Secondperiodofturnover。Atthebeginningofthe13thweek,£;900havereturnedandareabletobeginanewturnover。Butthesecondworkingperiodhasalreadybeenopenedinthe10thweekbytheadditional£;300。Atthestartofthe13thweek,thankstothis,one-thirdoftheworkingperiodisalreadyoverand£;300hasbeenconvertedfromproductivecapitalintoproduct。Sinceonly6weeksmorearerequiredforthecompletionofthesecondworkingperiod,onlytwo-thirdsofthereturnedcapitalof£;900,oronly£;600,canenterintotheproductiveprocessofthesecondworkingperiod。£;300oftheoriginal£;900
aresetfreetoplaythesamerolewhichtheadditionalcapitalof£;300
playedinthefirstworkingperiod。Atthecloseofthe6thweekofthesecondperiodofturnoverthesecondworkingperiodisup。Thecapitalof£;900advancedinitreturnsafter3weeks,orattheendofthe9thweekofthesecond,12-weekperiodofturnover。Duringthe3weeksofitsperiodofcirculation,thefreedcapitalof£;300comesintoaction。Thisbeginsthethirdworkingperiodofacapitalof900inthe7thweekofthesecondperiodofturnover,orthe19thweekoftheyear。
Thirdperiodofturnover。Atthecloseofthe9thweekofthesecondperiodofturnoverthereisanewrefluxof£;900。Butthethirdworkingperiodhasalreadycommencedinthe7thweekofthepreviousperiodofturnoverand6weekshavealreadyelapsed。Thethirdworkingperiod,then,lastsonlyanother3weeks。Henceonly£;300ofthereturned£;900enterintotheproductiveprocess。Thefourthworkingperiodfillsouttheremaining9weeksofthisperiodofturnoverandthusthe37thweekoftheyearbeginssimultaneouslythefourthperiodofturnoverandthefifthworkingperiod。
Inordertosimplifythecalculationinthiscaseletusassumeaworkingperiodof5weeksandaperiodofcirculationof5weeks,makingaturnoverperiodof10weeks。Figuretheyearascomposedoffiftyweeksandthecapitaloutlayperweekas£;100。Aworkingperiodthenrequiresacirculatingcapitalof£;500andthetimeofcirculationanadditionalcapitalof£;500。Theworkingperiodsandtimesofturnoverthenareasfollows:
1stwrkg。period1st-5thwk。£;500ingoodsreturnedendof10thwk。2ndwrkg。period6th-10thwk。£;500ingoodsreturnedendof15thwk。3rdwrkg。period11th-15thwk。£;500ingoodsreturnedendof20thwk。4thwrkg。period16th-20thwk。£;500ingoodsreturnedendof25thwk。5thwrkg。period21st-25thwk。£;500ingoodsreturnedendof30thwk。andsoforth。Ifthetimeofcirculationiszero,sothattheperiodofturnoverisequaltotheworkingperiod,thenthenumberofturnoversisequaltothenumberofworkingperiodsoftheyear。Inthecaseofa5-weekworkingperiodthiswouldmake50/5,or10,periodsofturnoverperyear,andthevalueofthecapitalturnedoverwouldbe500times10,or5,000。Inourtable,inwhichwehaveassumedacirculationtimeof5weeks,thetotalvalueofthecommoditiesproducedperyearwouldalsobe£;5,000,butone-tenthofthis,or£;500,wouldalwaysbeintheformofcommodity-capital,andwouldnotreturnuntilafter5weeks。Attheendoftheyeartheproductofthetenthworkingperiodthe46thtothe50thworkingweekwouldhavecompleteditstimeofturnoveronlybyhalf,anditstimeofcirculationwouldfallwithinthefirstfiveweeksofthenextyear。
Nowletustakeathirdillustration:Workingperiod6weekstimeofcirculation3weeks,weeklyadvanceduringlabour-process£;100。
1stworkingperiod:1st-6thweek。Attheendofthe6thweekacommodity-capitalof£;600,returnedattheendofthe9thweek。
2ndworkingperiod:7th-12thweek。Duringthe7th-9thweek£;300ofadditionalcapitalisadvanced。Attheendofthe9thweek,returnof£;600。
Ofthis,£;300areadvancedduringthe10th-12thweek。Attheendofthe12thweektherefore£;300arefreeand£;600areintheformofcommodity-capital,returnableattheendofthe15thweek。
3rdworkingperiod:13th-18thweek。Duringthe13th-15thweek,advanceofabove£;300,thenrefluxof£;600,ofwhich300areadvancedforthe16th-18thweek。Attheendofthe18thweek,£;300arefreeinmoney-form,£;600onhandascommodity-capitalwhichreturnsattheendofthe21stweek。SeethemoredetailedpresentationofthiscaseunderII,below。
Inotherwordsduring9workingperiods54weeksatotalof600times9or£;5,400worthofcommoditiesareproduced。Attheendoftheninthworkingperiodthecapitalisthas£;300inmoneyand£;600
incommoditieswhichhavenotyetcompletedtheirtermofcirculation。
Acomparisonofthesethreeillustrationsshows,first,thatasuccessivereleaseofcapitalIof£;500andofadditionalcapitalIIoflikewise£;500takesplaceonlyinthesecondillustration,sothatthesetwoportionsofcapitalmoveseparatelyandapartfromeachother。Butthisissoonlybecausewehavemadetheveryexceptionalassumptionthattheworkingperiodandthetimeofcirculationformtwoequalhalvesoftheturnoverperiod。Inallothercases,whateverthedifferencebetweenthetwoconstituentsoftheperiodofturnover,themovementsofthetwocapitalscrosseachother,asinillustrationsIandIII,beginningwiththesecondperiodofturnover。TheadditionalcapitalII,withaportionofcapitalI,thenformsthecapitalfunctioninginthesecondturnoverperiod,whiletheremainderofcapitalIissetfreetoperformtheoriginalfunctionofcapitalII。Thecapitaloperatingduringthecirculationtimeofthecommodity-capitalisnotidentical,inthiscase,withthecapitalIIoriginallyadvancedforthispurpose,butitisofthesamevalueandformsthesamealiquotpartofthetotalcapitaladvanced。
Secondly:Thecapitalwhichfunctionedduringtheworkingperiodliesidleduringthetimeofcirculation。Inthesecondillustrationthecapitalfunctionsduringthe5weeksoftheworkingperiodandliesidleduringthe5weeksofthecirculationperiod。ThereforetheentiretimeduringwhichcapitalIliesidlehereamountstoonehalfoftheyear。
ItistheadditionalcapitalIIthatappearsduringthistimehaving,inthecasebeforeus,alsoinitsturnlainidlehalfayear。Buttheadditionalcapitalrequiredtoensurethecontinuityofproductionduringthetimeofcirculationisnotdeterminedbytheaggregatedamount,orsumtotal,ofthetimesofcirculationduringtheyear,butonlybytheratioofthetimeofcirculationtotheperiodofturnover。Weassume,ofcourse,thatalltheturnoverstakeplaceunderthesameconditions。Forthisreason£;500ofadditionalcapital,andnot£;2,500,arerequiredinthesecondillustration。Thisissimplyduetothefactthattheadditionalcapitalentersjustaswellintotheturnoverasthecapitaloriginallyadvanced,andthatitthereforemakesupitsmagnitudejustastheotherbythenumberofitsturnovers。
Thirdly:Thecircumstanceshereconsideredarenotaffectedbywhetherthetimeofproductionislongerthantheworkingtimeornot。
True,theaggregateoftheperiodsofturnoverisprolongedthereby,butthisextensiondoesnotnecessitateanyadditionalcapitalforthelabour-process。
