Thelabourerdoesnotperformtwooperationsatonce,oneinordertoaddvaluetothecotton,theotherinordertopreservethevalueofthemeansofproduction,or,whatamountstothesamething,totransfertotheyarn,totheproduct,thevalueofthecottononwhichheworks,andpartofthevalueofthespindlewithwhichheworks。But,bytheveryactofaddingnewvalue,hepreservestheirformervalues。Since,however,theadditionofnewvaluetothesubjectofhislabour,andthepreservationofitsformervalue,aretwoentirelydistinctresults,producedsimultaneouslybythelabourer,duringoneoperation,itisplainthatthistwo—foldnatureoftheresultcanbeexplainedonlybythetwo—foldnatureofhislabour;
atoneandthesametime,itmustinonecharactercreatevalue,andinanothercharacterpreserveortransfervalue。
Now,inwhatmannerdoeseverylaboureraddnewlabourandconsequentlynewvalue?Evidently,onlybylabouringproductivelyinaparticularway;thespinnerbyspinning,theweaverbyweaving,thesmithbyforging。
But,whilethusincorporatinglabourgenerally,thatisvalue,itisbytheparticularformaloneofthelabour,bythespinning,theweavingandtheforgingrespectively,thatthemeansofproduction,thecottonandspindle,theyarnandloom,and。theironandanvilbecomeconstituentelementsoftheproduct,ofanewuse—value。[1]Eachuse—valuedisappears,butonlytore—appearunderanewforminanewuse—value。Now,wesaw,whenwewereconsideringtheprocessofcreatingvalue,that,ifause—valuebeeffectivelyconsumedintheproductionofanewuse—value,thequantityoflabourexpendedintheproductionoftheconsumedarticle,formsaportionofthequantityoflabournecessarytoproducethenewuse—value;thisportionisthereforelabourtransferredfromthemeansofproductiontothenewproduct。Hence,thelabourerpreservesthevaluesoftheconsumedmeansofproduction,ortransfersthemasportionsofitsvaluetotheproduct,notbyvirtueofhisadditionallabour,abstractedlyconsidered,butbyvirtueoftheparticularusefulcharacterofthatlabour,byvirtueofitsspecialproductiveform。Insofarthenaslabourissuchspecificproductiveactivity,insofarasitisspinning,weaving,orforging,itraises,bymerecontact,themeans。ofproductionfromthedead,makesthemlivingfactorsofthelabour—process,andcombineswiththemtoformthenewproducts。
Ifthespecialproductivelabouroftheworkmanwerenotspinning,hecouldnotconvertthecottonintoyarn,andthereforecouldnottransferthevaluesofthecottonandspindletotheyarn。Supposethesameworkmanweretochangehisoccupationtothatofajoiner,hewouldstillbyaday’slabouraddvaluetothematerialheworksupon。Consequently,wesee,first,thattheadditionofnewvaluetakesplacenotbyvirtueofhislabourbeingspinninginparticular,orjoineringinparticular,butbecauseitislabourintheabstract,aportionofthetotallabourofsociety;andweseenext,thatthevalueaddedisofagivendefiniteamount,notbecausehislabourhasaspecialutility,butbecauseitisexertedforadefinitetime。Ontheonehand,then,itisbyvirtueofitsgeneralcharacter,asbeingexpenditureofhumanlabour—powerintheabstract,thatspinningaddsnewvaluetothevaluesofthecottonandthespindle;
andontheotherhand,itisbyvirtueofitsspecialcharacter,asbeingaconcrete,usefulprocess,thatthesamelabourofspinningbothtransfersthevaluesofthemeansofproductiontotheproduct,andpreservesthemintheproduct。Henceatoneandthesametimethereisproducedatwo—foldresult。
Bythesimpleadditionofacertainquantityoflabour,newvalueisadded,andbythequalityofthisaddedlabour,theoriginalvaluesofthemeansofproductionarepreservedintheproduct。Thistwo—foldeffect,resultingfromthetwo—foldcharacteroflabour,maybetracedinvariousphenomena。
Letusassume,thatsomeinventionenablesthespinnertospinasmuchcottonin6hoursashewasabletospinbeforein36hours。Hislabourisnowsixtimesaseffectiveasitwas,forthepurposesofusefulproduction。
