第6章

Itisrenewedandabsorbedjustasfast，butitssizeisgreater。Hencethebulgingsizeofthecommodity-supply，forwhichstagnantcirculationisresponsible，maybemistakenforasymptomoftheexpansionoftheprocessofreproduction，especiallywhenthedevelopmentofthecredit-systemmakesitpossibletowraptherealmovementinmystery。

Thecostsofsupplyformationconsist:1)ofaquantitativediminutionofthemassoftheproducts(forinstanceinthecaseofafloursupply；

2)ofadeteriorationofquality；3)ofthematerialisedandlivinglabourrequiredforthepreservationofthesupply。

III。COSTSOFTRANSPORTATION

Itisnotnecessarytogohereintoallthedetailsofthecostsofcirculation，suchaspacking，sorting，etc。Thegenerallawisthatallcostsofcirculation，whichariseonlyfromchangesintheformsofcommoditiesdonotaddtotheirvalue。Theyaremerelyexpensesincurredintherealisationofthevalueorinitsconversionfromoneformintoanother。

Thecapitalspenttomeetthosecosts(includingthelabourdoneunderitscontrol)belongsamongthefauxfraisofcapitalistproduction。

Theymustbereplacedfromthesurplus-productandconstitute，asfarastheentirecapitalistclassisconcerned，adeductionfromthesurplus-valueorsurplus-product，justasthetimealabourerneedsforthepurchaseofhismeansofsubsistenceislosttime。Butthecostsoftransportationplayatooimportantparttopassthembywithoutafewbriefremarks。

Withinthecircuitofcapitalandthemetamorphosisofcommodities，whichformsapartofthecircuit，aninterchangeofmattertakesplaceinsociallabour。Thisinterchangeofmattermaynecessitateachangeoflocationofproducts，theirrealmotionfromoneplacetoanother。Still，circulationofcommoditiescantakeplacewithoutphysicalmotionbythem，andtherecanbetransportationofproductswithoutcirculationofcommodities，andevenwithoutadirectexchangeofproducts。AhousesoldbyAtoB

doesnotwanderfromoneplacetoanother，althoughitcirculatesasacommodity。Movablecommodity-values，suchascottonorpigiron，maylieinthesamestoragedumpatatimewhentheyarepassingthroughdozensofcirculationprocesses，areboughtandresoldbyspeculators。[17]Whatreallydoesmovehereisthetitleofownershipingoods，notthegoodsthemselves。Ontheotherhand，transportationplayedaprominentroleinthelandoftheIncas，althoughthesocialproductneithercirculatedasacommoditynorwasdistributedbymeansofbarter。

Consequently，althoughthetransportationindustrywhenbasedoncapitalistproductionappearsasacauseofcirculationcosts，thisspecialformofappearancedoesnotalterthematterintheleast。

Quantitiesofproductsarenotincreasedbytransportation。Nor，withafewexceptions，isthepossiblealterationoftheirnaturalqualities，broughtaboutbytransportation，anintentionalusefuleffect；itisratheranunavoidableevil。Buttheuse-valueofthingsismaterialisedonlyintheirconsumption，andtheirconsumptionmaynecessitateachangeoflocationofthesethings，hencemayrequireanadditionalprocessofproduction，inthetransportindustry。Theproductivecapitalinvestedinthisindustryimpartsvaluetothetransportedproducts，partlybytransferringvaluefromthemeansoftransportation，partlybyaddingvaluethroughthelabourperformedintransport。Thislast-namedincrementofvalueconsists，asitdoesinallcapitalistproduction，ofareplacementofwagesandofsurplus-value。

Withineachprocessofproduction，agreatroleisplayedbythechangeoflocationofthesubjectoflabourandtherequiredinstrumentsoflabourandlabour-power——suchascottontruckedfromthecardingtothespinningroomorcoalhoistedfromtheshafttothesurface。Thetransitionofthefinishedproductasfinishedgoodsfromoneindependentplaceofproductiontoanotherlocatedatadistanceshowsthesamephenomenon，onlyonalargerscale。Thetransportofproductsfromoneproductiveestablishmenttoanotherisfurthermorefollowedbythepassageofthefinishedproductsfromthesphereofproductiontothatofconsumption。Theproductisnotreadyforconsumptionuntilithascompletedthesemovements。

Aswasshownabove，thegenerallawofcommodityproductionholds:

Theproductivityoflabourisinverselyproportionaltothevaluecreatedbyit。Thisistrueofthetransportindustryaswellasofanyother。

Thesmallertheamountofdeadandlivinglabourrequiredforthetransportationofcommoditiesoveracertaindistance，thegreatertheproductivepoweroflabour，andviceversa。[18]

Theabsolutemagnitudeofthevaluewhichtransportationaddstothecommoditiesstandsininverseproportiontotheproductivepowerofthetransportindustryandindirectproportiontothedistancetraveled，otherconditionsremainingthesame。

Thepartofthevalueaddedtothepricesofcommoditiesbythecostsoftransportation，otherconditionsremainingthesame，isdirectlyproportionaltotheircubiccontentandweight，andinverselyproportionaltotheirvalue。Buttherearemanymodifyingfactors。Transportationrequires，forinstance，moreorlessimportantprecautionarymeasures，andthereforemoreorlessexpenditureoflabourandinstrumentsoflabour，dependingonhowfragile，perishable，explosive，etc。，thearticlesare。Heretherailwaykingsshowgreateringenuityintheinventionoffantasticspeciesthandobotanistsandzoologists。TheclassificationofgodsonEnglishrailways，forexample，fillsvolumesand，inprinciple，restsonthegeneraltendencytotransformthediversifiednaturalpropertiesofgoodsintojustasmanyillsoftransportationandroutinepretextsforfraudulentcharges。”Glass，whichwasformerlyworth£；11percrate，isnowworthonly£；2sincetheimprovementswhichhavetakenplaceinmanufactures，andsincetheabolitionoftheduty；buttherateforcarriageisthesameasitwasformerly，andhigherthanitwaspreviously，whencarriedbycanal。Formerly，manufacturersinformmethattheyhadglassandglasswaresfortheplumbers’tradecarriedatabout10s。perton，within50

milesofBirmingham。Atthepresenttime，theratetocoverriskofbreakage，amount……Thecompaniesalwaysresistanyclaimthatismadeforbreakages。”[19]Thefactthatfurthermorethepartofthevalueaddedtoanarticlebythecostsoftransportationisinverselyproportionaltoitsvaluefurnishesspecialgroundstotherailwaykingstotaxarticlesindirectproportiontotheirvalues。Thecomplaintsoftheindustrialistsandmerchantsonthisscorearefoundoneverypageofthetestimonygiveninthereportquoted。

Thecapitalistmodeofproductionreducesthecostsoftransportationoftheindividualcommoditybythedevelopmentofthemeansoftransportationandcommunication，aswellasbyconcentration——increasingscale——oftransportation。Itincreasesthatpartofthelivingandmaterialisedsociallabourwhichisexpendedinthetransportofcommodities，firstlybyconvertingthegreatmajorityofallproductsintocommodities，secondly，bysubstitutingdistantforlocalmarkets。

Thecirculation，i。e。，theactuallocomotionofcommoditiesinspace，resolvesitselfintothetransportofcommodities。Thetransportindustryformsontheonehandanindependentbranchofproductionandthusaseparatesphereofinvestmentofproductivecapital。Ontheotherhanditsdistinguishingfeatureisthatitappearsasacontinuationofaprocessofproductionwithintheprocessofcirculationandfortheprocessofcirculation。

NOTES

[10]ThebracketedtextistakenfromanoteattheendofManuscriptVIII——F。E。

[11]”Thecostsofcommerce，althoughnecessary，mustberegardedasanonerousoutlay。”(Quesnay，AnalyseduTableauEconomique，inDaire，Physiocrates，PartI，Paris，1846，p。71。)

AccordingtoQuesnay，the”profit”whichthecompetitionamongmerchantsproduces，inthatitcompelsthemto”contentthemselveswithasmallerrewardorgain……is，strictlyspeaking，nothingbutapreventionofloss(privationdeperte)fortheselleratfirsthandandforthebuyer-consumer。

Now，apreventionoflossonthecostsofcommerceisnotarealproductoranaccessionofwealththroughcommerce。Ifconsideredsimplyasanexchange，whetherwithorwithoutthecostoftransportation。”(Pp。145

and146。)”Thecostsofcommercearealwayspaidbythosewhoselltheproductsandwhowouldenjoythefullpricespaidforthembythebuyers，iftherewerenointermediateexpenses。”(P。163。)Theproprietorsandproducersare”salariants”(payersofwages)，themerchantsare”salariè；s”

(recipientsofwages)。(P。164，Quesnay，DialoguessurleCommerceetsurlesTravauxdesArtisans。InDaire，Physiocrates，PartI，Paris，1846。)

[12]IntheMiddleAgeswefindbook-keepingforagricultureonlyinthemonasteries。Butwehaveseen(BuchI，p。343

[Englishedition:p。357，——Ed。])thatabook-keeperwasinstalledforagricultureasearlyastheprimitiveIndiancommunities。Book-keepingistheremadetheindependentandexclusivefunctionofthecommunalofficer。

