第8章

AdamSmithtellsusnowwhatcirculatingandfixedcapitalconsistof。Heenumeratesthethings，thematerialelements，whichformfixed，andthosewhichformcirculatingcapital，asifthisdefinitenesswereinherentinthesethingsmaterially，bynature，anddidnotratherspringfromtheirdefinitefunctionwithinthecapitalistprocessofproduction。

Andyetinthesamechapter(BookII，ChapterI)hemakestheremarkthatalthoughacertainthing，e。g。，adwelling，whichisreservedas”stock”

for”immediateconsumption，””mayyieldarevenuetoitsproprietor，andtherebyserveinthefunctionofacapitaltohim，itcannotyieldanytothepublic，norserveinthefunctionofacapitaltoit，andtherevenueofthewholebodyofthepeoplecanneverbeinthesmallestdegreeincreasedbyit。”(P。186。)Here，then，AdamSmithclearlystatesthatthepropertyofbeingcapitalisnotinherentinthingsassuchandinanycase，butisafunctionwithwhichtheymayormaynotbeinvested，accordingtocircumstances。Butwhatistrueofcapitalingeneralisalsotrueofitssubdivisions。

Thingsformconstituentpartsofthecirculatingorfixedcapital，dependingonwhatfunctiontheyperforminthelabour-process。Aheadofcattleforinstance，aslabouringcattle(instrumentoflabour)，representsthematerialmodeofexistenceoffixedcapital，whileascattleforfattening(rawmaterial)itisaconstituentpartofthefarmer’scirculatingcapital。

Ontheotherhandthesamethingmaynowfunctionasaconstituentpartofproductivecapitalandnowbelongtothefundfordirectconsumption。

Ahouseforinstancewhenperformingthefunctionofaworkshop，isafixedcomponentpartofproductivecapital；whenservingasadwellingitisinnowiseaformofcapital。Thesameinstrumentsoflabourmayinmanycasesserveeitherasmeansofproductionorasmeansofconsumption。

ItwasoneoftheerrorsfollowingfromAdamSmith’sideathatthepropertyofbeingfixedorcirculatingcapitalwasconceivedasinherentinthethingsthemselves。Themereanalysisofthelabour-process(BuchI，Kap。V)[Englishedition:Ch。VII——Ed。]showsthatthedefinitionsofinstrumentsoflabour，materialsoflabour，andproductchangeaccordingtothevariousrolesplayedbyoneandthesamethingintheprocess。Thedefinitionsoffixedandnon-fixedcapitalarebasedintheirturnonthedefiniterolesplayedbytheseelementsinthelabour-process，andthereforealsointhevalueformationprocess。

Inthesecondplace，onenumeratingthethingsfixedandcirculatingcapitalsconsistof，itbecomesfullyapparentthatSmithlumpstogetherthedistinction——validandmakingsenseonlywithregardtoproductivecapital(capitalinitsproductiveform)——betweenthefixedandcirculatingcomponentsofthesame，withthedistinctionbetweenproductivecapitalandthoseformswhichpertaintocapitalinitsprocessofcirculation，viz。，commodity-capitalandmoney-capital。Hesaysinthesamepassage(pp。187and188):”Thecirculatingcapitalconsists……oftheprovisions，materials，andfinishedworkofallkindsthatareinthehandsoftheirrespectivedealers，andofthemoneythatisnecessaryforcirculatinganddistributingthem，etc。”

Indeed，ifwelookmorecloselyweobservethathere，contrarytohispreviousstatements，circulatingcapitalisagainequatedtocommodity-capitalandmoney-capital，thatistosay，totwoformsofcapitalwhichdonotbelongintheprocessofproductionatall，whichdonotformcirculating(fluent)capitalasopposedtofixed，butcapitalofcirculationasopposedtoproductivecapital。Itisonlyalongsidethesethattheconstituentsofproductivecapitaladvancedinmaterials(rawmaterialsorsemi-finishedproducts)andreallyincorporatedintheprocessofproductionthenplayaroleagain。Hesays:”……Thethirdandlastofthethreeportionsintowhichthegeneralstockofthesocietynaturallydividesitself，isthecirculatingcapital，ofwhichthecharacteristicis，thatitaffordsarevenueonlybycirculatingorchangingmasters。Itiscomposedlikewiseoffourparts:

firstofthemoney……”(butmoneyisneveraformofproductivecapital，ofcapitalfunctioningintheproductiveprocess；itisalwaysonlyoneoftheformsassumedbycapitalwithinitsprocessofcirculation)；”secondly，ofthestockofprovisionswhichareinthepossessionofthebutcher，thegrazier，thefarmer……fromthesaleofwhichtheyexpecttoderiveaprofit……Fourthlyandlastly，oftheworkwhichismadeupandcompleted，butwhichisstillinthehandsofthemerchantandmanufacturer。And，thirdly，ofthematerials，whetheraltogetherrude，ormoreorlessmanufactured，ofclothes，furniture，andbuildings，whicharenotyetmadeupintoanyofthosethreeshapes，butwhichremaininthehandsofthegrowers，themanufacturers，themercersanddrapers，thetimber-merchants，thecarpentersandjointers，thebrick-makers，etc。”

Nos。2and4containnothingbutproductswhichhavebeenthrustoutassuchfromtheprocessofproductionandmustbesold，inshort，whichnowfunctionascommodities，henceascommodity-capital，andwhichthereforehaveaformandoccupyaplaceintheprocessinwhichtheyarenotelementsofproductivecapital，nomatterwhatmaybetheireventualdestination，i。e。，whether，inordertoanswertheirpurpose(use-value)，theyshouldfinallybeallottedtoindividualorproductiveconsumption。

Theproductsmentionedin2arefoodstuffs，in4allotherfinishedproducts，whichinturnconsistonlyoffinishedinstrumentsoflabourorfinishedarticlesofconsumption(foodstuffsotherthanthosementionedunder2)。

ThefactthatSmithatthesametimespeaksofthemerchantshowshisconfusion。Oncetheproducersellshisproducttothemerchant，itnolongerconstitutesanyformofhiscapital。Fromthepointofviewofsociety，itisindeedstillcommodity-capital，althoughinotherhandsthanthoseofitsproducer；butfortheveryreasonthatitisacommodity-capitalitisneitherfixednorcirculatingcapital。

Ineverykindofproductionnotmeantforthesatisfactionoftheproducer’sdirectneeds，theproductmustcirculateasacommodity，i。e。，itmustbesold，notinordertomakeaprofitonit，butthattheproducermaybeabletoliveatall。Undercapitalistproduction，thereistobeaddedthecircumstancethatwhenacommodityissoldthesurplus-valueembodiedinitisalsorealised。Theproductemergesasacommodityfromtheprocessofproductionandisthereforeneitherafixednoracirculatingelementofthisprocess。

Incidentally，Smithherearguesagainsthimself。Thefinishedproducts，whatevertheirmaterialformortheiruse-value，theirusefuleffect，areallcommodity-capitalhere，hencecapitalinaformcharacteristicoftheprocessofcirculation。Beinginthisform，theyarenotconstituentpartsofanyproductivecapitaltheirownermayhave。Thisdoesnotintheleastpreventthemfrombecoming，rightaftertheirsale，inthehandsoftheirpurchaser，constituentpartsofproductivecapital，eitherfixedorcirculating。Hereitisevidentthatthingswhichforacertaintimeappearinthemarketascommodity-capital，asopposedtoproductivecapital，mayormaynotfunctionascirculatingorfixedconstituentsofproductivecapitalaftertheyhavebeenremovedfromthemarket。

Theproductofthecottonspinner，yarn，isthecommodity-formofhiscapital，iscommodity-capitalasfarasheisconcerned。tcannotfunctionagainasaconstituentpartofhisproductivecapital，neitherasmaterialoflabournorasaninstrumentoflabour。Butinthehandsoftheweaverwhobuysititisincorporatedintheproductivecapitalofthelatterasoneofitscirculatingconstituentparts。Forthespinner，however，theyarnisthedepositoryofthevalueofpartofhisfixedaswellascirculatingcapital(apartfromthesurplus-value)。Inthesamewayamachine，theproductofamachine-manufacturer，isthecommodity-formofhiscapital，iscommodity-capitaltohim。Andsolongasitstaysinthisformitisneithercirculatingnorfixedcapital。Butifsoldtoamanufacturerforuseitbecomesafixedcomponentpartofaproductivecapital。Evenifbyvirtueofitsuse-formtheproductcanpartlyre-enterasmeansofproductionintotheprocessfromwhichitoriginated，e。g。，coalintocoalproduction，preciselythatpartoftheoutputofcoalwhichisintendedforsalerepresentsneithercirculatingnorfixedcapitalbutcommodity-capital。

Ontheotherhandaproduct，duetoitsuse-form，maybewhollyincapableofforminganyelementofproductivecapital，eitherasmaterialoflabourorasaninstrumentoflabour。Forinstanceanymeansofsubsistence。

Neverthelessitiscommodity-capitalforitsproducer，isthecarrierofthevalueofhisfixedaswellascirculatingcapital；andoftheoneortheotheraccordingtowhetherthecapitalemployedinitsproductionhastobereplacedinwholeorinpart，hastransferreditsvaluetotheproductinwholeorinpart。