Theproductof6hours’workhasincreasedsix—fold,from6lbs。to36
lbs。Butnowthe36lbs。ofcottonabsorbonlythesameamountoflabourasformerlydidthe6lbs。One—sixthasmuchnewlabourisabsorbedbyeachpoundofcotton,andconsequently,thevalueaddedbythelabourtoeachpoundisonlyone—sixthofwhatitformerlywas。Ontheotherhand,intheproduct,inthe36lbs。ofyarn,thevaluetransferredfromthecottonissixtimesasgreatasbefore。Bythe6hours’spinning,thevalueoftherawmaterialpreservedandtransferredtotheproductissixtimesasgreatasbefore,althoughthenewvalueaddedbythelabourofthespinnertoeachpoundoftheverysamerawmaterialisone—sixthwhatitwasformerly。
Thisshowsthatthetwopropertiesoflabour,byvirtueofwhichitisenabledinonecasetopreservevalue,andintheothertocreatevalue,areessentiallydifferent。Ontheonehand,thelongerthetimenecessarytospinagivenweightofcottonintoyarn,thegreateristhenewvalueaddedtothematerial;ontheotherhand,thegreatertheweightofthecottonspuninagiventime,thegreateristhevaluepreserved,bybeingtransferredfromittotheproduct。
Letusnowassume,thattheproductivenessofthespinner’slabour,insteadofvarying,remainsconstant,thathethereforerequiresthesametimeasheformerlydid,toconvertonepoundofcottonintoyarn,butthattheexchange—valueofthecottonvaries,eitherbyrisingtosixtimesitsformervalueorfallingtoone—sixthofthatvalue。Inboththesecases,thespinnerputsthesamequantityoflabourintoapoundofcotton,andthereforeaddsasmuchvalue,ashedidbeforethechangeinthevalue:
healsoproducesagivenweightofyarninthesametimeashedidbefore。
Nevertheless,thevaluethathetransfersfromthecottontotheyarniseitherone—sixthofwhatitwasbeforethevariation,or,asthecasemaybe,sixtimesasmuchasbefore。Thesameresultoccurswhenthevalueoftheinstrumentsoflabourrisesorfalls,whiletheirusefulefficacyintheprocessremainsunaltered。
Again,ifthetechnicalconditionsofthespinningprocessremainunchanged,andnochangeofvaluetakesplaceinthemeansofproduction,thespinnercontinuestoconsumeinequalworking—timesequalquantitiesofrawmaterial,andequalquantitiesofmachineryofunvaryingvalue。Thevaluethathepreservesintheproductisdirectlyproportionaltothenewvaluethatheaddstotheproduct。Intwoweeksheincorporatestwiceasmuchlabour,andthereforetwiceasmuchvalue,asinoneweek,andduringthesametimeheconsumestwiceasmuchmaterial,andwearsouttwiceasmuchmachinery,ofdoublethevalueineachcase:hethereforepreserves,intheproductoftwoweeks,twiceasmuchvalueasintheproductofoneweek。Solongastheconditionsofproductionremainthesame,themorevaluethelaboureraddsbyfreshlabour,themorevaluehetransfersandpreserves;buthedoessomerelybecausethisadditionofnewvaluetakesplaceunderconditionsthathavenotvariedandareindependentofhisownlabour。Ofcourse,itmaybesaidinonesense,thatthelabourerpreservesoldvaluealwaysinproportiontothequantityofnewvaluethatheadds。Whetherthevalueofcottonrisefromoneshillingtotwoshillings,orfalltosixpence,theworkmaninvariablypreservesintheproductofonehouronlyonehalfasmuchvalueashepreservesintwohours。Inlikemanner,iftheproductivenessofhisownlabourvariesbyrisingorfalling,hewillinonehourspineithermoreorlesscotton,asthecasemaybe,thanhedidbefore,andwillconsequentlypreserveintheproductofonehour,moreorlessvalueofcotton;but,allthesame,hewillpreservebytwohours’labourtwiceasmuchvalueashewillbyone。
