第5章

Ifhissupplyanddemandinthisrespectcoveredeachotheritwouldmeanthathiscapitalhadnotproducedanysurplus-value，thatithadnotfunctionedasproductivecapital，thattheproductivecapitalhadbeenconvertedintocommodity-capitalnotbigwithsurplus-value；thatithadnotdrawnanysurplus-valueincommodityformoutoflabour-powerduringtheprocessofproduction，hadnotfunctionedatallascapital。Thecapitalistmustindeed”selldearerthanhehasbought，”buthesucceedsindoingsoonlybecausethecapitalistprocessofproductionenableshimtotransformthecheapercommodityhebought——cheaperbecauseitcontainslessvalue——

intoacommodityofgreatervalue，henceadearerone。Hesellsdearer，notbecausehesellsabovethevalueofhiscommodity，butbecausehiscommoditycontainsvalueinexcessofthatcontainedintheingredientsofitsproduction。

Therateatwhichthecapitalistmakesthevalueofhiscapitalexpandisthegreater，thegreaterthedifferencebetweenhissupplyandhisdemand，i。e。，thegreatertheexcessofthecommodity-valuehesuppliesoverthecommodity-valuehedemands。Hisaimisnottoequalizehissupplyanddemand，buttomaketheinequalitybetweenthem，theexcessofhissupplyoverhisdemand，asgreataspossible。

Whatistrueoftheindividualcapitalistappliestothecapitalistclass。

Insofarasthecapitalistmerelypersonifiesindustrialcapital，hisowndemandisconfinedtomeansofproductionandlabour-power。Inpointofvalue，hisdemandforMPissmallerthanhisadvancedcapital；

hebuysmeansofproductionofasmallervaluethanthatofhiscapital，andthereforeofastillsmallervaluethanthatofthecommodity-capitalwhichhesupplies。

Asregardshisdemandforlabour-power，itisdeterminedinpointofvaluebytherelationofhisvariablecapitaltohistotalcapital，henceequalsv:C。Incapitalistproductionthisdemandtherebygrowssmallerthanhisdemandformeansofproduction。HispurchasesofMPsteadilyriseabovehispurchasesofL。

Sincethelabourergenerallyconvertshiswagesintomeansofsubsistence，andfortheoverwhelminglylargerpartintoabsolutenecessities，thedemandofthecapitalistforlabour-powerisindirectlyalsoademandforthearticlesofconsumptionessentialtotheworking-class。Butthisdemandisequaltovandnotoneiotagreater(ifthelabourersavesapartofhiswages——wenecessarilydiscardhereallcreditrelations——

heconvertspartofhiswagesintoahoardandtothatextentdoesnotactasabidder，apurchaser)。Theupperlimitofacapitalist’sdemandisC，equaltoc+v，buthissupplyisequaltoc+v+s。Consequentlyifthecompositionofhiscommodity-capitalis80c+20v+20s，hisdemandisequalto80c+20v，hence，consideredfromtheangleofthevalueitcontains，one-fifthsmallerthanhissupply。

Thegreaterthepercentageofthemassofsurplus-valueproducedbyhim(hisrateofprofit)thesmallerbecomeshisdemandinrelationtohissupply。Althoughwiththefurtherdevelopmentofproductionthedemandofthecapitalistforlabour-power，andthusindirectlyfornecessarymeansofsubsistence，steadilydecreasescomparedwithhisdemandformeansofproduction，itmustnotbeforgottenontheotherhandthathisdemandforMPisalwayssmallerthanhiscapital。HisdemandformeansofproductionmustthereforealwaysbesmallerInvaluethanthecommodity-productofthecapitalistwho，workingwithacapitalofequalvalueandunderequalconditions，furnisheshimwiththosemeansofproduction。Thatmanycapitalistsandnotonlyonedothefurnishingdoesnotalterthecase。Takeitthathiscapitalis£；1，000，anditsconstantpart£；800；thenhisdemandonallthesecapitalistsisequalto£；800。Togethertheysupplymeansofproductionworth£；1，200foreach£；1，000(regardlessofwhatshareineach£；1，000mayfalltoeachoneofthemandofthefractionofhistotalcapitalwhichtheshareofeachmayrepresent)，assumingthattherateofprofitisthesame。Consequentlyhisdemandcoversonlytwo-thirdsoftheirsupply，whilehisowntotaldemandamountstoonlyfour-fifthsofhisownsupply，measuredinvalue。

Itstillremainsforus，incidentally，toinvestigatetheproblemofturnover。Letthetotalcapitalofthecapitalistbe£；5，000，ofwhich£；4，000isfixedand£；1，000circulatingcapital；letthis1，000becomposedof800cplus200v，asassumedabove。

Hiscirculatingcapitalmustbeturnedoverfivetimesayearforhistotalcapitaltoturnoveronce。Hiscommodity-productisthenequalto£；6，000，i。e。，£；1，000morethanhisadvancedcapital，whichresultsinthesameratioofsurplus-valueasabove:

5，000C:1，000(c+v):20sThisturnoverthereforedoesnotchangeanythingintheratioofhistotaldemandtohistotalsupply。Theformerremainsone-fifthsmallerthanthelatter。

Supposehisfixedcapitalhastoberenewedin10years。Sothecapitalistpayseveryyearone-tenth，or£；400，intoasinkingfundandthushasonlyavalueof£；3，600offixedcapitalleftplus£；400

inmoney。Iftherepairsarenecessaryanddonotexceedtheaverage，theyrepresentnothingbutcapitalinvestedlater。Wemaylookatthematterthesameasifhehadallowedforthecostofrepairsbeforehand，whencalculatingthevalueofhisinvestmentcapital，sofarasthisentersintotheannualcommodity-product，sothatitisincludedintheone-tenthsinkingfundpayment。(Ifhisneedforrepairsisbelowaverageheissomuchmoneytothegood，andthereverseifabove。Butthisevensoutfortheentireclassofcapitalistsengagedinthesamebranchofindustry。)

Atanyrate，althoughhisannualdemandstillremains£；5，000，equaltotheoriginalcapital-valueheadvanced(assuminghistotalcapitalisturnedoveronceayear)，thisdemandincreaseswithregardtothecirculatingpartofthecapital，whileitsteadilydecreaseswithregardtoitsfixedpart。

Wenowcometoreproduction。Letusassumethatthecapitalistconsumestheentiresurplus-valuemandreconvertsonlycapitalCoftheoriginalmagnitudeintoproductivecapital。Thenthedemandofthecapitalistisequalinvaluetohissupply；butthisdoesnotrefertothemovementofhiscapital。Asacapitalistheexercisesademandforonlyfour-fifthsofhissupply(intermsofvalue)。Heconsumesone-fifthasanon-capitalist，notinhisfunctionascapitalistbutforhisprivaterequirementsorpleasures。

Hiscalculation，expressedinpercentages，isthenasfollows:

Demandascapitalist……100，supply120

Demandasmanabouttown……20，supply——

Totaldemand……120，supply120

Thisassumptionistantamounttoassumingthatcapitalistproductiondoesnotexist，andthereforethattheindustrialcapitalisthimselfdoesnotexist。Forcapitalismisabolishedrootandbranchbythebareassumptionthatitispersonalconsumptionandnotenrichmentthatworksasthecompellingmotive。

Butsuchanassumptionisimpossiblealsotechnically。Thecapitalistmustnotonlyformareservecapitaltocushionpricefluctuationsandenablehimtowaitforfavorablebuyingandsellingconditions。Hemustaccumulatecapitalinordertoextendhisproductionandbuildtechnicalprogressintohisproductiveorganism。

Inordertoaccumulatecapitalhemustfirstwithdrawinmoney-formfromcirculationapartofthesurplus-valuewhichheobtainedfromthatcirculation，andmusthoardituntilithasincreasedsufficientlyfortheextensionofhisoldbusinessortheopeningofaside-line。Solongastheformationofthehoardcontinues，itdoesnotincreasethedemandofthecapitalist。Themoneyisimmobilised。Itdoesnotwithdrawfromthecommodity-marketanyequivalentincommoditiesforthemoneyequivalentwithdrawnfromitforcommoditiessupplied。

Creditisnotconsideredhere。Andcreditincludesforexampledepositsbythecapitalistofaccumulatingmoneyinabankoncurrentaccountpayinginterest。

NOTES

[7]EndofManuscriptV。Whatfollowstotheendofthechapter，isanotecontainedinanotebookof1877or1878amidextractsfromvariousbooks——F。E。

1885:CapitalII——Chapter5+6

partI

THEMETAMORPHOSESOFCAPITALANDTHEIRCIRCUITS

CHAPTERV

THETIMEOFCIRCULATION[8]Wehaveseenthatthemovementofcapitalthroughthesphereofproductionandthetwophasesofthesphereofcirculationtakesplaceinaseriesofperiodsoftime。Thedurationofitssojourninthesphereofproductionisitstimeofproduction，thatofitsstayinthesphereofcirculationitstimeofcirculation。Thetotaltimeduringwhichitdescribesitscircuitisthereforeequaltothesumofitstimeofproductionanditstimeofcirculation。