WithSmith，inNo。3，therawmaterial(materialnotworkedup，semi-finishedproducts，auxiliarysubstances)doesnotfigureontheonehandasacomponentpartembodiedintheproductivecapital，butactuallyonlyasaspecialkindofuse-valuesofwhichthesocialproductcanatallconsist，asaspecialkindofcommoditiesexistingalongsidetheothermaterialconstituentparts，meansofsubsistence，etc。，enumeratedunderNos。2and4。Ontheotherhandthesematerialsareindeedcitedasincorporatedintheproductivecapitalandthereforeaselementsofitinthehandsoftheproducer。Theconfusionisevidencedbythefactthattheyarepartlyconceivedasfunctioninginthehandsoftheproducer(”inthehandsofthegrowers，themanufacturers，etc。”)，andpartlyinthehandsofmerchants(”mercers，drapers，timber-merchants”)，wheretheyaremerelycommodity-capital，notcomponentpartsofproductivecapital。

Indeed，AdamSmithwhollyforgetshere，inenumeratingtheelementsofcirculatingcapital，thedistinction——applyingonlytotheproductivecapital——betweenfixedandcirculatingcapital。Heratherplacescommodity-capitalandmoney-capital，i。e。，thetwoformsofcapitaltypicaloftheprocessofcirculation，inoppositiontotheproductivecapital，butthatquiteunconsciously。

Finally，itisastrikingfactthatAdamSmithforgetstomentionlabour-powerwhencountingofftheconstituentpartsofcirculatingcapital。

Therearetworeasonsforthis。

Wehavejustseenthat，apartfrommoney-capital，circulatingcapitalisonlyanothernameforcommodity-capital。Buttotheextentthatlabour-powercirculatesinthemarket，itisnotcapital，noformofcommodity-capital。

Itisnotcapitalatall；thelabourerisnotacapitalist，althoughhebringsacommoditytomarket，namelyhisownskin。Notuntillabour-powerhasbeensold，beenincorporatedintheprocessofproduction，hencenotuntilithasceasedtocirculateasacommodity，doesitbecomeaconstituentofproductivecapital——variablecapitalasthesourceofsurplus-value，acirculatingcomponentpartofproductivecapitalwithreferencetotheturnoverofthecapital-valueinvestedinit。SinceSmithhereconfusesthecirculatingcapitalwithcommodity-capital，hecannotbringlabour-powerundertheheadofcirculatingcapital。Hencethevariablecapitalhereappearsintheformofthecommoditiesthelabourerbuyswithhiswages，viz。，meansofsubsistence。Inthisformthecapital-valueinvestedinwagesissupposedtobelongtocirculatingcapital。Thatwhichisincorporatedintheprocessofproductionislabour-power，thelabourerhimself，notthemeansofsubsistencewherewiththelabourermaintainshimself。True，wehaveseen(BuchI，Kap。XXI)[Englishedition:Ch。XXIII——Ed。]

thatfromthepointofviewofsocietythereproductionofthelabourerhimselfbymeansofhisindividualconsumptionislikewisepartoftheprocessofreproductionofsocialcapital。Butthisdoesnotapplytotheindividual，isolatedprocessofproductionwhichwearestudyinghere。

The”acquiredandusefulabilities”(p。187)whichSmithmentionsundertheheadoffixedcapitalareonthecontrarycomponentpartsofcirculatingcapital，sincetheyare”abilities”ofthewage-labourerandhehassoldhislabourtogetherwithits”abilities。”

ItisagreatmistakeonthepartofAdamSmithtodividetheentiresocialwealthinto1)afundforimmediateconsumption，2)fixedcapital，and3)circulatingcapital。Accordingtotheabove，wealthwouldhavetobedividedinto1)aconsumption-fundwhichdoesnotformanypartoffunctioningsocialcapitalalthoughpartsofitcancontinuallyfunctionascapital；and2)capital。Accordinglyonepartofthewealthfunctionsascapital，theotherasnon-capital，orconsumption-fund。Andhereappearstheabsolutenecessitythatallcapitalbeeitherfixedorcirculatingsomewhatlikethenaturalnecessitythatamammalbemaleorfemale。Butwehaveseenthattheantithesisbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapitalappliessolelytotheelementsofproductivecapital，thatconsequentlythereisbesidestheseaconsiderableamountofcapital——

commodity-capitalandmoney-capital——existsinaforminwhichitcanbeneitherfixednorcirculating。

Inasmuchasundercapitalistproductiontheentiremassofsocialproductscirculatesinthemarketascommodity-capital，withtheexceptionofthatpartoftheproductswhichisdirectlyusedupagainbytheindividualcapitalistproducersinitsbodilyformasmeansofproductionwithoutbeingsoldorbought，itisevidentthatnotonlythefixedandcirculatingelementsofproductivecapital，butlikewisealltheelementsoftheconsumption-fundarederivedfromthecommodity-capital。Thisistantamounttosayingthatonthebasisofcapitalistproductionbothmeansofproductionandarticlesofconsumptionfirstappearascommodity-capital，eventhoughtheyareintendedforlateruseasmeansofproductionorarticlesofconsumption，justaslabour-poweritselfisfoundinthemarketasacommodity，althoughnotascommodity-capital。

ThisaccountsforthefollowingnewconfusioninAdamSmith。Hesays:”Ofthesefourparts”(ofthe”circulating”capital，i。e。，ofcapitalinitsformsofcommodity-capitalandmoney-capitalbelongingintheprocessofcirculation，twopartswhichareturnedintofourbythematerialdistinctionsAdamSmithmakesbetweentheconstituentpartsofcommodity-capital)”three——provisions，materials，andfinishedwork，areeitherannuallyorinalongerorshorterperiod，regularlywithdrawnfromitandplacedeitherinthefixedcapital，orinthestockreservedforimmediateconsumption。Everyfixedcapitalisbothoriginallyderivedfrom，andrequirestobecontinuallysupportedby，acirculatingcapital。

Allusefulmachinesandinstrumentsoftradeareoriginallyderivedfromacirculatingcapitalwhichfurnishesthematerialsofwhichtheyaremadeandthemaintenanceoftheworkmenwhomakethem。Theyrequire，too，acapitalofthesamekindtokeeptheminconstantrepair。”(P。188。)

Withtheexceptionofthatpartoftheproductwhichisconstantlyconsumedagainasmeansofproductiondirectlybyitsroducers，thefollowinggeneralpropositionappliestocapitalistproduction:Allproductsreachthemarketascommoditiesandthereforecirculateforthecapitalistasthecommodity-formofhiscapital，ascommodity-capital，regardlessofwhethertheseproductsmustorcanfunctionintheirbodilyform，inaccordancewiththeiruse-values，aselementsofproductivecapital(oftheprocessofproduction)，asmeansofproductionandthereforeasfixedorcirculatingelementsofproductivecapital；orwhethertheycanserveonlyasmeansofindividual，notofproductive，consumption。Allproductsarethrownuponthemarketascommodities；allmeansofproductionorconsumption，allelementsofproductiveandindividualconsumption，mustthereforebeextractedfromthemarketbypurchasingthemascommodities。Thistruismisofcoursecorrect。Itappliesforthisreasontothefixedaswellasthecirculatingelementsofproductivecapital，toinstrumentsoflabouraswellasmaterialoflabourinallforms。(This，moreover，ignoresthefactthatthereareelementsofproductivecapitalwhicharefurnishedbynature，arenotproducts。)Amachineisboughtinthemarket，asiscotton。Butitdoesnotfollowfromthisbyanymeansthateveryfixedcapitalstemsoriginallyfromsomecirculatingcapital；thatfollowsonlyfromtheSmithianconfusionofcapitalofcirculationwithcirculatingorfluent，i。e。，non-fixedcapital。Besides，Smithactuallyrefuteshimself。

Accordingtohimhimself，machines，ascommodities，formapartofNo。

4ofthecirculatingcapital。Hencetosaythattheycomefromthecirculatingcapitalmeansonlythattheyfunctionedascommodity-capitalbeforetheyfunctionedasmachines，butthatmateriallytheyarederivedfromthemselves；

soiscotton，asthecirculatingelementofsomespinner’scapital，derivedfromthecottoninthemarket。ButifAdamSmithinhisfurtherexpositionderivesfixedcapitalfromcirculatingcapitalforthereasonthatlabourandrawmaterialarerequiredtobuildmachines，itmustbeborneinmindthatinthefirstplace，instrumentsoflabour，hencefixedcapital，arealsorequiredtobuildmachines，andinthesecondplacefixedcapital，suchasmachinery，etc。，islikewiserequiredtomakerawmaterials，sinceproductivecapitalalwaysincludesinstrumentsoflabour，butnotalwaysmaterialoflabour。Hehimselfsaysimmediatelyafterwards:”Land，mines，andfisheries，requireallbothafixedandacirculatingcapitaltocultivatethem；”(thusheadmitsthatnotonlycirculatingbutalsofixedcapitalisrequiredfortheproductionofrawmaterial)”and”(newerroratthispoint)”theirproducereplaceswithaprofit，notonlythosecapitals，butalltheothersinthesociety。”(P。188。)Thisisentirelywrong。

