NOTES:
1。Intheexchangesnecessarytoprocurethegoodswhicharetoreplacethecapital,inlieuofthedirectlyobtainedgoodswhichformthegrossreturn,goodsare,ofcourse,estimatedaccordingtotheirvalue。Capitalgoods,are,therefore,estimatedattheircapitalvalue。Tothisextentitappearsthattheknowledgeofthevalueofcapitalandofthelawswhichregulateit,mustprecedetheimputationofnetreturn。OnlyinsuchasimpleinstanceasthatgivenbyThunencananimputationofnetreturnbemadewithoutapreviousknowledgeofthevalueofcapital,andthisdestroysourproofthattheimputationofnetreturnisfundamentallyindependentofthevaluationofcapital。Itis,ofcourse,practicallyimpossibletoemploythisfundamentalprinciplesosoonasproductionbecomescomplicated。Butwheneverproductionbecomescomplicatedeverynewcalculationmustpracticallybelaidonthelinesoftheoldones;otherwisenoconclusioncouldbecometo。EverynewdeterminationofvaluepracticallypresupposesoldonescompareBookIII。chap。v。atend。Aslittle,then,astheconclusioncanbedrainfromthis,thattheoryrequiresvalueinordertoexplainvalue,solittlecanitbeconcludedthat,theoretically,thevalueofcapitalconditionstheimputationofnetreturn。
NaturalValuebyFriedrichWieserBook4:TheNaturalValueofLand,Capital,andLabourChapter1
IntroductionWehavenowtoretraceoursteps。Havingmadecleartheprinciplesaccordingtowhichthereturn,jointlyobtained,maybeimputedtotheseparateproductivefactors,wehavenowtoreturntothequestionastothevalueofthesefactors。Thegenerallawwearealreadyacquaintedwith:thevalueoftheproductdeterminesthevalueoftheproductiongood。Thepointwhichwemustnowtakeupistheapplicationofthispropositiontothespecialcircumstancesofland,capital,andlabour。
Inthisbyfarthegreatestdifficultiesmeetusinthecaseofcapital。Itseemsasifourexplanationofitsvaluecameintodirectcollisionwiththefactsofexperience。Assumethatacapital,employedforoneyearandtherebycompletelyusedup,yields,attheendoftheyear,areturnofthevalueof105;
experiencetellsusthatthevalueofthecapitalwillnotbeestimatedat105,butatasomewhatlessamountaccordingtothecurrentrateofinterest。Ata5%rate,e。g。,thecapitalwillbeestimatedat100。Theremainderofthereturnwillberegardedasnetreturnofinterest。Howdoesthisgowithourexplanation?Onwhatgroundisthisdeductionmade?Oughtnotratherthefullvalueofthegrossreturntogointothecapitalvaluewithoutanydeductionwhatever?Butifthatwereso,howshouldweexplainthecontradictionofexperiencewhichinterestpresents?
Howistheinteresttobeexplained?Ordoesnaturalvaluationexcludeinterest?Isit,perhaps,merelyaphenomenonofpresent-dayexchangeandprice,whichwouldnotre-emergeinthecommunisticstate?
OneofthemostconclusiveandbrilliantamongBohm-Bawerk'scriticalexaminationsisthatdirectedtowardstheattemptstodeduceinterestfromtheproductivityofcapital。Bohm-Bawerkhimselfinfactarrivesattheconclusionthattheattemptishopeless。Toquotehisownwords:“ItwasnotsimplyanunfortunatechancethatnoonefoundtheOpenSesamewhichhadthepowertodiscoverthemysteriousoriginationofinterestintheproductivityofcapital。Itwasratherthatontheroadtothetruthawrongturninghadbeentaken。Fromthefirstitwasahopelessendeavourtoexplaininterestwhollyandentirelyfromaproductivepowerofcapital。Itwouldbedifferentiftherewereapowerthatcouldmakevaluegrowdirectlyaswheatgrowsfromthefield。Butthereisnosuchpower。Whattheproductivepowercandoisonlytocreateaquantityofproducts,andperhapsatthesametimetocreateaquantityofvalue,butnevertocreatesurplusvalue。Interestisasurplus,aremainderleftwhenproductofcapitalistheminuendandvalueofconsumedcapitalisthesubtrahend。Theproductivepowerofcapitalmayfinditsresultinincreasingtheminuend。Butsofarasthatgoesitcannotincreasetheminuendwithoutatthesametineincreasingthesubtrahendinthesameproportion。Fortheproductivepowerisundeniablythegroundandmeasureofthevalueofthecapitalinwhichitresides。Ifwithaparticularformofcapitalonecanproducenothing,thatformofcapitalisworthnothing。Ifonecanproducelittlewithit,itisworthlittle;ifonecanproducemuchwithit,itisworthmuch,andsoon;——alwaysincreasinginvalueasthevaluethatcanbeproducedbyitshelpincreases,i。e。asthevalueofitsproductincreases。Andso,howevergreattheproductivepowerofcapitalmaybe,andhowevergreatlyitmayincreasetheminuend,yetsofarasitdoesso,thesubtrahendisincreasedinthesameproportion,andthereisnoremainder,nosurplusofvalue“CapitalandInterest,translatedbyWilliamSmart,page179。
Whenweturntolandwefindalsoastrikingcontrastbetweentheapparentdemandsofourtheoryandexperience。Landyieldsreturnsthatstretchawayintothefarthestfuture。Thevalueofland,then,shouldsurelybenotmerelytwentyorthirtytimestheannualrent,asexperiencetellsusitis,butratheranindefiniteandincalculablenumberoftimestheannualrent;
perhapsitshouldbeestimatedasaninfiniteamountseealsoonthispointCapitalandInterest,page67。Butthesamelineofargumentmaybeappliedtocapital。Capitalalso,whenwellemployed,promisestoyielditsnetreturnonintotheindefinitefuture,soperhapsitsvaluealsooughttobeestimatedasaninfiniteamount。
Itwillbeseenthatthedifficultieswhichmeetusarenottrifling。If,nevertheless,Ibelievethattheycanbeovercome,itisbecauseItrusttothesupportgivenbytheresultsofourinvestigationintotheimputationofreturn。Noneofthewriterswhotriedtoderiveinterestfromtheproductivityofcapitalhadthissupport,andeveninBohm-Bawerk'scritiqueitisnotforeseen。Havewenotinfactfoundaproductivepower,which,althoughnotcapable,asBohm-Bawerkclaims,ofcreating“morevalue,“cananddoescreatewhatamountstothesamething,“morereturn“;inotherwords,asurplus?