Thetimeofproductionnaturallycomprisestheperiodofthelabour-process，butisnotcomprisedinit。Itwillberememberedfirstofallthatapartoftheconstantcapitalexistsintheformofinstrumentsoflabour，suchasmachinery，buildings，etc。，whichservethesameconstantlyrepeatedlabour-processesuntiltheyarewornout。Periodicalinterruptionsofthelabour-process，bynightforinstance，interruptthefunctioningoftheseinstrumentsoflabour，butnottheirstayattheplaceofproduction。Theybelongtothisplacewhentheyareinfunctionaswellaswhentheyarenot。Ontheotherhandthecapitalistmusthaveadefinitesupplyofrawmaterialandauxiliarymaterialinreadiness，inorderthattheprocessofproductionmaytakeplaceforalongerorshortertimeonapreviouslydeterminedscale，withoutbeingdependentontheaccidentsofdailysupplyfromthemarket。Thissupplyofrawmaterial，etc。，isproductivelyconsumedonlybydegrees。Thereis，therefore，adifferencebetweenitstimeofproduction[9]anditstimeoffunctioning。Thetimeofproductionofthemeansofproductioningeneralcomprises，therefore，1)thetimeduringwhichtheyfunctionasmeansofproduction，henceserveintheproductiveprocess；2)thestopsduringwhichtheprocessofproduction，andthusthefunctioningofthemeansofproductionembodiedinit，areinterrupted；3)thetimeduringwhichtheyareheldinreadinessasprerequisitesofthatprocess，hencealreadyrepresentproductivecapitalbuthavenotyetenteredintotheprocessofproduction。

Thedifferencesofarconsideredhasineachcasebeenthedifferencebetweenthetimewhichtheproductivecapitalstaysinthesphereofproductionandthatitstaysintheprocessofproduction。Buttheprocessofproductionmayitselfberesponsibleforinterruptionsofthelabour-process，andhenceofthelabour-time——intervalsduringwhichthesubjectoflabourisexposedtotheactionofphysicalprocesseswithoutthefurtherinterventionofhumanlabour。Theprocessofproduction，andthusthefunctioningofthemeansofproduction，continueinthiscase，althoughthelabour-process，andthusthefunctioningofthemeansofproductionasinstrumentsoflabour，havebeeninterrupted。Thisapplies，forinstance，tothegrain，afterithasbeensown，thewinefermentinginthecellar，thelabour-materialofmanyfactories，suchastanneries，wherethematerialisexposedtotheactionofchemicalprocesses。Thetimeofproductionisherelongerthanthelabour-time。Thedifferencebetweenthetwoconsistsinanexcessoftheproductiontimeoverthelabour-time。Thisexcessalwaysarisesfromthelatentexistenceofproductivecapitalinthesphereofproductionwithoutfunctioningintheprocessofproductionitselforfromitsfunctioningintheproductiveprocesswithouttakingpartinthelabour-process。

Thatpartofthelatentproductivecapitalisheldinreadinessonlyasarequisitefortheproductiveprocess，suchascotton，coal，etc。，inaspinning-mill，actsasacreatorofneitherproductsnorvalue。Itisfallowcapital，althoughitsfallownessisessentialfortheuninterruptedflowoftheprocessofproduction。Thebuildings，apparatus，etc。，necessaryforthestorageoftheproductivesupply(latentcapital)areconditionsoftheproductiveprocessandthereforeconstitutecomponentpartsoftheadvancedproductivecapital。Theyperformtheirfunctionasconservatorsoftheproductivecomponentsinthepreliminarystage。Inasmuchaslabour-processesarenecessaryinthisstage，theyaddtothecostofrawmaterial，etc。，butareproductivelabourandproductivesurplus-value，becauseapartofthislabour，likeofallotherwage-labour，isnotpaidfor。Thenormalinterruptionsoftheentireprocessofproduction，theintermissionsduringwhichtheproductivecapitaldoesnotfunction，createneithervaluenorsurplus-value。Hencethedesiretotheworkgoingatnight，too。(BuchI，Kap。VIII，4。)[Englishedition:Ch。X，4——Ed。]

Theintervalsinthelabour-timewhichthesubjectoflabourmustendureintheprocessofproductionitselfcreateneithervaluenorsurplus-value。

Buttheyadvancetheproduct，formapartofitslife，aprocessthroughwhichitmustpass。Thevalueoftheapparatus，etc。，istransferredtotheproductinproportiontotheentiretimeduringwhichtheyperformtheirfunction；theproductisbroughttothisstagebylabouritself，andtheemploymentoftheseapparatusisasmuchaconditionofproductionasisthereductiontodustofapartofthecottonwhichdoesnotenterintotheproductbutneverthelesstransfersitsvaluetotheproduct。Theotherpartofthelatentcapital，suchasbuildings，machinery，etc。，theinstrumentsoflabourwhosefunctioningisinterruptedonlybytheregularpausesoftheproductiveprocess——irregularinterruptionscausedbytherestrictionofproduction，crises，etc。，aretotallosses——addsvaluewithoutenteringintothecreationoftheproduct。Thetotalvaluewhichthispartofcapitaladdstotheproductisdeterminedbyitsaveragedurability；

itlosesvalue，becauseitlosesitsuse-value，bothduringthetimethatitperformsitsfunctionsaswellasduringthatinwhichitdoesnot。

Finallythevalueoftheconstantpartofcapital，whichcontinuesintheproductiveprocessalthoughthelabour-processisinterrupted，re-appearsintheresultoftheproductiveprocess。Labouritselfhashereplacedthemeansofproductioninconditionsunderwhichtheypassofthemselvesthroughcertainnaturalprocesses，theresultofwhichisadefiniteusefuleffectorachangeintheformoftheiruse-value。Labouralwaystransfersthevalueofthemeansofproductiontotheproduct，insofarasitreallyconsumestheminasuitablemanner，asmeansofproduction。Anditdoesnotchangethematterwhetherlabourhastobearcontinuallyonitssubjectbymeansoftheinstrumentsoflabourinordertoproducethiseffectorwhetheritmerelyneedstogivethefirstimpulsebyprovidingthemeansofproductionwithconditionsunderwhichtheyundergotheintendedalterationofthemselves，inconsequenceofnaturalprocesses，withoutthefurtherassistanceoflabour。

Whatevermaybethereasonfortheexcessofproductiontimeoverthelabour-time——whetherthecircumstancethatmeansofproductionconstituteonlylatentproductivecapitalandhencearestillinastagepreliminarytotheactualproductiveprocessorthattheirownfunctioningisinterruptedwithintheprocessofproductionbyitspausesorfinallythattheprocessofproductionitselfnecessitatesinterruptionsofthelabour-process——

innoneofthesecasesdothemeansofproductionfunctionasabsorbersoflabour。Andiftheydonotabsorblabour，theydonotabsorbsurplus-labour，either。Hencethereisnoexpansionofthevalueofproductivecapitalsolongasitstaysinthatpartofitsproductiontimewhichexceedsthelabour-time，nomatterhowinseparablefromthesepausesthecarryingonoftheprocessofself-expansionmaybe。Itisplainthatthemoretheproductiontimeandlabour-timecovereachotherthegreateristheproductivityandself-expansionofagivenproductivecapitalinagivenspaceoftime。

Hencethetendencyofthecapitalistproductiontoreducetheexcessoftheproductiontimeoverthelabour-timeasmuchaspossible。Butwhilethetimeofproductionofacertaincapitalmaydifferfromitslabour-time，italwayscomprisesthelatter，andthisexcessisitselfaconditionoftheprocessofproduction。Thetimeofproduction，then，isalwaysthattimeinwhichacapitalproducesuse-valuesandexpands，hencefunctionsasproductivecapital，althoughitincludestimeinwhichitiseitherlatentorproduceswithoutexpandingitsvalue。

Withinthesphereofcirculation，capitalabidesascommodity-capitalandmoney-capital。Itstwoprocessesofcirculationconsistinitstransformationfromthecommodity-formintothatofmoneyandfromthemoney-formintothatofcommodities。Thecircumstancethatthetransformationofcommoditiesintomoneyishereatthesametimearealisationofthesurplus-valueembodiedinthecommodities，andthatthetransformationofmoneyintocommoditiesisatthesametimeaconversionorreconversionofcapital-valueintotheformofitselementsofproductiondoesnotintheleastalterthefactthattheseprocesses，asprocessesofcirculation，areprocessesofthesimplemetamorphosisofcommodities。

Timeofcirculationandtimeofproductionmutuallyexcludeeachother。Duringitstimeofcirculationcapitaldoesnotperformthefunctionsofproductivecapitalandthereforeproducesneithercommoditiesnorsurplus-value。

Ifwestudythecircuitinitssimplestform，aswhentheentirecapital-valuepassesinonebulkfromonephaseintoanother，itbecomespalpablyevidentthattheprocessofproductionandthereforealsotheself-expansionofcapital-valueareinterruptedsolongasitstimeofcirculationlasts，andthattherenewaloftheprocessofproductionwillproceedatafasteroraslowerpacedependingonthelengthofthecirculationtime。Butifonthecontrarythevariouspartsofcapitalpassthroughthecircuitoneafteranother，sothatthecircuitoftheentirecapital-valueisaccomplishedsuccessivelyinthecircuitsofitsvariouscomponentparts，thenitisevidentthatthelongeritsaliquotpartsstayinthesphereofcirculationthesmallermustbethepartfunctioninginthesphereofproduction。Theexpansionandcontractionofthetimeofcirculationoperatethereforeasnegativelimitstothecontractionorexpansionofthetimeofproductionoroftheextenttowhichacapitalofagivensizefunctionsasproductivecapital。Themorethemetamorphosesofcirculationofacertaincapitalareonlyideal，i。e。，themorethetimeofcirculationisequaltozero，orapproacheszero，themoredoescapitalfunction，themoredoesitsproductivityandtheself-expansionofitsvalueincrease。Forinstance，ifacapitalistexecutesanorderbythetermsofwhichhereceivespaymentondeliveryoftheproduct，andifthispaymentismadeinhisownmeansofproduction，thetimeofcirculationapproacheszero。