Thisdivisionoflaboursavestime，effortandexpense，butproductionandbook-keepinginthesphereofproductionremainasmuchtwodifferentthingsasthecargoofashipandthebilloflading。Inthepersonofthebook-keeper，apartofthelabour-powerofthecommunityiswithdrawnfromproduction，andthecostsofhisfunctionarenotmadegoodbyhisownlabourbutbyadeductionfromthecommunalproduct。Whatistrueofthebook-keeperofanIndiancommunityistruemutatismutandisofthebook-keeperofthecapitalist。(FromManuscriptII)。

[13]”Themoneycirculatinginacountryisacertainportionofthecapitalofthecountry，absolutelywithdrawnfromproductivepurposes，inordertofacilitateorincreasetheproductivenessoftheremainder。Acertainamountofwealthis，therefore，asnecessaryinordertoadoptgoldasacirculatingmedium，asitistomakeamachine，inordertofacilitateanyotherproduction。”(Economists，Vol。V，p。520。)

[14]Corbetcalculates，in1841，thatthecostofstoringwheatforaseasonofninemonthsamountstoalossof1/2percentinquantity，3percentforinterestonthepriceofwheat，2percentforwarehouserental，1percentforsiftinganddrayage，1/2

percentfordelivery，together7percent，or3s。6d。onapriceof50s。

perquarter。(Th。Corbet，AnInquiryintotheCausesandModesofWealthofIndividuals，etc。，London，1841。)AccordingtothetestimonyofLiverpoolmerchantsbeforetheRailwayCommission，the(net)costsofgrainstoragein1865amountedtoabout2d。perquarterpermonth，or9d。or10d。aton。

(RoyalCommissiononRailways，1867。Evidence，p。19，No。331。)

[15]BookII。Introduction。[A。Smith，AnInquiryintotheNatureandCausesoftheWealthofNations。Aneweditioninfourvolumes，London，1843，Vol。II，pp。249-52——Ed。]

[16]Insteadofasupplyarisingonlyuponandfromtheconversionoftheproductintoacommodity，andoftheconsumption-supplyintoacommodity-supply，asAdamSmithwronglyimagines，thischangeofform，onthecontrary，causesmostviolentcrisesintheeconomyoftheproducersduringthetransitionfromproductionforone’sownneedstocommodityproduction。InIndia，forinstance，”thedispositiontohoardlargelythegrainforwhichlittlecouldbegotinyearsofabundance”

wasobserveduntilveryrecenttimes。(Return。BengalandOrissaFamineH。ofC。，1867，I，pp。230-31，No。74。)Thesuddenincreaseinthedemandforcotton，jute，etc。，duetotheAmericanCivilWarledinmanypartsofIndiatoasevererestrictionofriceculture，ariseinthepriceofrice，andasaleoftheproducers’oldricesupplies。TothismustbeaddedtheunexampledexportofricetoAustralia，Madagascar，etc。，after1864-66。

ThisaccountsfortheacutecharacterofOrissaalone(loc。cit。，174，175，213，214，andIII:PapersrelatingtothefamineinBehar，pp。32，33，wherethe”drainofoldstocks”isemphasisedasoneofthecausesofthefamine)。(FromManuscriptII。)

[17]Storchcallsthis”circulationfactice”

(fictitiouscirculation)。

[18]RicardoquotesSay，whoconsidersitoneoftheblessingsofcommercethatbymeansofthecostsoftransportationitincreasestheprice，orthevalue，ofproducts。”Commerce，”writesSay，”enablesustoobtainacommodityintheplacewhereitistobefound，andtoconveyittoanotherwhereitistobeconsumed；itthereforegivesusthepowerofincreasingthevalueofthecommodity，bythewholedifferencebetweenitspriceinthefirstoftheseplaces，anditspriceinthesecond。”

[J。B。Say，Traitè；d’è；conomiepolitique，Troisiè；meedition，Paris，1817，TomeII，p。433——Ed。]Ricardoremarkswithreferencetothis:”True，buthowisthisadditionalvaluegiventoit？

Byaddingtothecostofproduction，first，theexpensesofconveyance；

secondly，theprofitontheadvancesofcapitalmadebythemerchant。Thecommodityisonlymorevaluable，forthesamereasonthateveryothercommoditymaybecomemorevaluable，becausemorelabourisexpendedonitsproductionandconveyancebeforeitispurchasedbytheconsumer。Thismustnotbementionedasoneoftheadvantagesofcommerce。”(Ricardo，PrinciplesofPoliticalEconomy，3rd。ed。，London，1821，pp。309，310。)

[19]RoyalCommissiononRailways，p。

31，No。630。

1885:CapitalII——Chapter7

partII

THETURNOVEROFCAPITAL

CHAPTERVII

THETIMEOFCIRCULATION[8]Wehaveseenthattheentiretimeofturnoverofagivencapitalisequaltothesumofitstimeofcirculationanditstimeofproduction。Itistheperiodoftimefromthemomentoftheadvanceofcapital-valueinadefiniteformtothereturnofthefunctioningcapital-valueinthesameform。

Thecompellingmotiveofcapitalistproductionisalwaysthecreationofsurplus-valuebymeansoftheadvancedvalue，nomatterwhetherthisvalueisadvancedinitsindependentform，i。e。，inthemoney-form，orincommodities，inwhichcaseitsvalue-formpossessesonlyidealindependenceinthepriceoftheadvancedcommodities。Inbothcasesthiscapital-valuepassesthroughvariousformsofexistenceduringitscircularmovement。

Itsidentitywithitselfisfixedinthebooksofthecapitalists，orintheformofmoneyofaccount。

WhetherwetaketheformofM……M’ortheformP……P，theimplicationis(1)thattheadvancedvalueperformsthefunctionofcapital-valueandhascreatedsurplus-value；(2)thataftercompletingitsprocessithasreturnedtotheforminwhichitbeganit。Theself-expansionoftheadvancedvalueMandatthesametimethereturnofcapitaltothisform(themoney-form)isplainlyvisibleinM……M’。Butthesametakesplaceinthesecondform。Forthestarting-pointofPistheexistenceoftheelementsofproduction，ofcommoditieshavingagivenvalue。Theformincludestheself-expansionofthisvalue(C’andM’)andthereturntotheoriginalform，forinthesecondPtheadvancedvaluehasagaintheformoftheelementsofproductioninwhichitwasoriginallyadvanced。

Wehaveseenpreviously:”Ifproductionbecapitalisticinform，so，too，willbereproduction。Justasintheformerthelabour-processfiguresbutasameanstowardstheself-expansionofcapital，sointhelatteritfiguresbutasameansofreproducingascapital——i。e。，asself-expandingvalue——thevalueadvanced。”(BuchI，Kap。XXI，S。588。)

[Englishedition:Ch。XXIII，p。566——Ed。]

Thethreeforms(I)M……M’(II)P……P，and(III)C’……C’，presentthefollowingdistinctions:informII，P……P，therenewaloftheprocess，theprocessofreproduction，isexpressedasareality，whileinformI

onlyasapotentiality。ButbothdifferfromformIIIinthatwiththemtheadvancedcapital-value——advancedeitherintheformofmoneyorofmaterialelementsofproduction——isthestarting-pointandthereforealsothereturningpoint。InM……M’thereturnisexpressedbyM’=M

+m。Iftheprocessisrenewedonthesamescale，Misagainthestarting-pointandmdoesnotenterintoit，butshowsmerelythatMhasself-expandedascapitalandhencecreatedasurplus-value，m，butcastitoff。IntheformP……Pcapital-valuePadvancedintheformofelementsofproductionislikewisethestarting-point。Thisformincludesitsself-expansion。

Ifsimplereproductiontakesplace，thesamecapital-valuerenewsthesameprocessinthesameformP。Ifaccumulationtakesplace，thenP’(equalinmagnitudeofvaluetoM’，equaltoC’)reopenstheprocessasanexpandedcapital-value。Buttheprocessbeginsagainwiththeadvancedcapital-valueinitsinitialform，althoughwithagreatercapital-valuethanbefore。

InformIII，onthecontrary，thecapital-valuedoesnotbegintheprocessasanadvance，butasavaluealreadyexpanded，astheaggregatewealthexistingintheformofcommodities，ofwhichtheadvancedcapital-valueisbutapart。ThislastformisimportantforPartIII，inwhichthemovementsoftheindividualcapitalsarediscussedinconnectionwiththemovementoftheaggregatesocialcapital。Butitisnottobeusedinconnectionwiththeturnoverofcapital，whichalwaysbeginswiththeadvanceofcapital-value，whetherintheformofmoneyorcommodities，andwhichalwaysnecessitatesthereturnoftherotatingcapital-valueintheforminwhichitwasadvanced。

OfthecircuitsIandII，theformerisofserviceinastudyprimarilyoftheinfluenceoftheturnoverontheformationofsurplus-valueandthelatterinastudyofitsinfluenceonthecreationoftheproduct。