Valueexistsonlyinarticlesofutility,inobjects:weleaveoutofconsiderationitspurelysymbolicalrepresentationbytokens。(Manhimself,viewedastheimpersonationoflabour—power,isanaturalobject,athing,althoughalivingconsciousthing,andlabouristhemanifestationofthispowerresidinginhim。)Ifthereforeanarticlelosesitsutility,italsolosesitsvalue。Thereasonwhymeansofproductiondonotlosetheirvalue,atthesametimethattheylosetheiruse—value,isthis:theyloseinthelabour—processtheoriginalformoftheiruse—value,onlytoassumeintheproducttheformofanewuse—value。But,howeverimportantitmaybetovalue,thatitshouldhavesomeobjectofutilitytoembodyitselfin,yetitisamatterofcompleteindifferencewhatparticularobjectservesthispurpose;thiswesawwhentreatingofthemetamorphosisofcommodities。Henceitfollowsthatinthelabour—processthemeansofproductiontransfertheirvaluetotheproductonlysofarasalongwiththeiruse—valuetheylosealsotheirexchange—value。Theygiveuptotheproductthatvaluealonewhichtheythemselvesloseasmeansofproduction。Butinthisrespectthematerialfactorsofthelabour—processdonotallbehavealike。
Thecoalburntundertheboilervanisheswithoutleavingatrace;so,too,thetallowwithwhichtheaxlesofwheelsaregreased。Dyestuffsandotherauxiliarysubstancesalsovanishbutre—appearaspropertiesoftheproduct。Rawmaterialformsthesubstanceoftheproduct,butonlyafterithaschangeditsform。Hencerawmaterialandauxiliarysubstanceslosethecharacteristicformwithwhichtheyareclothedonenteringthelabour—process。Itisotherwisewiththeinstrumentsoflabour。Tools,machines,workshops,andvessels,areofuseinthelabour—process,onlysolongastheyretaintheiroriginalshape,andarereadyeachmorningtorenewtheprocesswiththeirshapeunchanged。Andjustasduringtheirlifetime,thatistosay,duringthecontinuedlabour—processinwhichtheyserve,theyretaintheirshapeindependentoftheproduct,so,too,theydoaftertheirdeath。Thecorpsesofmachines,tools,workshops,&c。,arealwaysseparateanddistinctfromtheproducttheyhelpedtoturnout。
Ifwenowconsiderthecaseofanyinstrumentoflabourduringthewholeperiodofitsservice,fromthedayofitsentryintotheworkshop,tillthedayofitsbanishmentintothelumberroom,wefindthatduringthisperioditsuse—valuehasbeencompletelyconsumed,andthereforeitsexchange—valuecompletelytransferredtotheproduct。Forinstance,ifaspinningmachinelastsfor10years,itisplainthatduringthatworkingperioditstotalvalueisgraduallytransferredtotheproductofthe10years。Thelifetimeofaninstrumentoflabour,therefore,isspentintherepetitionofagreaterorlessnumberofsimilaroperations。Itslifemaybecomparedwiththatofahumanbeing。Everydaybringsaman24hoursnearertohisgrave:buthowmanydayshehasstilltotravelonthatroad,nomancantellaccuratelybymerelylookingathim。Thisdifficulty,however,doesnotpreventlifeinsuranceofficesfromdrawing,bymeansofthetheoryofaverages,veryaccurate,andatthesametimeveryprofitableconclusions。
Soitiswiththeinstrumentsoflabour。Itisknownbyexperiencehowlongontheaverageamachineofaparticularkindwilllast。Supposeitsuse—valueinthelabour—processtolastonlysixdays。Then,ontheaverage,itloseseachdayone—sixthofitsuse—value,andthereforepartswithone—sixthofitsvaluetothedailyproduct。Thewearandtearofallinstruments,theirdailylossofuse—value,andthecorrespondingquantityofvaluetheypartwithtotheproduct,areaccordinglycalculateduponthisbasis。
Itisthusstrikinglyclear,thatmeansofproductionnevertransfermorevaluetotheproductthantheythemselvesloseduringthelabour—processbythedestructionoftheirownuse—value。Ifsuchaninstrumenthasnovaluetolose,if,inotherwords,itisnottheproductofhumanlabour,ittransfersnovaluetotheproduct。Ithelpstocreateuse—valuewithoutcontributingtotheformationofexchange—value。InthisclassareincludedallmeansofproductionsuppliedbyNaturewithouthumanassistance,suchasland,wind,water,metalsinsitu,andtimberinvirginforests。