Theirproducefurnishestherawmaterial，auxiliarymaterial，etc。，forallotherbranchesofindustry。Buttheirvaluedoesnotreplacethevalueofallothersocialcapitals；itreplacesonlytheirowncapital-value(plusthesurplus-value)。AdamSmithishereagaininthegripofhisphysiocraticreminiscences。

Consideredsociallyitistruethatthepartofthecommodity-capitalwhichconsistsofproductsthatcanserveonlyasinstrumentsoflabourmust——unlesstheyhavebeenproducedtonopurpose，cannotbesold——

soonerorlaterfunctionasinstrumentsoflabour，i。e。，withcapitalistproductionastheirbasis，theymust，whenevertheyceasetobecommodities，formreal，asbeforetheyformedprospective，elementsofthefixedpartofthesocialproductivecapital。

Butthereisadistinctionhere，arisingfromthebodilyformoftheproduct。

Aspinningmachineforinstancehasnouse-values，unlessitisusedforspinning，unlessthereforeitfunctionsasanelementofproductionandconsequently，fromthepointofviewofthecapital-ist，asafixedcomponentpartofaproductivecapital。Butaspinningmachineismovable。

Itmaybeexportedfromthecountryinwhichitwasproducedandsoldabroaddirectlyorindirectlyforrawmaterials，etc。，orforchampagne。Inthatcaseithasfunctionedonlyasacommodity-capitalinthecountryinwhichitwasproduced，butneverasfixedcapital，notevenafteritssale。

Productshoweverwhicharelocalisedbybeinganchoredinthesoil，andcanthereforebeusedonlylocally，suchasfactorybuildings，railways，bridges，tunnels，docks，etc。，soilimprovements，etc。，cannotbeexportedbodily，neckandcrop。Theyarenotmovable。Theyareeitheruseless，orassoonastheyhavebeensoldmustfunctionasfixedcapitalinthecountrythatproducedthem。Totheircapitalistproducer，whobuildsfactoriesorimproveslandforspeculativesale，thesethingsareformsofhiscommodity-capital，or，accordingtoAdamSmith，formsofcirculatingcapital。Butviewedsociallythesethings——iftheyarenottobeuseless——mustultimatelyfunctionasfixedcapitalinthatverycountry，insomelocalprocessofproduction。Fromthisitdoesnotfollowintheleastthatimmovablesareinthemselvesfixedcapital。Theymaybelong，asdwellinghouses，etc。，totheconsumption-fund，andinthatcasetheyarenotpartwhateverofthesocialcapital，althoughtheyconstituteanelementofthesocialwealthofwhichcapitalisonlyapart。Theproducerfthesethings，tospeakinthelanguageofAdamSmith，makesaprofitbytheirsale。Andsotheyarecirculatingcapital！Theirpracticalutiliser，theirultimatepurchaser，canusethemonlybyapplyingthemintheprocessofproduction。andsotheyarefixedcapital！

Titlestoproperty，forinstancerailwayshares，maychangehandseveryday，andtheirownermaymakeaprofitbytheirsaleeveninforeigncountries，sothattitlestopropertyareexportable，althoughtherailwayitselfisnot。Neverthelessthesethingsmusteitherliefallowintheverycountryinwhichtheyarelocalised，orfunctionasafixedcomponentofsomeproductivecapital。InthesamewaymanufacturerAmaymakeaprofitbysellinghisfactorytomanufacturerB，butthisdoesnotpreventthefactoryfromfunctioningasfixedcapitalthesameasbefore。

Therefore，whilethelocallyfixedinstrumentsoflabour，whichcannotbedetachedfromthesoil，willnevertheless，inallprobability，havetofunctionascommodity-capitalfortheirproducerandnotconstituteanyelementsofhisfixedcapital(whichismadeupasfarasheisconcernedoftheinstrumentsoflabourheneedsfortheconstructionofbuildings，railways，etc。)，oneshouldnotbyanymeansdrawthecontraryconclusionthatfixedcapitalnecessarilyconsistsofimmovables。Ashipandalocomotiveareeffectiveonlythroughtheirmotion；yettheyfunction，notforhimwhoproducedthem，butforhimwhoappliesthemasfixedcapital。Ontheotherhandthingswhicharemostdecidedlyfixedintheprocessofproduction，liveanddieinitandneverleaveitanymoreafteronceenteringit，arecirculatingcomponentpartsoftheproductivecapital。Suchareforinstancethecoalconsumedtodrivethemachineintheprocessofproduction，thegasusedtolightthefactory，etc。Theyarecirculatingcapitalnotbecausetheybodilyleavetheprocessofproductiontogetherwiththeproductandcirculateascommodities，butbecausetheirvalueenterswhollyintothatofthecommoditywhichtheyhelptoproduceandwhichthereforemustbeentirelyreplacedoutoftheproceedsofthesaleofthecommodity。

InthepassagelastquotedfromAdamSmith，noticemustalsobetakenofthefollowingphrase:”Acirculatingcapitalwhichfurnishes……themaintenanceoftheworkmenwhomakethem”(machines，etc。)。

Withthephysiocratsthatpartofcapitalwhichisadvancedforwagesfigurescorrectlyundertheavancesannuellesasdistinguishedfromtheavancesprimitives。Ontheotherhanditisnothelabour-poweritselfthatappearswiththemasaconstituentpartoftheproductivecapitalemployedbythefarmer，butthemeansofsubsistence(themaintenanceoftheworkmen，asSmithcallsit)giventothefarm-labourers。Thishangstogetherexactlywiththeirspecificdoctrine。Foraccordingtothemthevalue-partaddedtotheproductbylabour(quitelikethevalue-partaddedtotheproductbyrawmaterial，instrumentsoflabour，etc。，inshort，byallthematerialcomponentsofconstantcapital)isequalonlytothevalueofthemeansofsubsistencepaidtothelabourersandnecessarilyconsumedforthemaintenanceoftheirabilitytofunctionaslabour-power。

Theirverydoctrinestandsinthewayoftheirdiscoveringthedistinctionbetweenconstantandvariablecapital。Ifitislabourthatproducessurplus-value(inadditiontoreproducingitsownprice)，thenitdoessoinindustryaswellasinagriculture。Butsince，accordingtotheirsystem，labourproducessurplus-valueonlyinonebranchofproduction，namelyagriculture，itdoesnotariseoutoflabourbutoutofthespecialactivity(assistance)

ofnatureinthisbranch。Andonlyforthisreasonagriculturallabouristothemproductivelabour，asdistinctfromotherkindsoflabour。

AdamSmithclassifiesthemeansofsubsistenceoflabourersascirculatingcapitalincontradistinctiontofixedcapital:

1)Becauseheconfusescirculatingasdistinguishedfromfixedcapitalwithformsofcapitalpertainingtothesphereofcirculation，withcapitalofcirculation——aconfusionuncriticallyaccepted。Hethereforemixesupcommodity-capitalandthecirculatingcomponentofproductivecapital，andinthatcaseitisamatterofcoursethatwheneverthesocialproductassumestheformofcommodities，themeansofsubsistenceofthelabourersaswellasthoseofthenon-labourers，thematerialsaswellastheinstrumentsoflabourthemselves，mustbesuppliedoutofthecommoditycapital。

2)ButthephysiocraticconceptiontoolurksinSmith’sanalysis，althoughitcontradictstheesoteric——reallyscientific——partofhisownexposition。

Generallyspeakingtheadvancedcapitalisconvertedintoproductivecapital，i。e。，itassumestheformofelementsofproductionwhicharethemselvestheproductsofpastlabour。(Amongthemlabour-power。)Capitalcanfunctionintheprocessofproductiononlyinthisform。Now，ifinsteadoflabour-poweritself，intowhichthevariablepartofcapitalhasbeenconverted，wetakethelabourer’smeansofsubsistence，itisevidentthatthesemeansassuchdonotdiffer，sofarastheformationofvalueisoncerned，fromtheotherelementsofproductivecapital，fromtherawmaterialsandthefoodofthelabouringcattle，onwhichgroundSmithinoneofthepassagesquotedaboveplacesthem，afterthemannerofthephysiocrats，onthesamelevel。Themeansofsubsistencecannotthemselvesexpandtheirownvalueoraddanysurplus-valuetoit。Theirvalue，likethatoftheotherelementsoftheproductivecapital，canre-appearonlyinthevalueoftheproduct。Theycannotaddanymoretoitsvaluethantheyhavethemselves。

Likerawmaterials，semi-finishedgoods，etc。，theydifferfromfixedcapitalcomposedofinstrumentsoflabouronlyinthattheyareentirelyconsumedintheproduct(atleastasfarasconcernsthecapitalistwhopaysforthem)intheformationofwhichtheyparticipateandthatthereforetheirvaluemustbere-placedasawhole，whileinthecaseofthefixedcapitalthistakesplaceonlygradually，piecemeal。Thepartofproductivecapitaladvancedinlabour-power(orinthelabourer’smeansofsubsistence)differshereonlymateriallyandnotinrespectoftheprocessoflabourandproductionofsurplus-valuefromtheothermaterialelementsofproductivecapital。

Itdiffersonlyinsofarasitfallsintothecategoryofcirculatingcapitaltogetherwithonepartoftheobjectivecreatorsoftheproduct(”materials”AdamSmithcallsthemgenerally)，asopposedtotheotherpartoftheseobjectiveproductcreators，whichbelonginthecategoryoffixedcapital。