Economistshavelittledistinguishedbetweenthedifferentformsofcircuits，norhavetheyexaminedthemindividuallywithrelationtotheturnoverofcapital。TheygenerallyconsidertheformM……M’，becauseitdominatestheindividualcapitalistandaidshiminhiscalculations，evenifmoneyisthestarting-pointonlyintheshapeofmoneyofaccount。

Othersstartwithoutlaysintheformofelementsofproductiontothepointwhenreturnsarereceived，withoutalludingatalltotheformofthereturns，whethermadeincommoditiesormoney。Forinstance，”theEconomicCycle，……thewholecourseofproduction，fromthetimethatoutlaysaremadetillreturnsarereceived。Inagriculture，seedtimeisitscommencement，andharvestingitsending。”S。P。Newman，ElementsofPoliticalEconomy，AndoverandNewYork，p。81。OthersbeginwithC’(thethirdform):SaysTh。Chalmers，inhisworkOnPoliticalEconomy，2nded。，Glasgow，1832，p。85etseq。:”Theworldoftrademaybeconceivedtorevolveinwhatweshallcallaneconomiccycle，whichaccomplishesonerevolutionbybusiness，comingroundagain，throughitssuccessivetransactions，tothepointfromwhichitsetout。Itscommencementmaybedatedfromthepointatwhichthecapitalisthasobtainedthosereturnsbywhichhiscapitalisreplacedtohim:whenceheproceedsanewtoengagehisworkmen；todistributeamongthem，inwages，theirmaintenance，orrather，thepowerofliftingit；toobtainfromthem，infinishedwork，thearticlesinwhichhespeciallydeals；tobringthesearticlestomarketandthereterminatetheorbitofonesetofmovements，byeffectingasale，andreceiving，initsproceeds，areturnforthewholeoutlaysoftheperiod。”

Assoonastheentirecapital-valueinvestedbysomeindividualcapitalistinanybranchofproductionwhateverhasdescribeditscircuit，itfindsitselfoncemoreinitsinitialformandcannowrepeatthesameprocess。Itmustrepeatit，ifthevalueistoperpetuateitselfasacapital-valueandtocreatesurplus-value。Anindividualcircuitisbutaconstantlyrepeatedsectioninthelifeofacapital；henceaperiod。AttheendoftheperiodM……M’capitalhasoncemoretheformofmoney-capital，whichpassesanewthroughthatseriesofchangesofforminwhichitsprocessofreproduction，orself-expansion，isincluded。AttheendoftheperiodP……Pcapitalresumestheformofelementsofproduction，whicharetheprerequisitesforarenewalofitscircuit。Acircuitperformedbyacapitalandmeanttobeaperiodicalprocess，notanindividualact，iscalleditsturnover。Thedurationofthisturnoverisdeterminedbythesumofitstimeofproductionanditstimeofcirculation。Thistimetotalconstitutesthetimeofturnoverofthecapital。Itmeasurestheintervaloftimebetweenonecircuitperiodoftheentirecapital-valueandthenext，theperiodicityintheprocessoflifeofcapitalor，ifyoulike，thetimeoftherenewal，therepetition，oftheprocessofself-expansion，orproduction，ofoneandthesamecapital-value。

Apartfromtheindividualadventureswhichmayaccelerateorshortenthetimeofturnoverofcertaincapitals，thistimediffersinthedifferentspheresofinvestment。Justastheworkingdayisthenaturalunitformeasuringthefunctionoflabour-power，sotheyearisthenaturalunitformeasuringtheturnoversoffunctioningcapital。Thenaturalbasisofthisunitisthecircumstancethatthemostimportantcropsofthetemperatezone，whichisthemothercountryofcapitalistproduction，areannualproducts。IfwedesignatetheyearastheunitofmeasureoftheturnovertimebyT，thetimeofturnoverofagivencapitalbyt，andthenumberofitsturnoversbyn，thenn=T/t。If，forinstance，thetimeofturnovertis3months，thennisequalto12/3，or4；capitalisturnedoverfourtimesperyear。Ift=18months，thenn=12/18=2/3，orcapitalcompletesonlytwo-thirdsofitsturnoverinoneyear。Ifitstimeofturnoverisseveralyears，itiscomputedinmultiplesofoneyear。>Fromthepointofviewofthecapitalist，thetimeofturnoverofhiscapitalisthetimeforwhichhemustadvancehiscapitalinordertocreatesurplus-valuewithitandreceiveitbackinitsoriginalshape。Beforeexaminingmorecloselytheinfluenceoftheturnoverontheprocessesofproductionandself-expansion，wemustinvestigatetwonewformswhichaccruetocapitalfromtheprocessofcirculationandaffecttheformofitsturnover。

1885:CapitalII——Chapter8

partII

THETURNOVEROFCAPITAL

CHAPTERVIII

FIXEDCAPITALANDCIRCULATINGCAPITALI。DISTINCTIONSOFFORMWehaveseen(BuchI，Kap。VI)[Englishedition:Ch。VIII——Ed。]

that，inrelationtotheproductstowardthecreationofwhichitcontributes，aportionoftheconstantcapitalretainsthatdefiniteuse-forminwhichitentersintotheprocessofproduction。Henceitperformsthesamefunctionsforalongerorshorterperiod，ineverrepeatedlabour-processes。Thisappliesforinstancetoindustrialbuildings，machinery，etc——inshorttoallthingswhichwecompriseunderthenameofinstrumentsoflabour。

Thispartofconstantcapitalyieldsupvaluetotheproductinproportionasitlosesitsownexchange-valuetogetherwithitsownuse-value。Thisdeliveryofvalue，orthistransitionofthevalueofsuchameansofproductiontotheproductwhichithelpstocreateisdeterminedbyacalculationofaverages。Itismeasuredbytheaveragedurationofitsfunction，fromthemomentthatthemeansofproductionentersintotheprocessofproductiontothemomentthatitiscompletelyspent，deadandgone，andmustbereplacedbyanewsampleofthesamekind，orreproduced。

This，then，isthepeculiarityofthispartofconstantcapital，ofthelabourinstrumentsproper:

Apartofcapitalhasbeenadvancedintheformofconstantcapital，i。e。，ofmeansofproduction，whichfunctionasfactorsofthelabour-processsolongastheyretaintheindependentuse-forminwhichtheyenterthisprocess。Thefinishedproduct，andthereforealsothecreatorsoftheproduct，sofarastheyhavebeentransformedintoproduct，isthrustoutoftheprocessofproductionandpassesasacommodityfromthesphereofproductiontothesphereofcirculation。Buttheinstrumentsoflabourneverleavethesphereofproduction，oncetheyhaveenteredit。Theirfunctionholdsthemthere。Aportionoftheadvancedcapital-valuebecomesfixedinthisformdeterminedbythefunctionoftheinstrumentsoflabourintheprocess。Intheperformanceofthisfunction，andthusbythewearandtearoftheinstrumentsoflabour，apartoftheirvaluepassesontotheproduct，whiletheotherremainsfixedintheinstrumentsoflabourandthusintheprocessofproduction。Thevaluefixedinthiswaydecreasessteadily，untiltheinstrumentoflabouriswornout，itsvaluehavingbeendistributedduringashorterorlongerperiodoveramassofproductsoriginatingfromaseriesofconstantlyrepeatedlabour-processes。Butsolongastheyarestilleffectiveasinstrumentsoflabourandneednotyetbereplacedbynewonesofthesamekind，acertainamountofconstantcapital-valueremainsfixedinthem，whiletheotherpartofthevalueoriginallyfixedinthemistransferredtotheproductandthereforecirculatesasacomponentpartofthecommodity-supply。Thelongeraninstrumentlasts，thesloweritwearsout，thelongerwillitsconstantcapital-valueremainsfixedinthisuse-form。Butwhatevermaybeitsdurability，theproportioninwhichityieldsvalueisalwaysinversetotheentiretimeitfunctions。

Ifoftwomachinesofequalvalueonewearsoutinfiveyearsandtheotherinten，thenthefirstyieldstwiceasmuchvalueinthesametimeasthesecond。

Thisportionofthecapital-valuefixedintheinstrumentoflabourcirculatesaswellasanyother。Wehaveseeningeneralthatallcapital-valueisconstantlyincirculation，andthatinthissenseallcapitaliscirculatingcapital。Butthecirculationoftheportionofcapitalwhichwearenowstudyingispeculiar。Inthefirstplaceitdoesnotcirculateinitsuse-form，butitismerelyitsvaluethatcirculates，andthistakesplacegradually，piecemeal，inproportionasitpassesfromittotheproduct，whichcirculatesasacommodity。Duringtheentireperiodofitsfunctioning，apartofitsvaluealwaysremainfixedinit，independentlyofthecommoditieswhichithelpstoproduce。Itisthispeculiaritywhichgivestothisportionofconstantcapitaltheformoffixedcapital。Alltheothermaterialpartsofcapitaladvancedintheprocessofproductionformbywayofcontrastthecirculating，orfluid，capital。