Weshallbeginwiththemostdifficult,thetheoryofthevalueofcapital。Afterwhathasbeensaiditisclearthatitcannotbetakenupwithouttakingupthetheoryofinterest。
Almosteverythinginthisbookwillfinditscomplementinthediscussionuponcostswhichistofollow。
Chapter2
TheValueofCapitalandtheInterestonCapital。I——
DiscountingCapitalreceivesitsvaluefromitsfruits。If,then,wearecalculatingthefinalreturnofanyproduction,and,forthatpurpose,deductfromthevalueofthesefruitsthecapitalconsumed,withitsvalue,theresultwillbezero,inasmuchas,soonerorlater,allcapitalisconsumedinproduction。Thedeductionmademustalwaysamounttothevalueofthefruits,——
indeed,thatvaluemeasuresthededuction——andconsequentlythevaluecalculationleavesnonetreturnwhatever。Notonlyisinterestnotexplained;itisabsolutelyexcluded。And,ifweconsiderthatmeansofproductionrenewthemselvesagainandagainindefinitely,andyieldresultsindefinitely,wecomeacrossanothercontradictionofexperience,forexperienceshowsthatthevalueofcapitalisnotinfinitebutalwaysfiniteandlimited。
Thesearetheproblemswhichliebeforeusforsolutionwhenwenowgoontoexaminethevalueofcapitalandtheinterestoncapital。
Fortheirsolutionwemayavailourselvesoftheresultsofouranalysisofthephysicalproductivityofcapital。Allcapitaltransformsitselfinthelastresortintogrossreturn。Inthisgrossreturnthecapitalreproducesitselfwithaphysicalsurplus,thenetreturn。Thesetwofacts,whichwehavealreadyestablished,willsufficeustodeducethevalue-productivityofcapital,andtosolveallthecontradictionswithexperience。
First:allcapitaltransformsitselfinthelastresortintogrossreturn;itfollowsfromthisthatthevalueofthecapitalcanneverexceedthevalueofthegrossreturn。Thevalueofcapitalisthusalimitedfiniteamount,althoughtheworkingoftheever-renewedproductionextendsawayintoanillimitablefuture。Thematerialsandapparatusoutofwhich,andwithwhosehelp,breadisproduced,cannotpossiblybeworthmorethanthebreaditself。Andthosethingsfromwhichthematerialsandapparatusthemselvesareproduced,andwhich,consequently,aretheproducersofbreadonestageremoved,have,intheprospectivegrossreturn——theperishablebread——amaximumlimitofvalue。Sowithallcapitals,howeverfartheirprimaryproductsmayberemovedfromdirectemploymentinthesatisfactionofwant。Toputitintofigures,——ifacapitaltransformsitselfsoonerorlaterintoagrossreturnofthevalueof105,itsownvaluecannotbeputatanythingabove105。
Second:inthegrossreturncapitalreproducesitselfwithaphysicalsurplus,thenetreturn。Itfollowsthatthecapitalvaluecannotbecreditedwiththewholevalueofthegrossreturn。Inthereproductioncapitalrepresentsonlyaportionofitsowngrossreturn,andcanthereforeabsorbonlyaportionofthevalueofthatgrossreturn。If,fromthevalueof105,5aresetasideasfruitswhichmaybeconsumedwithoutpreventingthefullreplacementofthecapital,onlytheremainderof100canbereckonedascapitalvalue。Theprospectofhavingthisresidualvalueof100transformedoncemore,atthecloseofthenextperiodofproduction,intothegrossreturnof105——byagainemployingitproductivelycannotmakeanychangeonthisvaluation;sincetheexpectedreturnof105isalwaysdividedinthesameway,assumingthesameconditions;viz。100goestocapitaland5totheincrementoncapital。
Grossreturnandnetreturnarethusthetwogivenamountsfromwhichcapitalgetsitsvalue。Thewholedifficultyoftheproblemliesessentiallyintherecognitionofthefactthatthosetwoamountsaregiven。Forproofofthiswerefertoourformerdisquisitionuponimputationingeneral,andtheimputationinthecaseofcapitalinparticular。Ifphysicalproductivityofcapitalinvolves,aswehavemaintained,theimputationofgrossreturnandtheimputationofnetreturn,wehaveatonceaclearandsimpleprincipleforthevaluationofcapital。
Thereisincommonuseadefinitenameforthemethodofcalculatingvaluerequiredbythisprinciple。Tofixthepresentvalueofamoneyclaim,carryingnointerest,whichfallsdueatafuturedate,wemakeuse,aseveryoneknows,ofthemethodknownas“discounting。“Thatis,wededucttheusualinterestfromthefuturesum。Noweverycapitalvalue,——notalonethevalueofasumofmoneybutofeveryperishableproductiveinstrument——iscalculatedbydiscounting;thatistosay,fromthevalueofthefutureexpectedsumofproductsintowhichthecapitalwillbetransformed,thecorrespondingnetreturnisdeducted。Onlythat,practically,indiscountingmoneyclaims,afixedrateofinterest——i。e。adefiniterelationbetweencapitalvalueandnetreturn——isalwaysassumed,andalwaysemerges,whileweareexplainingtheformationofthisrelationbyfirstdiscoveringtheprincipleforestimatingcapitalvalue。
Bohm-Bawerk,arguingagainstThunen'sexplanationofinterest——whichhasmuchincommonwiththatjustgiven——askswithwhatrightitcanbeassumedthatthevalueofthegrossreturnneverraisesthevalueofcapitaltoitslevel,or,inversely,thatcapitalvalueneverdepressesthatofthegrossreturntoitslevel?Ifareturnof105canbeobtainedwithanoutlayof100,willtherenotbecompetitioninproduction,orlevellingofthevaluations,untileithertheoutlaycometobevaluedat105