Yetanotherinterestingphenomenonherepresentsitself。Supposeamachinetobeworth£1,000,andtowearoutin1,000days。Thenonethousandthpartofthevalueofthemachineisdailytransferredtotheday’sproduct。Atthesametime,thoughwithdiminishingvitality,themachineasawholecontinuestotakepartinthelabour—process。Thusitappears,thatonefactorofthelabour—process,ameansofproduction,continuallyentersasawholeintothatprocess,whileitentersintotheprocessoftheformationofvaluebyfractionsonly。Thedifferencebetweenthetwoprocessesisherereflectedintheirmaterialfactors,bythesameinstrumentofproductiontakingpartasawholeinthelabour—process,whileatthesametimeasanelementintheformationofvalue,itentersonlybyfractions。[2]
Ontheotherhand,ameansofproductionmaytakepartasawholeintheformationofvalue,whileintothelabour—processitentersonlybitbybit。Supposethatinspinningcotton,thewasteforevery115lbs。usedamountsto15lbs。,whichisconverted,notintoyarn,butinto"devil’sdust。"Now,althoughthis15lbs。ofcottonneverbecomesaconstituentelementoftheyarn,yetassumingthisamountofwastetobenormalandinevitableunderaverageconditionsofspinning,itsvalueisjustassurelytransferredtothevalueoftheyarn,asisthevalueofthe100lbs。thatformthesubstanceoftheyarn。Theuse—valueof15lbs。ofcottonmustvanishintodust,before100lbs。ofyarncanbemade。Thedestructionofthiscottonisthereforeanecessaryconditionintheproductionoftheyarn。Andbecauseitisanecessarycondition,andfornootherreason,thevalueofthatcottonistransferredtotheproduct。Thesameholdsgoodforeverykindofrefuseresultingfromalabour—process,sotaratleastassuchrefusecannotbefurtheremployedasameansintheproductionofnewandindependentuse—values。SuchanemploymentofrefusemaybeseeninthelargemachineworksatManchester,wheremountainsofironturningsarecartedawaytothefoundryintheevening,inorderthenextmorningtore—appearintheworkshopsassolidmassesofiron。
Wehaveseenthatthemeansofproductiontransfervaluetothenewproduct,sofaronlyasduringthelabour—processtheylosevalueintheshapeoftheirolduse—value。Themaximumlossofvaluethattheycansufferintheprocess,isplainlylimitedbytheamountoftheoriginalvaluewithwhichtheycameintotheprocess,orinotherwords,bythelabour—timenecessaryfortheirproduction。Therefore,themeansofproductioncanneveraddmorevaluetotheproductthantheythemselvespossessindependentlyoftheprocessinwhichtheyassist。Howeverusefulagivenkindofrawmaterial,oramachine,orothermeansofproductionmaybe,thoughitmaycost£150,or,say,500days’labour,yetitcannot,underanycircumstances,addtothevalueoftheproductmorethan£150。Itsvalueisdeterminednotbythelabour—processintowhichitentersasameansofproduction,butbythatoutofwhichithasissuedasaproduct。
Inthelabour—processitonlyservesasamereuse—value,athingwithusefulproperties,andcouldnot,therefore,transferanyvaluetotheproduct,unlessitpossessedsuchvaluepreviously。[3]
Whileproductivelabourischangingthemeansofproductionintoconstituentelementsofanewproduct,theirvalueundergoesametempsychosis。Itdesertstheconsumedbody,tooccupythenewlycreatedone。Butthistransmigrationtakesplace,asitwere,behindthebackofthelabourer。Heisunabletoaddnewlabour,tocreatenewvalue,withoutatthesametimepreservingoldvalues,andthis,becausethelabourheaddsmustbeofaspecificusefulkind;andhecannotdoworkofausefulkind,withoutemployingproductsasthemeansofproductionofanewproduct,andtherebytransferringtheirvaluetothenewproduct。Thepropertythereforewhichlabour—powerinaction,livinglabour,possessesofpreservingvalue,atthesametimethatitaddsit,isagiftofNaturewhichcoststhelabourernothing,butwhichisveryadvantageoustothecapitalistinasmuchasitpreservestheexistingvalueofhiscapital。[4]Solongastradeisgood,thecapitalististoomuchabsorbedinmoney—grubbingtotakenoticeofthisgratuitousgiftoflabour。Aviolentinterruptionofthelabour—processbyacrisis,makeshimsensitivelyawareofit。[5]