Theadditionalcapitalservesmerelythepurposeoffillingthegapsinthelabour-processthatariseonaccountofthetimeofcirculation。Henceitistheresimplytoprotectproductionagainstinterruptions,originatinginthetimeofcirculation。Interruptionsarisingfromthespecificconditionsofproductionaretobeeliminatedinanotherway,whichneednotbediscussedatthispoint。Therearehoweverestablishmentsinwhichworkiscarriedononlyintermittently,toorder,sothattheremaybeintervalsbetweentheworkingperiods。Insuchcases,theneedforadditionalcapitalisprotantoeliminated。Ontheotherhandinmostcasesofseasonalworkthereisacertainlimitforthetimeofreflux。Thesameworkcannotberenewednextyearwiththesamecapital,ifthecirculationtimeofthiscapitalhasnot,inthemeantime,runout。Ontheotherhandthetimeofcirculationmayalsobeshorterthantheintervalbetweentwoperiodsofproduction。Inthateventthecapitalliesfallow,unlessitismeanwhileemployedotherwise。
Fourthly:Thecapitaladvancedforacertainworkingperiod——
forinstancethe£;600inthethirdillustration——isinvestedpartlyinrawandauxiliarymaterials,inaproductivesupplyfortheworkingperiod,inconstantcirculatingcapital,andpartlyinvariablecirculatingcapital,inthepaymentoflabouritself。Theportionlaidoutinconstantcirculatingcapital,maynotexistforthesamelengthoftimeintheformofaproductivesupply;therawmaterialforinstancemaynotbeonhandfortheentireworkingperiod,coalmaybeprocuredonlyeverytwoweeks。
However,ascreditisstilloutofthequestionhere,thisportionofcapital,insofarasitisnotavailableintheformofaproductivesupply,mustbekeptonhandintheformofmoneysothatitcanbeconvertedintoaproductivesupplyasandwhenneeded。Thisdoesnotalterthemagnitudeoftheconstantcirculatingcapital-valueadvancedfor6weeks。Ontheotherhand——regardlessofthemoney-supplyforunforeseenexpenses,thereservefundproperfortheeliminationofdisturbances——wagesarepaidinshorterintervals,mostlyweekly。Thereforeunlessthecapitalistcompelsthelabourertoadvancehislabourforalongertime,thecapitalrequiredforwagesmustbeonhandintheformofmoney。Duringtherefluxofthecapitalaportionmustthereforeberetainedinmoney-formforthepaymentofthelabour,whiletheremainingportionmaybeconvertedintoproductivesupply。
Theadditionalcapitalisdividedexactlyliketheoriginal。ButitisdistinguishedfromcapitalIbythefactthatapartfromcreditrelationsinordertobeavailableforitsownworkingperioditmustadvancedduringtheentiredurationofthefirstworkingperiodofcapitalI,intowhichitdoesnotenter。Duringthistimeitcanalreadybeconverted,atleastinpart,intoconstantcirculatingcapital,havingbeenadvancedfortheentireperiodofturnover。Towhatextentitassumesthisformorpersistsintheformofadditionalmoney-capitaluntilthisconversionbecomesnecessary,willdependpartlyonthespecialconditionsofproductionofdefinitelinesofbusiness,partlyonlocalconditions,partlyonthepricefluctuationsofrawmaterial,etc。Ifsocialcapitalisviewedinitsentirety,amoreorlessconsiderablepartofthisadditionalcapitalwillalwaysbeforaratherlongtimeinthestateofmoney-capital。ButasforthatportionofcapitalIIwhichistobeadvancedforwages,itisalwaysconvertedonlygraduallyintolabour-power,assmallworkingperiodsexpireandarepaidfor。ThisportionofcapitalII,then,isavailableintheformofmoney-capitalduringtheentireworkingperiod,untilbyitsconversionintolabour-powerittakepartinthefunctionofproductivecapital。
Consequently,theaccessionoftheadditionalcapitalrequiredforthetransformationofthecirculationtimeofcapitalIintotimeofproduction,increasesnotonlythemagnitudeoftheadvancedcapitalandthelengthoftimeforwhichtheaggregatecapitalmustnecessarilybeadvanced,butalso,andspecificallyso,thatportionoftheadvancedcapitalwhichexistsasmoney-supply,whichhenceexistsinthestateofmoney-capitalandhastheformofpotentialmoney-capital。
Thesamethingalsotakesplace——asfarasitconcernsboththeadvanceintheformofaproductivesupplyandinthatofamoney-
supply——whentheseparationofcapitalintotwopartsmadenecessarybythetimeofcirculation,namelyintocapitalforthefirstworkingperiodandreplacementcapitalforthetimeofcirculation,isnotcausedbytheincreaseofthecapitallaidoutbutbyadecreaseofthescaleofproduction。
Theamountofcapitaltiedupinthemoney-formgrowsherestillmoreinrelationtothescaleofproduction。
Whatisachievedingeneralbythisseparationofcapitalintoanoriginallyproductiveandanadditionalcapitalisacontinuoussuccessionoftheworkingperiods,theconstantfunctionofanequalportionoftheadvancedcapitalasproductivecapital。
Letuslookatthesecondillustration。Thecapitalcontinuouslyemployedintheprocessofproductionamountsto£;500。Astheworkingperiodis5weeksitoperatestentimesduring50weekstakenasayear。
Henceitsproduct,apartfromsurplus-value,is10times£;500,or£;5,000。Fromthestandpointofacapitalworkingdirectlyanduninterruptedlyintheprocessofproduction——acapital-valueof£;500——thetimeofcirculationseemstobebroughttonought。Theperiodofturnovercoincideswiththeworkingperiod,andthetimeofcirculationisassumedtobeequaltozero。
Butifthecapitalof£;500wereregularlyinterruptedinitsproductiveactivitybya5-weekcirculationtime,sothatitwouldagainbecomecapableofproductiononlyafterthecloseoftheentire10-weekturnoverperiod,weshouldhave5turnoversoftenweekseachinthe50
weeksoftheyear。Thesewouldcomprisefive5-weekperiodsofproduction,orasumof25productiveweekswithatotalproductworth5times£;500
or£;2,500,andfive5-weekperiodsofcirculation,oratotalcirculationtimeoflikewise25weeks。Ifwesayinthiscasethatthecapitalof£;500
hasbeenturnedover5timesintheyear,itwillbeclearandobviousthatduringhalfofeachperiodofturnoverthiscapitalof£;500
didnotfunctionatallasaproductioncapitalandthat,allinall,itperformeditsfunctionsonlyduringonehalfoftheyear,butdidnotfunctionatallduringtheotherhalf。
Inourillustrationthereplacementcapitalof£;500appearsonthesceneduringthosefiveperiodsofcirculationandtheturnoveristhusexpandedfrom£;2,500to£;5,000。Butnowtheadvancedcapitalis£;1,000insteadof£;500。5,000dividedby1,000is5。Hence,therearefiveturnoversinsteadoften。Andthatisjustthewaypeoplefigure。Butwhenitissaidthatthecapitalof£;1,000
hasbeenturnedoverfivetimesduringtheyear,therecollectionofthetimeofcirculationdisappearsfromthehollowskullsofthecapitalistsandaconfusedideaisformedthatthiscapitalhasservedcontinuouslyintheproductionprocesscuringthefivesuccessiveturnovers。Butifwesaythatthecapitalof£;1,000hasbeenturnedoverfivetimesthisincludesboththetimeofcirculationandthetimeofproduction。
Indeed,if£;1,000hadreallybeencontinuouslyactiveintheprocessofproduction,theproductwould,accordingtoourassumptions,havetobe£;10,000insteadof£;50,000。Butinordertohave£;1,000