Somemeansofproductiondonotentermateriallyintotheproduct。

Suchareauxiliarymaterials，whichareconsumedbytheinstrumentsoflabourthemselvesintheperformanceoftheirfunctions，likecoalconsumedbyasteam-engine；orwhichmerelyassistintheoperation，likegasforlighting，etc。Itisonlytheirvaluewhichformsapartofthevalueoftheproducts。Theproductcirculatesinitsowncirculationthevalueofthesemeansofproduction。Thisfeaturetheyhaveincommonwithfixedcapital。Buttheyareentirelyconsumedineverylabour-processwhichtheyenterandmustthereforebewhollyreplacedbynewmeansofproductionofthesamekindineverynewlabour-process。Theydonotpreservetheirindependentuse-formwhileperformingtheirfunction。Hencewhiletheyfunctionnoportionofcapital-valueremainsfixedintheirolduse-form，theirbodilyform，either。Thecircumstancethatthisportionoftheauxiliarymaterialsdoesnotpassbodilyintotheproductbutentersintothevalueoftheproductonlyaccordingtoitsownvalue，asaportionofthatvalue，andwhathangstogetherwiththis，namely，thatthefunctionofthesesubstancesisstrictlyconfinedtothesphereofproduction，hasmisledeconomistslikeRamsay(whoatthesametimegotfixedcapitalmixedupwithconstantcapital)toclassifythemasfixedcapital。[KarlMarx，Theorienü；berdenMehrwert(VierterBanddesKapitals)，3。Teil，Berlin，1962，SS。323-25——

Ed。]

Thatpartofthemeansofproductionwhichbodilyentersintotheproduct，i。e。，rawmaterials，etc。，thusassumesinpartformswhichenableitlatertoenterintoindividualconsumptionasarticlesofuse。

Theinstrumentsoflabourproperlysocalled，thematerialvehiclesofthefixedcapital，areconsumedonlyproductivelyandcannotenterintoindividualconsumption，becausetheydonotenterintotheproduct，ortheuse-value，whichtheyheldtocreatebutretaintheirindependentformwithreferencetoituntiltheyarecompletelywornout。Themeansoftransportationareanexceptiontothisrule。Theusefuleffectwhichtheyproduceduringtheperformanceoftheirproductivefunction，henceduringtheirsayinthesphereofproduction，thechangeoflocation，passessimultaneouslyintotheindividualuseinthesamewayinwhichhepaysfortheuseofotherarticlesofconsumption。Wehaveseen[KarlMarx，Capital，Vol。I，pp。181-82——Ed。]thatforinstanceinchemicalmanufacturerawandauxiliarymaterialsblend。Thesameappliestoinstrumentsoflabourandauxiliaryandrawmaterials。Similarlyinagriculturethesubstancesaddedfortheimprovementofthesoilpasspartlyintotheplantsraisedandhelptoformtheproduct。Ontheotherhandtheireffectisdistributedoveralengthyperiod，sayfourorfiveyears。Aportionofthemthereforepassesbodilyintotheproductandthustransfersitsvaluetotheproductwhiletheotherportionremainsfixedinitsolduse-formandretainsitsvalue。Itpersistsasameansofproductionandconsequentlykeepstheformoffixedcapital。Asabeastoftoilanoxisfixedcapital。Ifheiseaten，henolongerfunctionsasaninstrumentoflabour，norasfixedcapitaleither。

Whatdeterminesthataportionofthecapital-valueinvestedinmeansofproductionisendowedwiththecharacteroffixedcapitalisexclusivelythepeculiarmannerinwhichthisvaluecirculates。Thisspecificmannerofcirculationarisesfromthespecificmannerinwhichtheinstrumentoflabourtransmitsitsvaluetothepro-duct，orinwhichitbehavesasacreatorofvaluesduringtheprocessofproduction。Thismanneragainarisesfromthespecialwayinwhichtheinstrumentsoflabourfunctioninthelabour-process。

Weknowthatause-valuewhichemergesasaproductfromonelabour-processentersintoanotherasameansofproduction。[KarlMarx，Capital，Vol。

I，p。181——Ed。]Itisonlythefunctioningofaproductasaninstrumentoflabourintheprocessofproductionthatmakesitfixedcapital。

Butwhenititselfonlyjustemergesfromaprocess，itisbynomeansfixedcapital。Forinstanceamachine，asaproductorcommodityofthemachine-manufacturer，belongstohiscommodity-capital。Itdoesnotbecomefixedcapitaluntilitisemployedproductivelyinthehandsofitspurchaser，thecapitalist。

Allothercircumstancesbeingequal，thedegreeoffixityincreaseswiththedurabilityoftheinstrumentoflabour。Itisthisdurabilitythatdeterminesthemagnitudeofthedifferencebetweenthecapital-valuefixedininstrumentsoflabourandthatpartofitsvaluewhichityieldstotheproductinrepeatedlabour-processes。Theslowerthisvalueisyielded——andvalueisgivenupbytheinstrumentoflabourineveryrepetitionofthelabour-process——thelargeristhefixedcapitalandthegreaterthedifferencebetweenthecapitalemployedintheprocessofproductionandthecapitalconsumedinit。Assoonasthisdifferencehasdisappearedtheinstrumentoflabourhasoutliveditsusefulnessandhaslostwithitsuse-valuealsoitsvalue。Ithasceasedtobethedepositoryofvalue。

Sinceaninstrumentoflabour，likeeveryothermaterialcarrierofconstantcapital，partswithvaluetotheproductonlytotheextentthattogetherwithitsuse-valueitlosesitsvalue，itisevidentthatthemoreslowlyitsuse-valueislost，thelongeritlastsintheprocessofproduction，thelongeristheperiodinwhichconstantcapital-valueremainsfixedinit。

Ifameansofproductionwhichisnotaninstrumentoflabourstrictlyspeaking，suchasauxiliarysubstances，rawmaterial，partlyfinishedarticles，etc。，behaveswithregardtovalueyieldandhencemannerofcirculationofitsvalueinthesamewayastheinstrumentsoflabour，thenitislikewiseamaterialdepository，aformofexistence，offixedcapital。Thisisthecasewiththeabove-mentionedimprovementsofthesoil，whichaddtoitchemicalsubstanceswhoseinfluenceisdistributedoverseveralperiodsofproductionoryears。Hereaportionofthevaluecontinuestoexistalongsidetheproduct，initsindependentformorintheformoffixedcapital，whiletheotherportionofthevaluehasbeendeliveredtotheproductandthereforecirculateswithit。Inthiscaseitisnotaloneaportionofthevalueofthefixedcapitalwhichentersintotheproduct，butalsotheuse-value，thesubstance，inwhichthisportionofvalueexists。

Apartfromthefundamentalmistake——themixingupofthecategories”fixed”and”circulatingcapital”withthecategories”constant”and”variablecapital”——theconfusionoftheeconomistshithertointhedefinitionsofconceptsisbasedfirstofallonthefollowingpoints:

Oneturnscertainpropertiesmateriallyinherentininstrumentsoflabourintodirectpropertiesoffixedcapital；forinstancephysicalimmobility，say，ofahouse。Howeveritisalwayseasytoproveinsuchcasethatotherinstrumentsoflabour，whichassucharelikewisefixedcapital，possesstheoppositeproperty:forinstancephysicalmobility，say，ofaship。

Oroneconfusestheeconomicdefinitenessofformwhicharisesfromthecirculationofvaluewithanobjectiveproperty；asifobjectswhichinthemselvesarenotcapitalatallbutratherbecomesoonlyunderdefinitesocialconditionscouldinthemselvesandintheirverynaturebecapitalinsomedefiniteform，fixedorcirculating。Wehaveseen(BuchI，Kap。V)[Englishedition:Ch。VII——Ed。]thatthemeansofproductionineverylabour-process，regardlessofthesocialconditionsinwhichittakesplace，aredividedintoinstrumentsoflabourandsubjectsoflabour。Butbothofthembecomecapitalonlyunderthecapitalistmodeofproduction，whentheybecome”productivecapital，”asshownintheprecedingpart。Thusthedistinctionbetweeninstrumentsoflabourandsubjectoflabour，whichisgroundedonthenatureofthelabour-process，isreflectedinanewform:thedistinctionbetweenfixedcapitalandcirculatingcapital。

Itisonlythenthatathingwhichperformsthefunctionofaninstrumentoflabourbecomesfixedcapital。Ifowingtoitsmaterialpropertiesitcanfunctionalsoinothercapacitiesthanthatofinstrumentoflabour，itmaybefixedcapitalornot，dependingonthespecificfunctionitperforms。

Cattleasbeastsoftoilarefixedcapital；asbeefcattletheyarerawmaterialwhichfinallyentersintocirculationasaproduct；hencetheyarecirculating，notfixedcapital。