Acapital’stimeofcirculationthereforelimits，generallyspeaking，itstimeofproductionandhenceitsprocessofgeneratingsurplus-value。

Anditlimitsthisprocessinproportiontoitsownduration。Thisdurationmayconsiderablyincreaseordecreaseandhencemayrestrictcapital’stimeofproductioninawidelyvaryingdegree。ButPoliticalEconomyseesonlywhatisapparent，namelytheeffectofthetimeofcirculationoncapital’sprocessofthecreationofsurplus-valueingeneral。Ittakesthisnegativeeffectforapositiveone，becauseitsconsequencesarepositive。

Itclingsthemoretightlytothisappearancesinceitseemstofurnishproofthatcapitalpossessesamysticsourceofself-expansionindependentofitsprocessofproductionandhenceoftheexploitationoflabour，aspringwhichflowstoitfromthesphereofcirculation。WeshallseelaterthatevenscientificPoliticalEconomyhasbeendeceivedbythisappearanceofthings。Variousphenomena，itwillturnout，givecolortothissemblance:

1)Thecapitalistmethodofcalculatingprofit，inwhichthenegativecausefiguresapositiveone，sincewithcapitalsindifferentspheresofinvestment，whereonlythetimeofcirculationaredifferent，alongertimeofcirculationtendstobringaboutanincreaseinprices，inshort，servesasoneofthecausesofequalisingprofits。2)Thetimeofcirculationisbutaphaseofthetimeofturnover；thelatterhoweverincludesthetimeofproductionorreproduction。Whatisreallyduetothelatterseemstobeduetothetimeofcirculation。3)Theconversionofcommoditiesintovariablecapital(wages)isnecessitatedbytheirpreviousconversionintomoney。Intheaccumulationofcapital，theconversionintoadditionalvariablecapitalthereforetakesplaceinthesphereofcirculation，orduringthetimeofcirculation。Consequentlyitseemsthattheaccumulationthusachievedisowedtothelatter。

WithinthesphereofcirculationcapitalpassesthroughthetwoantitheticalphasesC——MandM——C；itisimmaterialinwhatorder。Henceitstimeofcirculationislikewisedividedintotwoparts，viz。:thetimeitrequiresforitsconversionfromcommoditiesintomoney，andthatwhichitrequiresforitsconversionfrommoneyintocommodities。Wehavealreadylearnedfromtheanalysisofsimplecirculationofcommodities(BuchI，Kap。III)[Englishedition:Ch。III——Ed。]thatC——M，thesale，isthemostdifficultpartofitsmetamorphosisandthatthereforeunderordinaryconditionsittakesupthegreaterpartofitstimeofcirculation。

Asmoney，valueexistsinitsalwaysconvertibleform。Asacommodityitmustfirstbetransformedintomoneybeforeitcanassumethisformofdirectconvertibilityandhenceofconstantreadinessforaction。However，incapital’sprocessofcirculation，itsphaseM——Chastodowithitstransformationintocommoditieswhichconstitutedefiniteelementsofproductivecapitalinagivenenterprise。Themeansofproductionmaynotbeavailableinthemarketandmustfirstbeproducedortheymustbeprocuredfromdistantmarketsortheirordinarysupplyhasbecomeirregularorpriceshavechanged，etc。，inshortthereareamultitudeofcircumstanceswhicharenotnoticeableinthesimplechangeofformM——C，butwhichneverthelessrequiresnowmore，nowlesstimealsoforthispartofthecirculationphase。C——MandM——Cmaybeseparatenotonlyintimebutalsoinspace；

themarketforbuyingandthemarketforsellingmaybelocatedapart。

Inthecaseoffactoriesforinstancebuyerandsellerarefrequentlydifferentpersons。Intheproductionofcommodities，circulationisasnecessaryasproductionitself，sothatcirculationagentsarejustasmuchneededasproductionagents。Theprocessofreproductionincludesbothfunctionsofcapital，thereforeitincludesthenecessityofhavingrepresentativesofthesefunctions，eitherinthepersonofthecapitalisthimselforofwage-labourers，hisagents。Butthisfurnishesnogroundforconfusingtheagentsofcirculationwiththoseofproduction，anymorethanitfurnishesgroundforconfusingthefunctionsofcommodity-capitalandmoney-capitalwiththoseofproductivecapital。Theagentsofcirculationmustbepaidbytheagentsofproduction。Butthecapitalists，whoselltoandbuyfromoneanother，createneithervaluesnorproductsbytheseacts，thisstateofaffairsisnotchangediftheyareenabledorcompelledbythevolumeoftheirbusinesstoshiftthisfunctionontoothers。Insomebusinessesthebuyersandsellersgetpaidintheformofpercentagesontheprofits。

Alltalkabouttheirbeingpaidbytheconsumerdoesnothelpmatters。

Theconsumerscanpayonlyinsofarasthey，asagentsofproduction，produceanequivalentincommoditiesforthemselvesorappropriateitfromproductionagentseitheronthebasisofsomelegaltitle(astheirco-partners，etc。)orbypersonalservices。

ThereisadifferencebetweenC——MandM——Cwhichhasnothingtodowiththedifferenceinformsofcommoditiesandmoneybutarisesfromthecapitalistcharacterofproduction。IntrinsicallybothC——MandM——Caremereconversionsofgivenvaluesfromoneformintoanother。

ButC’——M’isatthesametimearealisationofthesurplus-valuecontainedinC’。M——Choweverisnot。Hencesellingismoreimportantthanbuying。

UndernormalconditionsM——Cisanactnecessaryfortheself-expansionofthevalueexpressedinM，butitisnotarealisationofsurplus-value；

itistheintroductiontoitsproduction，notanafterword。

Theforminwhichacommodityexists，itsexistenceasause-value，setsdefinitelimitstothecirculationofcommoditycapitalC’——M’。Use-valuesareperishablebynature。Henceiftheyarenotproductivelyorindividuallyconsumedwithinacertaintime，dependingonwhattheyareintendedfor，inotherwords，iftheyarenotsoldwithinacertainperiod，theyspoilandlosewiththeiruse-valuethepropertyofbeingvehiclesofexchange-value。

Thecapital-valuecontainedinthem，hencealsothesurplus-valueaccruedinit，getslost。Theuse-valuesdonotremainthecarriersofperennialself-expandingcapital-valueunlesstheyareconstantlyrenewedandreproduced，arereplacedbynewuse-valuesofthesameorofsomeotherorder。Thesaleoftheuse-valuesintheformofcommodities，hencetheirentryintoproductiveorindividualconsumptioneffectedthroughthissaleishowevertheeverrecurringconditionoftheirreproduction。Theymustchangetheirolduse-formwithinadefinitetimeinordertocontinuetheirexistenceinanewform。Exchange-valuemaintainsitselfonlybymeansofthisconstantrenewalofitsbody。Theuse-valuesofvariouscommoditiesspoilsoonerorlater；theintervalbetweentheirproductionandconsumptionmaythereforebecomparativelylongorshort；hencetheycanpersistwithoutspoilinginthecirculationphaseC——Mforashorterorlongertermintheformofcommodity-capital，canendureashorteroralongertimeofcirculationascommodities。Thelimitofthecirculationtimeofacommodity-capitalimposedbythespoilingofthebodyofthecommodityistheabsolutelimitofthispartofthetimeofcirculation，orofthetimeofcirculationofcommodity-capitalassuch。Themoreperishableacommodityandthesoonerafteritsproductionitmustthereforebeconsumedandhencesold，themorerestrictedisitscapacityforremovalfromitsplaceofproduction，thenarrowerthereforeisthespatialsphereofitscirculation，themorelocalisedarethemarketswhereitcanbesold。Forthisreasonthemoreperishableacommodityisandthegreatertheabsoluterestrictionofitstimeofcirculationascommodityonaccountofitsphysicalproperties，thelessisitsuitedtobeanobjectofcapitalistproduction。Suchacommoditycancomewithinitsgrasponlyinthicklypopulateddistrictsortotheextentthatimprovedtransportationeliminatedistance。Buttheconcentrationoftheproductionofanyarticleinthehandsofafewandinapopulousdistrictmaycreatearelativelylargemarketevenforsucharticlesasaretheproductsoflargebreweries，dairies，etc。

NOTES

[8]BeginningofManuscriptIV——F。E。

[9]Timeofproductionishereusedintheactivesense:Thetimeofproductionofthemeansofproductiondoesnotmeaninthiscasethetimerequiredfortheirproduction，butthetimeduringwhichtheytakepartintheprocessofproductionofacertaincommodity——