continuouslyintheprocessofproduction,£;2,000wouldhavetobeadvanced。Theeconomists,whoasageneralrulehavenothingcleartosayinreferencetothemechanismoftheturnover,alwaysoverlookthismainpoint,towit,thatonlyapartoftheindustrialcapitalcanactuallybeengagedintheprocessofproductionifproductionistoproceeduninterruptedly。
Whileonepartisintheperiodofproduction,anothermustalwaysbeintheperiodofcirculation。Orinotherwords,onepartcanperformthefunctionofproductivecapitalonlyonconditionthatanotherpartiswithdrawnfromproductionproperintheformofcommodity-ormoney-capital。Inoverlookingthis,thesignificanceandroleofmoney-capitalisentirelyignored。
Wehavenowtoascertainwhatdifferencesintheturnoverariseifthetwosectionsoftheperiodofturnover,theworkingperiodandthecirculationperiod,areequal,oriftheworkingperiodisgreaterorsmallerthanthecirculationperiod,and,furthermore,whateffectthishasonthetie-upofcapitalintheformofmoney-capital。
Weassumethecapitaladvancedweeklytobeinallcases£;100,andtheperiodofturnover9weeks,sothatthecapitaltobeadvancedineachperiodofturnoveris£;900。
I。THEWORKINGPERIODEQUALTOTHECIRCULATIONPERIODAlthoughthiscaseoccursinrealityonlyasanaccidentalexception,itmustserveasourpointofdepartureinthisinvestigation,becausehererelationsshapethemselvesinthesimplestandmostintelligibleway。
ThetwocapitalscapitalIadvancedforthefirstworkingperiod,andsupplementalcapitalII,whichfunctionsduringthecirculationperiodofcapitalIrelieveoneanotherintheirmovementswithoutcrossing。
Withtheexceptionofthefirstperiod,eitherofthetwocapitalsisthereforeadvancedonlyforitsownperiodofturnover。Lettheperiodofturnoverbe9weeks,asindicatedinthefollowingillustrations,sothattheworkingperiodandthecirculationperiodareeach41/2weeks。Thenwehavethefollowingannualdiagram。
TableICAPITALI
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsAdvancePeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。10th-18th”
III。19th-27th”
IV。28th-36th”
V。37th-45th”
VI。46th-[54th]”1st-4th1/2week10th-13th1/2”
19th-22nd1/2”
28th-31st1/2”
37th-40th1/2”
46th-49th1/2ӣ;450
£;450
£;450
£;450
£;450
£;4504th1/2-9thweek13th1/2-18th”
22nd1/2-27th”
31st1/2-36th”
40th1/2-45th”
49th1/2-[54th]”[31]CAPITALII
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsAdvancePeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。10th-18th”
III。19th-27th”
IV。28th-36th”
V。37th-45th”
VI。46th-[54th]”4th1/2-9thweek13th1/2-18th”
22nd1/2-27th”
31st1/2-36th”
40th1/2-45th”
49th1/2-[54th]ӣ;450
£;450
£;450
£;450
£;450
£;45010th-13th1/2week19th-22nd1/2”
28th-31st1/2”
37th-40th1/2”
46th-49th1/2”
[55th-58th1/2]”Withinthe51weekswhichherestandforoneyear,capitalIrunsthroughsixfullworkingperiods,producing6times450,or£;2,700worthofcommodities,andcapitalIIproducinginfivefullworkingperiods5
times£;450,or£;2,250worthofcommodities。Inaddition,capitalIIproduced,withinthelastoneandahalfweeksoftheyearmiddleofthe50thtotheendofthe51stweek,anextra£;150worth。Theaggregateproductin51weeksisworth£;5,100。Sofarasthedirectproductionofsurplus-valueisconcerned,whichtakesplaceonlyduringtheworkingperiod,theaggregatecapitalof£;900wouldhavebeenturnedover52/3times52/3times900equals£;5,100。Butifweconsidertherealturnover,capitalIhasbeenturnedover52/3times,sinceatthecloseofthe51stweekitstillhas3weekstogoofitssixthperiodofturnover;52/3times450makes£;2,550;andcapitalIIturnedover51/6times,sinceithascompletedonly11/2weeksofitssixthperiodofturnover,sothat71/2weeksofitrunintothenextyear;5
1/6times450makes£;2,325;realaggregateturnover:£;4,875。
LetusconsidercapitalIandcapitalIIastwocapitalswhollyindependentofoneanother。Theyareentirelyindependentintheirmovements;
thesemovementscomplementoneanothermerelybecausetheirworkingandcirculatingperiodsdirectlyrelieveoneanother。Theymayberegardedastwototallyindependentcapitalsbelongingtodifferentcapitalists。
CapitalIhascompletedfivefullturnoversandtwo-thirdsofitssixthturnoverperiod。Attheendoftheyearithastheformofcommodity-capital,whichisthreeweeksshortofitsnormalrealisation。Duringthistimeitcannotenterintotheprocessofproduction。Itfunctionsascommodity-capital,itcirculates。Ithascompletedonlytwo-thirdsofitslastperiodofturnover。
Thisisexpressedasfollows:Ithasbeenturnedoveronlytwo-thirdsofatime,onlytwo-thirdsofitstotalvaluehaveperformedacompleteturnover。
Wesaythat£;450completetheirturnoverin9weeks,hence£;300
doin6weeks。Butinthismodeofexpressiontheorganicrelationsbetweenthetwospecificallydifferentcomponentsoftheturnovertimeareignored。
Theexactmeaningoftheexpressionthattheadvancedcapitalof£;450
hasmade52/3turnoversismerelythatithasaccomplishedfiveturnoversfullyandonlytwo-thirdsofthesixth。Ontheotherhandtheexpressionthattheturned-overcapitalequals52/3timestheadvancedcapital——
hence,intheabovecase,52/3times£;450,making£;2,550——
iscorrect,meaningthatunlessthiscapitalof£;450werecomplementedbyanothercapitalof£;450,oneportionofitwouldhavetobeintheprocessofproductionwhileanotherintheprocessofcirculation。
Ifthetimeofturnoveristobeexpressedintermsofthecapitalturnedover,itcanalwaysbeexpressedonlyintermsofexistingvalueinfact,offinishedproduct。Thecircumstancethattheadvancedcapitalisnotinaconditioninwhichitmayre-opentheprocessofproductionfindsexpressioninthefactthatonlyapartofitisinastatecapableofproductionorthat,inordertobeinastateofuninterruptedproduction,thecapitalwouldhavetobedividedintoaportionwhichwouldbecontinuallyintheperiodofproductionandintoanotherwhichwouldbecontinuallyintheperiodofcirculation,dependingupontherelationoftheseperiodstoeachother。Itisthesamelawwhichdeterminesthequantityoftheconstantlyfunctioningproductivecapitalbytheratioofthetimeofcirculationtothetimeofturnover。
Bytheendofthe51stweek,whichweregardhereastheendoftheyear,£;150ofcapitalIIhavebeenadvancedtotheproductionofanunfinishedlotofgoods。Anotherpartofitexistsintheformofcirculatingconstantcapital——rawmaterials,etc——i。e。,inaforminwhichitcanfunctionasproductivecapitalintheproductionprocess。
Butathirdpartofitexistsintheformofmoney,atleasttheamountofthewagesfortheremainderoftheworkingperiod3weeks,whichisnotpaid,however,untiltheendofeachweek。Now,althoughatthebeginningofanewyear,henceofanewturnovercycle,thisportionofthecapitalisnotintheformofproductivecapitalbutinthatofmoney-capital,inwhichitcannottakepartintheprocessofproduction,attheopeningofthenewturnovercirculatingvariablecapital,i。e。,livinglabour-power,isneverthelessactiveintheprocessofproduction。Thisisduetothefactthatlabour-powerisnotpaiduntiltheendoftheweek,althoughboughtatthebeginningoftheworkingperiod,say,perweek,andsoconsumed。
