第10章

Secondperiodofturnover。Atthebeginningofthe13thweek，£；900havereturnedandareabletobeginanewturnover。Butthesecondworkingperiodhasalreadybeenopenedinthe10thweekbytheadditional£；300。Atthestartofthe13thweek，thankstothis，one-thirdoftheworkingperiodisalreadyoverand£；300hasbeenconvertedfromproductivecapitalintoproduct。Sinceonly6weeksmorearerequiredforthecompletionofthesecondworkingperiod，onlytwo-thirdsofthereturnedcapitalof£；900，oronly£；600，canenterintotheproductiveprocessofthesecondworkingperiod。£；300oftheoriginal£；900

aresetfreetoplaythesamerolewhichtheadditionalcapitalof£；300

playedinthefirstworkingperiod。Atthecloseofthe6thweekofthesecondperiodofturnoverthesecondworkingperiodisup。Thecapitalof£；900advancedinitreturnsafter3weeks，orattheendofthe9thweekofthesecond，12-weekperiodofturnover。Duringthe3weeksofitsperiodofcirculation，thefreedcapitalof£；300comesintoaction。Thisbeginsthethirdworkingperiodofacapitalof900inthe7thweekofthesecondperiodofturnover，orthe19thweekoftheyear。

Thirdperiodofturnover。Atthecloseofthe9thweekofthesecondperiodofturnoverthereisanewrefluxof£；900。Butthethirdworkingperiodhasalreadycommencedinthe7thweekofthepreviousperiodofturnoverand6weekshavealreadyelapsed。Thethirdworkingperiod，then，lastsonlyanother3weeks。Henceonly£；300ofthereturned£；900enterintotheproductiveprocess。Thefourthworkingperiodfillsouttheremaining9weeksofthisperiodofturnoverandthusthe37thweekoftheyearbeginssimultaneouslythefourthperiodofturnoverandthefifthworkingperiod。

Inordertosimplifythecalculationinthiscaseletusassumeaworkingperiodof5weeksandaperiodofcirculationof5weeks，makingaturnoverperiodof10weeks。Figuretheyearascomposedoffiftyweeksandthecapitaloutlayperweekas£；100。Aworkingperiodthenrequiresacirculatingcapitalof£；500andthetimeofcirculationanadditionalcapitalof£；500。Theworkingperiodsandtimesofturnoverthenareasfollows:

1stwrkg。period1st-5thwk。(£；500ingoods)returnedendof10thwk。2ndwrkg。period6th-10thwk。(£；500ingoods)returnedendof15thwk。3rdwrkg。period11th-15thwk。(£；500ingoods)returnedendof20thwk。4thwrkg。period16th-20thwk。(£；500ingoods)returnedendof25thwk。5thwrkg。period21st-25thwk。(£；500ingoods)returnedendof30thwk。andsoforth。Ifthetimeofcirculationiszero，sothattheperiodofturnoverisequaltotheworkingperiod，thenthenumberofturnoversisequaltothenumberofworkingperiodsoftheyear。Inthecaseofa5-weekworkingperiodthiswouldmake50/5，or10，periodsofturnoverperyear，andthevalueofthecapitalturnedoverwouldbe500times10，or5，000。Inourtable，inwhichwehaveassumedacirculationtimeof5weeks，thetotalvalueofthecommoditiesproducedperyearwouldalsobe£；5，000，butone-tenthofthis，or£；500，wouldalwaysbeintheformofcommodity-capital，andwouldnotreturnuntilafter5weeks。Attheendoftheyeartheproductofthetenthworkingperiod(the46thtothe50thworkingweek)wouldhavecompleteditstimeofturnoveronlybyhalf，anditstimeofcirculationwouldfallwithinthefirstfiveweeksofthenextyear。

Nowletustakeathirdillustration:Workingperiod6weekstimeofcirculation3weeks，weeklyadvanceduringlabour-process£；100。

1stworkingperiod:1st-6thweek。Attheendofthe6thweekacommodity-capitalof£；600，returnedattheendofthe9thweek。

2ndworkingperiod:7th-12thweek。Duringthe7th-9thweek£；300ofadditionalcapitalisadvanced。Attheendofthe9thweek，returnof£；600。

Ofthis，£；300areadvancedduringthe10th-12thweek。Attheendofthe12thweektherefore£；300arefreeand£；600areintheformofcommodity-capital，returnableattheendofthe15thweek。