orthereturnat100,orbothsettleatsomefigurehalf-waybetweenthetwo?Bohm-Bawerkisrightinraisingthequestion,seeingthathedoesnotstart,aswedo,withaphysicalnetreturntocapital。Butassumingthisphysicalnetreturnthequestionisatonceansweredandsettled。Solongasthegrossreturnremainslargeenoughtoreplacethecapitalandyieldanetreturn,thevalueofgrossreturnandthevalueofcapitalcanneverbeassimilated:therewillalwaysbeadifference——
viz。thevalueofthenetreturn。Thisdifferencecouldonlydisappearwiththedisappearanceofphysicalproductivity。Solongasitexists,solongdoesphysical-productivityguaranteevalue-productivitytocapital,andsolongdoescapitalalsocreatemoreinvaluethanitself;——toapplyagainthewordsofBohm-Bawerk,itcreates“morevalue。“Andif,inordertocalculatetheamountofcapitalconsumed,thecapitalvaluebedeductedfromthegrossreturn,itisnotthewholeamountofgrossreturnthatisdeducted;thesubtrahendissomewhatlessthantheminuend,andtherequiredresidueofinterestmustbetheresult。
Ifthisbeso,then,inthecommunisticstatealso,capitalvaluemustbeestimatedinsuchwisethatitabsorbsonlyaportionofthegrossreturntocapital;solongatleastascapitalretainsthesameefficiency,asanauxiliaryofproduction,whichgeneralexperiencefromtimeimmemorialhasshownittodo。Andforsolong,consequently,mustit,eveninthecommunisticstate,bearinterest。Calculationofthenetreturntocapital,anddeductionordiscountofthesamefromthegrossreturn,inordertofindthevalueofcapital;——thesearenaturaleconomiccalculations,indispensableineveryeconomysolongasthefundamentalconditionsofproductionknowntogeneralexperienceremaininforce。
Acapitalwhich,intwelvemonthsfromthedateofpossession。yieldsthesamegrossreturnsay105andthesamenetreturnsay5,isvaluedatthedateofpossessionatthesameamountsay100。Itis,nevertheless,notamatterofindifferencewhetherthecapitalcomesintoourpossessionnoworonlyattheendofthetwelvemonths,inasmuchaspossessionnowguaranteesareturnofinterestbesides。Itwould,therefore,beincorrectifweweretotaketheequivalenceofvaluationputuponcapitalsinthepresentandinthefuture,andarguefromthattothefulleconomicequivalenceofthepresentandthefuturepossession。Apresentsumisalwaysworthmorethanthesamesumatafuturedate,or,aswemaysay,thefuturesumisalwaysworthless,andthatinproportiontothefuturityofthetimewhenitwillcomeintoourpossession。IfinthecourseofayearIcanmake105outof100,thesumof100whichIshallobtainonlyattheendofayear,is,to-day,worthonlyabout95。Toreducefuturecapitalvaluestopresentvalue,theymustbediscounted,justasthevaluesoffuturegrossreturnsare。
Thereaderwillrememberthat,inchapterviofBookI,wedefendedthepropositionthatpresentandfuturewants,comingintocompetitionwitheachother,are,asarule,toberegardedasequal;thatistosay,thedifferenceintimedoesnotnecessitateanydifferenceinvaluation。Tothispropositionwehavenowtoaddasecond:——that,withinthesphereofproduction,thedifferenceintimedoesnecessitateadifferenceinvaluationofthegoodsemployedinproduction。Thetwopropositionsareinperfectaccord,andmutuallysupplementoneanother。Ifwantsarecontinuouslytofindthesamesatisfaction,equalamountsofreturnmustcontinuouslybeproduced。Andifequalamountsofreturnarecontinuouslyproduced,capitalmustremaincontinuouslythesameinsubstance。Butifcapitalisactuallytoremainthesameinsubstance,andsoisabletoyieldcontinuouslythesamereturns,thismustfindexpressioninavaluationwhichascribestocapitalahighervalue,theearlierthepointoftimeitcomesintoourpossession。Fortheearlierthepointoftime,theearlier,andconsequentlythegreater,thereturnthatmaybeexpected。
Thebusinessmanwhotakesnoteofhisowncalculations,whotestshisrecollectionsandimpressions,andaskshimselfwhyhecalculatesinterest,andonwhatprinciplehegraduatesthevalueofhiscapital,willarrivesubstantiallyatthesameconclusionsasthosetowhichwehavejustcome。Thevalueofgoodsisderivedfromtheirutility;thevalueofcapitalgoodsfromtheirusefulreturns;interestrepresentsanetincrementtoorfruitofcapital:——thesearetheaxiomsofpracticallifesomuchcontradicted,evenlibelled,bytheorists。Theyareaxiomswhicheverylaymanrecognises,inhisownway,asthemotivesbywhichhebelieveshimselfguidedinhiseconomicoperations。Atheorywhichshouldsucceedinvindicatingtheseaxiomsofripenedexperience,whichshouldgiveadistinctformtothevagueimpression,andagoodandnecessarycontenttoopinionsnotquiteconsciousoftheirownraisond'etre,couldhavenobettertestimonytoitscorrectness。
NOTES:
1。CompareMenger,p。135。
Chapter3
TheValueofCapitalandtheInterestonCapitalcontinued。II——