Thefactthatthecapitallaidoutinwagesbelongsinthecirculatingpartofproductivecapitaland，unlikethefixedcomponentofproductivecapital，sharesthequalityoffluencywithapartoftheobjectiveproductcreators，therawmaterials，etc。，hasnothingwhatevertodowiththeroleplayedintheprocessofself-expansionbythisvariablepart，asdistinctfromtheconstantpartofcapital。Thisrefersonlytohowthispartoftheadvancedcapital-valueistobereplaced，renewed，hencereproducedoutofthevalueoftheproductofmeansofthecirculation。Thepurchaseandrepurchaseoflabour-powerbelongintheprocessofcirculation。Butitisonlywithintheprocessofproductionthatthevaluelaidoutinlabour-powerisconverted(notforthelabourerbutforthecapitalist)

fromadefinite，constantmagnitudeintoavariableone，andonlythustheadvancedvalueisconvertedaltogetherintocapital-value，intocapital，intoself-expandingvalue。Butbyclassing，likeSmith，thevalueexpendedforthemeansofsubsistenceofthelabourers，insteadofvaluelaidoutinlabour-power，asthecirculatingcomponentofproductivecapital，theunderstandingofthedistinctionetweenvariableandconstantcapital，andthustheunderstandingofthecapitalistprocessofproductioningeneral，isrenderedimpossible。Thedeterminationthatthispartofcapitalisvariablecapitalincontrasttotheconstantcapital，spentformaterialcreatorsoftheproduct，isburiedbeneaththedeterminationthatthepartofthecapitalinvestedinlabour-powerbelongs，asfarastheturnoverisconcerned，inthecirculatingpartofproductivecapital。Andtheburialisbroughttocompletionbyenumeratingthelabourer’smeansofsubsistenceinsteadofhislabour-powerasanelementofproductivecapital。Itisimmaterialwhetherthevalueofthelabour-powerisadvanceinmoneyordirectlyinmeansofsubsistence。Howeverundercapitalistproductionthelattercanbebutanexception。[24]

Bythusestablishingthedefinitionofcirculatingcapitalasbeingthedeterminantofthecapitalvaluelaidoutforlabour-power——

thisphysiocraticdefinitionwithoutthepremiseofthephysiocrats——

AdamSmithfortunatelykilledamonghisfollowerstheunderstandingthatthatpartofcapitalwhichisspentonlabour-powerisvariablecapital。

Themoreprofoundandcorrectideasdevelopedbyhimelsewheredidnotprevail，butthisblunderofhisdid。Indeed，otherwritersafterhimwentevenfurther。Theywerenotcontenttomakeitthedecisivedefinitionofthepartofcapitalinvestedinlabour-powertobecirculatingasopposedtofixedcapital；theymadeittheessentialdefinitionofcirculatingcapitaltobeinvestedinlabour-powertobecirculatingasopposedtofixedcapital；theymadeittheessentialdefinitionofcirculatingcapitaltobeinvestedinmeansofsubsistenceforlabourers。Naturallyassociatedwiththisisthedoctrinethatthelabour-fund，[KarlMarx，Capital，Vol。I，pp。609-11——Ed。]consistingofthenecessarymeansofsubsistence，isofadefinitemagnitude，whichontheonehandphysicallylimitstheshareofthelabourersinthesocialproduct，butontheotherhastobefullyexpendedinthepurchaseoflabour-power。

NOTES

[23]Cf。Quesnay，AnalyseduTableauEconomique(Physiocrates，è；d。Daire，1。partie，Paris，1846)。Thereweread，forinstance:”Theannualadvancesconsistoftheexpensesincurredannuallyforthelabourofcultivation；theseadvancesmustbedistinguishedfromtheoriginaladvances，whichformthefundfortheestablishmentofthefarmingenterprise。”(P。59。)Intheworksofthelaterphysiocratstheseadvancesaresometimestermeddirectlycapital:CapitalouavancesDupontdeNemours，MaximesduDocteurQuesnay，ouRè；sumè；

desesPrincipesd’EconomieSociale(Daire，I，p。391)；furthermoreLeTrosnewrites:”Asaresultofthegreaterorsmallerdurabilityoftheworksofhumanlabour，anationpossessesasubstantialfundofwealthindependentofitsannualreproduction，thisfundformingacapital——

accumulatedoveralongperiodandoriginallypaidwithproducts——whichiscontinuallypreservedandaugmented。”(Daire，II，pp。928-29。)Turgotemploysthetermcapitalmoreregularlyforavances，andidentifiestheavancesofthemanufacturersstillmorewiththoseofthefarmers。

(Turgot，Rè；flexionssurlaFormationetlaDistributiondesRichesses，1766。)

[24]TowhatextentAdamSmithhasblockedhisownwaytoanunderstandingoftheroleoflabour-powerintheprocessofself-expansionofvalueisprovenbythefollowingsentence，whichinthemannerofthephysiocratsplacesthelabouroflabourersonalevelwiththatoflabouringcattle。”Notonlyhis(thefarmer’s)labouringservants，buthislabouringcattleareproductivelabourers。”(BookII，Ch。V，p。

243。)

1885:CapitalII——Chapter11

partII

THETURNOVEROFCAPITAL

CHAPTERXI

THEORIESOFFIXEDANDCIRCULATINGCAPITAL。

RICARDORicardointroducesthedistinctionbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapitalmerelyforthepurposeofillustratingtheexceptionstotheruleofvalue，namely，caseswheretherateofwagesaffectsprices。ThediscussionofthispointisreservedforBookIII。[KarlMarx，Capital，Vol。III，Ch。XI，pp。196-200——Ed。]

Buttheoriginallackofclarityisapparentattheoutsetinthefollowingimmaterialjuxtaposition:”Thisdifferenceinthedegreeofdurabilityoffixedcapital，andthisvarietyintheproportionsinwhichthetwosortsofcapitalmaybecombined。”[25]

Andifweaskhimwhichtwosortsofcapitalheisreferringto，wearetold:”Theproportions，too，inwhichthecapitalthatistosupportlabour，andthecapitalthatisinvestedintools，machinery，andbuildings，maybevariouslycombined。”[26]Inotherwords，fixedcapitalequalsinstrumentsoflabourandcirculatingcapitalequalscapitallaidoutinlabour。”Capitalthatistosupportlabour”isasenselesstermculledfromAdamSmith。Ontheonehandthecirculatingcapitalisherelumpedtogetherwiththevariablecapital，i。e。，withthatpartofproductivecapitalwhichislaidoutinlabour。Butontheotherhanddoublyerroneousdefinitionsariseforthereasonthattheantithesisisnotderivedfromtheprocessofself-expansionofvalue——constantandvariablecapital——butfromtheprocessofcirculation(AdamSmith’soldconfusion)。

First:Thedifferencesinthedegreeofdurabilityoffixedcapitalandthedifferencearisingfromcapitalbeingcomposedofconstantandvariablecapitalareconceivedasbeingofequalsignificance。Butthelast-nameddifferencedeterminesthedifferenceintheproductionofsurplus-value；

thefirstnamedontheotherhand，sofarastheprocessofself-expansionisconcerned，refersonlytothemannerinwhichaparticularvalueistransferredfromameansofproductiontotheproduct；sofarastheprocessofcirculationisconcerned，thisdifferencerefersonlytotheperiodoftherenewaloftheexpendedcapital，or，fromanotherpointofview，tothetimeforwhichithasbeenadvanced。Ifinsteadofseeingthroughtheinternalmachineryofthecapitalistprocessofproductiononeconsidersmerelytheaccomplishedphenomena，thenthesedistinctionsactuallycoincide。

Inthedistributionofthesocialsurplus-valueamongthevariouscapitalsinvestedindifferentbranchesofindustry，thedifferencesinthedifferentperiodsoftimeforwhichcapitalisadvanced(forinstancethevariousdegreesofdurabilityoffixedcapital)andthedifferentorganiccompositionsofcapital(andthereforealsothedifferentcirculationsofconstantandvariablecapital)contributeequallytowardanequalisationofthegeneralrateofprofitandtheconversionofvaluesintopricesofproduction。

Secondly:Fromthepointofviewoftheprocessofcirculation，wehaveononesidetheinstrumentsoflabour——fixedcapital，ontheotherthematerialoflabourandwages——circulatingcapital。Butfromthepointofviewoftheprocessoflabourandself-expansion，wehaveontheonesidemeansofproduction(instrumentsoflabourandmaterialoflabour)——constantcapital；ontheother，labour-power——variablecapital。Itiswhollyimmaterialfortheorganiccompositionofcapital(BuchI，Kap。XXIII，2，p。647)[Englishedition，Ch。XXV，2，pp。622-23——

Ed。]whetheraspecifiedquantityofvalueofconstantcapitalconsistsofmanyinstrumentsoflabourandlittlematerialoflabourorofmuchmaterialoflabourandfewinstrumentsoflabour，whileeverythingdependsontheratioofthecapitallaidoutinmeansofproductiontothatlaidoutinlabour-power。Viceversa:fromthepointofviewoftheprocessofcirculation，ofthedistinctionbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapital，itisjustasimmaterialinwhatproportionsaparticularquantityofvaluecirculatingcapitaldividesintomaterialoflabourandwages。