F。E。

1885:CapitalII——Chapter6

partI

THEMETAMORPHOSESOFCAPITALANDTHEIRCIRCUITS

CHAPTERVI

THECOSTSOFCIRCULATIONI。GENUINECOSTSOFCIRCULATION1。TheTimeofPurchaseandSaleThetransformationsoftheformsofcapitalfromcommoditiesintomoneyandfrommoneyintocommoditiesareatthesametimetransactionsofthecapitalist，actsofpurchaseandsale。Thetimeinwhichthesetransformationsofformstakeplaceconstitutessubjectively，fromthestandpointofthecapitalist，thetimeofpurchaseandsale；itisthetimeduringwhichheperformsthefunctionsofasellerandbuyerinthemarket。Justasthetimeofcirculationofcapitalisanecessarysegmentofitstimeofreproduction，sothetimeinwhichthecapitalistbuysandsellsandscoursthemarketisanecessarypartofthetimeinwhichhefunctionsasacapitalist，i。e。，aspersonifiedcapital。Itisapartofhisbusinesshours。

[Sincewehaveassumedthatcommoditiesareboughtandsoldattheirvalues，theseactsconstitutemerelytheconversionofacertainvaluefromoneformintoanother，fromthecommodity-formintothemoney-formorfromthemoney-formintothecommodity-form——achangeinthestateofbeing。Ifcommoditiesaresoldattheirvalues，thenthemagnitudesofvalueinthehandsofthebuyerandsellerremainunchanged。Onlytheformofexistenceofvalueischanged。Ifthecommoditiesarenotsoldattheirvalues，thenthesumoftheconvertedvaluesremainsunchanged；

theplusononesideisaminusontheother。

ThemetamorphosesC——MandM——Caretransactionsbetweenbuyersandsellers；theyrequiretimetoconcludebargains，themoresoasthestrugglegoesoninwhicheachseekstogetthebestoftheother，anditisbusinessmenwhofaceoneanotherhere；andwhenGreekmeetsGreekthencomesthetugofwar。”[Aparaphraseofwordsfromthe17thcenturytragedyTheRivalQueens，ortheDeathofAlexandertheGreatbyNathanielLee——Ed。]Toeffectachangeinthestateofbeingcostsoftimeandlabour-power，notforthepurposeofcreatingvalue，however，butinordertoaccomplishtheconversionofvaluefromoneformintoanother。

Themutualattempttoappropriateanextrasliceofthisvalueonthisoccasionchangesnothing。Thislabour，increasedbytheevildesignsoneitherside，createsnovalue，anymorethantheworkperformedinajudicialproceedingincreasesthevalueofthesubjectmatterofthesuit。Mattersstandwiththislabour——whichisanecessaryelementinthecapitalistprocessofproductionasawhole，includingcirculationorincludedbyit——astheystand，say，withtheworkofcombustionofsomesubstanceusedforthegenerationofheat。Thisworkofcombustiondoesnotgenerateanyheat，althoughitisanecessaryelementintheprocessofcombustion。

Inorder，e。g。，toconsumecoalasfuel，Imustcombineitwithoxygen，andforthispurposemusttransformitfromthesolidintothegaseousstate(forinthecarbonicacidgas，theresultofthecombustion，coalisinthegaseousstate)；consequently，Imustbringaboutaphysicalchangeintheformofitsexistenceorinitsstateofbeing。Theseparationofcarbonmolecules，whichareunitedintoasolidmass，andthesplittingupofthesemoleculesintotheirseparateatomsmustprecedethenewcombination，andthisrequiresacertainexpenditureofenergywhichthusisnottransformedintoheatbuttakenfromit。Therefore，iftheownersofthecommoditiesarenotcapitalistsbutindependentdirectproducers，thetimeemployedinbuyingandsellingisadiminutionoftheirlabour-time，andforthisreasonsuchtransactionsusedtobedeferred(inancientandmedievaltimes)

toholidays。

Ofcoursethedimensionsassumedbytheconversionofcommoditiesinthehandsofthecapitalistscannottransformthislabour——whichdoesnotcreateanyvalue——intolabourproductiveofvalue。Norcanthemiracleofthistransubstantiationbeaccomplishedbyatransposition，i。e。，bytheindustrialcapitalistmakingthis”workofcombustion”theexclusivebusinessofthirdpersons，whoarepaidbythem，insteadofperformingitthemselves。Thisthirdpersonswillofcoursenottendertheirlabour-powertothecapitalistoutofsheerloveforthem。Itisamatterofindifferencetotherentcollectorofareal-estateownerorthemessengerofabankthattheirlabourdoesnotaddoneiotaortittletothevalueofeithertherentorthegoldpiecescarriedtoanotherbankbythebagful。[10]

Tothecapitalistwhohasothersworkingforhim，buyingandsellingbecomesaprimaryfunction。Sinceheappropriatestheproductofmanyonalargesocialscale，hemustsellitonthesamescaleandthenreconvertitfrommoneyintoelementsofproduction。Nowasbeforeneitherthetimeofpurchasenorofsalecreatesanyvalue。Thefunctionofmerchant’scapitalgiverisetoanillusion。Butwithoutgoingintothisatlengthherethismuchisplainfromthestart:Ifbyadivisionoflabourafunction，unproductiveinitselfalthoughanecessaryelementofreproduction，istransformedfromanincidentaloccupationmanyintoanexclusiveoccupationofafew，intotheirspecialbusiness，thenatureofthisfunctionitselfisnotchanged。Onemerchant(hereconsideredamereagentattendingtothechangeofformofcommodities，amerebuyerandseller)maybyhisoperationsshortenthetimeofpurchaseandsaleformanyproducers。Insuchcaseheshouldberegardedasamachinewhichreducesuselessexpenditureofenergyorhelpstosetproductiontimefree。[11]

Inordertosimplifythematter(sinceweshallnotdiscussthemerchantasacapitalistandmerchant’scapitaluntillater)weshallassumethatthisbuyingandsellingagentisamanwhosellshislabour。Heexpendshislabour-powerandlabour-timeintheoperationsC——MandM——C。Andhemakeshislivingthatway，justasanotherdoesbyspinningormakingpills。Heperformsanecessaryfunction，becausetheprocessofreproductionitselfincludeunproductivefunctions。Heworksaswellasthenextman，butintrinsicallyhislabourcreatesneithervaluenorproduct。Hebelongshimselftothefauxfraisofproduction。Hisusefulnessdoesnotconsistintransforminganunproductivefunctionintoaproductiveone，norunproductiveintoproductivelabour。Itwouldbeamiracleifsuchtransformationcouldbeaccomplishedbythemeretransferofafunction。

Hisusefulnessconsistsratherinthefactthatasmallerpartofsociety’slabour-powerandlabour-timeistiedupinthisunproductivefunction。

More。Weshallassumethatheisamerewage-labourer，evenoneofthebetterpaid，forallthedifferenceitmakes。Whateverhispay，asawage-labourerheworkspartofhistimefornothing。Hemayreceivedailythevalueoftheproductofeightworking-hours，yetfunctionsten。Butthetwohoursofsurplus-labourheperformsdonotproducevalueanymorethanhiseighthoursofnecessarylabour，althoughbymeansofthelatterapartofthesocialproductistransferredtohim。Inthefirstplace，lookingatitfromthestandpointofsociety，labour-powerisusedupnowasbeforefortenhoursinamerefunctionofcirculation。Itcannotbeusedforanythingelse，notforproductivelabour。Inthesecondplacehoweversocietydoesnotpayforthosetwohoursofsurplus-labour，althoughtheyarespentbytheindividualwhoperformsthislabour。Societydoesnotappropriateanyextraproductorvaluethereby。Butthecostsofcirculation，whichherepresents，arereducedbyone-fifth，fromtenhourstoeight。Societydoesnotpayanyequivalentforone-fifthofthisactivetimeofcirculation，ofwhichheistheagent。Butifthismanisemployedbyacapitalist，thenthenon-paymentofthesetwohoursreducesthecostofcirculationofhiscapital，whichconstituteadeductionfromhisincome。Forthecapitalistthisisapositivegain，becausethenegativelimitfortheself-expansionofhiscapital-valueistherebyreduced。Solongassmallindependentproducersofcommoditiesspendapartoftheirowntimeinbuyingandselling，thisrepresentsnothingbuttimespentduringtheintervalsbetweentheirproductivefunctionordiminutionoftheirtimeofproduction。

Atalleventsthetimeconsumedforthispurposeconstitutesoneofthecostsofcirculationwhichaddsnothingtotheconvertedvalues。

Itisthecostofconvertingthemfromthecommodity-formintothemoney-form。

Thecapitalistproducerofcommoditiesactingasanagentofcirculationdiffersfromthedirectproducerofcommoditiesonlyinthefactthathebuysandsellsonalargerscaleandthereforehisfunctionassuchagentassumesgreaterdimensions。Andifthevolumeofhisbusinesscompelsorenableshimtobuy(hire)circulationagentsofhisowntoserveaswage-labourers，thenatureofthecaseisnotchangedthereby。Acertainamountoflabour-powerandlabour-timemustbeexpendedintheprocessofcirculation(sofarasitismerelyachangeofform)。Butthisnowappearsasanadditionalinvestmentofcapital。Apartofthevariablecapitalmustbelaidoutinthepurchaseofthislabour-powerfunctioningonlyincirculation。Thisadvancecapitalcreatesneitherproductnorvalue。Itreducesprotantothedimensionsinwhichtheadvancedcapitalfunctionsproductively。Itisasthoughonepartoftheproductweretransformedintoamachinewhichbuysandsellstherestoftheproduct。Thismachinebringsaboutareductionoftheproduct。Itdoesnotparticipateintheproductiveprocess，althoughitcandiminishthelabour-power，etc。，spentoncirculation。Itconstitutesmerelyapartofthecostsofcirculation。