Moneyserveshereasameansofpayment。Forthisreasonitisstillasmoneyinthehandsofthecapitalist,ontheonehand,while,ontheotherhand,labour-power,thecommodityintowhichmoneyisbeingtransformed,isalreadyactiveintheprocessofproduction,sothatthesamecapital-valueappearsheredoubly。
Ifwelookmerelyattheworkingperiods,capitalIproduces6times450,or£;2,700capitalIIproduces51/3times450,or£;2,400——Hencetogether51/3times900,or£;5,100。
Hencethetotaladvancedcapitalof£;900hasfunctioned52/3
timesthroughouttheyearasproductivecapital。Itisimmaterialfortheproductionofthesurplus-valuewhethertherearealways£;450intheproductionprocessandalways£;450inthecirculationprocess,orwhether£;900function41/2weeksintheprocessofproductionandthefollowing41/2weeksintheprocessofcirculation。
Ontheotherhand,ifweconsidertheperiodsofturnover,therehasbeenturnedover:
capitalI,52/3times450,or£;2,550capitalII,51/6times450,or£;2,325——Hencethetotalcapital55/12times900,or£;4,875。
ForthenumberofturnoversofthetotalcapitalisequaltothesumoftheamountsturnedoverbyIandII,dividedbythesumofIandII。
ItistobenotedthatifcapitalsIandIIwereindependentofeachothertheywouldneverthelessformmerelydifferentindependentportionsofthesocialcapitaladvancedinthesamesphereofproduction。HenceifthesocialcapitalwithinthissphereofproductionwerecomposedsolelyofIandII,thesamecalculationwouldapplytotheturnoverofthesocialcapitalinthissphereasappliesheretotheconstituentpartsIandII
ofthesameprivatecapital。Goingfurther,everyportionoftheentiresocialcapitalinvestedinanyparticularsphereofproductionmaybesocalculated。Butinthelastanalysis,thenumberofturnoversmadebytheentiresocialcapitalisequaltothesumofthecapitalsturnedoverinthevariousspheresofproductiondividedbythesumofthecapitalsadvancedinthosespheres。
ItmustfurtherbenotedthatjustascapitalsIandIIinthesameprivatebusinesshaveherestrictlyspeakingdifferentturnoveryearsthecycleofturnoverofcapitalIIbeginning41/2weekslaterthanthatofcapitalI,sothattheyearofIends41/2weeksearlierthanthatofII,sothevariousprivatecapitalsinthesamesphereofproductionbegintheiroperationsattotallydifferentperiodsandthereforeconcludetheirturnoveryearsatdifferenttimesoftheyear。ThesamecalculationofaveragesthatweemployedaboveforIandIIsufficesalsoheretobringdowntheturnoveryearsofthevariousindependentportionsofthesocialcapitaltooneuniformturnoveryear。
II。THEWORKINGPERIODGREATERTHANTHEPERIODOFCIRCULATIONTheworkingandturnoverperiodsofcapitalsIandIIcrossoneanotherinsteadofrelievingoneanother。Simultaneouslysomecapitalissetfree。
Thiswasnotsointhepreviouslyconsideredcase。
Butthisdoesnotalterthefactthat,asbefore,1thenumberofworkingperiodsofthetotalcapitaladvancedisequaltothesumofthevalueoftheannualproductofbothadvancedportionsofcapitaldividedbythetotalcapitaladvanced,and2thenumberofturnoversmadebythetotalcapitalisequaltothesumofthetwoamountsturnedoverdividedbythesumofthetwoadvancedcapitals。Heretoowemustconsiderbothportionsofcapitalasiftheyperformedturnovermovementsentirelyindependentofeachother。
Thus,weassumeoncemore,that£;100aretobeadvancedweeklytothelabour-process。Lettheworkingperiodlast6weeks,requiringthereforeeverytimeanadvanceof£;600capitalI。Letthetimeofcirculationbe3weeks,sothattheperiodofturnoveris9weeks,asbefore。LetcapitalIIof£;300stepinduringthethree-weekcirculationperiodofcapitalI。Consideringbothcapitalsasindependentofeachother,wefindthescheduleoftheannualturnovertobeasfollows:
TableIICAPITALI,£;600
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsAdvancePeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。10th-18th”
III。19th-27th”
IV。28th-36th”
V。37th-45th”
VI。46th-[54th]”1st-6thweek10th-15th”
19th-24th”
28th-33rd”
37th-42nd”
46th-51stӣ;600
£;600
£;600
£;600
£;600
£;6007th-9thweek16th-18th”
25th-27th”
34th-36th”
43rd-45th”
[52nd-54th]”ADDITIONALCAPITALII,£;300
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsAdvancePeriodsofCirculationI。7th-15thweekII。16th-24th”
III。25th-33rd”
IV。34th-42nd”
V。43rd-51st”7th-9thweek16th-18th”
25th-27th”
34th-36th”
43rd-45thӣ;300
£;300
£;300
£;300
£;30010th-15thweek19th-24th”
28th-33rd”
37th-42nd”
46th-51st”Theprocessofproductioncontinuesuninterruptedlythewholeyearroundonthesamescale。ThetwocapitalsIandIIremainentirelyseparate。
Butinordertorepresentthemasseparate,wehadtotearaparttheirrealintersectionsandintertwinings,andthusalsotochangethenumberofturnovers。Foraccordingtotheabovetabletheamountsturnedoverwouldbe:
bycapitalI,52/3times600,or£;3,400andbycapitalII,5times300,or£;1,500——Hencebythetotalcapital54/9times900,or£;4,900。
Butthisisnotcorrect,for,asweshallsee,theactualperiodsofproductionandcirculationdonotabsolutelycoincidewiththoseoftheaboveschedule,inwhichitwasmainlyaquestionofpresentingcapitalsIandIIasindependentofeachother。
Inreality,capitalIIhasnoworkingandcirculatingperiodsseparateanddistinctfromthoseofcapitalI。Theworkingperiodis6
weeks,thecirculationperiod3weeks。SincecapitalIIamountstoonly£;300,itcansufficeonlyforapartoftheworkingperiod。Thisisindeedthecase。Attheendofthe6thweekaproductvaluedat£;600
passesintocirculationandreturnsinmoney-formatthecloseofthe9thweek。Then,attheopeningofthe7thweek,capitalIIbeginsitsactivity,andcoverstherequirementsofthenextworkingperiod,the7thto9thweek。Butaccordingtoourassumptiontheworkingperiodisonlyhalfupattheendofthe9thweek。HencecapitalIof£;600havingjustreturned,atthebeginningofthe10thweek,oncemoreentersintooperationandwithits£;300suppliestheadvancesneededforthe10thto12thweek。
Thisdisposesofthesecondworkingperiod。Aproductvalueof£;600
isincirculationandwillreturnatthecloseofthe15thweek。Atthesametime,£;300,theamountoftheoriginalcapitalII,aresetfreeandareabletofunctioninthefirsthalfofthefollowingworkingperiod,thatistosay,inthe13thto15thweek。Afterthelapseoftheseweeksthe£;600return;£;300ofthemsufficefortheremainderoftheworkingperiod,and£;300remainforthefollowingworkingperiod。
Thethingthereforeworksasfollows:
Firstperiodofturnover:1st-9thweek。1stworkingperiod:1st-6thweek。CapitalI,£;600,performsitsfunction。1stperiodofcirculation:7th-9thweek。Endof9thweek,£;600return。Secondperiodofturnover:7th-15thweek。2ndworkingperiod:7th-12thweek。
Firsthalf:7th-9thweek。CapitalII,£;300,performsitsfunction。