Fromoneofthesepointsofviewthematerialoflabourisclassedinthesamecategorywiththeinstrumentsoflabour，asopposedtothecapital-valuelaidoutinlabour-power；fromtheotherview-pointthepartofcapitallaidoutinlabour-powerrangeswiththatlaidoutinmaterialoflabour，asopposedtothatlaidoutininstrumentsoflabour。

Forthisreasonthepartofthecapital-valuelaidoutinmaterialoflabour(rawandauxiliarymaterials)doesnotappearoneithersideinRicardo。Itdisappearsentirely；foritwillnotdotoclassitwithfixedcapital，becauseitsmodeofcirculationcoincidesentirelywiththatofthepartofcapitallaidoutinlabour-power。Andontheotherhanditshouldnotbeplacedalongsidecirculatingcapital，becauseinthateventtheidentificationoftheantithesisoffixedandcirculatingcapitalwiththatofconstantandvariablecapital，whichhadbeenhandeddownbyAdamSmithandistacitlyretained，wouldabolishitself。Ricardohastoomuchlogicalinstinctnottofeelthis，andforthisreasonthatpartofcapitalvanishesentirelyfromhissight。

Itistobenotedatthispointthatthecapitalist，tousethejargonofPoliticalEconomy，advancesthecapitallaidoutinwagesforvariousperiodsoftime，accordingtowhetherhepaysthesewagesweekly，monthly，orquarterly。Butasamatteroffactthereversetakesplace。

Itisthelabourerwhoadvanceshislabourtothecapitalistforaweek，amonth，orthreemonths，accordingtowhetherheispaidbytheweek，bythemonth，oreverythreemonths。Ifthecapitalistboughtlabour-powerinsteadofpayingforit，inotherwords，ifhepaidthelabourerhiswagesinadvanceforaday，aweek，amonth，oraquarter，hewouldbejustifiedinclaimingthatheadvancedwagesforthoseperiods。Butsincehepaysafterthelabourhaslastedfordays，weeks，ormonths，insteadofbuyingitandpayingforthetimewhichitistolast，thewholethingamountstoacapitalistquidproquo，andtheadvancewhichthelabourgivestothecapitalistinlabouristurnedintoanadvanceofmoneygiventothelabourerbythecapitalist。Itdoesnotalterthecaseintheleastthatthecapitalistgetsbacktheproductitselforitsvalue(togetherwiththesurplus-valueembodiedinit)fromcirculation，orrealisesit，onlyafterarelativelylongorshortperiodoftime，accordingtothedifferentperiodsrequiredforitsmanufactureorforitscirculation。

Thesellerofacommoditydoesnotcarearapwhatitsbuyerisgoingtodowithit。Thecapitalistdoesnotgetamachinecheaperbecausehemustadvanceitsentirevalueatoneshot，whilethisvaluereturnstohimonlygraduallyandpiecemealfromcirculation；nordoeshepaymoreforcottonbecauseitsvalueentersentirelyintothevalueoftheproductintowhichitismadeandisthereforereplacedfullyandatonetimebythesaleoftheproduct。

LetusreturntoRicardo。

1。Thecharacteristicfeatureofvariablecapitalisthatadefinite，given(andassuchconstant)partofcapital，agivensumofvalues(assumedtobeequalinvaluetothelabour-power，althoughitdoesnotmatterherewhetherthewagesareequal，moreorlessthanthevalueofthelabour-power)

isexchangedforaself-expanding，value-creatingpower，viz。，labour-power，whichnotonlyreproducesitsvalue，paidbythecapitalist，butsimultaneouslyproducesasurplus-value，avaluenotexistingpreviouslyandnotpaidforbyanyequivalent。Thischaracteristicpropertyofthepartofcapitallaidoutforwages，whichdistinguishesittotocoeloasvariablecapitalfromconstantcapital，disappearswhen-everthepartofcapitalexpendedonwagesisconsideredsolelyfromthepointofviewoftheprocessofcirculationandthusappearsascirculatingcapitalincontradistinctiontothefixedcapitallaidoutininstrumentsoflabour。Thisisapparentifonlyfromthefactthatitisthenbroughtunderonehead——thatofcirculatingcapital——togetherwiththecomponentpartoftheconstantcapitallaidoutinmaterialoflabourandopposedtotheothercomponentoftheconstantcapital——thatlaidoutininstrumentsoflabour。Surplus-value，hencetheverycircumstancewhichconvertsthelaid-outsumofvalueintocapital，isentirelyignoredthereby。Similarlythefactisignoredthatthepartofthevalueaddedtotheproductbythecapitallaidoutinwagesisnewlyproduced(andthereforereallyreproduced)，whilethepartofthevaluewhichtherawmaterialaddstotheproductisnotnewlyproduced，notreallyreproduced，butonlypreservedinthevalueoftheproduct，conserved，andhencemerelyreappearsasacomponentpartofthevalueoftheproduct。Thedistinction，asnowseenfromthepointofviewofthecontrastbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapital，consistssimplyinthis:Thevalueoftheinstrumentsoflabourusedfortheproductionofacommodityentersonlypartiallyintothevalueofthecommodityandisthereforeonlypartial-lyreplacedbyitssale，henceisreplacedaltogetheronlypiecemealandgradually。Ontheotherhandthevalueofthelabour-powerandsubjectsoflabour(rawmaterials，etc。)usedfortheproductionofacommodityentirelyentersintoitandisthereforeentirelyreplacedbyitssale。Inthisrespect，asfarastheprocessofcirculationisconcerned，onepartofcapitalpresentsitselfasfixed，theotherasfluent，orcirculating。

Inbothcasesitisamatteroftransferringgiven，advancedvaluestotheproductandoftheirreplacementbythesaleoftheproduct。Thedifferencenowdependsonlyonwhetherthetransferofvalue，andconsequentlythereplacementofthevalue，takesplacepiecemealandgradually，orinbulk。

Bythismeansthedistinctionbetweenthevariableandconstantcapital，whichdecideseverything，isblottedout，hencethewholesecretoftheproductionofsurplus-valueandofcapitalistproduction，thecircumstanceswhichtransformcertainvaluesandthethingsinwhichtheypresentthemselvesintocapital，areobliterated。Allconstituentpartsofcapitalarethedistinguishedmerelybytheirmodeofcirculation(and，ofcourse，circulationofcommoditiesconcernsitselfsolelywithalreadyexistinggivenvalues)；

andthecapitallaidoutinwagessharesapeculiarmodeofcirculationwiththepartofcapitallaidoutinrawmaterials，semi-finishedproducts，auxiliarymaterials，asopposedtothepartofcapitallaidoutininstrumentsoflabour。

ItisthereforeunderstandablewhybourgeoisPoliticalEconomyinstinctivelyclungtoAdamSmith’sconfusionofthecategories”constantandvariablecapital”withthecategories”fixedandcirculating，”andrepeateditparrotlike，withoutcriticism，fromgenerationtogenerationforacentury。ThepartofcapitallaidoutforwagesisnolongerintheleastdistinguishedbybourgeoisPoliticalEconomyfromthepartofcapitallaidoutforrawmaterials，anddiffersonlyformallyfromconstantcapital——onthepointofwhetheritiscirculatedpiecemealorinonelumpbytheproduct。Therebythebasisforanunderstandingoftherealmovementofcapitalistproduction，andhenceofcapitalistexploitation，isburiedatonestroke。Itisbutaquestionofthereappearanceofadvancedvalues。

InRicardotheuncriticaladoptionoftheSmithianconfusionismoredisturbingnotonlythaninthelaterapologists，inwhomtheconfusionofideasisrathersomethingnotdisturbing，butthaninAdamSmithhimself，becauseRicardo，incontrasttothelatter，ismoreconsistentandincisiveinhisanalysisofvalueandsurplus-value，andindeedupholdstheesotericAdamSmithagainsttheexotericAdamSmith。

Amongthephysiocratsthereisnosuchconfusion。Thedistinctionbetweenavancesannuellesandavancesprimitivesrefersonlytothedifferentperiodsofreproductionofthedifferentcomponentofcapital，especiallyofagriculturalcapital，whiletheirviewsontheproductionofsurplus-valueformapartoftheirtheorythatisindependentofthesedistinctions，aparttheyholdupasthestrongpointofthetheory。Theformationofsurplus-valueisnotexplainedasoriginatingfromcapitalassuch，butisattributedtooneparticularsphereoftheproductionofcapital，agriculture。

Secondly。Theessentialpointinthedefinitionofvariablecapital——andthereforefortheconversionofanysumofvaluesintocapital——

isthatthecapitalistexchangesadefinite，given(andinthissenseconstant)

magnitudeofvalueforvalue-creatingpower，amagnitudeofvaluefortheproduction，self-expansion，ofvalue。Whetherthecapitalistpaysthelabourerinmoneyorinmeansofsubsistencedoesnotaffectthisbasicdefinition。