TheRateofInterestInterestisthereturntocapitalwhenthatreturn,withitsvalue,isconsideredinrelationtocapitalvalue。Therelationexistingbetweencapitalvalueandinterest,whenconsideredintheindividualcase,maybedescribedasthepercentageofincrement;itbecomesthe“rateofinterest“onlywhenitobtainsinalargenumberofconnectedcases。Therateofinterestisthegeneralpercentageofincrementtoallthecapitalinthemarket。
Thefactthat,inoneandthesamesphereofproduction,thereemergesageneralpercentageofincrement,oratleastaconstanttendencytowardit,arisesfromthemany-sidedconnectionsbetweenvariouskindsofproduction。Inconsequenceofthecomparativelygreatfreedomofchoiceinthedestinationofmostcapital,land,andlabour,itisalmostalwayspossibletoextendanysingleproductionatthecostofsomeother,ortolimititinfavourofsomeother。Ofthispossibilitypeoplewillavailthemselveswhenever,andaccordingas,anyoneproductionshowsaparticularlyfavourableorparticularlyunfavourablepercentageofincrement。Inseekingforthemostfavourablepercentageofincrement,andinstrivingtowardstheequalisingofalldifferences,ageneralpercentageofincrementwillbecreated,oratalleventswillbeaimedat,sofarasthereiscompetitionbetweenthevariousproductions。
Theorganisationswhichatpresentcontributemosttotheequalisationoftheinterestratearethemoneymarkets,wheretheprincipalamountsofcapitalintheshapeofmoneyarelent。
Inthemoneymarketsitis,ofcourse,inthefirstinstanceonlyinterestonloansthatisdetermined,butthestateoftheloanmarketinthelastinstanceaffectsalsothereturntoproduction,inasmuchasitinfluencestheextendingofindustriescarriedonwithborrowedcapital。Notonlyloancapital,however,butalsothatcapitalwhichisthepersonalpropertyofundertakers,movesperpetuallyinthedirectionofthehighestpercentageofincrement。Underacommunisticregimeallcapitalwouldbelongtotheonesingleundertaker,thestate;capitalwouldnolongerbelentforproduction;andtheinterestonloanswouldceasetoinfluencethepercentageofincrementinproduction。Butthiswouldsimplyleavecapitalstillmorefreetoshiftfromoneproductiontoanother;itwouldnolongerbehinderedbythosebarrierswhichthecircumstancesofprivateownershipatpresentoppose。
Everyoneknowsthattherateofinterest,inspiteofthetendenciestoequaliseit,isneverreallythesameallover。
Thisischieflycausedbythefactthattheunityororganisationofproductionisbynomeansperfect。Thereisnosuchthingasaunitedmoneymarket,andmuchlessisthereanythinglikeaunitedwayofconductingproductivebusiness。Theindividualismofthepresenteconomicorderdistributesproductionamongindividualundertakings。These,ofcourse,undertheinfluenceofcompetitionandthedesireforgain,arebuiltintoonecoherentstructure,whichtosomeextentrealisestheeconomicorderthatanidealplanofproductionwouldpresent。Yetathowmanypointsdowefindgreatgaps;howmanydislocationsthroughexcessiveaccumulationofmeansofproductionatthewrongplaces;howoftenthingsgotooquickly,howoftennotfastenough!Andmistakesliketheseareallthegreaterthemoredistantthegroupscomparedarefromoneanother。Theseparatebranchesofagriculturalproductionmaybe,relativelyspeaking,moreinharmonywitheachother,than,forexample,agricultureasawholewithmanufactureasawhole。Thetransferencesfromagriculturetomanufacturing,andviceversa,takeplacetooseldomtoallowoftheproperbalancebetweenthembeingmaintained。
Thisresults,aswehavesaid,indifferencesofpercentageofincrementamongtheindividualproductivegroups。Itisscarcelynecessarytoemphasisethefactthateverydifferenceinrateofinterest,arisingfromthiscause,isamisfortune。Everysuchdifferenceimpliesaviolationoftheveryfirstprincipleofemployinggoods;thattheyshallfirstbeusedinthemostfavourableemployments,andthatthelessfavourableshallbeallowedonlyinsofarasthereisnotenoughofthemorefavourable。Inonegrouppeoplearecontentwithalesspercentageofincrement,whileinotherstheymaybeobtaininghigherpercentages。Thehurtfulconsequencesofthisarebynomeansconfinedtotheuseofcapital;theygofurther,andmisdirecttheproductionofcapital。Capitalswhichyieldatriflinginterestareproducedfarmorelargely,andcapitalswhichmightyieldahighinterest,toamuchlessextentthantheyoughttobe。
Ontheotherhand,uniformityinthepercentagesofincrement,andauniformrateofinterest,are,wheretheyexist,proofs,economicallyspeaking,ofawell-balanceddistributionanddisposalofcapital。Theyareproofsthattheeconomicallyindicatedlimitsoftheemploymentofcapitalareeverywhereequallyrespected;thatnowhereisthereanyfallingshort,andnowhereanyoversteppingofthem。Intheprinciplewhichdemandsthattheemploymentofcapitalshallbeguidedbytherateofinterest,andthatallemploymentswhichfailtoreturnthecustomaryinterestbeleftalone,wefindthemarginallawbroughtintoonecommonexpressionasregardsallthedifferentformsofcapital。Thenetreturnisadefinitequotaofthegrossreturn,andwherethequotaofnetreturniscontrolled,thedirectionofcapitalgenerallyiscontrolled。