Endof9thweek,£;600returninmoney-formcapitalI。
Secondhalf:10th-12thweek。£;300ofcapitalIperformtheirfunction。Theother£;300ofcapitalIremainfreed。2ndperiodofcirculation:13th-15thweek。
Endof15thweek,£;600halftakenfromcapitalI,halffromcapitalIIreturnintheformofmoney。Thirdperiodofturnover;13-21stweek。3rdworkingperiod:13th-18thweek。
Firsthalf:13th-15thweek。Thefreed£;300performtheirfunction。
Endof15thweek,£;600returninmoney-form。
Secondhalf:16th-18thweek,£;300ofthereturned£;600
function,theother£;300againremainfreed。3rdperiodofcirculation:19th-21stweekatthecloseofwhich£;600
againreturninmoney-form。Inthese£;600capitalIandcapitalII
arenowindistinguishablyfused。Andsothereareeightfullturnoverperiodsofacapitalof£;600
I:1st-9thweek;II:7th-15thweek;III:13th-21st;IV:19th-27th;V:
25th-33rd;VI:31st-39th;VII:37th-45th;VIII:43rd-51stweektotheendofthe51stweek。Butasthe49th-51stweeksfallwithintheeighthperiodofcirculation,the£;300offreedcapitalmuststepinandkeepproductiongoing。Thustheturnoverattheendoftheyearisasfollows:
£;600havecompletedtheircircuiteighttimes,making£;4,800。
Inadditionwehavetheproductofthelast3weeks49th-51st,which,however,hascompletedonlyone-thirdofitscircuitof9weeks,sothatinthesumturnedoveritcountsforonlyone-thirdofitsamount,£;100。
If,then,theannualproductof51weeksis£;5,100,thecapitalturnedoverisonly4,800plus100,or£;4,900。Thetotalcapitaladvanced,£;900,hasthereforebeenturnedover54/9times,atriflemorethaninthefirstcase。
Inthepresentexampleweassumedacaseinwhichtheworkingtimewas2/3andthecirculationtime1/3oftheperiodofturnover,i。e。,theworkingtimewasasimplemultipleofthecirculationtime。Thequestionnowiswhethercapitalislikewisesetfree,inthewayshownabove,whenthisassumptionisnotmade。
Letusassumeaworkingof5weeks,acirculationtimeof4weeks,andacapitaladvanceof£;100perweek。
Firstperiodofturnover:1st-9thweek。1stworkingperiod:1st-5thweek。CapitalI,or£;500,performsitsfunction。1stcirculationperiod:6th-9thweek。Endof9thweek,£;500returninmoney-form。Secondperiodofturnover:6th-14thweek。2ndworkingperiod:6th-10thweek。
Firstsection:6th-9thweek。CapitalII,of£;400,performsitsfunction。Endof9thweek,capitalIof£;500returnsinmoney-form。
Secondsection:10thweek。£;100ofthereturned£;500performtheirfunction。Theremaining£;400aresetfreeforthefollowingworkingperiod。2ndcirculationperiod:11th-14thweek。Endof14thweek。£;500returninmoney-form。Uptotheendofthe14thweek11th-14th,the£;400setfreeaboveperformtheirfunction;£;100ofthe£;500thenreturnedfilltherequirementsofthethirdworkingperiod11th-15thweeksothat£;400
areoncemorereleasedforthefourthworkingperiod。Thesamethingisrepeatedineveryworkingperiod;atitsbeginning£;40arereadyathand,sufficingforthefirst4weeks。Endofthe4thweek,£;500
returninmoney-form,only£;100ofwhichareneededforthelastweek,whiletheother£;400remainfreeforthenextworkingperiod。
Letusfurtherassumeaworkingperiodof7weeks,withacapitalIof£;700;acirculationperiodof2weeks,withacapitalIIof£;200。
Inthatcasethefirstperiodofturnoverlastsfromthe1sttothe9thweek;itsfirstworkingperiodfromthe1sttothe7thweek,withanadvanceof£;700,itsfirstcirculationperiodfromthe8thtothe9thweek。Endofthe9thweek,£;700flowbackinmoney-form。
Thesecondperiodofturnover,fromthe8thtothe16thweek,containsthesecondworkingperiodofthe8thtothe14thweek。Therequirementsofthe8thand9thweeksofthisperiodarecoveredbycapitalII。Endofthe9thweek,theabove£;700return。Uptothecloseofthisworkingperiod10th-14thweek,£;500ofthissumareusedup;£;200
remainfreeforthenextworkingperiod。Thesecondcirculationperiodlastsfromthe15thtothe16thweek。Endofthe16thweek£;700returnoncemore。Fromnowon,thesamethingisrepeatedineveryworkingperiod。
Theneedforcapitalduringthefirsttwoweeksiscoveredbythe£;200
setfreeatthecloseoftheprecedingworkingperiod;atthecloseofthesecondweek£;700return;butonly5weeksremainoftheworkingperiod,sothatitcanconsumeonly£;500;therefore£;200alwaysremainfreeforthenextworkingperiod。
Wefind,then,thatinthegivencase,wheretheworkingperiodhasbeenassumedtobegreaterthanthecirculationperiod,amoney-capitalwillatalleventshavebeensetfreeatthecloseofeachworkingperiod,whichisofthesamemagnitudeascapitalIIadvancedforthecirculationperiod。InourthreeillustrationscapitalIIwas£;300inthefirst,£;400inthesecond,and£;200inthird。Accordingly,thecapitalsetfreeatthecloseofeachworkingperiodwas£;300,£;400
and£;200respectively。
III。THEWORKINGPERIODSMALLERTHANTHECIRCULATIONPERIODWebeginbyassumingoncemoreaperiodofturnoverof9weeks,ofwhich3weeksareassignedtotheworkingperiodwithanavailablecapitalI
of£;300。Letthecirculationperiodbe6weeks。Forthese6weeks,anadditionalcapitalof£;600isrequired,whichwemaydivideinturnintotwocapitalsof£;300,eachofthemmeetingtherequirementsofoneworkingperiod。Wethenhavethreecapitalsof£;300each,ofwhich£;300arealwaysengagedinproduction,while£;600
circulate。
TableIIICAPITALI
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。10th-18th”
III。19th-27th”
IV。28th-36th”
V。37th-45th”
VI。46th-[54th]”1st-3rdweek10th-12th”
19th-21st”
28th-30th”
37th-39th”
46th-48th”4th-9thweek13th-18th”
22nd-27th”
31st-36th”
40th-45th”
49th-[54th]”CAPITALII
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。4th-12thweekII。13th-21st”
III。22nd-30th”
IV。31st-39th”
V。40th-48th”
VI。49th-[57th]”4th-6thweek13th-15th”
22nd-24th”
31st-33rd”
40th-42nd”
49th-51st”7th-12thweek16th-21st”
25th-30th”
34th-39th”
43rd-48th”
51st-[57th]”CAPITALIII
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。7th-15thweekII。16th-24th”
III。25th-33rd”
IV。34th-42nd”
V。43rd-51st”7th-9thweek16th-18th”
25th-27th”
34th-36th”
43rd-45th”10th-15thweek19th-24th”
28th-33rd”
37th-42nd”
46th-51st”WehaveheretheexactcounterpartofCaseI,withtheonlydifferencethatnowthreecapitalsrelieveoneanotherinsteadoftwo。Thereisnointersectionorintertwiningofcapitals。Eachoneofthemcanbetracedseparatelytotheendoftheyear。JustasinCaseI,nocapitalissetfreeatthecloseofaworkingperiod,CapitalIiscompletelylaidoutattheendofthe3rdweek,returnsentirelyattheendofthe9th,andresumesitsfunctionsatthebeginningofthe10thweek。SimilarlywithcapitalsIIandIII。Theregularandcompletereliefexcludesanyreleaseofcapital。
Thetotalturnoverisasfollows:
capitalI,£;300times52/3,or£;1,700capitalII,£;300times51/3,or£;1,600capitalIII,£;300times5
,or£;1,500——Totalcapital,£;900times51/3,or£;4,800