Asregardsthemeansofproduction,whatisreallyconsumedistheiruse—value,andtheconsumptionofthisuse—valuebylabourresultsintheproduct。Thereisnoconsumptionoftheirvalue,[6]anditwouldthereforebeinaccuratetosaythatitisreproduced。Itisratherpreserved;notbyreasonofanyoperationitundergoesitselfintheprocess;butbecausethearticleinwhichitoriginallyexists,vanishes,itistrue,butvanishesintosomeotherarticle。Hence,inthevalueoftheproduct,thereisareappearanceofthevalueofthemeansofproduction,butthereis,strictlyspeaking,noreproductionofthatvalue。Thatwhichisproducedisanewuse—valueinwhichtheoldexchange—valuereappears。[7]
Itisotherwisewiththesubjectivefactorofthelabour—process,withlabour—powerinaction。Whilethelabourer,byvirtueofhislabourbeingofaspecialisedkindthathasaspecialobject,preservesandtransferstotheproductthevalueofthemeansofproduction,heatthesametime,bythemereactofworking,createseachinstantanadditionalornewvalue。
Supposetheprocessofproductiontobestoppedjustwhentheworkmanhasproducedanequivalentforthevalueofhisown,labour—power,when,forexample,bysixhours’labour,hehasaddedavalueofthreeshillings。
Thisvalueisthesurplus,ofthetotalvalueoftheproduct,overtheportionofitsvaluethatisduetothemeansofproduction。Itistheonlyoriginalbitofvalueformedduringthisprocess,theonlyportionofthevalueoftheproductcreatedbythisprocess。Ofcourse,wedonotforgetthatthisnewvalueonlyreplacesthemoneyadvancedbythecapitalistinthepurchaseofthelabour—power,andspentbythelaboureronthenecessariesoflife。Withregardtothemoneyspent,thenewvalueismerelyareproduction;
but,nevertheless,itisanactual,andnot,asinthecaseofthevalueofthemeansofproduction,onlyanapparent,reproduction。Thesubstitutionofonevalueforanother,ishereeffectedbythecreationofnewvalue。
Weknow,however,fromwhathasgonebefore,thatthelabour—processmaycontinuebeyondthetimenecessarytoreproduceandincorporateintheproductamereequivalentforthevalueofthelabour—power。Insteadofthesixhoursthataresufficientforthelatterpurpose,theprocessmaycontinuefortwelvehours。Theactionoflabour—power,therefore,notonlyreproducesitsownvalue,butproducesvalueoverandaboveit。Thissurplus—valueisthedifferencebetweenthevalueoftheproductandthevalueoftheelementsconsumedintheformationofthatproduct,inotherwords,ofthemeansofproductionandthelabour—power。
Byourexplanationofthedifferentpartsplayedbythevariousfactorsofthelabour—processintheformationoftheproduct’svalue,wehave,infact,disclosedthecharactersofthedifferentfunctionsallottedtothedifferentelementsofcapitalintheprocessofexpandingitsownvalue。
Thesurplusofthetotalvalueoftheproduct,overthesumofthevaluesofitsconstituentfactors,isthesurplusoftheexpandedcapitaloverthecapitaloriginallyadvanced。Themeansofproductionontheonehand,labour—powerontheother,aremerelythedifferentmodesofexistencewhichthevalueoftheoriginalcapitalassumedwhenfrombeingmoneyitwastransformedintothevariousfactorsofthelabour—process。Thatpartofcapitalthen,whichisrepresentedbythemeansofproduction,bytherawmaterial,auxiliarymaterialandtheinstrumentsoflabourdoesnot,intheprocessofproduction,undergoanyquantitativealterationofvalue。
Ithereforecallittheconstantpartofcapital,or,moreshortly,constantcapital。