Inthecommunisticstate,whenproductionisdirectedfromonepointandtooneend,thedifferencesinpercentageofincrement,sofarastheseareoccasionedbytheinorganicnatureofoursystemofproduction,woulddisappear。Ofcourse,eventhere,certaindifferenceswouldstillremain;allthose,namely,whichcouldnotbefurtherequalisedbytransferencesfromoneproductiontoanother。Inthenatureofthings,byreasonofthevarietyinthepropertiesofthings,noproductioncanbeincreasedatthecostofothersbeyondacertainpoint,and,onsimilargrounds,noproductioncanbelimitedinfavourofothersbelowacertainpoint。Agriculturalcapitalcouldneverbecompletelytransferredtotrade,nortradecapitalalltransferredtoagriculture。Butwhatdoesobservationhereshow?
Itshowsthatthoseverydifferences,whichitseemsquiteimpossibletoremove,arealwaysremoved,andthatthroughaninstrumentalitywhichispermissibleevenwheretransferencesofcapitalarenotpermissible;bymeans,thatistosay,ofcalculation。
Howthishappensandwhatitmeans,weshallnowtrytoshow。
Chapter4
TheValueofCapitalandtheInterestonCapitalcontinued。III——
TheLawoftheUniformCalculationoftheInterestRateAcapitalwhich,inaoneyear'sproductionperiod,transformsitselfintoagrossreturnof?05,willbevaluedat?00ifthegeneralrateofinterestbe5%:theresidue?isnetreturn。Ifthegrossreturnshouldrisesuddenlyandgreatly,say,e。g。,to?26,——thegeneralrateofinterestremainingunaltered——itappearsatfirstsightthattherisemustaffectthenetreturn,andcauseittobecalculatedat?6insteadofat?asformerly。But,asamatteroffact,isthereturnsocalculated?Itisinoneparticularcase;that,namely,wheretheriseisregardedasasolitaryinstance。Butifitisregardedaspermanentthecalculationwillbedifferent。Theownercertainlyreckonstheentireincreaseof?6asgain,buthedistributesitbyputting?0tocapitaland?tonetreturn。Fromthistimeonwardhewillreckonhiscapital,andconsequentlyhisconsumptionofcapital,at?20,andhisnetreturnat?;sothathedoesnotassumeanincrementof26%,butonlyof5%,correspondingtothegeneralrateofinterest。1*Inthesameway,shouldthegrossreturnofacapitalsinkpermanently,whiletherateofinterestremainsunaltered,aportionofthelosswillbewrittenoffthecapitalvalue,insuchamannerthattherelationbetweencapitalvalueandnetreturnshallagaincorrespondtothegeneralrateofinterest。
Inthiswayitcomesaboutthat,wheretransferencesfromproductiontoproductionarenolongerpermissible,theindividualpercentagesofincrementonindividualcapitalsare,bycalculation,regulatedaccordingtothegeneralrateofinterest。
Therateofinterestwhichobtainsintheparticularproductivegroup,orintheparticularmarkettowhichthecapitalinquestionbelongs,istheratethatdecides。
Themeaningofthisactofcalculationiseasytounderstand。
Acapitalyielding26%interestandoneyielding5%,arenotequivalenttooneanother,althoughbothmaybeexpressedinthesamefigures。Onlyequalcapitalsbearingequalinterestareequivalent。Capitals,then,canbecalculatedoff-hand——i。e。
withoutconsiderationtotheinteresttheybear——onlywheretherateofinterestisthesame。Thatisthereasonwhy,whentherateofinterestcannotbemadeequal,itisatleastcalculatedassuch,bymeansofshiftingthedifferencestothecapitalvalue,andgivingthemexpressionthere。
A3%capitalanda6%capitalof?00arenotequivalenttooneanother;theyareputintotermsfitforcomparisonbycalculatingthe3%capitalat6%,andsoreducingthecapitalto?0,orbycalculatingthe6%capitalat3%andraisingcapitalvalueto?00。
Asameansofsimplifyingcalculation,itmightbeexceedinglydesirablethattherateofinterestshouldbethesameinallmarkets,andinallproductivegroups。Therate,however,isnotthesame,andthefactmustbereckonedwith。Iftherateofinterestonbondsamountto4%andthebankrateto3%,itisaconsequenceofthefactthatthetwoloanmarketsareseparatedfromoneanother,andthatdemandandsupplyintheonedonotapproximatetodemandandsupplyintheother,or,atallevents,approximateonlyintriflingdegree。Thiswantoftouch,however,whichrendersimpossibletheequalisationofratesofinterest,alsorendersitlessnecessary;itisonlywhencapitalistransferredfromonemarkettotheotherthatthedifferenceinratesofinteresthasanypracticalimportanceforthevaluationofcapital。Itisdifferentwhereoneandthesamemarketisconcerned。Herecapitalsarecontinuallyvaluedagainsteachother,andhere,therefore,differencesinpercentageofincrementcouldnotbeputupwith。Theyareovercomeeitherbyregulationofproduction,or,wherethatisnotpracticable,bycalculation。Inthecommunisticstate,whereallcapitalswouldbeunderauniformadministration,itwouldbeanobviousexpedientofcalculationtoregulateallindividualpercentagesofincrementaccordingtotheprevailingrateofinterest。
Wenowproceedtofurtherapplicationsofthefundamentalpropositionthattherateofinterest,whenpossible,shouldbeuniformlycalculated。
NOTES:
1。IntheaboveexampleIassume1circulatingcapital,and2
circulatingcapitalwhosevalueisnotdepressedtoalowerlevelbycheapercostsofproduction;——say,ascarcerawmaterial。