2。Book-KeepingApartfromtheactualbuyingandselling，labour-timeisexpendedonbook-keeping，whichbesidesabsorbsmaterialisedlaboursuchaspens，ink，paper，desks，officeparaphernalia。Thisfunction，therefore，exactstheexpenditureontheonehandoflabour-powerandontheotherofinstrumentsoflabour。

Itisthesameconditionofthingsasobtainedinthecaseofthetimeofpurchaseandsale。

Asunitywithinitscircuits，asvalueinmotion，whetherinthesphereofproductionorineitherphaseofthesphereofcirculation，capitalexistsideallyonlyintheformofmoneyofaccount，primarilyinthemindoftheproducerofcommodities，thecapitalistproducerofcommodities。

Thismovementisfixedandcontrolledbybook-keeping，whichincludesthedeterminationofprices，orthecalculationofthepricesofcommodities。

Themovementofproduction，especiallyoftheproductionofsurplus-value——inwhichthecommoditiesfigureonlyasdepositoriesofvalue，asthenamesofthingswhoseidealexistenceasvaluesiscrystallisedinmoneyofaccount——thusissymbolicallyreflectedinimagination。Solongastheindividualproducerofcommoditieskeepsaccountonlyinhishead(forinstance，apeasant；thebook-keepingtenant-farmerwasnotproduceduntiltheriseofcapitalistagriculture)，orbookshisexpenditures，receipts，duedatesofpayments，etc。，onlyincidentally，outsideofhisproductiontime，itispalpablyclearthatthisfunctionandtheinstrumentsoflabourconsumedbyit，suchaspaper，etc。，representadditionalconsumptionoflabour-timeandinstrumentswhicharenecessary，butconstituteadeductionfromthetimeavailableforproductiveconsumptionaswellasfromtheinstrumentsoflabourwhichfunctionsintherealprocessofproduction，enterintothecreationofproductsandvalue。[12]Thenatureofthefunctionisnotchanged——neitherbythedimensionswhichitassumesonaccountofitsconcentrationinthehandsofthecapitalistproducerofcommoditiesandthefactthatinsteadofappearingasthefunctionofmanysmallcommodity-producersitappearsasthefunctionofonecapitalist，asafunctionwithinaprocessoflarge-scaleproduction；norisitalteredbyitsdivorcementfromthoseproductivefunctionsofwhichitformedanappendage，norbyitsconversionintoanindependentfunctionofspecialagentsexclusivelyentrustedwithit。

Divisionoflabourandassumptionofindependencedonotmakeafunctiononethatcreatesproductsandvalueifitwasnotsointrinsically，hencebeforeitbecameindependent。Ifacapitalistinvestshiscapitalanew，hemustinvestapartofitinhiringabook-keeper，etc。，andinthewherewithalofbook-keeping。Ifhiscapitalisalreadyfunctioning，isengagedintheprocessofitsownconstantreproduction，hemustcontinuallyreconvertapartofhisproductintoabook-keeper，clerks，andthelike，bytransformingthatpartintomoney。Thatpartofhiscapitaliswithdrawnfromtheprocessofproductionandbelongsinthecostsofcirculation，deductionsfromthetotalyield(includingthelabour-poweritselfthatisexpendedexclusivelyforthisfunction)。

Butthereisacertaindifferencebetweenthecostsincidentaltobook-keeping，ortheunproductiveexpenditureoflabour-timeontheonehandandthoseofmerebuyingandsellingtimeontheother。Thelatterariseonlyfromthedefinitesocialformoftheprocessofproduction，fromthefactthatitistheprocessofproductionofcommodities。Book-keeping，asthecontrolandidealsynthesisoftheprocess，becomesthemorenecessarythemoretheprocessassumesasocialscaleandlosesitspurelyindividualcharacter。Itisthereforemorenecessaryincapitalistproductionthaninthescatteredproductionofhandicraftandpeasanteconomy，morenecessaryincollectiveproductionthanincapitalistproduction。Butthecostsofbook-keepingdropasproductionbecomesconcentratedandbook-keepingbecomessocial。

Weareconcernedhereonlywiththegeneralcharacterofthecostsofcirculation，whichariseoutofthemetamorphosisofformsalone。Itissuperfluoustodiscussherealltheirformsindetail。Buthowformswhichbelonginthesphereofpurechangesoftheformofvalueandhenceoriginatefromtheparticularsocialformoftheprocessofproduction，formswhichinthecaseoftheindividualcommodity-producerareonlytransient，barelyperceptibleelements，runalongsidehisproductivefunctionsorbecomeintertwinedwiththem——howthesecanstriketheeyeasthehugecostsofcirculationcanbeseenfromjustthemoneytakeninandpaidoutwhentheseoperationshavebecomeindependentandconcentratedonalargescaleastheexclusivefunctionofbanks，etc。，orofcashiersinindividualbusinesses。Butitmustbefirmlyborneinmindthatthesecostsofcirculationarenotchangedincharacterbytheirchangeinappearance。

3。MoneyWhetheraproductisfabricatedasacommodityornot，itisalwaysamaterialformofwealth，ause-valueintendedforindividualorproductiveconsumption。

Itsvalueasacommodityisideallyexpressedinitsprice，whichdoesnotchangeitsactualuse-formintheleast。Butthefactthatcertaincommoditieslikegoldandsilverfunctionasmoneyandassuchresideexclusivelyintheprocessofcirculation(evenintheformofhoards，reservefunds，etc。，theyremaininthesphereofcirculation，althoughlatently)isapureproductoftheparticularsocialformoftheprocessofproduction，theprocessofproductionofcommodities。Sinceundercapitalistproductionproductsassumethegeneralformofcommodities，andtheoverwhelmingmassofproductsiscreatedascommoditiesandmustthereforeassumetheformofmoney，andsincethevastbulkofcommodities，thepartofsocialwealthfunctioningascommodities，growscontinually，itfollowsthatthequantityofgoldandsilverfunctioningasmeansofcirculation，payingmedium，reservefund，etc。，likewiseincreases。Thesecommoditiesperformingthefunctionofmoneyenterintoneitherindividualorproductiveconsumption。

Theyrepresentsociallabourinafixedforminwhichitservesasamerecirculationmachine。Besidesthefactthatapartofsocialwealthhasbeencondemnedtoassumethisunproductiveform，thewearingdownofthemoneydemandsitsconstantreplacement，ortheconversionofmoresociallabour，intheformofproducts，intomoregoldandsilver。Thesereplacementcostsareconsiderableincapitalisticallydevelopednations，becauseingeneraltheportionofwealthtiedupintheformofmoneyistremendous。

Goldandsilverasmoney-commoditiesmeancirculationcoststosocietywhicharisesolelyoutofthesocialformofproduction。Theyarefauxfraisofcommodityproductioningeneral，andtheyincreasewiththedevelopmentofthisproduction，especiallyofcapitalistproduction。Theyrepresentapartofthesocialwealththatmustbesacrificedtotheprocessofcirculation。[13]

II。COSTSOFSTORAGE

Costsofcirculation，whichoriginateinamerechangeofformofvalue，incirculation，ideallyconsidered，donotenterintothevalueofcommodities。

Thepartsofcapitalexpendedassuchcostsaremerelydeductionsfromtheproductivelyexpendedcapitalsofarasthecapitalistisconcerned。

Thecostsofcirculationwhichweshallconsidernowareofadifferentnature。Theymayarisefromprocessesofproductionwhichareonlycontinuedincirculation，theproductivecharacterofwhichishencemerelyconcealedbythecirculationform。Ontheotherhandtheymaybe，fromthestandpointofsociety，merecosts，unproductiveexpenditureoflivingormaterialisedlabour，butforthatveryreasontheybecomeproductiveofvaluefortheindividualcapitalist，mayconstituteanadditiontothesellingpriceofhiscommodities。Thisalreadyfollowsfromthefactthatthesecostsaredifferentindiferrentspheresofproduction，andhereandthereevenfordifferentindividualcapitalsinoneandthesamesphereofproduction。

Bybeingaddedtothepricesofcommoditiestheyaredistributedinproportiontotheamounttobebornebyeachindividualcapitalist。Butalllabourwhichaddsvaluecanalsoaddsurplus-value，andwillalwaysaddsurplus-valueundercapitalistproduction，asthevaluecreatedbylabourdependsontheamountofthelabouritself，whereasthesurplus-valuecreatedbyitdependsontheextenttowhichthecapitalistpaysforit。Consequentlycostswhichenhancethepriceofacommoditywithoutaddingtoitsuse-value，whichthereforearetobeclassedasunproductiveexpensessofarassocietyisconcerned，maybeasourceofenrichmenttotheindividualcapitalist。