Itonlyaltersthemodeofexistenceofthevalueadvancedbythecapitalistwhichinonecaseexistsintheformofmoneyforwhichthelabourerbuyshimselfhismeansofsubsistenceinthemarket，intheothercaseintheformofmeansofsubsistencewhichheconsumesdirectly。Developedcapitalistproductionrestsindeedontheassumptionthatthelabourerispaidinmoney，justasingeneralitpresupposestheprocessofproductionbroughtaboutbytheprocessofcirculation，hencepresupposesthemonetarysystem。

Butthecreationofsurplus-value——andconsequentlythecapitalisationoftheadvancedsumofvalues——hasitssourceneitherinthemoney-formofwagesnorintheformofwagespaidinkind，norinthecapitallaidoutinthepurchaseoflabour-power。Itarisesoutoftheexchangeofvalueforvalue-creatingpower，outoftheconversionofaconstantintoavariablemagnitude。

Thegreaterorsmallerfixityoftheinstrumentsoflabourdependsontheirdegreeofdurability，henceonaphysicalproperty。Othercircumstancesbeingequal，theywillwearoutsoonerorlater，willthereforefunctionalongerorashortertimeasfixedcapital，accordingtotheirdurability。

Butitisbynomeanssolelyonaccountofthisphysicalpropertyofdurabilitythattheyfunctionasfixedcapital。Therawmaterialinmetalfactoriesisjustasdurableasthemachinesusedinmanufacturing，andmoredurablethanmanycomponentpartsofthesemachines，suchasleatherandwood。

Neverthelessthemetalservingasrawmaterialsformsapartofthecirculatingcapital，whiletheinstrumentoflabour，althoughprobablybuiltofthesamemetal，isapartofthefixedcapitalwheninuse。Consequentlyitisnotbecauseofthematerial，physicalnature，northerelativelygreatorsmallspeedwithwhichitwearsoutthatametalisputnowinthecategoryoffixed，nowinthatofcirculatingcapital。Thisdistinctionisratherduetotheroleplayedbyitintheprocessofproduction，beingasubjectoflabourinonecaseandaninstrumentoflabourintheother。

Thefunctionofaninstrumentoflabourintheprocessofproductionrequiresthatontheaverageitshouldserveforalongerorshorterperiodineverrenewedlabour-processes。Itsveryfunctionthereforeprescribesthatthestuffofwhichitiscomposedshouldbemoreorlessdurable。

Butitisnotthedurabilityofthematerialofwhichitisfabricatedthatbyitselfmakesitfixedcapital。Thesamestuff，whenrawmaterial，becomescirculatingcapital，andamongeconomistswhoconfusethedistinctionbetweencommodity-capitalandproductivecapitalwiththedistinctionbetweencirculatingandfixedcapital，thesamestuff，thesamemachine，iscirculatingcapitalasproductandfixedcapitalasinstrumentoflabour。

Althoughitisnotthedurabilityofthematerialofwhichitisfabricatedthatmakesaninstrumentoflabourfixedcapital，neverthelessitsroleassuchaninstrumentrequiresthatitshouldbecomposedofrelativelydurablematerial。Thedurabilityofitsmaterialisthereforeaconditionofitsfunctionasaninstrumentoflabour，andconsequentlythematerialbasisofthemodeofcirculationwhichrendersitfixedcapital。Otherthingsbeingequal，thehigherorlowerdegreeofwearandtearofthestuffitismadeofimpressesuponitinahigherorlowerdegreethestampoffixedness，isthereforeverycloselyinterwovenwiththequalityofbeingfixedcapital。

Ifthepartofcapitallaidoutinlabour-powerisconsideredexclusivelyfromthepointofviewofcirculatingcapital，henceincontrastwithfixedcapital，andifconsequentlythedistinctionsbetweenconstantandvariablecapitalarelumpedwiththosebetweenfixedandcirculatingcapital，thenitisnatural——supposingthatmaterialrealityoftheinstrumentoflabourformsanessentialbasisofitscharacteroffixedcapital——

toderiveitscharacterofcirculatingcapital，incontrastwiththefixedcapital，fromthematerialrealityofthecapitalinvestedinlabour-power，andthenagaintodeterminethecirculatingcapitalwiththeaidofthematerialrealityofthevariablecapital。

Therealsubstanceofthecapitallaidoutinwagesislabouritself，active，value-creatinglabour-power，livinglabour，whichthecapitalistexchangesfordead，materialisedlabourandembodiesinhiscapital，bywhichmeans，andbywhichalone，thevalueinhishandsturnsintoself-expandingvalue。Butthispowerofself-expansionisnotsoldbythecapitalist。

Itisalwaysonlyaconstituentpartofhisproductivecapital，thesameashisinstrumentsoflabour；itisneverapartofhiscommodity-capital，asforinstancethefinishedproductwhichhesells。Intheprocessofproductiontheinstrumentsoflabour，ascomponentsoftheproductivecapital，arenotopposedtolabour-powerasfixedcapitalanymorethanmaterialsoflabourandauxiliarysubstancesareidentifiedwithitascirculatingcapital。Labour-powerconfrontsbothofthemasapersonalfactor，whilethoseareobjectivefactors——speakingfromthepointofviewofthelabour-process。

Bothofthemstandopposedtolabour-power，asconstantcapitaltovariablecapital——speakingfromthepointofviewoftheprocessofself-expansionofvalue。Or，ifmentionistobemadehereofamaterialdifference，sofarasitaffectstheprocessofcirculation，itisonlythis:Itfollowsfromthenatureofvalue，whichisnothingbutmaterialisedlabour，andfromthenatureofactivelabour-power，whichisnothingbutlabourinprocessofmaterialisation，thatlabour-powercontinuallycreatesvalueandsurplus-valueduringthetimeitfunctions；thatwhatonthepartoflabour-powerappearsasmotion，asacreationofvalue，appearsonthepartofitsproductinastateofrest，ascreatedvalue。Ifthelabour-powerhasperformeditsfunctioncapitalnolongerconsistsoflabour-powerontheonesideandmeansofproductionontheother。Thecapital-valuethatwasinvestedinlabour-powerisnowvaluewhich(+surplus-value)wasaddedtotheproduct。Inordertorepeattheprocess，theproductmustbesoldandnewlabour-powerconstantlyboughtwiththeproceedsandincorporatedintheproductivecapital。Thisthengivestothepartofcapitalinvestedinlabour-power，andtothatinvestedinmaterialoflabour，etc。，thecharacterofcirculatingcapitalasopposedtothecapitalremainingfixedintheinstrumentsoflabour。

Butif，onthecontrary，thesecondarydefinitionofthecirculatingcapital，whichitshareswithapartoftheconstantcapital(rawandauxiliarymaterials)，ismadetheessentialdefinitionofthepartofcapitallaidoutinlabour-power，towit，thatthevaluelaidoutinitistransferredinfulltotheproductinwhosecreationitisconsumed，andnotgraduallyandpiecemealasinthecaseofthefixedcapital，andthatconsequentlyitmustbereplacedinfullbythesaleoftheproduct——thenthepartofthecapitallaidoutinwagesmustlikewiseconsist，materially，notofactivelabour-powerbutofthematerialelementswhichthelabourerbuyswithhiswages，i。e。，itmustconsistofthatpartofthesocialcommodity-capitalwhichpassesintotheconsumptionofthelabourer，viz。，ofmeansofsubsistence。

Inthatcasethefixedcapitalconsistsofthemoreslowlyperishableinstrumentsoflabourwhichthereforehavetobereplacedmoreslowly，andthecapitallaidoutinlabour-powerconsistsofthemeansofsubsistence，whichmustbereplacedmorerapidly。

However，theborder-linebetweengreaterorlesserperishable-nessisveryvagueandindistinct。”Thefoodandclothingconsumedbythelabourer，thebuildingsinwhichheworks，theimplementswithwhichhislabourisassisted，areallofaperishablenature。Thereishoweveravastdifferenceinthetimeforwhichthesedifferentcapitalswillendure:asteam-enginewilllastlongerthanaship，ashipthantheclothingofthelabourer，andtheclothingofthelabourerlongerthanthefoodwhichheconsumes。”[27]

Ricardoforgetstomentionthehouseinwhichthelabourerlives，hisfurniture，histoolsofconsumption，suchasknives，forks，dishes，etc。，allofwhichhavethesamequalityofdurabilityastheinstrumentsoflabour。Thesamethings，thesamekindsofthings，appearinoneplaceasarticlesofconsumptionandinanotherasinstrumentsoflabour。

Thedifference，asstatedbyRicardo，isthis:”Accordingascapitalisrapidlyperishableandrequirestobefrequentlyreproduced，orisofslowconsumption，itisclassedundertheheadsofcirculatingorfixedcapital。”[28]

Andheaddsthisnote:”Adivisionnotessential，andinwhichthelineofdemarcationcannotbeaccuratelydrawn。”[29]

Thuswehaveoncemorehappilyarrivedinthecampofthephysiocrats，wherethedistinctionbetweenavancesannuellesandavancesprimitiveswasonereferringtothetimeofconsumption，andconsequentlyalsotothedifferenttimesofreproductionofthecapitalemployed。Only，whatwiththemconstitutesanimportantphenomenonofsocialproductionandisdescribedintheTableauEconomiqueinconnectionwiththeprocessofcirculation，be-comeshereasubjectiveand，inRicardo’sownwords，superfluousdistinction。