Supposethereisanincreaseddemandforarticlesmadefromamber,whileambercannotbeobtainedingreaterquantities;itwillriseinvalue。Thoseundertakingswhichworkwithambercertainlyobtaintherebyariseintheirgrossreturns;butthereis,ontheotherhand,asimilarriseintheamountdeductedforconsumptionofcapital,andthismustbetakenintoconsiderationintheirestimateofgain。Inthelongrunthereremainsahighernetreturn,butitisonlyrelativelytotheincreasedoutlayofcapital。
Amuchmorecomplicatecalculationhastobemadeasregardsfixedcapital,asalsoasregardscapitalwhosevalueisinfluencedbythecostsofproduction。Imustleavethereadertothinkoutforhimself——inthelightoftheprinciplesnowtobediscussed——thecorrespondingmodificationsinthevaluationoffixedcapitalandintheinfluenceofcosts。
Chapter5
TheValueofCapitalandtheInterestonCapitalcontinued。IV——
ChangeintheRateofInterestIthasjustbeenshownthat,whenthevalueoftheserviceofanyindividualformofcapital——e。g。arawmaterial,oramachine——risesorfalls,thefactexpressesitselfinacorrespondingelevationordepreciationinitscapitalvalue。Thenetreturnimputedis,ofcourse,alteredatthesametime,butonlyinsofaraswillbringitagainintothatrelationwiththecapitalvaluewhichcorrespondswiththeordinaryrateofinterest。
Inorderthatthegeneralpercentageofincrement——therateofinterest——mayfallorrise,theremustbechangesofanextensivekindinthereturntothegreatmassofcapitals——
broughtaboutthroughchangesinsupply,indemand,intechnique,inaword,inanyofthefactorsofimputation。Ageneralriseinthegrossreturntocapital,broughtaboutbyagreatanduniversallyeffectiveinvention,wouldcauseageneralriseinthenetreturntocapital,anditsrelationtocapitalvalue,——
thatistosay,intherateofinterest。Thecapitalvaluemightinthisinstanceremainentirelyunaltered。Onlythosecapitalswhichhadnopartintheeffectsoftheinvention,andwereinthisrespectindividuallyseparatedfromthegeneralmassofcapital,mustnecessitybeaffected。Wheretheamountoftheirserviceshadremainedunalteredinthemidstofthegeneralincrease,inestimatingthevalueofthosecapitalsagreaterdiscountfromthatamountwouldrequiretobemade,correspondingtotheincreasedrateofinterest。Supposetherateofinteresttorisesuddenlyfrom3%to6%,thevalueofallcapitalwhoseinterestremainsunalteredat3%mustbeappraisedatacorrespondinglylowerrate。
Wehavediscussedtheeffectwhichtheindividualfactorsofimputationproduceuponthecontributionsofcapital,insufficientdetailtomakethederivationoftheruleswhichgovernthechangeintherateofinterestamatterofnodifficulty。
Onesingleremarkmaybeadded。Itisquiteahackneyedpropositionthattheincreaseofcapitalcausesadeclineintherateofinterest。Thispropositionistrueonlywithacertainlimitation;itholdsonlywhen,byincreaseofcapital,isunderstoodincreaseinamount,withoutasimultaneousincreaseinthevarietyoftheformsofcapital。Increasedvarietyincapitalissynonymouswithanadvanceintechnique;itisoneofthosefactsofeconomichistorytowhichspecialattentionmustbedrawn,whenitisdesiredtoshowclearlythedifferencebetweenprimitiveanddevelopedproduction。Thustoitisduewhatweknowtobetheeffectofeverytechnicaladvance;namely,ariseinthevalueoftheservicesofcapital,asregardsindividualbusinesses,and,whencomprehensiveenough,ariseintherateofinterest。Notuntilthequalitativeadvancehasbeenquantitativelyusedup,andthestocksofthenewvarietiesofcapitalbeenmultiplied,withoutothernewvarietiescomingtothefront——thatis,notuntilproductionexpandsandfillsoutthenewly-setlimits,——cantheincreaseofwealthhavepower,first,todepressthevalueoftheservicesofcapitalindividually,and,inthelongrun,shoulditscompassbesufficientlyextensive,——tocauseafallintherateofinterest。
Ifwelookbackoverthechangesintherateofinterestonproductionoverthewholecourseofeconomichistory,weshallnoticeanunceasingupwardanddownwardmovement,accordingasadvancesinproductionaremade,orasthemarginalvaluesofthenewly-acquiredwealthareagaindepressedbytheincrementofcapitalwhichfollows。Butthroughtheseunceasingfluctuationsrungreatfundamentaltendencies,whichare,ofcourse,subjecttodisturbancefromopposingtendenciesoftherateofinterestonconsumptionloans。Economichistorybeginsataperiodwhenthereisalmostnocapital,——thezeroofpropertyincapitalaswellasthezeroofreturnfromcapital。Fromthattimeonwardspropertyandreturn,measuredabsolutely,goongrowingsolongastheeconomicworldthrives,andhasnotyetreachedthedowngradeofthemovementofvalue。Andtherelationbetweenthesetwo——i。e。therateofinterest——risessimilarlyfromthebeginning,andonlybeginstofallwhenthedowngradeinthemovementofvaluebeginstocomeinsight。
Chapter6
TheValueofCapitalandtheInterestonCapitalcontinued。V——