Ontheotherhand，asthisadditiontothepriceofthecommoditymerelydistributesthesecostsofcirculationequally，theydonottherebyceasetobeunproductiveincharacter。Forinstanceinsurancecompaniesdividethelossesofindividualcapitalistsamongthecapitalistclass。Butthisdoesnotpreventtheseequalisedlossesfromremaininglossessofarastheaggregatesocialcapitalisconcerned。

1。FormationofSupplyinGeneralDuringitsexistenceascommodity-capitaloritsstayinthemarket，inotherwords，duringtheintervalbetweentheprocessofproduction，fromwhichitemerges，andtheprocessofconsumption，intowhichitenters，theproductconstitutesacommoditysupply。Asacommodityinthemarket，andthereforeintheshapeofasupply，commodity-capitalfiguresinadualcapacityineachcircuit:onetimeasthecommodity-productofthatcapitalinprocesswhosecircuitisbeingexamined；theothertimehoweverasthecommodity-productofanothercapital，whichmustbeavailableinthemarkettobeboughtandconvertedintoproductivecapital。Itis，indeed，possiblethatthislast-namedcommodity-capitalisnotproduceduntilordered。

Inthateventaninterruptionoccursuntilithasbeenproduced。Buttheflowoftheprocessofproductionandreproductionrequiresthatacertainmassofcommodities(meansofproduction)shouldalwaysbeinthemarket，shouldthereforeformasupply。Productivecapitallikewisecomprisesthepurchaseoflabour-power，andthemoney-formishereonlythevalue-formofthemeansofsubsistence，thegreaterpartofwhichthelabourermustfindathandinthemarket。Weshalldiscussthismoreindetailfurtheroninthisparagraph。Butatthispointthefollowingisalreadyclear:

Asfarasconcernscapital-valueinprocesswhichhasbeentransformedintoacommodityandmustnowbesoldorreconvertedintomoney，whichthereforefunctionsforthemomentascommodity-capitalinthemarket，theconditioninwhichitconstitutesasupplyistobedescribedasaninexpedient，involuntarystaythere。Thequickerthesaleiseffectedthemoresmoothlyrunstheprocessofreproduction。DelayintheformofconversionofC’——M’impedestherealexchangeofmatterwhichmusttakeplaceinthecircuitofcapital，aswellasitsfurtherfunctioningasproductivecapital。Ontheotherhand，sofarasM——Cisconcerned，theconstantpresenceofcommoditiesinthemarket，commodity-supply，appearsasaconditionoftheflowoftheprocessofreproductionandoftheinvestmentofneworadditionalcapital。

Theabidanceofthecommodity-capitalasacommodity-supplyinthemarketrequiresbuildings，stores，storageplaces，warehouses，inotherwords，anexpenditureofconstantcapital；furthermorethepaymentoflabour-powerforplacingthecommoditiesinstorage。Besides，commoditiesspoilandareexposedtotheinjuriousinfluencesoftheelements。Additionalcapitalmustbeinvested，partlyininstrumentsoflabour，inmaterialform，andpartlyinlabour-powertoprotectthecommoditiesagainsttheabove。[14]

Thustheexistenceofcapitalinitsformofcommodity-capitalandhenceofcommodity-supplygivesrisetocostswhichmustbeclassedascostsofcirculation，sincetheydonotcomewithinthesphereofproduction。

ThesecostsofcirculationdifferfromthosementionedunderIbythefactthattheyentertoacertainextentintothevalueofthecommodities，i。e。，theyincreasethepricesofcommodities。Atalleventsthecapitalandlabour-powerwhichservetheneedofpreservingandstoringthecommodity-supplyarewithdrawnfromthedirectprocessofproduction。Ontheotherhandthecapitalsthusemployed，includinglabour-powerasaconstituentofcapital，mustbereplacedoutofthesocialproduct。Theirexpenditurehasthereforetheeffectofdiminishingtheproductivepoweroflabour，sothatagreateramountofcapitalandlabourisrequiredtoobtainaparticularusefuleffect。Theyareunproductivecosts。

Asthecostsofcirculationnecessitatedbytheformationofacommodity-supplyareduemerelytothetimerequiredfortheconversionofexistingvaluesfromthecommodity-formintothemoney-form，hencemerelytotheparticularsocialformoftheproductionprocess(i。e。，aredueonlytothefactthattheproductisbroughtforthasacommodityandmustthereforeundergothetransformationintomoney)，thesecostscompletelysharethecharacterofthecirculationcostsenumeratedunderI。Ontheotherhandthevalueofthecommoditiesisherepreservedorincreasedonlybecausetheuse-value，theproductitself，isplacedindefinitematerialconditionswhichcostcapitaloutlayandissubjectedtooperationswhichbringadditionallabourtobearontheuse-values。Howeverthecomputationofthevaluesofcommodities，thebook-keepingincidentaltothisprocess，thetransactionsofpurchaseandsale，donotaffecttheuse-valueinwhichthecommodity-valueexists。Theyhavetodoonlywiththeformofthecommodity-value。

Althoughinthecasesubmitted[i。e。，Corbet’scalculationsgiveninFootnote14——Ed。]thecostsofformingasupply(whichisheredoneinvoluntarily)

ariseonlyfromadelayinthechangeofformandfromitsnecessity，stillthesecostsdifferfromthosementionedunderI，inthattheirpurposeisnotachangeintheformofthevalue，butthepreservationofthevalueexistinginthecommodityasaproduct，autility，andwhichcannotbepreservedinanyotherwaythanbypreservingtheproduct，theuse-value，itself。Theuse-valueisneitherraisednorincreasedhere；onthecontrary，itdiminishes。Butitsdiminutionisrestrictedanditispreserved。Neitheristheadvancedvaluecontainedinthecommodityincreasedhere；butnewlabour，materialisedandliving，isadded。

Wehavenowtoinvestigatefurthermoretowhatextentthesecostsarisefromthepeculiarnatureofcommodityproductioningeneralandfromcommodityproductioninitsgeneral，absoluteform，i。e。，capitalistcommodityproduction；andtowhatextentontheotherhandtheyarecommontoallsocialproductionandmerelyassumeaspecialshape，aspecialformofappearance，incapitalistproduction。

AdamSmithentertainedthesplendidnotionthattheformationofasupplywasaphenomenonpeculiartocapitalistproduction。[15]Morerecenteconomists，forinstanceLalor，insistonthecontrarythatitdeclineswiththedevelopmentofcapitalistproduction。[See:J。Lalor，MoneyandMorals:ABookfortheTimes，London，1852，pp。43-44——Ed。]

Sismondievenregardsitasoneofthedrawbacksofthelatter。[See:J。C。L。

SismondedeSismondi，Etudessurl`è；conomiepolitique，TomeI。Bruxelles，1837，p。49，etc——Ed。]

Asamatteroffact，suppliesexistinthreeforms:intheformofproductivecapital，intheformafundforindividualconsumption，andintheformofacommodity-supplyorcommodity-capital。Thesupplyinoneformdecreasesrelativelywhenitincreasesinanother，althoughitsquantitymayincreaseabsolutelyinallthreeformssimultaneously。

Itisplainfromtheoutsetthatwhereverproductioniscarriedonforthedirectsatisfactionoftheneedsoftheproducerandonlytoaminorextentforexchangeorsale，hencewherethesocialproductdoesnotassumetheformofcommoditiesatalloronlytoarathersmalldegree，thesupplyintheformofcommodities，orcommodity-supply，formsonlyasmallandinsignificantpartofwealth。Butheretheconsumption-fundisrelativelylarge，especiallythatofthemeansofsubsistenceproper。

Oneneedbuttakealookatold-fashionedpeasanteconomy。Theretheoverwhelmingpartoftheproductistransformeddirectlyintosuppliesofmeansofproductionormeansofsubsistence，withoutbecomingsuppliesofcommodities，fortheveryreasonthatitremainsinthehandsofitsowner。Itdoesnotassumetheformofacommodity-supplyandforthisreasonAdamSmithdeclaresthatthereisnosupplyinsocietiesbasedonthismodeofproduction。

Heconfusestheformofthesupplywiththesupplyitselfandbelievesthatsocietyhithertolivedfromhandtomouthortrustedtothehapofthemorrow。[16]Thisisanaivemisunderstanding。

Asupplyintheformofproductivecapitalexistsintheshapeofmeansofproduction，whichalreadyareintheprocessofproductionoratleastinthehandsoftheproducer，hencelatentlyalreadyintheprocessofproduction。Itwasseenpreviouslythatwiththedevelopmentoftheproductivityoflabourandthereforealsowiththedevelopmentofthecapitalistmodeofproduction——thereisasteadyincreaseinthemassofmeansofproduction(buildings，machinery，etc。)whichareembodiedonceandforallintheprocessintheformofinstrumentsoflabour，andperformwithsteadyrepetitiontheirfunctioninitforalongerorshortertime。Itwasalsoobservedthatthisincreaseisatthesametimethepremiseandconsequenceofthedevelopmentofthesocialproductivepoweroflabour。