Oncethepartofcapitalinvestedinlabourdiffersfromthatinvestedininstrumentsoflabouronlybyitsperiodofreproductionandhenceitstermofcirculation，andonceonepartconsistsofmeansofsubsistenceandtheotherofinstrumentsoflaboursothatthosedifferfromtheseonlyinbeingmorerapidlyperishable，therebeingvariousdegreesofdurabilitywithinthefirstgroupitself，alldifferentiaspecificabetweencapitalinvestedinlabour-powerandcapitalinvestedinmeansofproductionisnaturallyobliterated。

ThiswhollycontradictsRicardo’sdoctrineofvalue，likewisehistheoryofprofit，whichisinfactatheoryofsurplus-value。Ingeneralheconsidersthedistinctionbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapitalonlytotheextentthatdifferentproportionsofbothoftheminequallylargecapitalsinvestedindifferentbranchesofproductioninfluencethelawofvalue，particularlytheextenttowhichanincreaseordecreaseofwagesinconsequenceoftheseconditionsaffectsprices。Butevenwithinthisrestrictedinvestigationhecommitsthegravesterrorsonaccountofhisconfusingfixedandcirculatingwithconstantandvariablecapital。Indeed，hestartshisanalysisonanentirelywrongbasis。Inthefirstplace，insofarasthepartofthecapital-valuelaidoutinlabour-powerhastobeclassifiedundertheheadofcirculatingcapital，thedefinitionsofcirculatingcapitalitselfarewronglydeveloped，particularlythecircumstanceswhichplacethepartofcapitallaidoutinlabourunderhishead。Inthesecondplacethereisaconfusionofthedefinitionaccordingtowhichthepartofcapitalinvestedinlabourisvariablecapitalwiththedefinitionaccordingtowhichitiscirculatingcapital，asopposedtofixedcapital。

Itisevidentattheoutsetthatthedefinitionofcapitalinvestedinlabour-powerascirculatingorfluentcapitalisasecondaryone，obliteratingitsdifferentiaspecificaintheprocessofproduction。Forinthisdefinition，ontheonehand，thecapitalsinvestedinlabourareofthesameimportanceasthoseinvestedinrawmaterial，etc。Aclassificationwhichidentifiesapartoftheconstantcapitalwiththevariablecapitaldoesnotdealwiththedifferentiaspecificaofvariablecapitalinoppositiontoconstantcapital。Ontheotherhandthepartsofcapitallaidoutinlabourareindeedop-posedtothoseinvestedininstrumentsoflabour，butnotintheleastwithreferencetothefactthatthesepartsenterintotheproductionofvalueinquitedifferentways，butwithreferencetothefactthatbothtransfertheirvaluetotheproduct，butindifferentperiodsoftime。

Inallofthesecasesthepointatissueishowagivenvalue，laidoutintheprocessofproductionofcommodities，whetheritbewages，thepriceofrawmaterials，orthatofinstrumentsoflabour，istransferredtotheproduct，henceiscirculatedbytheproduct，andreturnedtoitsstarting-pointbythesaleoftheproduct，orisreplaced。

Theonlydifferencelieshereinthe”how，”intheparticularmannerofthetransfer，andthereforealsoofthecirculationofthisvalue。

Whetherthepriceoflabour-powerpreviouslystipulatedbycon-tractineachindividualcaseispaidinmoneyormeansofsubsistencedoesnotalterinanywayitscharacterofbeingafixedprice。Howeveritisevidentinthecaseofwagespaidinmoneythatthemoneyitselfdoesnotpassintotheprocessofproductioninthewaythatthevalueaswellasthematerialofthemeansofproductiondo。Butifontheotherhandthemeansofsubsistencewhichthelabourerbuyswithhiswagesaredirectlyclassedinthesamecategory，alongsiderawmaterials，etc。，asthematerialformofcirculatingcapitalandareopposedtotheinstrumentsoflabour，thenthematterassumesadifferentaspect。Ifthevalueofthesethings，ofthemeansofproduction，istransferredtotheproductinthelabour-process，thevalueofthoseotherthings，themeansofsubsistence，reappearsinthelabour-powerthatconsumesthemandislikewisetransferredtotheproductbythefunctioningofthispower。Inboththesecasesitisequallyaquestionofthemerereappearance，intheproduct，ofthevaluesadvancedduringproduction。(Thephysiocratstookthisseriouslyandthere-foredeniedthatindustriallabourcreatedsurplus-value。)Thusthepreviouslyquoted[KarlMarx，Capital，Vol。I，p。207，Note3——Ed。]

passagefromWayland。”Theform，however，isofnoconsequence……Thevariouskindsoffood，clothing，andshelter，necessaryfortheexistenceandcomfortofthehumanbeing，arealsochanged。Theyareconsumed，fromtimetotime，andtheirvaluereappears……”(ElementsofPol。Econ。，pp。31，32。)Thecapital-valuesadvancedforproductionintheformofbothmeansofproductionandmeansofsubsistencereappearhereequal-lyinthevalueoftheproduct。Thusthetransformationofthecapitalistprocessofproductionintoacompletemysteryishappilyaccomplishedandtheoriginofthesurplus-valueexistingintheproductisentirelywithdrawnfromview。

FurthermorethisbringstocompletionthefetishismpeculiartobourgeoisPoliticalEconomy，thefetishismwhichmetamorphosesthesocial，economiccharacterimpressedonthingsintheprocessofsocialproductionintoanaturalcharacterstemmingfromthematerialnatureofthosethings。

Forinstance，”instrumentsoflabourarefixedcapital，”isascholasticdefinition，whichleadstocontradictionsandconfusion。Justaswasdemonstratedinthecaseofthelabour-process(BuchI，Kap。V)，[Englishedition:Ch。

VII——Ed。]thatitdependswhollyontherolewhichthematerialcomponentsplayinaparticularlabour-process，ontheirfunction——whethertheyfunctionasinstrumentsoflabour，materialoflabour，orproducts——soinstrumentsoflabourarefixedcapitalonlyiftheprocessofproductionisreallyacapitalistprocessofproductionandthemeansofproductionarethereforeareallycapitalandpossesseconomicdefiniteness，thesocialcharacterofcapital。Andinthesecondplace，theyarefixedcapitalonlyiftheytransfertheirvaluetotheproductinaparticularway。Ifnot，theyremaininstrumentsoflabourwithoutbeingfixedcapital。Inthesamewayifauxiliarymaterialslikemanuregiveupvalueinthesamepeculiarmannerasthegreaterpartoftheinstrumentsoflabour，theybecomefixedcapitalalthoughtheyarenotinstrumentsoflabour。Itisnotaquestionhereofdefinitions，whichthingsmustbemadetofit。Wearedealingherewithdefinitefunctionswhichmustbeexpressedindefinitecategories。

Iftobecapitallaidoutinwagesisconsideredoneofthequalitiesofmeansofsubsistenceassuchunderallcircumstances，thenitwillalsobeaqualityofthis”circulating”capital”tosupportlabour。”(Ricardo，p。25。)Ifthemeansofsubsistencewerenot”capital”theywouldnotsupportlabour-power；whereasitispreciselytheirqualityofcapitalthatendowsthemwiththefacultyofsupportingcapitalbyforeignlabour。

Ifmeansofsubsistenceassucharecirculatingcapital——afterthelatterhadbeenconvertedintowages——itfollowsfurtherthatthemagnitudeofwagesdependsontheratioofthenumberoflabourerstothegivenamountofcirculatingcapital——afavouriteeconomicproposition——whileasamatteroffactthequantityofmeansofsubsistencewithdrawnfromthemarketbythelabourer，andthequantityofmeansofsubsistenceavailablefortheconsumptionofthecapitalist，dependontheratioofthesurplus-valuetothepriceoflabour。

Ricardo，likeBarton，[29a]everywhereconfoundstherelationofvariabletoconstantcapitalwiththatofcirculatingtofixedcapital。Weshallseelatertowhatextentthisvitiateshisinvestigationoftherateofprofit。[KarlMarx，Capital，Vol。III，Ch。I-III——

Ed。]

Ricardofurthermoreidentifiesthedifferenceswhichariseintheturnoverfromothercausesthanthedistinctionbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapitalwiththisdistinction:”Itisalsotobeobservedthatthecirculatingcapitalmaycirculate，orbereturnedtoitsemployer，inveryunequaltimes。Thewheatboughtbyafarmertosowiscomparativelyafixedcapitaltothewheatpurchasedbyabakertomakeintoloaves。Theoneleavesitintheground，andcanobtainnoreturnforayear；theothercangetitgroundintoflour，sellitasbreadtohiscustomers，andhavehiscapitalfree，torenewthesame，orcommenceanyotheremploymentinaweek。”[30]

Itischaracteristicherethatwheat，althoughnotservingasameansofsubsistencebutasrawmaterialwhenusedforsowing，isinthefirstplacecirculatingcapital，becauseinitselfitisameansofsubsistence，andinthesecondplacedfixedcapital，becauseitsreturntakesoverayear。Howeveritisnotonlythemoreorlesssloworrapidreturnwhichmakesafixedcapitalofameansofproduction，butalsothedefinitemannerinwhichittransfersitsvaluetotheproduct。

TheconfusioncreatedbyAdamSmithhasbroughtaboutthefollowingresults:

1。Thedistinctionbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapitalisconfusedwiththatbetweenproductivecapitalandcommodity-capital。Forinstanceamachineisconsideredcirculatingcapitalwheninthemarketasacommodity，andfixedcapitalwhenincorporatedintheprocessofproduction。Moreover，itisabsolutelyimpossibletoascertainwhyonekindofcapitalshouldbemorefixedorcirculatingthananother。

2。Allcirculatingcapitalisidentifiedwithcapitallaidoutortobelaidoutinwages。ThisissoinJohnStewartMill，[J。St。Mill，EssaysonSomeUnsettledQuestionsofPoliticalEconomy，London，1844，p。164——Ed。]andothers。

3。Thedistinctionbetweenvariableandconstantcapital，whichwaspreviouslymistakenbyBarton，Ricardo，andothersforthatbetweencirculatingandfixedcapital，isfinallywhollyreducedtothislast-nameddistinction，forinstanceinRamsay，whereallmeansofproduction，rawmaterials，etc。，aswellasinstrumentsoflabourarefixedcapital，andonlycapitallaidoutinwagesiscirculatingcapital。[G。Ramsay，AnEssayontheDistributionofWealth，Edinburgh，1833，pp。21-24——Ed。]Butbecausethereductiontakesplaceinthisform，therealdistinctionbetweenconstantandvariablecapitalisnotunderstood。

4。Thelatter-dayBritish，especiallyScotch，economists，wholookuponallthingsfromtheinexpressiblynarrow-mindedpointofviewofabankclerk，suchasMacLeod，[H。D。MacLeod，TheElementsofPoliticalEconomy，London，1858，pp。76-80——Ed。]Patterson，[R。H。

Patterson，TheScienceofFinance。APracticalTreatise，Edin-burghandLondon，1868，pp。129-44——Ed。]andothers，transformthedistinctionbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapitalintoonebetweenmoneyatcallandmoneynotatcall。

NOTES

[25]Ricardo，Principles，etc。，p。25。

[26]Loc。cit。

[27]Ricardo，Principles，etc。，p。26。

[28]Ibid。

[29]Ibid。

[29a]ObservationsontheCircumstancesWhichInfluencetheConditionoftheLabouringClassesofSociety，London，1817。ApertinentpassageisquotedinBookI，p。655，Note79。

[Englishedition:p。631，Note1。]

[30]Principles，etc。，pp。26

and27。

1885:CapitalII——Chapter12

partII

THETURNOVEROFCAPITAL

CHAPTERXII

THEWORKINGPERIODLetustaketwobranchesofbusinesswithworking-daysofequallength，say，oftenhourseach，oneofthemacottonspinning-mill，theotheralocomotiveworks。Inoneofthesebranchesadefinitequantityoffinishedproduct，cottonyarn，isturnedoutdailyorweekly；intheother，thelabour-processhastoberepeatedorperhapsthreemonthsinordertomanufactureafinishedproduct，alocomotive。Inonecasetheproductisdiscreteinnature；andeachdayaweekthesamelabourstartsoveragain。Intheothercasethelabour-processiscontinuousandextendsoverarathergreatnumberofdailylabour-processeswhich，intheirinterconnection，inthecontinuityoftheiroperation，bringforthafinishedproductonlyafteraratherlongperiodoftime。Althoughthedurationofthedailylabour-processisthesamehere，thereisaverymarkeddifferenceinthedurationoftheproductiveact，i。e。，inthedurationoftherepeatedlabour-processesrequiredtogetoutafinishedproduct，tomarketitasacommodity，hencetoconvertitfromproductivetocommodity-capital。Thedistinctionbetweenfixedandcirculatingcapitalhasnothingtodowiththis。Thedistinctionindicatedwouldexisteveniftheverysameproportionsoffixedandcirculatingcapitalwereemployedinbothbranchesofproduction。

Thesedifferencesinthedurationoftheproductiveactcanbeobservednotalonebetweendifferentspheresofproduction，butalsowithinoneandthesamesphereofproduction，dependingontheamountofproducttobeturnedout。Anordinarydwellinghouseisbuiltinlesstimethanalargefactoryandthereforerequiresfewercontinuouslabour-processes。

Whilethebuildingofalocomotivetakesthreemonths，thatofanarmouredman-of-warrequiresoneyearormore。Ittakesnearlyayeartoproducegrainandseveralyearstoraisebigcattle，whiletimber-growingneedsfromtwelvetoonehundredyears。Afewmonthswillsufficeforacountryroad，whilearailwayisajobofyears。Anordinarycarpetismadeinaboutaweek，butaGobelintakesyears，etc。Hencethetimeconsumedintheperformanceoftheproductiveactvariesinfinitely。

Thedifferenceinthedurationoftheproductiveactmustevidentlygiverisetoadifferenceinthevelocityoftheturnover，ifinvestedcapitalsareequal，inotherwords，mustmakeadifferenceinthetimeforwhichacertaincapitalisadvanced。Assumethataspinning-millandalocomotiveworksemploythesameamountofcapital，thattheratiooftheirconstanttotheirvariablecapitalisthesame，likewisetheproportionbetweenthefixedandcirculatingpartsofthecapitals，andthatlastlytheirworking-dayisofequallengthanditsdivisionintonecessaryandsurplus-labourthesame。Inordertoeliminate，furthermore，allthecircumstancesarisingoutoftheprocessofcirculationandhavingnobearingonthepresentcase，letussupposethatboththeyarnandthelocomotivearemadetoorderandwillbepaidondeliveryofthefinishedproduct。Attheendoftheweek，ondeliveryofthefinishedyarn，thespinning-millownerrecovershisoutlayforcirculatingcapital(leavingthesurplus-valueoutofconsideration)，likewisethefixedcapital’swearandtearincorporatedinthevalueoftheyarn。Hecanthereforerepeatthesamecircuitanewwiththesamecapital。Ithascompleteditsturnover。Thelocomotivemanufacturerontheotherhandmustlayoutevernewcapitalforwagesandrawmaterialeveryweekforthreemonthsinsuccession，anditisonlyafterthreemonths，afterthedeliveryofthelocomotive，thatthecirculatingcapital，meanwhilegraduallylaidoutinoneandthesameproductiveactforthemanufactureofoneandthesamecommodity，oncemoreexistsinaforminwhichitcanrenewitscircuit。Thewearandtearofhismachineryduringthesethreemonthsislikewisereplacedonlynow。Theexpenditureoftheoneismadeforoneweek，thatoftheotheristheweeklyexpendituremultipliedbytwelve。Allothercircumstancesbeingassumedasequal，theonemusthavetwelvetimesasmuchcirculatingcapitalathisdisposalastheother。

Itishoweverimmaterialherethatthecapitalsadvancedweeklyareequal。Whatevertheamountoftheadvancedcapital，itisadvancedforonlyoneweekintheonecaseandfortwelveweeksintheother，andtheaboveperiodsmustrespectivelyelapsebeforeitcanbeusedforanewoperation，beforethesameoperationcanberepeatedwithit，oradifferentoneinaugurated。

Thedifferenceinthevelocityoftheturnover，orinthelengthoftimeforwhichtheindividualcapitalmustbeadvancedbeforethesamecapital-valuecanbeemployedinanewlabour-orself-expansionprocess，arisesherefromthefollowingcircumstances:

Grantedthemanufactureofalocomotiveorofanyothermachinerequires100working-days。Sofarasthelabourersemployedinthemanufactureofyarnorthebuildingoflocomotivesareconcerned，100working-daysconstituteineithercaseadiscontinuous(discrete)magnitude，consisting，accordingtoourassumption，of100consecutiveseparateten-hourlabour-processes。

Butsofarastheproduct——themachine——isconcerned，these100working-daysformacontinuousmagnitude，aworking-dayof1，000working-hours，onesingleconnectedactofproduction。Icallsuchaworking-daywhichiscomposedofamoreorlessnumeroussuccessionofconnectedworkingdaysaworkingperiod。Whenwespeakofaworking-daywemeanthelengthofworkingtimeduringwhichthelabourermustdailyspendhislabour-power，mustworkdaybyday。Butwhenwespeakofaworkingperiodwemeanthenumberofconnectedworking-daysrequiredinacertainbranchofindustryforthemanufactureofafinishedproduct。Inthiscasetheproductofeveryworking-dayisbutapartialone，whichisfurtherworkeduponfromdaytodayandonlyattheendofthelongerorshorterworkingperiodreceivesitsfinishedform，isafinisheduse-value。

Interruptions，disturbancesoftheprocessofsocialproduction，inconsequenceforinstanceofcrises，havethereforeverydifferenteffectsonlabour-productsofadiscretenatureandonthosethatrequirefortheirproductionaprolongedconnectedperiod。Intheonecaseallthathappensisthattoday’sproductionofacertainquantityofyarn，coal，etc。，isnotfollowedbytomorrow’snewproductionofyarn，coal，etc。Notsointhecaseofships，buildings，railways，etc。Hereitisnotonlytheday’sworkbutanentireconnectedactofproductionthatisinterrupted。Ifthejobisnotcontinued，themeansofproductionandlabouralreadyconsumedinitsproductionarewasted。Evenifitisresumed，adeteriorationhasinevitablysetininthemeantime。