Letusnowalsotakeanillustrationinwhichthecirculationperiodisnotanexactmultipleoftheworkingperiod。Forinstance,workingperiod——4weeks,circulationperiod——5weeks。Thecorrespondingamountsofcapitalwouldthenbe:capitalI——£;400;capitalII——£;400;
capitalIII——£;100。Wepresentonlythefirstthreeturnovers。
TableIVCAPITALI
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。9th-17th”
III。18th-25th”1st-4thweek9。10th-12th”
17。18th-20th”5th-9thweek13th-17th”
21st-25th”CAPITALII
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。5th-13thweekII。13th-21st”
III。21st-29th”5th-8thweek13。14th-16th”
21。22nd-24th”9th-13thweek17th-21st”
25th-29th”CAPITALIII
PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。9th-17thweekII。17th-25th”
III。25th-33rd”9thweek17th”
25th”10th-17thweek18th-25th”
26th-33rd”ThereisinthiscaseanintertwiningofcapitalsinsofarastheworkingperiodofcapitalII,whichhasnoindependentworkingperiod,becauseitsufficesforonlyoneweek,coincideswiththefirstworkingweekofcapitalI。Ontheotherhandanamountof£;100,equaltocapitalIII,issetfreeatthecloseoftheworkingperiodofbothcapitalIandII。ForifcapitalIIIfillsupthefirstweekofthesecondandallsucceedingworkingperiodsofcapitalIand£;400,theentirecapitalI,returnatthecloseofthisfirstweek,thenonly3weeksandacorrespondingcapitalinvestmentof£;300willremainfortherestoftheworkingperiodofcapitalI。The£;200thussetfreesufficeforthefirstweekoftheimmediatelyfollowingworkingperiodofcapitalII;attheendofthatweektheentirecapitalIIof£;400returns。Butsincetheworkingperiodalreadystartedcanabsorbonlyanother£;300,£;100areoncemoredisengagedatitsclose。Andsoforth。Wehave,then,areleaseofcapitalatthecloseofaworkingperiodwheneverthecirculationperiodisnotasimplemultipleoftheworkingperiod。Andthisliberatedcapitalisequaltothatportionofthecapitalwhichhastofilluptheexcessofthecirculationperiodovertheworkingperiodoroveramultipleofworkingperiods。
Inallcasesinvestigateditwasassumedthatboththeworkingperiodandthecirculationperiodremainthesamethroughouttheyearinanyofthebusinesseshereexamined。Thisassumptionwasnecessaryifwewishedtoascertaintheinfluenceofthetimeofcirculationontheturnoverandadvancementofcapital。Thatinrealitythisassumptionisnotsounconditionallyvalid,andthatitfrequentlyisnotvalidatalldoesnotalterthecaseintheleast。
Inthisentiresectionwehavediscussedonlytheturnoversofthecirculatingcapital,notthoseofthefixed,forthesimplereasonthatthequestionatissuehasnothingtodowithfixedcapital。Theinstrumentsoflabour,etc。,employedintheprocessofproductionformonlyfixedcapital,inasmuchastheirtimeofemploymentexceedstheperiodofturnoverofthecirculatingcapital;inasmuchastheperiodoftimeduringwhichtheseinstrumentsoflabourcontinuetoserveinperpetuallyrepeatedlabour-processesisgreaterthantheperiodofturnoverofthecirculatingcapital,andhenceequaltothenperiodsofturnoverofthecirculatingcapital。Regardlessofwhetherthetotaltimerepresentedbythesenperiodsofturnoverofthecirculatingcapitalislongerorshorter,thatportionoftheproductivecapitalwhichwasadvancedforthistimeinfixedcapitalisnotadvancedanewduringitscourse。Itcontinuesitsfunctionsinitsolduse-form。
Thedifferenceismerelythis:Inproportiontothevaryinglengthofasingleworkingperiodofeachperiodofturnoverofthecirculatingcapital,thefixedcapitalgivesupagreaterorsmallerpartofitsoriginalvaluetotheproductofthatworkingperiod,andproportionallytothedurationofthecirculationtimeofeachperiodofturnoverthisvalue-partofthefixedcapitalgivenuptotheproductreturnsquickerorslowerinmoney-form。Thenatureofthesubjectwearediscussinginthissection——theturnoverofthecirculatingportionofproductivecapital——derivesfromtheverynatureofthisportion。Thecirculatingcapitalemployedinaworkingperiodcannotbeappliedinanewworkingperioduntilithascompleteditsturnover,untilithasbeentransformedintocommodity-capital,fromthatintomoney-capital,andfromthatbackintoproductivecapital。
Hence,inorderthatthefirstworkingperiodmaybeimmediatelyfollowedbyasecond,capitalmustbeadvancedanewandconvertedintothecirculatingelementsofproductivecapital,anditsquantitymustbesufficienttofillthevoidoccasionedbythecirculationperiodofthecirculatingcapitaladvancedorthefirstworkingperiod。Thisisthesourceoftheinfluenceexertedbythelengthoftheworkingperiodofthecirculatingcapitaloverthescaleofthelabour-processandthedivisionoftheadvancedcapitalortheadditionofnewportionsofcapital。Thiswaspreciselywhatwehadtoexamineinthissection。
IV。CONCLUSION>FromtheprecedinginvestigationitfollowsthatA。Thedifferentportionsintowhichcapitalmustbedividedinorderthatonepartofitmaybecontinuallyintheworkingperiodwhileothersareintheperiodofcirculation,relieveoneanother,likedifferentindependentindividualcapitals,intwocases:1whentheworkingperiodisequaltotheperiodofcirculation,sothattheperiodofturnoverisdividedintotwoequalsections;2whentheperiodofcirculationislongerthantheworkingperiod,butatthesametimeisasimplemultipleoftheworkingperiod,sothatoneperiodofcirculationisequaltonworkingperiods,inwhichcasenmustbeawholenumber。Inthesecasesnoportionofthesuccessivelyadvancedcapitalissetfree。
B。Ontheotherhandinallcasesinwhich1theperiodofcirculationislongerthantheworkingperiodwithoutbeingasimplemultipleofit,and2inwhichtheworkingperiodislongerthanthecirculationperiod,aportionofthetotalcirculatingcapitalissetfreecontinuallyandperiodicallyatthecloseofeachworkingperiod,beginningwiththesecondturnover。Thisfreedcapitalisequaltothatportionofthetotalcapitalwhichhasbeenadvancedforthecirculationperiod,providedtheworkingperiodislongerthantheperiodofcirculation;andequaltothatportionofthecapitalwhichhastofilluptheexcessofthecirculationperiodovertheworkingperiodoroveramultipleofworkingperiods,providedthecirculationperiodislongerthantheworkingperiod。
C。Itfollowsthatfortheaggregatesocialcapital,sofarasitscirculatingpartisconcerned,thereleaseofcapitalmustbetherule,whilethemerealternationofportionsofcapitalfunctioningsuccessivelyintheproductionprocessmustbetheexception。Fortheequalityoftheworkingandcirculationperiods,ortheequalityoftheperiodofcirculationandasimplemultipleoftheworkingperiod,thisregularproportionalityofthetwocomponentsoftheperiodofturnoverhasabsolutelynothingtodowiththenatureofthecaseandforthisreasonitcanoccuronthewholeonlyasamatterofexception。
Averyconsiderableportionofthesocialcirculatingcapital,whichisturnedoverseveraltimesayear,willthereforeperiodicallyexistintheformofreleasedcapitalduringtheannualturnovercycle。
