegovernmentdebtshadbeencontractedinlightshillings,weretheytoberepaidincoinsofstandardweight？Insteadofsayingpayback4
ouncesofsilverforevery5ouncesyoureceivednominallybutwhichcontainedinfactonly4ouncesofsilver,hesaid,onthecontrary,paybacknominally5ouncesbutreducetheirmetalcontentto4ouncesandcalltheamountyouhithertocalled4/5ofashillingashilling。Lowndes'saction,therefore,wasinrealitybasedonthemetalcontent,whereasintheoryhestucktothenameofaccount。Hisopponentsontheotherhand,whosimplyclungtothenameofaccountandthereforedeclaredthatashillingofstandardweightwasidenticalwithashillingwhichwas25to50percentlighter,claimedtobeadheringtothemetalcontent。JohnLocke,whochampionedthenewbourgeoisieineveryway——hetookthesideofthemanufacturersagainsttheworkingclassesandthepaupers,themerchantsagainsttheold—fashionedusurers,thefinancialaristocracyagainstgovernmentsthatwereindebt;heevendemonstratedinaseparateworkthatthebourgeoiswayofthinkingisthenormalhumanwayofthinking——tookupLowndes'schallenge。JohnLockewonthedayandmoneyborrowedinguineascontaining10to14shillingswasrepaidinguineasof20shillings。[1]SirJamesSteuartgivesthefollowingironicalsummaryofthisoperation:
"……thestategainedconsiderablyuponthescoreoftaxes,aswellasthecreditorsupontheircapitalsandinterest;andthenation,whichwastheprincipalloser,waspleased,becausetheirstandard"
（thestandardoftheirownvalue）"wasnotdebased。"[2]
Steuartbelievedthatinthecourseoffurtherdevelopmentofcommercethenationwouldbecomewiser。Buthewaswrong。Some120yearslaterthesamequidproquowasrepeated。
VeryfittinglyitwasBishopBerkeley,theadvocateofmysticalidealisminEnglishphilosophy,whogavethedoctrineofthenominalstandardofmoneyatheoreticaltwist,whichthepracticalSecretarytotheTreasuryhadomittedtodo。Berkeleyasks"WhetherthetermsCrown,Livre,PoundSterling,etc。,arenottobeconsideredasExponentsorDenominationsofsuchProportions？"
（i。e。,proportionsofabstractvalueassuch）。"AndwhetherGold,Silver,andPaperarenotTicketsorCountersforReckoning,RecordingandTransferringthereof？"（oftheproportionofvalue）。"WhetherPowertocommandtheIndustry"（sociallabour）"ofothersbenotrealWealth？AndwhetherMoneybenotinTruth,TicketsorTokensforconveyingandrecordingsuchPower,andwhetheritbeofgreatconsequencewhatMaterialstheTicketsaremadeof？"[3]
Inthispassage,theauthor,ontheonehand,confusesthemeasureofvaluewiththestandardofprice,andontheotherheconfusesgoldorsilverasmeasureofvalueandasmeansofcirculation。Becausetokenscanbesubstitutedforpreciousmetalsinthesphereofcirculation,Berkeleyconcludesthatthesetokensintheirturnrepresentnothing,i。e。,theabstractconceptofvalue。
ThetheoryofthenominalstandardofmoneywassofullyelaboratedbySirJamesSteuart,thathisfollowers——theyarenotawareofbeingfollowerssincetheydonotknowhim——canfindneitheranewexpressionnorevenanewexample。Hewrites:
"Money,whichIcallofaccount,isnomorethananarbitraryscaleofequalparts,inventedformeasuringtherespectivevalueofthingsvendible。Moneyofaccount,therefore,isquiteadifferentthingfrommoney—coin,whichisprice[Here,asintheworksofseventeenth—centuryEnglisheconomists,priceisusedinthesenseofaconcreteequivalent——notebyMarx。]andmightexist,althoughtherewasnosuchthingintheworldasanysubstancewhichcouldbecomeanadequateandproportionalequivalent,foreverycommodity……Moneyofaccount……performsthesameofficewithregardtothevalueofthings,thatdegrees,minutes,seconds,etc。,dowithregardtoangles,orasscalesdotogeographicalmaps,ortoplansofanykind。Inalltheseinventions,thereisconstantlysomedenominationtakenfortheunit……Theusefulnessofalltheseinventionsbeingsolelyconfinedtothemarkingofproportion。Justsotheunitinmoneycanhavenoinvariabledeterminateproportiontoanypartofvalue,thatistosayitcannotbefixedtoanyparticularquantityofgold,silver,oranyothercommoditywhatsoever。Theunitoncefixed,wecan,bymultiplyingit,ascendtothegreatestvalue……Thevalueofcommodities,therefore,dependinguponageneralcombinationofcircumstancesrelativetothemselvesandtothefanciesofmen,theirvalueoughttobeconsideredaschangingonlywithrespecttooneanother;consequently,anythingwhichtroublesorperplexestheascertainingthosechangesofproportionbythemeansofageneral,determinateandinvariablescale,mustbehurtfultotrade……Money……
isanidealscaleofequalparts。Ifitbedemandedwhatoughttobethestandardvalueofonepart？Ianswerbyputtinganotherquestion:Whatisthestandardlengthofadegree,aminute,asecond？Ithasnone……
butsosoonasonepartbecomesdeterminedbythenatureofascale,alltherestmustfollowinproportion。Ofthiskindofmoney……wehavetwoexamples。ThebankofAmsterdampresentsuswiththeone,thecoastofAngolawiththeother。"[4]
Steuartsimplyconsidersmoneyasitappearsinthesphereofcirculation,i。e。,asstandardofpriceandasmoneyofaccount。