Ontheotherhand,thatpartofcapital,representedbylabour—power,does,intheprocessofproduction,undergoanalterationofvalue。Itbothreproducestheequivalentofitsownvalue,andalsoproducesanexcess,asurplus—value,whichmayitselfvary,maybemoreorlessaccordingtocircumstances。Thispartofcapitaliscontinuallybeingtransformedfromaconstantintoavariablemagnitude。Ithereforecallitthevariablepartofcapital,or,shortly,variablecapital。Thesameelementsofcapitalwhich,fromthepointofviewofthelabour—process,presentthemselvesrespectivelyastheobjectiveandsubjectivefactors,asmeansofproductionandlabour—power,presentthemselves,fromthepointofviewoftheprocessofcreatingsurplus—value,asconstantandvariablecapital。
Thedefinitionofconstantcapitalgivenabovebynomeansexcludesthepossibilityofachangeofvalueinitselements。Supposethepriceofcottontobeonedaysixpenceapound,andthenextday,inconsequenceofafailureofthecottoncrop,ashillingapound。Eachpoundofthecottonboughtatsixpence,andworkedupaftertheriseinvalue,transferstotheproductavalueofoneshilling;andthecottonalreadyspunbeforetherise,andperhapscirculatinginthemarketasyarn,likewisetransferstotheproducttwiceits,originalvalue。Itisplain,however,thatthesechangesofvalueareindependentoftheincrementorsurplus—valueaddedtothevalueofthecottonbythespinningitself。Iftheoldcottonhadneverbeenspun,itcould,aftertherise,beresoldatashillingapoundinsteadofatsixpence。Further,thefewertheprocessesthecottonhasgonethrough,themorecertainisthisresult。Wethereforefindthatspeculatorsmakeitarulewhensuchsuddenchangesinvalueoccur,tospeculateinthatmaterialonwhichtheleastpossiblequantityoflabourhasbeenspent:tospeculate,therefore,inyarnratherthanincloth,incottonitself,ratherthaninyarn。Thechangeofvalueinthecasewehavebeenconsidering,originates,notintheprocessinwhichthecottonplaysthepartofameansofproduction,andinwhichitthereforefunctionsasconstantcapital,butintheprocessinwhichthecottonitselfisproduced。Thevalueofacommodity,it。istrue,isdeterminedbythequantityoflabourcontainedinit,butthisquantityisitselflimitedbysocialconditions。Ifthetimesociallynecessaryfortheproductionofanycommodityalters?andagivenweightofcottonrepresents,afterabadharvest,morelabourthanafteragoodone?allpreviouslyexistingcommoditiesofthesameclassareaffected,becausetheyare,asitwere,onlyindividualsofthespeciep;[8]andtheirvalueatanygiventimeismeasuredbythelaboursociallynecessary,i。e。,bythelabournecessaryfortheirproductionunderthethenexistingsocialconditions。
Asthevalueoftherawmaterialmaychange,so,too,maythatoftheinstrumentsoflabour,ofthemachinery,&c。,employedintheprocess;
andconsequentlythatportionofthevalueoftheproducttransferredtoitfromthem,mayalsochange。Ifinconsequenceofanewinvention,machineryofaparticularkindcanbeproducedbyadiminishedexpenditureoflabour,theoldmachinerybecomesdepreciatedmoreorless,andconsequentlytransferssomuchlessvaluetotheproduct。Buthereagain,thechangeinvalueoriginatesoutsidetheprocessinwhichthemachineisactingasameansofproduction。Onceengagedinthisprocess,themachinecannottransfermorevaluethanitpossessesapartfromtheprocess。
Justasachangeinthevalueofthemeansofproduction,evenaftertheyhavecommencedtotakeapartinthelabour—process,doesnotaltertheircharacterasconstantcapital,so,too,achangeintheproportionofconstanttovariablecapitaldoesnotaffecttherespectivefunctionsofthesetwokindsofcapital。Thetechnicalconditionsofthelabour—processmayberevolutionisedtosuchanextent,thatwhereformerlytenmenusingtenimplementsofsmallvalueworkeduparelativelysmallquantityofrawmaterial,onemanmaynow,withtheaidofoneexpensivemachine,workuponehundredtimesasmuchrawmaterial。Inthelattercasewehaveanenormousincreaseintheconstantcapital,thatisrepresentedbythetotalvalueofthemeansofproductionused,andatthesametimeagreatreductioninthevariablecapital,investedinlabour—power。Sucharevolution,however,altersonlythequantitativerelationbetweentheconstantandthevariablecapital,ortheproportionsinwhichthetotalcapitalissplitupintoitsconstantandvariableconstituents;ithasnotintheleastdegreeaffectedtheessentialdifferencebetweenthetwo。