Themerefixationofameansofproductionforaconsiderablelengthoftimeinrepeatedlabour-processes，whichhoweverareconnected，continuous，andthereforeformaproductionperiod——i。e。，theentiretimeofproductionrequiredtofinishacertainproduct——obligesthecapitalist，justasfixedcapitaldoes，tomakehisadvancesforalongerorshorterterm，butthisdoesnotmakehiscapitalfixedcapital。Seedsforinstancearenotfixedcapital，butonlyrawmaterialwhichisheldforaboutayearintheprocessofproduction。Allcapitalisheldintheprocessofproductionsolongasitfunctionsasproductivecapital，andsoarethereforeallelementsofproductivecapital，whatevertheirmaterialforms，theirfunctionsandthemodesofcirculationoftheirvalues。Whetherthisperiodoffixationlastsalongorashorttime——amatterdependingonthekindofprocessofproductioninvolvedortheusefuleffectaimedat——thisdoesnoteffectthedistinctionbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapital。[20]

Apartoftheinstrumentsoflabour，whichincludesthegeneralinstrumentsoflabour，iseitherlocalisedassoonasitenterstheprocessofproductionasaninstrumentoflabour，i。e。，ispreparedforitsproductivefunction，suchasforinstancemachinery，orisproducedfromtheoutsetinitsimmovable，localisedform，suchasimprovementsofthesoil，factorybuildings，blastfurnaces，canals，railways，etc。Theconstantattachmentoftheinstrumentoflabourtotheprocessofproductioninwhichitistofunctionisherealsoduetoitsphysicalmodeofexistence。Ontheotherhandaninstrumentoflabourmayphysicallychangecontinuallyfromplacetoplace，maymoveabout，andneverthelessbeconstantlyintheprocessofproduction；forinstancealocomotive，aship，beastsofburden，etc。

Neitherdoesimmobilityintheonecasebestowuponitthecharacteroffixedcapital，nordoesmobilityintheothercasedepriveitofthischaracter。

Butthefactthatsomeinstrumentsoflabourarelocalised，attachedtothesoilbytheirroots，assignstothisportionoffixedcapitalapeculiarroleintheeconomyofnations。Theycannotbesentabroad，cannotcirculateascommoditiesintheworld-market。Titletothisfixedcapitalmaychange，itmaybeboughtandsold，andtothisextentmaycirculateideally。Thesetitlesofownershipmayevencirculateinforeignmarkets，forinstanceintheformofstocks。Butachangeofthepersonsowningthisclassoffixedcapitaldoesnotaltertherelationoftheimmovable，materiallyfixedpartofthenationalwealthtoitsimmovablepart。[21]

Thepeculiarcirculationoffixedcapitalresultsinapeculiarturnover。Thatpartofthevaluewhichitlosesinitsbodilyformbywearandtearcirculatesasapartofthevalueoftheproduct。Theproductconvertsitselfbymeansofitscirculationfromcommoditiesintomoney；

hencethesameappliestothevalue-partoftheinstrumentoflabourcirculatedbytheproduct，andthisvaluedripsdownintheformofmoneyfromtheprocessofcirculationinpro-portionasthisinstrumentoflabourceasestobeadepositoryofvalueintheprocessofproduction。Itsvaluethusacquiresadoubleexistence。Onepartofitremainsattachedtoitsuse-formorbodilyformbelongingintheprocessofproduction。Theotherpartdetachesitselffromthatformintheshapeofmoney。Intheperformanceofitsfunctionthatpartofthevalueofaninstrumentoflabourwhichexistsinitsbodilyformconstantlydecreases，whilethatwhichistransformedintomoneyconstantlyincreasesuntiltheinstrumentisatlastexhaustedanditsentirevalue，detachedfromitscorpse，isconvertedintomoney。

Herethepeculiarityoftheturnoverofthiselementofproductivecapitalbecomesapparent。Thetransformationofitsvalueintomoneykeepspacewiththepupationintomoneyofthecommoditywhichisthecarrierofitsvalue。Butitsreconversionfromthemoney-formintoause-formproceedsseparatelyfromthereconversionofthecommoditiesintootherelementsoftheirproductionandisdeterminedratherbyitsownperiodofreproduction，thatis，bythetimeduringwhichtheinstrumentoflabourwearsoutandmustbereplacedbyanotherofthesamekind。Ifamachineworth£；10，000

lastsfor，say，aperiodoftenyears，thentheperiodofturnoverofthevalueoriginallyadvancedforitamountstotenyears。Itneednotberenewedandcontinuestofunctioninitsbodilyformuntilthisperiodhasexpired。

Inthemeantimeitsvaluecirculatespiecemealasapartofthevalueofthecommoditieswhosecontinuousproductionitservesanditisthusgraduallytransformedintomoneyuntilfinallyattheendoftenyearsitentirelyassumestheformofmoneyandisreconvertedfrommoneyintoamachine，inotherwords，hascompleteditsturn-over。Untilthistimeofreproductionarrives，itsvalueisgraduallyaccumulated，intheformofamoneyreservefundtostartwith。

Theremainingelementsofproductivecapitalconsistpartlyofthoseelementsofconstantcapitalwhichexistasauxiliaryandrawmaterials，partlyofvariablecapitalinvestedinlabour-power。

Theanalysisofthelabour-processandoftheprocessofproducingsurplus-value(BuchI，Kap。V)[Englishedition:Ch。VII——Ed。]

showedthatthesedifferentcomponentsbehavequitedifferentlyascreatorsofproductsandascreatorsofvalues。Thevalueofthatpartofconstantcapitalwhichconsistsofauxiliaryandrawmaterials——thesameasofthatpartwhichconsistsofinstrumentsoflabour——re-appearsinthevalueoftheproductasonlytransferredvalue，whilelabour-poweraddsanequivalentofitsvaluetotheproductbymeansofthelabour-process，inotherwords，actuallyreproducesitsvalue。Furthermore，onepartoftheauxiliarysubstances——fuel，lightinggas，etc——isconsumedintheprocessoflabourwithoutenteringbodilyintotheproduct，whiletheotherpartofthementersbodilyintotheproductandformsitsmaterialsubstance。Butallthesedifferencesareimmaterialsofarasthecirculationandthereforethemodeofturnoverisconcerned。Sinceauxiliaryandrawmaterialsareentirelyconsumedinthecreationoftheproduct，theytransfertheirvalueentirelytotheproduct。Hencethisvalueiscirculatedinitsentiretybytheproduct，transformsitselfintomoneyandfrommoneybackintotheelementsofproductionofthecommodity。Itsturnoverisnotinterrupted，asisthatoffixedcapital，butpassesuninterruptedlythroughtheentirecircuitofitsforms，sothattheseelementsofproductivecapitalarecontinuallyrenewedinkind。

Asforthevariablecomponentofproductivecapital，whichisinvestedinlabour-power，beitnotedthatlabour-powerispurchasedforadefiniteperiodoftime。Assoonasthecapitalisthasboughtitandembodieditintheprocessofproduction，itformsacomponentpartofhiscapital，itsvariablecomponent。Labour-poweractsdailyduringtheperiodoftimeinwhichitaddstotheproductnotonlyitsownvalueforthewholedaybutalsoasurplus-valueinexcessofit。Weshallnotconsiderthissurplus-valueforthepresent。Afterlabour-powerhasbeenboughtandithasperformeditsfunction，sayforaweek，itspurchasemustbeconstantlyrenewedwithinthecustomaryintervalsoftime。Theequivalentofitsvalue，whichthelabour-poweraddstotheproductduringitsfunctioningandwhichistransformedintomoneyinconsequenceofthecirculationoftheproduct，mustcontinuallybereconvertedfrommoneyintolabour-powerorcontinuallypassthroughthecompletecircuitofitsforms，thatis，mustbeturnedover，ifthecircuitofcontinuousproductionisnottobeinterrupted。

Hencethatpartofthevalueoftheproductivecapitalwhichhasbeenadvancedforlabour-powerisentirelytransferredtotheproduct(weconstantlyleavethequestionofsurplus-valueoutofconsiderationhere)，passeswithitthroughthetwometamorphosesbelonginginthesphereofcirculationandalwaysremainsincorporatedintheprocessofproductionbyvirtueofthiscontinuousrenewal。Hence，howeverdifferentotherwisemaybetherelationbetweenlabour-power，sofarasthecreationofvalueisconcerned，andthecomponentpartsofconstantcapitalwhichdonotconstitutefixedcapital，thiskindofturnoverofitsvaluelabour-powershareswiththem，incontradistinctiontofixedcapital。Thesecomponentsoftheproductivecapital——thepartsofitsvalueinvestedinlabour-powerandinmeansofproductionwhichdonotconstitutefixedcapital——byreasonoftheircommonturnovercharacteristicsconfrontthefixedcapitalascirculatingorfluentcapital。

Wehavealreadyshown[KarlMarx，Capital，Vol。I，Ch。VI，pp。

167-76——Ed。]thatthemoneywhichthecapitalistpaystothelabourerfortheuseofhislabour-powerisnothingmoreorlessthantheformofthegeneralequivalentforthemeansofsubsistencerequiredbythelabourer。Tothisextent，thevariablecapitalconsistsinsubstanceofmeansofsubsistence。Butinthiscase，wherewearediscussingturnover，itisaquestionofform。Thecapitalistdoesnotbuythelabourer’smeansofsubsistencebuthislabour-power。Andthatwhichformsthevariablepartofhiscapitalisnotthelabourer’smeansofsubsistencebuthislabour-powerinaction。Whatthecapitalistconsumesproductivelyinthelabour-processisthelabour-poweritselfandnotthelabourer’smeansofsubsistence。Itisthelabourerhimselfwhoconvertsthemoneyreceivedforhislabour-powerintomeansofsubsistence，inordertoreconvertthemintolabour-power，tokeepalive，justasthecapitalistforinstanceconvertsapartofthesurplus-valueofthecommoditieshesellsformoneyintomeansofsubsistenceforhimselfwithouttherebywarrantingthestatementthatthepurchaserofhiscommoditiespayshiminmeansofsubsistence。