TheValuationofFixedCapitalUptothispointwehavedisregardedthecircumstancethatmanycapitals——allthosecalled“fixedcapitals“——donotexhaustthemselvesinyieldingonesinglereturn,butco-operateinseveralprocessesofproduction,andyieldseveralreturnsbeforetheyarefinallyusedup。Wewerejustifiedinhithertoneglectingthiscircumstance,asitisofnoimportancetotheprincipleofthevaluationofcapitalwhichwehadfirsttoestablish。Now,however,thattheprinciplehasbeenestablished,wemustgoontothisnextquestion。Weshallfindthatthecircumstancealludedtodoesnotessentiallyaltermatters,althoughitcertainlyrendersthemmuchmorecomplicated。
Inthecaseoffixedcapital,insteadofonesinglefuturereturnthereareseveralreturns,andthepresentvalueoftheseseveralreturnsmustbedeterminedbydiscounting。Ifamachineremainscapableofworkovertenyears,theservicesofallthetenyearswhicharetobeimputedtoitmustbediscountedandaddedup,attheirpresentvalue,inordertoobtainthecapitalvalueofthemachine。Itneedscarcelybesaidthateverylaterservicemustbeestimatedatsomuchlessinpresentvalue,asthediscountmustberelativetotheterminalpoint。Furthercomplicationsarecausedbythefactthatrepairs,andreconstructions,andextensivereplacements,frequentlytakeplaceinfixedcapitalduringtheperiodinwhichitiswearingout。Theoutlaywhichthisoccasionsmustbediscounted——takingintoaccountofcoursetheperiodoftimeatwhichthisoutlaymaybeanticipated。Stillfurthercomplications,finally,arisefromtheuncertainty——whichincreasesastheperiodofwearandtearlengthens——whetherthereturnsexpectedwillactuallybereceivedatall。Andthisalsonecessitatespeculiardeductions,whichwillbemostsimplymadewherepeoplecaninsureagainstthedanger。
Inthecaseofsuchfixedcapitalsasareconsumedexceedinglyslowly,and,consequently,yieldexceptionallymanyreturns,theprocessofcapitalisationfrequentlytakestheplaceofdiscounting。Beforespeakingofthis,however,itwillbenecessarytotouchatleastuponanothersomewhatdifficultquestion。
Thisisthemethodofcalculatingtheindividualpercentagesofgrossreturnassignablerespectivelytointerestandtowearandtear。Ifamachineremainsserviceableforfiveyears,andyieldseveryyear?000,thisyearlyincomemustbedividedoutbetweeninterestandwearandtearAmortisationinaccordancewithacertainlaw。Inordertofindthislaw,itisbesttorepresenttheindividualratesofreturnasannuities。Thefirstinstalmentmustyieldinterestforthefirstyearuponthetotalcapitalvalue,allreturnbeyondthatisrepaymentofcapital;
thesecondinstalmenthastoyieldinterestonthecapitalvalueremainingafterdeductionofthisrepayment,andtheresidue,whichmustnowbealargerone,servestowardfurtherrepayment;
andsoon,untilfinallytheentirecapitalisreplaced,andinterestobtaineduponalltheportionsofcapitalaccordingtotheperiodoftheiremployment。Thereasonforthiskindofcalculationlies,inthelastresort,inthelawoftheuniformcalculationoftheinterestrate。1*
NOTES:
1。Calculatedonthefiguresgiveabove,andassuminga5%rateofinterest,thevalueofthemachine,onputtingintopresentvaluethefiveexpectedannualreturnsof1000,withinterestandcompoundinterest,maybereckonedat4329。48。Thefirstreturnof1000pays216。47,as5%interestonthecapital,whiletheresidueof783。53goestorepaymentofcapital,thusleavingaremainingcapitalsumof3545。95。Fromthesecondreturn117。30
fallstointerest,and822。70tothesinkingfund;fromthethird,inthesamemanner,tointerest136。16,and,toreplacement,863。84;fromthefourth,92。97tointerest,907。03
tocapital;andfinally,fromthefifth,47。62tointerest,and952。38torepayment,wherebytheentirecapitalisreplaced。
Chapter7
TheValueofCapitalandtheInterestonCapitalcontinued。VI——
CapitalizationInterestisalwaysanaliquotpartofcapitalvalue,andcapitalvalueisalwaysamultipleofinterest。Whereinterestis5%,forexample,theinterestis1/20ofthecapitalvalue,andthecapitalvalueisequalto20timestheinterest。Itisthisfactwhichrendersitpossibletodeterminethevalueofcapital,notbydeductinginterestfromgrossreturn,butbyanothermethodwhichleadstopreciselythesameresult——namely,bymeansofacorrespondingmultiplicationofinterest,or,tousetheordinaryterm,bycapitalisation。Whetherdiscountingorcapitalisationispreferredwilldependuponcircumstances。Withcirculatingcapitaldiscountingistheusualmethod,asthegrossreturninthiscaseformsthenearestandclearestbasis。Withfixedcapital,ifthewearingoutiscomparativelyrapid,andthegrossreturnsarefewinnumber,discountingwillbethepreferablemethodinthiscasealso;butifalongseriesofgrossreturnsistobetakenintoaccount,capitalisationwillbepreferred。
Capitalisationiseasiestwherethegrossreturncontainsnoquotaforwearandtear,andisthereforeentirelynetreturn。
Thiswouldbethecasewithacapitalwhichneverworeout,whichpromisedrenttoalleternity,andarent,moreover,absolutelysecure。Tocarrythroughtheprocessofdiscountingherewouldbelaboriousinthehighestdegree;therentofeachseparateyearwouldhavetobeseparatelycalculated,untilthatrentwasreachedwhosepresentvaluewaszero;andnottillthencouldthecalculationbefinished。Howmuchsimplerinsuchacasetomultiplytheyear'srentinaccordancewiththerateofinterest!