Footnotes[1]"Labourgivesanewcreationforoneextinguished。"("AnEssayonthePolit。
Econ。ofNations,"London,1821,p。13。)
[2]Thesubjectofrepairsoftheimplementsoflabourdoesnotconcernushere。Amachinethatisundergoingrepair,nolongerplaysthepartofaninstrument,butthatofasubjectoflabour。Workisnolongerdonewithit,butuponit。Itisquitepermissibleforourpurposetoassume,thatthelabourexpendedontherepairsofinstrumentsisincludedinthelabournecessaryfortheiroriginalproduction。Butinthetextwedealwiththatwearandtear,whichnodoctorcancure,andwhichlittlebylittlebringsaboutdeath,with"thatkindofwearwhichcannotberepairedfromtimetotime,andwhich,inthecaseofaknife,wouldultimatelyreduceittoastateinwhichthecutlerwouldsayofit,itisnotworthanewblade。"Wehaveshewninthetext,thatamachinetakespartineverylabour—processasanintegralmachine,butthatintothesimultaneousprocessofcreatingvalueitentersonlybitby。bit。Howgreatthenistheconfusionofideasexhibitedinthefollowingextract!"Mr。Ricardosaysaportionofthelabouroftheengineerinmaking[stocking]machines"iscontainedforexampleinthevalueofapairofstockings。"Yetthetotallabour,thatproducedeachsinglepairofstockings……includesthewholelabouroftheengineer,notaportion;foronemachinemakesmanypairs,andnoneofthosepairscouldhavebeendonewithoutanypartofthemachine。"("Obs。
onCertainVerbalDisputesinPol。Econ。,ParticularlyRelatingtoValue,"
p。54。1Theauthor,anuncommonlyself—satisfiedwiseacre,isrightinhisconfusionandthereforeinhiscontention,tothisextentonly,thatneitherRicardonoranyothereconomist,beforeorsincehim,hasaccuratelydistinguishedthetwoaspectsoflabour,andstillless,therefore,thepartplayedbyitundereachoftheseaspectsintheformationofvalue。
[3]FromthiswemayjudgeoftheabsurdityofJ。B。Say,whopretendstoaccountforsurplus—value(Interest,Profit,Rent),bythe"servicesproductifs"
whichthemeansofproduction,soil,instruments,andrawmaterial,renderinthelabour—processbymeansoftheiruse—values。Mr。Wm。Roscherwhoseldomlosesanoccasionofregistering,inblackandwhite,ingeniousapologeticfancies,recordsthefollowingspecimen:—"J。B。Say(Traité,t。1,ch。4)verytrulyremarks:thevalueproducedbyanoilmill,afterdeductionofallcosts,issomethingnew,somethingquitedifferentfromthelabourbywhichtheoilmillitselfwaserected。"(l。c。,p。82,note。)
Verytrue,Mr。Professor!theoilproducedbytheoilmillisindeedsomethingverydifferentfromthelabourexpendedinconstructingthemill!Byvalue,Mr。Roscherunderstandssuchstuffas"oil,"becauseoilhasvalue,notwithstandingthat"Nature"producespetroleum,thoughrelatively"insmallquantities,"
afacttowhichheseemstoreferinhisfurtherobservation:"It(Nature)
producesscarcelyanyexchange—value。"Mr。Roscher’s"Nature"andtheexchange—valueitproducesareratherlikethefoolishvirginwhoadmittedindeedthatshehadhadachild,but"itwassuchalittleone。"This"savantsérieux"
incontinuationremarks:"Ricardo’sschoolisinthehabitofincludingcapitalasaccumulatedlabourundertheheadoflabour。Thisisunskilfulwork,because,indeed,theownerofcapital,afterall,doessomethingmorethanthemerelycreatingandpreservingofthesame:namely,theabstentionfromtheenjoymentofit,forwhichhedemands,e。g。,interest。"
(l。c。)Howvery"skilful"isthis"anatomico—physiologicalmethod"ofPoliticalEconomy,which,"indeed,"convertsameredesire"afteralr’
intoasourceofvalue。