Evenifthelabourerispaidapartofhiswagesinmeansofsubsistence，inkind，thisnowadaysamountstoasecondtransaction。Hesellshislabour-poweratacertainprice，withtheunderstandingthatheshallreceiveapartofthispriceinmeansofsubsistence。Thischangesmerelytheformofthepayment，butnotthefactthatwhatheactuallysellsishislabour-power。

Itisasecondtransaction，whichdoesnottakeplacebetweenthelabourerandthecapitalist，butbetweenthelabourerasabuyerofcommoditiesandthecapitalistasasellerofcommodities，whileinthefirsttransactionthelabourerisasellerofacommodity(hislabour-power)andthecapitalistitsbuyer。Itisexactlythesameasifacapitalist，onsellinghiscommodity，say，amachine，toanironworks，hasitreplacedbysomeothercommodity，say，iron。Itisthereforenotthelabourer’smeansofsubsistencewhichacquirethedefinitecharacterofcirculatingcapitalasopposedtofixedcapital。Norisithislabour-power。Itisratherthatpartofthevalueofproductivecapitalwhichisinvestedinlabour-powerandwhich，byvirtueoftheformofitsturnover，receivesthischaracterincommonwithsome，andincontrastwithother，componentpartsoftheconstantcapital。

Thevalueofthecirculatingcapital——inlabour-powerandmeansofproduction——isadvancedonlyforthetimeduringwhichtheproductisinprocessofproduction，inaccordancewiththescaleofproductiondeterminedbythevolumeofthefixedcapital。Thisvalueentersentirelyintotheproduct，isthereforefullyreturnedbyitssalefromthesphereofcirculation，andcanbeadvancedanew。Thelabour-powerandmeansofproduction，inwhichthecirculatingcomponentofcapitalexists，arewithdrawnfromcirculationtotheextentrequiredforthecreationandsaleofthefinishedproduct，buttheymustbecontinuallyreplacedandrenewedbypurchasingthemback，byreconvertingthemfromthemoney-formintotheelementsofproduction。Theyarewithdrawnfromthemarketinsmallerquantitiesatatimethantheelementsoffixedcapital，buttheymustbewithdrawnagainfromitsomuchthemorefrequentlyandtheadvanceofcapitalinvestedinthemmustberenewedatshorterintervals。Thisconstantrenewaliseffectedbythecontinuousconversionoftheproductwhichcirculatestheirentirevalue。Andfinally，theypassthroughtheentirecircuitofmetamorphoses，notonlysofarastheirvalueisconcernedbutalsotheirmaterialform。

Theyareperpetuallyreconvertedfromcommoditiesintotheelementsofproductionofthesamecommodities。

Togetherwithitsownvalue，labour-poweralwaysaddstotheproductsurplus-value，theembodimentofunpaidlabour。Thisiscontinuouslycirculatedbythefinishedproductandconvertedintomoneyjustasareotherelementsofitsvalue。Buthere，whereweareprimarilyconcernedwiththeturnoverofcapital-value，andnotwiththatofthesurplus-valueoccurringatthesametime，wedismissthelatterforthepresent。

>Fromtheforegoingonemayconcludethefollowing:

1。Thedefinitenessofformoffixedandcirculatingcapitalarisesmerelyfromthedifferentturnoversofthecapital-value，functioningintheprocessofproduction，oroftheproductivecapital。Thisdifferenceinturnoverarisesinitsturnfromthedifferentmannerinwhichthevariouscomponentsofproductivecapitaltransfertheirvaluetotheproduct；itisnotduetothedifferentpartsplayedbythesecomponentsinthegenerationofproductvalue，nortotheircharacteristicbehaviourintheprocessofself-expansion。Finallythedifferenceinthedeliveryofvaluetotheproduct——andthereforethedifferentmannerinwhichthisvalueiscirculatedbytheproductandisrenewedinitsoriginalbodilyformthroughthemetamorphosesoftheproduct——arisesfromthedifferenceofthematerialshapesinwhichtheproductivecapitalexists，oneportionofitbeingentirelyconsumedduringthecreationofanindividualproductandtheotherbeinguseduponlygradually。Henceitisonlytheproductivecapitalwhichcanbedividedintofixedandcirculatingcapital。Butthisantithesisdoesnotapplytotheothertwomodesofexistenceofindustrialcapital，thatistosay，commodity-capitalandmoney-capital，nordoesitexistasanantithesisofthesetwomodestoproductivecapital。Itexistsonlyforproductivecapitalandwithinitssphere。Nomatterhowmuchmoney-capitalandcommodity-capitalmayfunctionascapitalandnomatterhowfluentlytheymaycirculate，theycannotbecomecirculatingcapitalasdistinctfromfixedcapitaluntiltheyaretransformedintocirculatingcomponentsofproductivecapital。Butbecausethesetwoformsofcapitaldwellinthesphereofcirculation，PoliticalEconomyasweshallseehasbeenmisledsincethetimeofAdamSmithintolumpingthemtogetherwiththecirculatingpartofproductivecapitalandassigningthemtothecategoryofcirculatingcapital。Theyareindeedcirculationcapitalincontrasttoproductivecapital，buttheyarenotcirculatingcapitalincontrasttofixedcapital。

2。Theturnoverofthefixedcomponentpartofcapital，andthereforealsothetimeofturnovernecessaryforit，comprisesseveralturnoversofthecirculatingconstituentsofcapital。Inthetimeduringwhichthefixedcapitalturnsoveronce，thecirculatingcapitalturnsoverseveraltimes。Oneofthecomponentpartsofthevalueoftheproductivecapitalacquiresthedefinitenessofformoffixedcapitalonlyincasethemeansofproductioninwhichitexistsisnotwhollywornoutinthetimerequiredforthefabricationoftheproductanditsexpulsionfromtheprocessofproductionasacommodity。Onepartofitsvaluemustremaintiedupintheformofthestillpreservedolduse-form，whiletheotherpartiscirculatedbythefinishedproduct，andthiscirculationonthecontrarysimultaneouslycirculatestheentirevalueofthefluentcomponentpartsofthecapital。

3。Thevalue-partoftheproductivecapital，thepartinvestedinfixedcapital，isadvancedinonelumpsumfortheentireperiodofemploymentofthatpartofthemeansofproductionofwhichthefixedcapitalconsists。Hencethisvalueisthrownintothecirculationbythecapitalistallatonetime。Butitiswithdrawnagainfromthecirculationonlypiecemealandgraduallybyrealisingthepartsofvaluewhichthefixedcapitaladdspiecemealtothecommodities。Ontheotherhandthemeansofproductionthemselves，inwhichacomponentpartoftheproductivecapitalbecomesfixed，arewithdrawnfromthecirculationallatonetimetobeembodiedintheprocessofproductionfortheentireperiodinwhichtheyfunction。

Buttheydonotrequireforthisperiodanyreplacementbynewsamplesofthesamekind，donotrequirereproduction。Theycontinueforalongerorshorterperiodtocontributetothecreationofthecommoditiesthrownintocirculationwithoutwith-drawingfromcirculationtheelementsoftheirownrenewal。Hencetheydonotrequirefromthecapitalistarenewalofhisadvanceduringthisperiod。Finallythecapital-valueinvestedinfixedcapitaldoesnotpassbodilythroughthecircuitofitsforms，duringthefunctioningperiodofthemeansofproductioninwhichthiscapital-valueexists，butonlyasconcernsitsvalue，andeventhisitdoesonlypartsandgradually。Inotherwords，aportionofitsvalueiscontinuallycirculatedandconvertedintomoneyasapartofthevalueofthecommodities，withoutbeingreconvertedfrommoneyintoitsoriginalbodilyform。Thisreconversionofmoneyintothebodilyformofthemeansofproductiondoesnottakeplaceuntiltheendofitsfunctioningperiod，whenthemeansofproductionhasbeencompletelyconsumed。

4。Theelementsofcirculatingcapitalareaspermanentlyfixedintheprocessofproduction——ifitistobeuninterrupted——astheelementsoffixedcapital。Buttheelementsofcirculatingcapitalthusfixedarecontinuallyrenewedinkind(themeansofproductionbynewproductsofthesamekind，labour-powerbyconstantlyrenewedpurchases)whileinthecaseoftheelementsoffixedcapitalneithertheythemselvesarerenewednorneedtheirpurchasesberenewedsolongastheycontinuetoexist。