Itisfurthermoreevidentthat,allothercircumstancesbeingequal,themagnitudeofthereleasedcapitalgrowswiththevolumeofthelabour-processorwiththescaleofproduction,hencewiththedevelopmentofcapitalistproductioningeneral。InthecasecitedunderB,2,becausethetotaladvancedcapitalincreases;inB1,becausewiththedevelopmentofcapitalistproductionthelengthoftheperiodofcirculationgrows,hencealsotheperiodofturnoverinthosecaseswheretheworkingperiodislessthantheperiodofcirculation,andthereisnoregularratiobetweenthetwoperiods。
Inthefirstcaseforinstancewehadtoinvest£;100perweek。Thisrequired£;600foraworkingperiodof6weeks,£;300
foracirculationperiodof3weeks,totalling£;900。Inthatcase£;300arereleasedcontinually。Ontheotherhandif£;300areinvestedweekly,wehave£;1,800fortheworkingperiodand£;900
forthecirculationperiod。Hence£;900forthecirculationperiod。
Hence£;900insteadof£;300areperiodicallysetfree。
D。Atotalcapitalof,say£;900mustbedividedintotwoportions,asabove,£;600fortheworkingperiodand£;300
fortheperiodofcirculation。Thatportionwhichisreallyinvestedinthelabour-processisthusreducedbyone-third,from£;900to£;600;
consequently,thescaleofproductionisdiminishedbyone-third。Ontheotherhandthe£;300functiononlytomaketheworkingperiodcontinuous,inorderthat£;100maybeinvestedeveryweekoftheyearinthelabour-process。
Abstractlyspeaking,itisallthesamewhether£;600workduring6times8,or48,weeksproduct£;4,800orwhetherthetotalcapitalof£;900isexpendedduring6weeksinthelabour-processandthenliesidleduringthe3-weekperiodofcirculation。Inthelattercase,itwouldbeworking,inthecourseofthe48weeks,51/3times6,or32weeksproduct51/3times900,or£;4,800,andlieidlefor16weeks。But,apartfromthegreaterspoilageofthefixedcapitalduringtheidle16weeksandapartfromtheappreciationoflabour,whichmustbepaidduringtheentireyear,evenifemployedonlyduringapartofit,sucharegularinterruptionoftheprocessofproductionisaltogetherirreconcilablewiththeoperationsofmodernbigindustry。Thiscontinuityisitselfaproductivepoweroflabour。
Now,ifwetakeacloserlookatthereleased,orrathersuspended,capital,wefindthataconsiderablepartofitmustalwaysbeintheformofmoney-capital。Letusadheretoourillustration:Workingperiod——
6weeks,periodofcirculation——3weeks,investmentperweek——£;100。
Inthemiddleofthesecondworkingperiod,endofthe9thweek,£;600
return,andonly£;300ofthemmustbeinvestedfortheremainderoftheworkingperiod。Attheendofthesecondworkingperiod,£;300
arethereforereleased。Inwhatstatearethese£;300?Weshallassumethat1/3isinvestedforwagesand2/3areforrawandauxiliarymaterials。
Then£;200ofthereturned£;600existintheformofmoneyforwagesand£;400intheformofproductivesupply,intheformofelementsoftheconstantcirculatingproductivecapital。Butsinceonlyonehalfofthisproductivesupplyisrequiredforthesecondhalfofthesecondworkingperiod,theotherhalfexistsfor3weeksintheformofasurplusproductivesupply,i。e。,ofasupplyexceedingtherequirementsofoneworkingperiod。Butthecapitalistknowsthatheneedsonlyonehalf,or£;200,ofthisportion£;400ofthereturnedcapitalforthecurrentworkingperiod。Itwillthereforedependonmarketconditionswhetherhewillimmediatelyreconvertthese£;200,inwholeorinpart,intoasurplusproductivesupply,orkeepthementirelyorpartiallyintheformofmoney-capitalinanticipationofamorefavourablemarket。Ontheotherhanditgoeswithoutsayingthattheportiontobelaidoutforwages£;200isretainedintheformofmoney。Thecapitalistcannotstorelabour-powerinwarehousesafterhehasboughtit,ashemaydowiththerawmaterial。Hemustincorporateitintheprocessofproductionandpayforitattheendoftheweek。Atanyratethese£;100ofthereleasedcapitalof£;300willthereforehavetheformofmoney-capitalsetfree,i。e。,notrequiredfortheworkingperiod。Thecapitalreleasedintheformofmoney-capitalmustthereforebeatleastequaltothevariableportionofcapitalinvestedinwages。Atamaximum,itmaycomprisetheentirereleasedcapital。Inrealityitfluctuatesconstantlybetweenthisminimumandmaximum。
Themoney-capitalthusreleasedbythemeremechanismoftheturnovermovementtogetherwiththatfreedbythesuccessiverefluxoffixedcapitalandthatrequiredineverylabour-processforvariablecapitalmustplayanimportantroleassoonasthecreditsystemdevelopsandmustatthesametimeformoneofthelatter’sfoundations。
Letusassumethatthetimeofcirculationinourillustrationisshortenedfrom3to2weeks。Thisisnottobeanormalchange,butdue,say,toprosperoustimes,shortertermsofpayment,etc。Thecapitalof£;600,whichislaidoutduringtheworkingperiod,returnsoneweekearlierthanneed。Itisthereforereleasedforthisweek。Furthermore,inthemiddleoftheworkingperiod,asbefore,£;300arereleasedaportionofthose£;600,butfor4weeksinsteadof3。Therearethen,onthemoney-market£;600foroneweekand£;300for4
insteadof3weeks。Asthisconcernsnotonecapitalistalonebutmanyandoccursinvariousperiodsindifferentbusinesses,moreavailablemoney-capitalmakesitsappearanceinthemarket。Ifthisconditionslastsforsometime,productionwillbeexpandedwhereverfeasible。Capitalistsoperatingonborrowedmoneywillexerciselessdemandonthemoney-market,whicheasesitasmuchasincreasedsupply;orfinallythesumswhichhavebecomesuperfluousforthemechanismarethrowndefinitelyonthemoney-market。
Inconsequenceofthecontractionofthetimeofcirculationfrom3weeksto2,andconsequentlyoftheperiodofturnoverfrom9weeksto8,one-ninthofthetotalcapitaladvancedbecomessuperfluous。The6-weekworkingperiodcannowbekeptgoingascontinuouslywith£;800asformerlywith£;900。Oneportionofthevalueofthecommodity-capital,equalto£;100,onceithasbeenreconvertedintomoney,persiststhereforeinthestateofmoney-capitalwithoutperforminganymorefunctionsasapartofthecapitaladvancedfortheprocessofproduction。Whilethescaleofproductionandotherconditions,suchasprices,etc。,remainthesame,thesumofvalueoftheadvancedcapitalisreducedfrom£;900
to£;800。Theremainderoftheoriginallyadvancedvalueamountingto£;100iseliminatedintheformofmoney-capital。Assuchitentersthemoney-marketandformsanadditionalportionofthecapitalsfunctioninghere。
Thisshowsthewayinwhichaplethoraofmoney-capitalmayarise——andnotonlyinthesensethatthesupplyofmoney-capitalisgreaterthanthedemand;thisisalwaysonlyarelativeplethora,whichoccursforinstanceinthe搈elancholyperiod”openinganewcycleaftertheendofacrisis。Butalsointhesensethatadefiniteportionofthecapital-valueadvancedbecomessuperfluousfortheoperationoftheentireprocessofsocialreproductionwhichincludestheprocessofcirculationandisthereforeeliminatedintheformofmoney-capital——aplethorabroughtaboutbythemerecontractionoftheperiodofturnover,whilethesaleofproductionandpriesremainthesame。Theamountofmoneyincirculation,whethergreatorsmall,didnotinfluenceitintheleast。