[4]"Ofalltheinstrumentsofthefarmers’trade,thelabourofman……isthatonwhichheismosttorelyfortherepaymentofhiscapital。Theothertwo……theworkingstockofthecattleandthe……carts,ploughs,spades,andsoforth,withoutagivenportionofthefirst,arenothingatall。"(EdmundBurke:"ThoughtsandDetailsonScarcity,originallypresentedtotheRightHon。W。Pitt,inthemonthofNovember1795,"Edit。London,1800,p。10。)
[5]InTheTimesof26thNovember,1862,amanufacturer,whosemillemployed800hands,andconsumed,ontheaverage,150balesofEastIndian,or130balesofAmericancotton,complains,indolefulmanner,ofthestandingexpensesofhisfactorywhennotworking。Heestimatesthemat£6,000
ayear。Amongthemareanumberofitemsthatdonotconcernushere,suchasrent,rates,andtaxes,insurance,salariesofthemanager,book—keeper,engineer,andothers。Thenhereckons£150forcoalusedtoheatthemilloccasionally,andruntheenginenowandthen。Besidesthis,heincludesthewagesofthepeopleemployedatoddtimestokeepthemachineryinworkingorder。Lastly,heputsdown£1,200fordepreciationofmachinery,because"theweatherandthenaturalprincipleofdecaydonotsuspendtheiroperationsbecausethesteam—engineceasestorevolve。"Hesays,emphatically,hedoesnotestimatehisdepreciationatmorethanthesmallsumof£1,200,becausehismachineryisalreadynearlywornout。
[6]"Productiveconsumption……wheretheconsumptionofacommodityisapartoftheprocessofproduction……Intheseinstancesthereisnoconsumptionofvalue。"(S。P。Newman,l。c。,p。296。)
[7]InanAmericancompendiumthathasgonethrough,perhaps,20editions,thispassageoccurs:"Itmattersnotinwhatformcapitalre—appears;"
thenafteralengthyenumerationofallthepossibleingredientsofproductionwhosevaluere—appearsintheproduct,thepassageconcludesthus:"Thevariouskindsoffood,clothing,andshelter,necessaryfortheexistenceandcomfortofthehumanbeing,arealsochanged。Theyareconsumedfromtimetotime,andtheirvaluere—appearsinthatnewvigourimpartedtohisbodyandmind,formingfreshcapital,tobeemployedagainintheworkofproduction。"(F。Wayland,l。c。,pp。31,32。)Withoutnoticinganyotheroddities,itsufficestoobserve,thatwhatre—appearsinthefreshvigour,isnotthebread’sprice,butitsbloodformingsubstances。What,ontheotherhand,re—appearsinthevalueofthatvigour,isnotthemeansofsubsistence,buttheirvalue。Thesamenecessariesoflife,athalftheprice,wouldformjustasmuchmuscleandbone,justasmuchvigour,butnotvigourofthesamevalue。Thisconfusionof"value"and"vigour"coupledwithourauthor’spharisaicalindefiniteness,markanattempt,futileforallthat,tothrashoutanexplanationofsurplus—valuefromamerere—appearanceofpre—existingvalues。
[8]"Touteslesproductionsd’unmême?genreneformentproprementqu’unemasse,dontleprixsedétermineengénéraletsanségardauxcirconstancesparticulières。"(LeTrosne,1。c。,p。893。)
ChapterNineKarlMarxCapitalVolumeOnePartIII:
TheProductionofAbsoluteSurplus—ValueCHAPTERNINE:
THERATEOFSURPLUS—VALUE
ContentsSection1—TheDegreeofExploitationofLabour—PowerSection2—TheRepresentationoftheComponentsoftheValueoftheProductbyCorrespondingProportionalPartsoftheProductitselfSection3—Senior’s"LastHour"
Section4—Surplus—ProduceSECTION1。THEDEGREEOFEXPLOITATIONOFLABOUR—POWER
Thesurplus—valuegeneratedintheprocessofproductionbyC,thecapitaladvanced,orinotherwords,theself—expansionofthevalueofthecapitalC,presentsitselfforourconsideration,inthefirstplace,asasurplus,astheamountbywhichthevalueoftheproductexceedsthevalueofitsconstituentelements。
ThecapitalCismadeupoftwocomponents,one,thesumofmoneyclaidoutuponthemeansofproduction,andtheother,thesumofmoneyvexpendeduponthelabour—power;crepresentstheportionthathasbecomeconstantcapital,andvtheportionthathasbecomevariablecapital。Atfirstthen,C=cv:forexample,if£500isthecapitaladvanced,itscomponentsmaybesuchthatthe£500=£410const。£90