Therearealwaysrawandauxiliarymaterialsintheprocessofproduction，butalwaysnewproductsofthesamekind，aftertheoldelementshavebeenconsumedinthecreationofthefinishedproduct。Labour-powerlikewisealwaysexistsintheprocessofproduction，butonlybymeansofevernewpurchases，frequentlyinvolvingchangesofpersons。Butthesameidenticalbuildings，machines，etc。，continuetofunction，duringrepeatedturnoversofthecirculatingcapital，inthesamerepeatedprocessesofproduction。

II。COMPONENTS，REPLACEMENT，REPAIR，ANDACCUMULATIONOFFIXED

CAPITALInanyinvestmentofcapitaltheseparateelementsofthefixedcapitalhavedifferentlifetimes，andthereforedifferentturnovertimes。Inarailway，forinstance，therails，sleepers，earthworks，terminals，bridges，tunnels，locomotives，andcarriageshavedifferentfunctionalperiodsandtimesofreproduction，hencethecapitaladvancedforthemhasdifferenttimesofturnover。Foragreatnumberofyears，buildings，platforms，watertanks，viaducts，tunnels，cuttings，dams，inshorteverythingcalled”worksofart”inEnglishrailroading，donotrequireanyrenewal。Thethingswhichwearoutmostarethetracksandrollingstock。

Originallyintheconstructionofmodernrailwaysitwastheprevailingopinion，nursedbythemostprominentpracticalengineers，thatarailwaywouldlastacenturyandthatthewearandtearoftherailswassoimperceptiblethatitcouldbeignoredforallfinancialandotherpracticalpurposes；

100to150yearswassupposedtobethelifeofgoodrails。Butitwassoonfoundthatthelifeofarail，whichnaturallydependsonthespeedofthelocomotives，theweightandnumberoftrains，thediameteroftherails，andonamultitudeofotherattendantcircumstances，didnotexceedanaverageof20years。Insomerailwayterminals，greattrafficcentres，therailsevenwearouteveryyear。About1867begantheintroductionofsteelrails，whichcostabouttwiceasmuchasironrailsbutwhichlastmorethantwiceaslong。Thelife-timeofwoodensleeperswasfrom12to15years。Itwasalsoascertainedwithregardtotherollingstockthatfreightcarswearoutfasterthanpassengercars。Thelifeofalocomotivewasestimatedin1867tobeabout10to12years。

Thewearandtearisfirstofallaresultofuse。Asarule”thewearoftherailsisproportionatetothenumberoftrains。”(R。C。，No。

17645。)[22]Withincreasedspeedthewearandtearofarailwayincreasedinahigherratiothanthesquareofthespeed；thatistosay，ifyoudoubledthespeedoftheengine，youmorethanquadrupledthecostofwearandtearoftheroad。(R。C。，No。17046。)

Wearandtearisfurthermorecausedbytheactionofnaturalforces。

Forinstancesleeperssuffernotonlyfromactualwearbutalsofromrot。”Thecostofmaintainingtheroaddoesnotdependsomuchuponthewearandtearofthetrafficpassingoverit，asuponthequalityofwood，iron，bricksandmortarsexposedtotheatmosphere。Amonthofseverewaterwoulddonotmoredamagetotheroadofarailwaythanayear’straffic。”(R。

P。Williams，”OntheMaintenanceofPermanentWay，”PaperreadattheInstituteofCivilEngineers，Autumn，1867。[R。P。Williams’spaperwaspublishedinMoneyMarketReviewofDecember2，1867——Ed。])

Finally，hereaseverywhereelseinmodernindustry，themoraldepreciationplaysarole。Afterthelapseoftenyears，onecangenerallybuythesamenumberofcarsandlocomotivesfor£；30，000thatwouldpreviouslyhavecost£；40，000。Depreciationintherollingstockmustbesetat25percentofthemarketpriceevenwhenthereisnodepreciationwhateverinitsuse-values。(Lardner，RailwayEconomy。)”Tubebridgeswillnotbereplacedintheirpresentform。”(Becausenowtherearebetterformsforsuchbridges。)”Ordinaryrepairs，takingawaygradually，andreplacingarenotpracticable。”(W。P。Adams，RoadsandRails，London，1862。)Theinstrumentsoflabourarelargelymodifiedallthetimebytheprogressofindustry。Hencetheyarenotreplacedintheiroriginal，butintheirmodifiedform。Ontheonehandthemassofthefixedcapitalinvestedinacertainbodilyformandendowedinthatformwithacertainaveragelifeconstitutesonereasonfortheonlygradualpaceoftheintroductionofnewmachinery，etc。，andthereforeanobstacletotherapidgeneralintroductionofimprovedinstrumentsoflabour。Ontheotherhandcompetitioncompelsthereplacementoftheoldinstrumentsoflabourbynewonesbeforetheexpirationoftheirnaturallife，especiallywhendecisivechangesoccur。Suchprematurerenewalsoffactoryequipmentonaratherlargesocialscalearemainlyenforcedbycatastrophesorcrises。

Bywearandtear(moraldepreciationexcepted)ismeantthatpartofvaluewhichthefixedcapital，onbeingused，graduallytransmitstotheproduct，inproportiontoitsaveragelossofuse-value。

Thiswearandteartakesplacepartlyinsuchawaythatthefixedcapitalhasacertainaveragedurability。Itisadvancedforthisentireperiodinonesum。Aftertheterminationofthisperioditmustbetotallyreplaced。Sofaraslivinginstrumentsoflabourareconcerned，forinstancehorses，theirreproductionistimedbynatureitself。Theiraveragelifetimeasinstrumentsoflabourisdeterminedbylawsofnature。Assoonasthistermhasexpiredtheymustbereplacedbynewones。Ahorsecannotbereplacedpiecemeal；itmustbereplacedbyanotherhorse。

Otherelementsoffixedcapitalpermitofaperiodicalorpartialrenewal。Inthisinstancepartialorperiodicalreplacementmustbedistinguishedfromgradualextensionofthebusiness。

Thefixedcapitalconsistsinpartofhomogeneousconstituentswhichdonothoweverlastthesamelengthoftimebutarerenewedpiecemealatvariousintervals。Thisistrueforinstanceoftherailsandrailwaystations，whichmustbereplacedmoreoftenthanthoseoftheremainderofthetrackage。Italsoappliestothesleepers，whichontheBelgianrailwayshadtoberenewedinthefortiesattherateof8percentannually，accordingtoLardner，sothatallthesleeperswererenewedinthecourseof121/2years。Hencewehaveherethefollowingsituation:acertainsumisadvancedforacertainkindoffixedcapitalforsaytenyears。

Thisexpenditureismadeatonetime。Butadefinitepartofthisfixedcapital，thevalueofwhichhasenteredintothevalueoftheproductandbeenconvertedwithitintomoney，isreplacedinkindeveryyear，whiletheremaindercontinuestoexistinitsoriginalbodyform。Itisthisadvanceinonesumandtheonlypartialreproductioninbodilyformwhichdistinguishthiscapital，asfixed，fromcirculatingcapital。

Otherpiecesofthefixedcapitalconsistofheterogeneouscomponents，whichwearoutinunequalperiodsoftimeandmustsobereplaced。Thisappliesparticularlytomachines。Whatwehavejustsaidconcerningthedifferentdurabilitiesofdifferentconstituentpartsofafixedcapitalappliesinthiscasetothedurabilityofdifferentcomponentpartsofanymachinefiguringasapieceofthisfixedcapital。

Withregardtothegradualextensionofthebusinessinthecourseofthepartialrenewal，wemakethefollowingremarks:Al-though，aswehaveseen，thefixedcapitalcontinuestoperformitsfunctionsintheprocessofproductioninkind，apartofitsvalue，proportionatetotheaveragewearandtear，hascirculatedwiththeproduct，hasbeenconvertedintomoney，andformsanelementinthemoneyreservefundintendedforthereplacementofthecapitalpendingitsreproductioninkind。Thispartofthevalueofthefixedcapitaltransformedintomoneymayservetoextendthebusinessortomakeimprovementsinthemachinerywhichwillincreasetheefficiencyofthelatter。Thusreproductiontakesplaceinlargerorsmallerperiodsoftime，andthisis，fromthestandpointofsociety，reproductiononanenlargedscale——extensiveifthemeansofproductionisextended；

intensiveifthemeansofproductionismademoreeffective。Thisreproductiononanextendedscaledoesnotresultfromaccumulation——transformationofsurplus-valueintocapital——butfromthereconversionofthevaluewhichhasbranchedoff，detacheditselfintheformofmoneyfromthebodyofthefixedcapitalintonewadditionaloratleastmoreeffectivefixedcapitalofthesamekind。Ofcourseitdependspartlyonthespecificnatureofthebusiness，towhatextentandinwhatproportionsitiscapableofsuchgradualaddition，hencealsoinwhatamountareservefundmustbecollectedtobereinvestedinthisway，andwhatperiodoftimethisrequires。

Towhatextentfurthermoreimprovementsinthedetailsofexistingmachinerycanbemade，dependsofcourseonthenatureoftheseimprovementsandtheconstructionofthemachineitself。HowwellthispointisconsideredattheveryoutsetintheconstructionofrailwaysisshownbyAdams:”Thewholestructureshouldbesetoutontheprinciplewhichgovernsthebeehive——capacityforindefiniteextension。Anyfixedanddecidedsymmetricalstructureistobedeprecated，asneedingsubsequentpullingdownincaseofenlargement。”(P。123。)