Thegrowth，notonlyabsolutebutrelative，ofwealthinthisform(cf。

BuchI，KapXXIII，2)[Englishedition:Ch。XXV，2——Ed。]ischaracteristicaboveallofthecapitalistmodeofproduction。Thematerialformsofexistenceofconstantcapital，themeansofproduction，donothoweverconsistonlyofsuchinstrumentsoflabourbutalsoofmaterialsoflabourinvariousstagesofprocessing，andofauxiliarymaterials。Withtheenlargementofthescaleofproductionandtheincreaseintheproductivepoweroflabourthroughco-operation，divisionoflabour，machinery，etc。，growsthequantityofrawmaterials，auxiliarymaterials，etc。，enteringintothedailyprocessofreproduction。Theseelementsmustbereadyathandintheplaceofproduction。Thevolumeofthissupplyexistingintheformofproductivecapitalincreasesthereforeabsolutely，inorderthattheprocessmaykeepgoing——apartfromthefactwhetherthissupplycanbereneweddailyoronlyatfixedintervals——theremustalwaysbeagreateraccumulationofreadyrawmaterial，etc。，attheplaceofproductionthanisusedup，say，dailyorweekly。Thecontinuityoftheprocessrequiresthatthepresenceofitsconditionsshouldnotbejeopardisedbypossibleinterruptionswhenmakingpurchasesdaily，nordependonwhethertheproductissolddailyorweekly，andhenceisreconvertibleintoitselementsofproductiononlyirregularly。Butitisevidentthatproductivecapitalmaybelatentorformasupplyinquitedifferentproportions。Thereisforinstanceagreatdifferencewhetherthespinning-millownermusthaveonhandasupplyofcottonorcoalforthreemonthsorforone。Patentlythissupply，whileincreasingabsolutely，maydecreaserelatively。

Thisdependsonvariousconditions，allofwhichpracticallyamounttoademandforgreaterrapidity，regularity，andreliabilityinfurnishingthenecessaryamountofrawmaterial，sothatnointerruptionwilleveroccur。Thelesstheseconditionsarecompliedwith，hencethelessrapid，regularandreliablethesupplies，thegreatermustbethelatentpartoftheproductivecapital，thatistosay，thesupplyofrawmaterial，etc。，inthehandsoftheproducerwaitingtobeworkedup。Theseconditionsareinverselyproportionaltothedegreeofdevelopmentofcapitalistproduction，andhenceoftheproductivepowerofsociallabour。Thesameappliesthereforetothesupplyinthisform。

Howeverthatwhichappearshereasadecreaseofthesupply(forinstance，inLalor)isinpartmerelyadecreaseofthesupplyintheformofcommodity-capital，orofthecommodity-supplyproper；itisconsequentlyonlyachangeofformofthesamesupply。Ifforinstancethequantityofcoaldailyproducedinacertaincountry，andthereforethescaleandenergyofoperationofthecoalindustry，aregreat，thespinnerdoesnotneedalargestoreofcoalinordertoensurethecontinuityofhisproduction。

Thesteadyandcertainrenewalofhiscoalsupplymakesthisunnecessary。

Inthesecondplacetherapiditywithwhichtheproductofoneprocessmaybetransferredasmeansofproductiontoanotherprocessdependsonthedevelopmentofthetransportandcommunicationfacilities。Thecheapnessoftransportationisofgreatimportanceinthisquestion。Thecontinuallyrenewedtransportofcoalfromtheminetothespinning-millforinstancewouldbemoreexpensivethanthestoringupofalargersupplyofcoalforalongertimewhenthepriceoftransportationisrelativelycheaper。

Thesetwocircumstancesexaminedsofararisefromtheprocessofproductionitself。Inthethirdplacethedevelopmentofthecredit-systemalsoexertsaninfluence。Thelessthespinnerisdependentonthedirectsaleofhisyarnfortherenewalofhissupplyofcotton，coal，etc——andthisdirectdependencewillbethesmaller，themoredevelopedthecredit-systemis——thesmallerrelativelythesesuppliescanbeandyetensureacontinuousproductionofyarnonagivenscale，aproductionindependentofthehazardsofthesaleofyarn。Inthefourthplace，however，manyrawmaterials，semi-finishedgoods，etc。，requirelongperiodsoftimefortheirproduction。

Thisappliesespeciallytoallrawmaterialsfurnishedbyagriculture。

Ifnointerruptionoftheprocessofproductionistotakeplace，acertainamountofrawmaterialsmustbeonhandfortheentireperiodinwhichnonewproductscantaketheplaceoftheold。Ifthissupplydecreasesinthehandsoftheindustrialcapitalist，itprovesmerelythatitincreasesinthehandsofthemerchantintheformofcommodity-supply。Thedevelopmentoftransportationforinstancemakesitpossiblerapidlytoshipthecottonlying，say，inLiverpool’simportwarehousestoManchester，sothatthemanufacturercanrenewhissupplyincomparativelysmallportions，asandwhenneeded。Butinthatcasethecottonremainsinsomuchlargerquantitiesascommodity-supplyinthehandsoftheLiverpoolmerchants。Itisthereforemerelyachangeintheformofthesupply，andthisLalorandothersoverlooked。

Andifyouconsiderthesocialcapital，thesamequantityofproductsexistsineithercaseintheformofsupply。Thequantityrequiredforasinglecountryduringtheperiodof，say，oneyeardecreasesastransportationimproves。IfalargenumberofsailingvesselsandsteamersplybetweenAmericaandEngland，England’sopportunitiestorenewitscottonsupplyareincreasedwhiletheaveragequantitytobeheldinstorageinEnglanddecreases。Thesameeffectisproducedbythedevelopmentoftheworldmarketandtheconsequentmultiplicationofthesourcesofsupplyofthesamemerchandise。Thearticleissuppliedpiecemealfromvariouscountriesandatvariousintervals。

2。TheCommodity-SupplyProperWehavealreadyseenthatundercapitalistproductiontheproductassumesthegeneralformofacommodity，andthemoresothemorethatproductiongrowsinsizeanddepth。Consequently，evenifproductionretainsthesamevolume，thefargreaterpartoftheproductsexistsintheshapeofcommodities，comparedwitheithertheformermodesofproductionorthecapitalistmodeofproductionatalessdevelopedstage。Andeverycommodity——therefore，alsoeverycommodity-capital，whichisonlycommodities，butcommoditiesservingastheformofexistenceofcapital-value——constitutesanelementofthecommodity-supply，unlessitpassesimmediatelyfromitssphereofproductionintoproductiveorindividualconsumption，thatis，doesnotlieinthemarketintheinterval。Ifthevolumeofproductionremainsthesame，thecommodity-supply(i。e。，thisisolationandfixationofthecommodity-formoftheproduct)growsthereforeofitselfconcomitantlywithcapitalistproduction。Wehaveseenabovethatthisismerelyachangeofformofthesupply，thatistosay，thesupplyintheformofcommoditiesincreasesontheonehandbecauseontheotherthesupplyintheformintendeddirectlyforproductionorconsumptiondecreases。Itismerelyachangedsocialformofthesupply。Ifatthesametimeitisnotonlytherelativemagnitudeofthecommodity-supplycomparedwiththeaggregatesocialproductthatincreasesbutalsoitsabsolutemagnitude，thatissobecausethemassoftheaggregateproductgrowswiththegrowthofcapitalistproduction。

Withthedevelopmentofcapitalistproduction，thescaleofproductionisdeterminedlessandlessbythedirectdemandfortheproductandmoreandmorebytheamountofcapitalavailableinthehandsoftheindividualcapitalist，bytheurgeofself-expansioninherentinhiscapitalandbytheneedofcontinuityandexpansionoftheprocessofproduction。Thusineachparticularbranchofproductionthereisanecessaryincreaseinthemassofproductsavailableinthemarketintheshapeofcommodities，i。e。，insearchofbuyers。Theamountofcapitalfixedforashorterorlongerperiodintheformofcommodity-capitalgrows。Hencethecommodity-supplyalsogrows。

Finallythemajorityofthemembersofsocietyaretransformedintowage-labourers，intopeoplewholivefromhandtomouth，whoreceivetheirwagesweeklyandspendthemdaily，whothereforemusthavetheirmeansofsubsistencemadeavailabletothemintheshapeofasupply。Althoughtheseparateelementsofthissupplymaybeincontinuousflow，apartofthemmustalwaysstagnateinorderthatthesupplyasawholemayremaininastateofflux。

Allthesecharacteristicshavetheiroriginintheformofproductionandintheincidentchangeofformwhichtheproductmustundergointheprocessofcirculation。

Whatevermaybethesocialformoftheproducts-supply，itspreservationrequiresoutlaysforbuildings，vessels，etc。，whicharefacilitiesforstoringtheproduct；alsoformeansofproductionandlabour，moreorlessofwhichmustbeexpended，accordingtothenatureoftheproduct，inordertocombatinjuriousinfluences。Themoreconcentratedsociallythesupplyis，thesmallerrelativelyarethecosts。Theseoutlaysalwaysconstituteapartofthesociallabour，ineithermaterialisedorlivingform——henceinthecapitalistformoutlaysofcapital——whichdonotenterintotheformationoftheproductitselfandthusaredeductionsfromtheproduct。

Theyarenecessary，theseunproductiveexpensesofsocialwealth。Theyarethecostsofpreservingthesocialproductregardlessofwhetheritsexistenceasanelementofthecommodity-supplystemsmerelyfromthesocialformofproduction，hencefromthecommodity-formanditsnecessarychangeofform，orwhetherweregardthecommodity-supplymerelyasaspecialformofthesupplyofproducts，whichiscommontoallsocieties，althoughnotintheformofacommodity-supplythatformofproducts-supplybelongingintheprocessofcirculation。