Theresultobtainedinthisfashionagreeswiththatgivenbytheformerandmorelaboriousmethod,notmerelyapproximately,butwithmathematicalexactitude,asanytext-bookofmathematicswillconfirm。Themathematicalformulaforthediscountingofaneternalrentissimplytheformulaofcapitalisation。
Thecalculationisalittlemorecomplicatedwhenthegrossreturnscontainquotasforwearandtear,andwhenrepairsandthelikemustbecoveredandinsurancepremiumsorpremiumsagainstriskretainedoutofthesegrossreturns。Insuchcasesallnecessarydeductionsmustfirstbemadefromthegrossreturnbeforewegetthenetreturnwhichistobecapitalised,andthisisveryoftenexceedinglydifficultintheindividualcase。Thepremiumsjustmentionedarefrequentlynotdeducted,buttheamountofriskfindsinsteaditsexpressionsimplyintherateofinterest。Thereturn,forexample,ofabusinessregardedasofdoubtfulsoliditywillbecapitalisedatahigherrateofinterest,i。e。asasmallermultiple。1*
NOTES:
1。Alltheseparateprinciplesherededucedforthecalculatingofcapitalvalueandinterestarefollowedinpracticallifeandarepracticallyfamiliartous。Thetheoryofthem,too,isoftengiven。Buttheyarealwaysfollowedandtaughtundertheassumptionthatthefactofinterestandafixedratioofinterestaregiven。Nothingissimpler,undersuchanassumption,thantocapitalisearent,ortoshowthemethodofcapitalisation。Butthedutyofthetheorististodiscovertheselaws,and,atthesametime,toexplainwhysuchassumptionsmaybemade。Whencecomesinterest?whencetherateofinterest?
Theseareourfundamentalquestions。Allthesinglelawswhichwehavelaiddownareconfirmedtheoreticallyonlyifwehavesucceededinexplainingalsotheassumptiononwhichtheyarebased,i。e。theexistenceofinterestandtherateofinterest。
Theanalysisofthevalueoflandwhichfollowswilloncemoregivethereaderoccasiontonoticehowdifficultitiswiththematterinhandtoescapearguinginacircle,andtopreventtheentranceofanyassumptionwhichisitselfinneedofexplanation。
Chapter8
InterestontheConsumptionLoan。HouseRentThenaturalprincipleshithertolaiddownforestimatingcapitalvalueandinterestreferonlytoproduction。Itmustnowbeaskedwhetherthereisalsoanaturalinterestwhichcorrespondstotheinterestgivenonaloanforconsumptionpurposes,orinterestderivedfromlettingofdwelling-housesandthelike。1*
Themotivesofadebtorwhoborrowswiththeviewofspendingtheloanonhimselfaredifferentfromthoseofanundertakerwhoborrowstoincreasehisbusinesscapital。Theundertakerhopestoobtainbothrepaymentofcapitalandinterestoutofthereturnontheborrowedsum。Themeredebtorcannothopeforthis,butmusttrustthatitwillbepossibleforhimtorepayhisdebtofcapitalandinterestoutofsomeotherincome。Heborrowsbecauseheneedsgoodsnow,andhasnotgotthem,whileheexpectsinthefuturetohavethemandnottoneedthemtothesamedegree——atleasthedeludeshimselfwithsomesuchhope。Thusinacertainsenseinterestonproductionandinterestonconsumptionhaveacommonsource。Bothofthemrelatetoadifferenceinthevaluationofpresentandoffuturegoods,onlythatthecauseswhichproducethisdifferencearedistinct。Inthecaseoftheproductiveoutlayofcapitalitistheproductivityofcapitalwhichcausesthedifferencebetweenpresentandfuture;inthecaseoftheconsumptionloan,itisaccidentalandpersonalcircumstances,——accidentalaccumulationofpresentwantsandexpenditure,accidentaldisturbanceofincome,andsoforth。Onewhofindshimselfinasituationofurgentnecessityisactingquiterationallywhenhepromises——atsomefuturetimewhenhehopestobemorefavourablysituated——topaytothepersonwhoassistshimbyanadvanceofmoneyoutofhispresentdifficulty,notonlytheamountadvanced,butanextra,aninterest。Asumof