Letusassumeonthecontrarythattheperiodofcirculationisprolongedfrom,say,3weeksto5。Inthatcaseattheverynextturnovertherefluxoftheadvancedcapitaltakesplace2weekstoolate。Thelastpartoftheprocessofproductionofthisworkingperiodcannotbecarriedonfurtherbythemechanismoftheturnoveroftheadvancedcapitalitself。
Shouldthisconditionlastanylengthoftime,acontractionoftheprocessofproduction,areductionofitsvolume,mighttakeplace,justasanextensionoccurredinthepreviouscase。Butinordertocontinuetheprocessonthesamescale,theadvancedcapitalwouldhavetobeincreasedby2/9,or£;200,fortheentiretermoftheprolongationofthecirculationperiod。Thisadditionalcapitalcanbeobtainedonlyfromthemoney-market。
Ifthelengtheningoftheperiodofcirculationappliestooneorseveralbigbranchesofbusiness,itmayexertpressureonthemoney-market,unlessthiseffectisparalysedbysomecounter-effect。Inthiscaseitislikewiseevidentandobviousthatthispressure,likethatplethorabefore,hadnothingwhatevertodowithamovementeitherofpricesofthecommoditiesorthemassofexistingcirculatingmedium。
[Thepreparationofthischapterforpublicationpresentednosmallnumberofdifficulties。FirmlygroundedasMarxwasinalgebra,hedidnotgettheknackofhandlingfigures,particularlycommercialarithmetic,althoughthereexistsathickbatchofcopybookscontainingnumerousexamplesofallkindsofcommercialcomputationswhichhehadsolvedhimself。Butknowledgeofthevariousmethodsofcalculationandexerciseindailypracticalcommercialarithmeticarebynomeansthesame,andconsequentlyMarxgotsotangledupinhiscomputationsofturnoversthatbesidesplacesleftuncompletedanumberofthingswereincorrectandcontradictory。InthetablesreproducedaboveIhavepreservedonlythesimplestandarithmeticallycorrectdata。Myreasonfordoingsowasmainlythefollowing:
TheuncertainresultsofthesepainstakingcalculationsledMarxtoattachunwarrantedimportancetoacircumstance,whichinmyopinion,hasactuallylittlesignificance。Irefertowhathecallsthe搑elease”
ofmoney-capital。Theactualstateofaffairs,basedontheaboveassumptions,isthis:
Nomatterwhatmaybetheratiobetweentheworkingperiodandcirculationtime,hencebetweencapitalIandcapitalII,thereisreturnedtothecapitalist,intheformofmoney,aftertheendofthefirstturnoverandthereafteratregularintervalsequaltothedurationofoneworkingperiod,thecapitalrequiredforoneworkingperiod,i。e。,asumequaltocapitalI。
Iftheworkingperiodis5weeks,thecirculationtime4weeks,andcapitalI£;500,thenasumofmoneyequalto£;500returnseachtimeattheendofthe9th,14th,19th,24th,29thweek,etc。
Iftheworkingperiodis6weeks,thecirculationtime3weeks,andcapitalI£;600,then£;600returnattheendofthe9th,15th,21st,27th,33rdweek,etc。
Finally,iftheworkingperiodis4weeks,thecirculationtime5weeks,andcapitalI£;400,then£;400arereturnedattheendofthe9th,13th,17th,21st,25thweek,etc。
Whetherany,andifsohowmuch,ofthisreturnedmoneyissuperfluousandthusreleasedforthecurrentworkingperiodisimmaterial。Itisassumedthatproductioncontinuesuninterruptedlyonthecurrentscale,andinorderthatthismaycomeaboutmoneymustbeavailableandmustthereforereturn,whether搑eleased”ornot。Ifproductionisinterrupted,releasestopslikewise。
Inotherwords:Thereisindeedareleaseofmoney,aformationthereforeoflatent,merelypotential,capitalintheformofmoney。Butittakesplaceunderallcircumstancesandnotonlyunderthespecialconditionssetforthinthetext;anditcomesaboutonalargerscalethanthatassumedinthetext。SofarascirculatingcapitalIisconcerned,theindustrialcapitalistisinthesamesituationattheendofeachturnoveraswhenheestablishedhisbusiness:hehasallofitinonebulk,whilehecanconvertitbackintoproductivecapitalonlygradually。
Theessentialpointinthetextistheproofthatontheonehandaconsiderableportionoftheindustrialcapitalmustalwaysbeavailableintheformofmoneyandthatontheotherhandastillmoreconsiderableportionmusttemporarilyassumetheformofmoney。Theproofis,ifanything,renderedstrongerbytheseadditionalremarksofmine——F。E。]
V。THEEFFECTOFACHANGEOFPRICESWehaveontheonehandjustassumedunalteredpricesandanunalteredscaleofproduction,andacontractionorexpansionofthetimeofcirculationontheother。Nowletussupposeonthecontraryanunalteredperiodofturnoverandanunalteredscaleofproduction,andontheotherhandpricechanges,i。e。,riseorfallofpricesofrawmaterials,auxiliarysubstances,andlabour,orofthetwofirst-namedelementsalone。Takeitthatthepriceofrawandauxiliarymaterials,aswellaswages,fallbyonehalf。
Inthatcasethecapitaltobeadvancedinourexamplewouldbe£;50
insteadof£;100perweek,andthatforthe9-weekturnoverperiodwouldbe£;450insteadof£;900。£;450oftheadvancedcapital-valueareeliminatedfirstofallintheformofmoney-capital,buttheprocessofproductioncontinuesonthesamescale,withthesameperiodofturnover,andwiththepreviousdivisionofthelatter。Theannualoutputlikewiseremainsthesamebutitsvaluehasbeencutinhalf。Thischange,whichisaccompaniedbyachangeinthesupplyanddemandofmoney-capital,isbroughtaboutneitherbyanaccelerationofthecirculation,norbyachangeinthequantityofcirculatingmoney。Onthecontrary。Afallbyhalfinthevalue,orprice,oftheelementsofproductivecapitalwouldfirsthavetheeffectofdiminishingbyhalfthecapital-valuetobeadvancedforthecontinuationofBusinessXonthesamescaleasbefore,andhenceonlyonehalfofthemoneywouldhavetobethrownonthemarketbyBusinessX,sinceBusinessXadvancesthiscapital-valuefirstintheformofmoney,i。e。,asmoney-capital。Theamountofmoneythrownintocirculationwoulddecreasebecausethepricesoftheelementsofproductionfell。Thiswouldbethefirsteffect。
Inthesecondplacehoweveronehalfoftheoriginallyadvancedcapital-valueof£;900,or£;450,whichapassedsuccessivelythroughtheformsofmoney-capital,productivecapital,andcommodity-capital,andbexistedsimultaneouslyandconstantlysidebysidepartlyintheformofmoney-capital,partlyinthatofproductivecapital,andpartlyinthatofcommodity-capital,wouldbeeliminatedfromthecircuitofBusinessX,andthuscomeintothemoney-marketasadditionalmoney-capital,affectingitasanadditionalconstituent。Thesereleased£;450actasmoney-capital,notbecausetheyhavebecomesuperfluousmoneyfortheoperationofBusinessXbutbecausetheyareaconstituentpartoftheoriginalcapital-value,andhenceareintendedtofunctionfurtherascapitalandnottobeexpendedasmeremeansofcirculation。Thebestmethodoflettingthemoperateascapitalisthatofthrowingthemasmoney-capitalonthemoney-market。