Itmaynowbeaskedtowhatextentthesecostsenhancethevalueofcommodities。Ifthecapitalisthasconvertedthecapitaladvancedbyhimintheformofmeansofproductionandlabour-powerintoaproduct，intoadefinitequantityofcommoditiesreadyforsale，andthesecommoditiesremaininstockunsold，thenwehaveacaseofnotonlythestagnationoftheprocessofself-expansionofhiscapital-valueduringthisperiod。

Thecostsofpreservingthissupplyinbuildings，ofadditionallabour，etc。，meanapositiveloss。Thebuyerhewouldultimatelyfindwouldlaughinhisfaceifheweretosaytohim:”Icouldnotsellmygoodsforsixmonths，andtheirpreservationduringthatperioddidnotonlykeepsoandsomuchofmycapitalidle，butalsocostmesoandsomuchextraexpense。””Tantpispourvous！”thebuyerwouldsay。”Rightherealongsideofyouisanothersellerwhosewareswerecompletedonlythedaybeforeyesterday。Yourarticlesareshop-wornandprobablymoreorlessdamagedbytheravagesoftime。Thereforeyouwillhavetosellcheaperthanyourcompetitor。”Theconditionsunderwhichacommodityexistsarenotintheleastaffectedbywhetheritsproduceristherealproduceroracapitalistproducer，henceactuallyonlyarepresentativeoftherealproducer。Hehastoturnhisproductintomoney。Theexpensesincurredbyhimbecauseofthefixationoftheproductintheformofcommoditiesareapartofhisindividualspeculationswithwhichthebuyerofthecommoditieshasnoconcern。Thelatterdoesnotpayhimforthetimeofcirculationofhiscommodities。Evenwhenthecapitalistkeepshisgoodsintentionallyoffthemarket，intimesofanactualoranticipatedrevolutionofvalues，itdependsontheadventofthisrevolutionofvalues，onthecorrectnessorincorrectnessofhisspeculation，whetherhewillrecoverhisadditionalcostsornot。Buttherevolutioninvaluesdoesnotensueinconsequenceofhisadditionalcosts。Henceinsofarastheformationofasupplyentailsastagnationofcirculation，theexpenseincurredtherebydoesnotaddtothevalueofthecommodities。Ontheotherhandtherecannotbeanysupplywithoutastayinthesphereofcirculation，withoutcapitalstayingforalongerorshortertimeinitscommodity-form；hencenosupplywithoutstagnationofcirculation，justasnomoneycancirculatewithouttheformationofamoney-reserve。Hencenocommoditycirculationwithoutcommodity-supply。

IfthecapitalistdoesnotcomefacetofacewiththisnecessityinC’——M’，hewillencounteritinM——C；ifnotwithregardtohisowncommodity-capital，thenwithregardtothatofothercapitalists，whoproducemeansofproductionforhimandmeansofsubsistenceforhislabourers。

Whethertheformationofasupplyisvoluntaryorinvoluntary，thatistosay，whetherthecommodity-producerkeepsasupplyintentionallyorwhetherhisproductsformasupplyinconsequenceofthesalesresistanceofferedbytheconditionsoftheprocessofcirculationitselfcannoteffectthematteressentially，itwouldseem。Butforthesolutionofthisproblemitisusefultoknowwhatdistinguishesvoluntaryfrominvoluntarysupplyformation。Involuntaryformationarisesfrom，orisidenticalwith，astagnationofthecirculationwhichisindependentoftheknowledgeofthecommodity-producerandthwartshiswill。Andwhatcharacterisesthevoluntaryformationofasupply？Inbothinstancesthesellerseekstogetridofhiscommodityasfastasever。Healwaysoffershisproductforsaleasacommodity。

Ifheweretowithdrawitfromsale，itwouldbeonlyapotential，notanactualelementofthecommodity-supply。Tohimthecommodityassuchisasmuchadepositoryofexchange-valueaseverandassuchcanactonlybyandafterstrippingoffitscommodity-formandassumingthemoney-form。

Thecommodity-supplymustbeofacertainvolumeinordertosatisfythedemandduringagivenperiod。Acontinualextensionofthecircleofbuyersiscountedupon。Forinstance，inordertolastforoneday，apartofthecommoditiesinthemarketmustconstantlyremaininthecommodity-formwhiletheremainderisfluent，turnsintomoney。True，thepartwhichstagnateswhiletherestisfluentdecreasessteadily，justasthesizeofthesupplyitselfdecreasesuntilitisallsold。Thestagnationofcommoditiesthuscountsasarequisiteconditionoftheirsale。Thevolumemustfurthermorebelargerthantheaveragesaleortheaveragedemand。Otherwisetheexcessovertheseaveragescouldnotbesatisfied。Ontheotherhandthesupplymustconstantlyberenewed，becauseitisconstantlybeingdrawnon。Thisrenewalcannotcomefromanywhereinthelastinstanceexceptfromproduction，fromasupplyofcommodities。Itisimmaterialwhetherthiscomesfromabroadornot。Therenewaldependsontheperiodsrequiredbythecommoditiesfortheirreproduction。Thecommodity-supplymustlastallthetime。Thefactthatitdoesnotremaininthehandsoftheoriginalproducerbutpassesthroughvariousreservoirs，fromthewholesalertotheretailer，changesmerelytheappearanceandnotthenatureofthething。Fromthepointofviewofsociety，apartofthecapitalretainsinbothinstancestheformofacommodity-supplyuntilthecommoditiesenterproductiveorindividualconsumption。Theproducertriestokeepastockcorrespondingtohisaveragedemandinordernottodependdirectlyonproductionandtoensureforhimselfasteadyclientele。Purchaseperiodscorrespondingtotheperiodsofproductionareformedandthecommoditiesconstitutesuppliesforlongerorshortertime，untiltheycanbereplacedbynewcommoditiesofthesamekind。Constancyandcontinuityoftheprocessofcirculation，andthereforeoftheprocessofreproduction，whichincludestheprocessofcirculation，aresafeguardedonlybytheformationofsuchsupplies。ItmustberememberedthatC’——M’mayhavebeentransactedfortheproducerofC，evenifCisstillinthemarket。Iftheproducerweretokeephisowncommoditiesinstockuntiltheyaresoldtotheultimateconsumer，hewouldhavetosettwocapitalsinmotion，oneastheproducerofthecommoditiesandoneasamerchant。Asfarasthecommodityitselfisconcerned，whetherwelookuponitasanindividualcommodityorasacomponentpartofsocialcapital，itisimmaterialwhetherthecostsofformingthesupplymustbebornebyitsproducerorbyaseriesofmerchantsfromAtoZ。

Sincethecommodity-supplyisnothingbutthecommodity-formoftheproductwhichataparticularlevelofsocialproductionwouldexisteitherasaproductivesupply(latentproductionfund)orasaconsumption-fund(reserveofmeansofconsumption)ifitdidnotexistasacommodity-supply，theexpensesrequiredforitspreservation，thatis，thecostsofsupplyformation——i。e。，materialisedorlivinglabourspentforthispurpose——aremerelyexpensesincurredformaintainingeitherthesocialfundforproductionorthesocialfundforconsumption。Theincreaseinthevalueofcommoditiescausedbythemdistributesthesecostssimplyprorataoverthedifferentcommodities，sincethecostsdifferwithdifferentkindsofcommodities。Andthecostsofsupplyformationareasmuchaseverdeductionsfromthesocialwealth，althoughtheyconstituteoneoftheconditionsofitsexistence。

Onlytotheextentthatthecommodity-supplyisapremiseofcommoditycirculationandisitselfaformnecessarilyarisingincommoditycirculation，onlyinsofarasthisapparentstagnationisthereforeaformofthemovementitself，justastheformationofamoney-reserveisapremiseofmoneycirculation——onlytothatextentissuchstagnationnormal。Butassoonasthecommoditieslyinginthereservoirsofcirculationdonotmakeroomfortheswiftlysucceedingwaveofproduction，sothatthereservoirsbecomeover-stocked，thecommodity-supplyexpandsinconsequenceofthestagnationincirculationjustasthehoardsincreasewhenmoney-circulationisclogged。

Itdoesnotmakeanydifferencewhetherthisjamoccursinthewarehousesoftheindustrialcapitalistorinthestoreroomsofthemerchant。Thecommodity-supplyisinthatcasenotaprerequisiteofuninterruptedsale，butaconsequenceoftheimpossibilityofsellingthegoods。Thecostsarethesame，butsincetheynowarisepurelyoutoftheform，thatistosay，outofthenecessityoftransformingthecommoditiesintomoneyandoutofthedifficultyofgoingthroughthismetamorphosis，theydonotenterintothevaluesofthecommoditiesbutconstitutedeductions，lossesofvalueintherealisationofthevalue。Sincethenormalandabnormalformsofthesupplydonotdifferinformandbothclogcirculation，thesephenomenamaybeconfusedanddeceivetheagentofproductionhimselfsomuchthemoresincefortheproducertheprocessofcirculationofhiscapitalmaycontinuewhilethatofhiscommoditieswhichhavechangedhandsandnowbelongtomerchantsmaybearrested。Ifproductionandconsumptionswell，otherthingsbeingequal，thenthecommodity-supplyswellslikewise。