3rdworkingperiod:13th-18thweek。Duringthe13th-15thweek，advanceofabove£；300，thenrefluxof£；600，ofwhich300areadvancedforthe16th-18thweek。Attheendofthe18thweek，£；300arefreeinmoney-form，£；600onhandascommodity-capitalwhichreturnsattheendofthe21stweek。(SeethemoredetailedpresentationofthiscaseunderII，below。)

Inotherwordsduring9workingperiods(54weeks)atotalof600times9or£；5，400worthofcommoditiesareproduced。Attheendoftheninthworkingperiodthecapitalisthas£；300inmoneyand£；600

incommoditieswhichhavenotyetcompletedtheirtermofcirculation。

Acomparisonofthesethreeillustrationsshows，first，thatasuccessivereleaseofcapitalIof£；500andofadditionalcapitalIIoflikewise£；500takesplaceonlyinthesecondillustration，sothatthesetwoportionsofcapitalmoveseparatelyandapartfromeachother。Butthisissoonlybecausewehavemadetheveryexceptionalassumptionthattheworkingperiodandthetimeofcirculationformtwoequalhalvesoftheturnoverperiod。Inallothercases，whateverthedifferencebetweenthetwoconstituentsoftheperiodofturnover，themovementsofthetwocapitalscrosseachother，asinillustrationsIandIII，beginningwiththesecondperiodofturnover。TheadditionalcapitalII，withaportionofcapitalI，thenformsthecapitalfunctioninginthesecondturnoverperiod，whiletheremainderofcapitalIissetfreetoperformtheoriginalfunctionofcapitalII。Thecapitaloperatingduringthecirculationtimeofthecommodity-capitalisnotidentical，inthiscase，withthecapitalIIoriginallyadvancedforthispurpose，butitisofthesamevalueandformsthesamealiquotpartofthetotalcapitaladvanced。

Secondly:Thecapitalwhichfunctionedduringtheworkingperiodliesidleduringthetimeofcirculation。Inthesecondillustrationthecapitalfunctionsduringthe5weeksoftheworkingperiodandliesidleduringthe5weeksofthecirculationperiod。ThereforetheentiretimeduringwhichcapitalIliesidlehereamountstoonehalfoftheyear。

ItistheadditionalcapitalIIthatappearsduringthistimehaving，inthecasebeforeus，alsoinitsturnlainidlehalfayear。Buttheadditionalcapitalrequiredtoensurethecontinuityofproductionduringthetimeofcirculationisnotdeterminedbytheaggregatedamount，orsumtotal，ofthetimesofcirculationduringtheyear，butonlybytheratioofthetimeofcirculationtotheperiodofturnover。(Weassume，ofcourse，thatalltheturnoverstakeplaceunderthesameconditions。)Forthisreason£；500ofadditionalcapital，andnot£；2，500，arerequiredinthesecondillustration。Thisissimplyduetothefactthattheadditionalcapitalentersjustaswellintotheturnoverasthecapitaloriginallyadvanced，andthatitthereforemakesupitsmagnitudejustastheotherbythenumberofitsturnovers。

Thirdly:Thecircumstanceshereconsideredarenotaffectedbywhetherthetimeofproductionislongerthantheworkingtimeornot。

True，theaggregateoftheperiodsofturnoverisprolongedthereby，butthisextensiondoesnotnecessitateanyadditionalcapitalforthelabour-process。

Theadditionalcapitalservesmerelythepurposeoffillingthegapsinthelabour-processthatariseonaccountofthetimeofcirculation。Henceitistheresimplytoprotectproductionagainstinterruptions，originatinginthetimeofcirculation。Interruptionsarisingfromthespecificconditionsofproductionaretobeeliminatedinanotherway，whichneednotbediscussedatthispoint。Therearehoweverestablishmentsinwhichworkiscarriedononlyintermittently，toorder，sothattheremaybeintervalsbetweentheworkingperiods。Insuchcases，theneedforadditionalcapitalisprotantoeliminated。Ontheotherhandinmostcasesofseasonalworkthereisacertainlimitforthetimeofreflux。Thesameworkcannotberenewednextyearwiththesamecapital，ifthecirculationtimeofthiscapitalhasnot，inthemeantime，runout。Ontheotherhandthetimeofcirculationmayalsobeshorterthantheintervalbetweentwoperiodsofproduction。Inthateventthecapitalliesfallow，unlessitismeanwhileemployedotherwise。

Fourthly:Thecapitaladvancedforacertainworkingperiod——

forinstancethe£；600inthethirdillustration——isinvestedpartlyinrawandauxiliarymaterials，inaproductivesupplyfortheworkingperiod，inconstantcirculatingcapital，andpartlyinvariablecirculatingcapital，inthepaymentoflabouritself。Theportionlaidoutinconstantcirculatingcapital，maynotexistforthesamelengthoftimeintheformofaproductivesupply；therawmaterialforinstancemaynotbeonhandfortheentireworkingperiod，coalmaybeprocuredonlyeverytwoweeks。