Thisdependslargelyontheavailablespace。Inthecaseofsomebuildingsadditionalstoreysmaybebuilt；inthecaseofotherslateralextension，hencemoreland，isrequired。Withincapitalistproductionthereisontheonesidemuchwasteofmaterial，ontheothermuchimpracticablelateralextensionofthissort(partlytotheinjuryofthelabour-power)

inthegradualexpansionofthebusiness，becausenothingisundertakenaccordingtoasocialplan，buteverythingdependsontheinfinitelydifferentconditions，means，etc。，withwhichtheindividualcapitalistoperates。

Thisresultsinagreatwasteoftheproductiveforces。

Thispiecemealreinvestmentofthemoneyreservefund(i。e。，ofthatpartofthefixedcapitalwhichhasbeenreconvertedintomoney)iseasiestinagriculture。Afieldofproductionofagivenareaisherecapableofthegreatestpossiblegradualabsorptionofcapital。Thesameappliestowherethereisnaturalreproductionasincattlebreeding。

Fixedcapitalentailsspecialmaintenancecosts。Apartofthismaintenanceisprovidedbythelabour-processitself；fixedcapitalspoils，ifitisnotemployedinthelabour-process(BuchI，Kap。VI，S。196andKap。XIII，S。423，[Englishedition:Ch。VIIIandXV——Ed。]onwearandtearofmachinerywhennotinuse)。TheEnglishlawthereforeexplicitlytreatsitaswaste，ifrentedlandsarenotcultivatedaccordingtothecustomoftheland。(W。A。Holdsworth，BarristeratLaw，TheLawofLandlordandTenant，London，1857，p。96。)Thismaintenanceresultingfromuseinthelabour-processisafreegiftinherentinthenatureoflivinglabour。Moreoverthepreservativepoweroflabourisofatwo-foldcharacter。Ontheonehanditpreservesthevalueofthematerialsoflabourbytransferringittotheproduct，ontheotherhanditpreservesthevalueoftheinstrumentsoflabourwithouttransferringthisvaluetotheproduct，bypreservingtheiruse-valuethroughtheiractivityintheprocessofproduction。

Thefixedcapitalhoweverrequiresalsoapositiveexpenditureoflabourforitsmaintenanceingoodrepair。Themachinerymustbecleanedfromtimetotime。Itisaquestionhereofadditionallabourwithoutwhichthemachinerybecomesuseless，ofmerelywardingoffthenoxiousinfluencesoftheelements，whichareinseparablefromtheprocessofproduction；

henceitisaquestionofkeepingthemachineryliterallyinworkingorder。

Itgoeswithoutsayingthatthenormaldurabilityoffixedcapitaliscalculatedonthesuppositionthatalltheconditionswhichitcanperformitsfunctionsnormallyduringthattimearefulfilled，justasweassume，inplacingaman’slifeat30yearsontheaverage，thathewillwashhimself。Itisherenotaquestionofreplacingthelabourcontainedinthemachine，butofconstantadditionallabourmadenecessarybyitsuse。Itisnotaquestionoflabourperformedbythemachine，butoflabourspentonit，oflabourwhichitisnotanagentofproductionbutrawmaterial。Thecapitalexpendedforthislabourmustbeclassedascirculatingcapital，althoughitdoesnotenterintothelabour-processpropertowhichtheproductowesitsexistence。Thislabourmustbecontinuallyexpendedinproduction，henceitsvaluemustbecontinuallyreplacedbythatoftheproduct。Thecapitalinvestedinitbelongsinthatpartofcirculatingcapitalwhichhastocovertheunproductivecostsandistobedistributedovertheproducedvaluesaccordingtoanannualaveragecalculation。Wehaveseen[KarlMarx，Capital，Vol。I，p。426，Note1——Ed。]thatinindustryproperthislabourofcleaningisperformedbytheworkingmengratis，duringtherestperiods，andforthatveryreasonoftenalsoduringtheprocessofproductionitself，andmostaccidentscanbetracedtothissource。Thislabourdoesnotfigureinthepriceoftheproduct。Asfarasthatgoestheconsumerreceivesitgratis。Ontheotherhandthecapitalistthusdoesnotpaythemaintenancecostsofthemachine。Thelabourerpaysinpersona，andthisisoneofthemysteriesoftheself-preservationofcapital，whichinpointoffactconstitutealegalclaimbythelaboureronthemachinery，onthestrengthofwhichheisaco-ownerofthemachineevenfromthestandpointofbourgeoislaw。However，invariousbranchesofproduction，inwhichthemachinerymustberemovedfromtheprocessofproductionforthepurposeofcleaningandwherethereforethecleaningcannotbeperformedinbetween，asforinstanceinthecaseoflocomotives，thismaintenanceworkcountsascurrentexpensesandisthereforeanelementofcirculatingcapital。Forinstanceagoodsengineshouldnotrunmorethan3dayswithoutbeingkeptonedayintheshed……Ifyouattempttowashouttheboilerbeforeithascooleddownthatisveryinjurious。

(R。C。，No。17823。)

Theactualrepairsorpatchworkrequireexpendituresofcapitalandlabourwhicharenotcontainedintheoriginallyadvancedcapitalandcannotthereforebereplacedandcovered，atleastnotalways，bythegradualreplacementofthevalueofthefixedcapital。Forinstanceifthevalueofthefixedcapitalis£；10，000anditstotallifeof10years，thenthese£；10，000，havingbeenentirelyconvertedintomoneyafterthelapseoftenyears，willreplaceonlythevalueofthecapitaloriginallyinvested，buttheydonotreplacethecapital，orlabour，addedinthemeantimeforrepairs。Thisisanadditionalcomponentpartofthevalue，whichisnotadvancedallatonetimebutwheneveraneedforitarises，andthevarioustimesforadvancingitareintheverynatureofthingsaccidental。Allfixedcapitaldemandssuchsubsequent，dosedout，additionaloutlayofcapitalforinstrumentsoflabourandlabour-power。

Thedamagewhichseparatepartsofthemachinery，etc。，mayincurisnaturallyaccidentalandsoarethereforetherepairsinvolved。Neverthelesstwokindsofrepairsaretobedistinguishedinthegeneralmass，whichareofamoreorlessfixedcharacterandfallwithinvariousperiodsofthelifeoffixedcapital。Thesearetheailmentsofchildhoodandthefarmorenumerousailmentsofthepost-middledurabilityperiod。Amachineforinstancemaybecommissionedineversoperfectacondition，stillactualusewillrevealshortcomingswhichmustberemediedbysubsequentlabour。Ontheotherhandthemoreamachinepassesbeyondthemid-durabilitypoint，themorethereforethenormalwearandtearhasaccumulatedandthemorethematerialofwhichitconsistshasbeenwornoutandbecomedecrepit，themorenumerousandconsiderablewillbetherepairsrequiredtokeepitgoingfortheremainderofitsaveragedurability。Itisthesamewithanoldman，whoincursmoremedicalexpensestokeepfromdyingprematurelythanayoungandstrongman。Soinspiteofitsaccidentalcharacterrepairworkisunevenlydistributedoverthevariousperiodsoflifeoffixedcapital。

>Fromtheforegoingandfromthegenerallyaccidentalcharacterofrepairworkonmachinesitsfollows:

Inonerespecttheactualexpenditureoflabour-powerandinstrumentsoflabouronrepairsisaccidental，likethecircumstanceswhichnecessitatetheserepairs；theamountoftherepairsneededisunevenlydistributedoverthedifferentperiodsoffixedcapital’slife。Inotherrespectsitistakenforgrantedinestimatingtheaveragelifeoffixedcapitalthatitisconstantlykeptingoodworkingorder，partlybycleaning(includingthecleaningofthepremises)，partlybyrepairsasoftenasrequired。

Thetransferofvaluethroughwearandtearoffixedcapitaliscalculatedonitsaveragelife，butthisaveragelifeitselfisbasedontheassumptionthattheadditionalcapitalrequiredformaintenancepurposesiscontinuallyadvanced。

Butthenitisalsoevidentthatthevalueaddedbythisextraexpenditureofcapitalandlabourcannotenterintothepriceofthecommoditiesconcernedatthesametimeasitisincurred。Forexample，amanufacturerofyarncannotsellhisyarndearerthisweekthanlast，merelybecauseoneofhiswheelsbrokeorabelttorethisweek。Thegeneralcostsofspinninghavenotbeenchangedinanywaybythisaccidentinsomeindividualfactory。Here，asinalldeterminationsofvalue，theaveragedecides。

Experienceshowstheaverageoccurrenceofsuchaccidentsandtheaveragevolumeofthemaintenanceandrepairworknecessaryduringtheaveragelifeofthefixedcapitalinvestedinagivenbranchofbusiness。Thisaverageexpenseisdistributedovertheaveragelifeandaddedtothepriceoftheproductincorrespondingaliquotparts；henceitisreplacedbymeansofitssale。