However，ascreditisstilloutofthequestionhere，thisportionofcapital，insofarasitisnotavailableintheformofaproductivesupply，mustbekeptonhandintheformofmoneysothatitcanbeconvertedintoaproductivesupplyasandwhenneeded。Thisdoesnotalterthemagnitudeoftheconstantcirculatingcapital-valueadvancedfor6weeks。Ontheotherhand——regardlessofthemoney-supplyforunforeseenexpenses，thereservefundproperfortheeliminationofdisturbances——wagesarepaidinshorterintervals，mostlyweekly。Thereforeunlessthecapitalistcompelsthelabourertoadvancehislabourforalongertime，thecapitalrequiredforwagesmustbeonhandintheformofmoney。Duringtherefluxofthecapitalaportionmustthereforeberetainedinmoney-formforthepaymentofthelabour，whiletheremainingportionmaybeconvertedintoproductivesupply。

Theadditionalcapitalisdividedexactlyliketheoriginal。ButitisdistinguishedfromcapitalIbythefactthat(apartfromcreditrelations)inordertobeavailableforitsownworkingperioditmustadvancedduringtheentiredurationofthefirstworkingperiodofcapitalI，intowhichitdoesnotenter。Duringthistimeitcanalreadybeconverted，atleastinpart，intoconstantcirculatingcapital，havingbeenadvancedfortheentireperiodofturnover。Towhatextentitassumesthisformorpersistsintheformofadditionalmoney-capitaluntilthisconversionbecomesnecessary，willdependpartlyonthespecialconditionsofproductionofdefinitelinesofbusiness，partlyonlocalconditions，partlyonthepricefluctuationsofrawmaterial，etc。Ifsocialcapitalisviewedinitsentirety，amoreorlessconsiderablepartofthisadditionalcapitalwillalwaysbeforaratherlongtimeinthestateofmoney-capital。ButasforthatportionofcapitalIIwhichistobeadvancedforwages，itisalwaysconvertedonlygraduallyintolabour-power，assmallworkingperiodsexpireandarepaidfor。ThisportionofcapitalII，then，isavailableintheformofmoney-capitalduringtheentireworkingperiod，untilbyitsconversionintolabour-powerittakepartinthefunctionofproductivecapital。

Consequently，theaccessionoftheadditionalcapitalrequiredforthetransformationofthecirculationtimeofcapitalIintotimeofproduction，increasesnotonlythemagnitudeoftheadvancedcapitalandthelengthoftimeforwhichtheaggregatecapitalmustnecessarilybeadvanced，butalso，andspecificallyso，thatportionoftheadvancedcapitalwhichexistsasmoney-supply，whichhenceexistsinthestateofmoney-capitalandhastheformofpotentialmoney-capital。

Thesamethingalsotakesplace——asfarasitconcernsboththeadvanceintheformofaproductivesupplyandinthatofamoney-

supply——whentheseparationofcapitalintotwopartsmadenecessarybythetimeofcirculation，namelyintocapitalforthefirstworkingperiodandreplacementcapitalforthetimeofcirculation，isnotcausedbytheincreaseofthecapitallaidoutbutbyadecreaseofthescaleofproduction。

Theamountofcapitaltiedupinthemoney-formgrowsherestillmoreinrelationtothescaleofproduction。

Whatisachievedingeneralbythisseparationofcapitalintoanoriginallyproductiveandanadditionalcapitalisacontinuoussuccessionoftheworkingperiods，theconstantfunctionofanequalportionoftheadvancedcapitalasproductivecapital。

Letuslookatthesecondillustration。Thecapitalcontinuouslyemployedintheprocessofproductionamountsto£；500。Astheworkingperiodis5weeksitoperatestentimesduring50weeks(takenasayear)。

Henceitsproduct，apartfromsurplus-value，is10times£；500，or£；5，000。Fromthestandpointofacapitalworkingdirectlyanduninterruptedlyintheprocessofproduction——acapital-valueof£；500——thetimeofcirculationseemstobebroughttonought。Theperiodofturnovercoincideswiththeworkingperiod，andthetimeofcirculationisassumedtobeequaltozero。

Butifthecapitalof£；500wereregularlyinterruptedinitsproductiveactivitybya5-weekcirculationtime，sothatitwouldagainbecomecapableofproductiononlyafterthecloseoftheentire10-weekturnoverperiod，weshouldhave5turnoversoftenweekseachinthe50

weeksoftheyear。Thesewouldcomprisefive5-weekperiodsofproduction，orasumof25productiveweekswithatotalproductworth5times£；500

or£；2，500，andfive5-weekperiodsofcirculation，oratotalcirculationtimeoflikewise25weeks。Ifwesayinthiscasethatthecapitalof£；500

hasbeenturnedover5timesintheyear，itwillbeclearandobviousthatduringhalfofeachperiodofturnoverthiscapitalof£；500

didnotfunctionatallasaproductioncapitalandthat，allinall，itperformeditsfunctionsonlyduringonehalfoftheyear，butdidnotfunctionatallduringtheotherhalf。

Inourillustrationthereplacementcapitalof£；500appearsonthesceneduringthosefiveperiodsofcirculationandtheturnoveristhusexpandedfrom£；2，500to£；5，000。Butnowtheadvancedcapitalis£；1，000insteadof£；500。5，000dividedby1，000is5。Hence，therearefiveturnoversinsteadoften。Andthatisjustthewaypeoplefigure。Butwhenitissaidthatthecapitalof£；1，000

hasbeenturnedoverfivetimesduringtheyear，therecollectionofthetimeofcirculationdisappearsfromthehollowskullsofthecapitalistsandaconfusedideaisformedthatthiscapitalhasservedcontinuouslyintheproductionprocesscuringthefivesuccessiveturnovers。Butifwesaythatthecapitalof£；1，000hasbeenturnedoverfivetimesthisincludesboththetimeofcirculationandthetimeofproduction。

Indeed，if£；1，000hadreallybeencontinuouslyactiveintheprocessofproduction，theproductwould，accordingtoourassumptions，havetobe£；10，000insteadof£；50，000。Butinordertohave£；1，000

continuouslyintheprocessofproduction，£；2，000wouldhavetobeadvanced。Theeconomists，whoasageneralrulehavenothingcleartosayinreferencetothemechanismoftheturnover，alwaysoverlookthismainpoint，towit，thatonlyapartoftheindustrialcapitalcanactuallybeengagedintheprocessofproductionifproductionistoproceeduninterruptedly。

Whileonepartisintheperiodofproduction，anothermustalwaysbeintheperiodofcirculation。Orinotherwords，onepartcanperformthefunctionofproductivecapitalonlyonconditionthatanotherpartiswithdrawnfromproductionproperintheformofcommodity-ormoney-capital。Inoverlookingthis，thesignificanceandroleofmoney-capitalisentirelyignored。

Wehavenowtoascertainwhatdifferencesintheturnoverariseifthetwosectionsoftheperiodofturnover，theworkingperiodandthecirculationperiod，areequal，oriftheworkingperiodisgreaterorsmallerthanthecirculationperiod，and，furthermore，whateffectthishasonthetie-upofcapitalintheformofmoney-capital。

Weassumethecapitaladvancedweeklytobeinallcases£；100，andtheperiodofturnover9weeks，sothatthecapitaltobeadvancedineachperiodofturnoveris£；900。

I。THEWORKINGPERIODEQUALTOTHECIRCULATIONPERIODAlthoughthiscaseoccursinrealityonlyasanaccidentalexception，itmustserveasourpointofdepartureinthisinvestigation，becausehererelationsshapethemselvesinthesimplestandmostintelligibleway。

Thetwocapitals(capitalIadvancedforthefirstworkingperiod，andsupplementalcapitalII，whichfunctionsduringthecirculationperiodofcapitalI)relieveoneanotherintheirmovementswithoutcrossing。

Withtheexceptionofthefirstperiod，eitherofthetwocapitalsisthereforeadvancedonlyforitsownperiodofturnover。Lettheperiodofturnoverbe9weeks，asindicatedinthefollowingillustrations，sothattheworkingperiodandthecirculationperiodareeach41/2weeks。Thenwehavethefollowingannualdiagram。

TableICAPITALI

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsAdvancePeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。10th-18th”

III。19th-27th”

IV。28th-36th”

V。37th-45th”

VI。46th-[54th]”1st-4th1/2week10th-13th1/2”

19th-22nd1/2”

28th-31st1/2”

37th-40th1/2”

46th-49th1/2”£；450

£；450

£；450

£；450

£；450

£；4504th1/2-9thweek13th1/2-18th”

22nd1/2-27th”

31st1/2-36th”

40th1/2-45th”

49th1/2-[54th]”[31]CAPITALII

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsAdvancePeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。10th-18th”

III。19th-27th”

IV。28th-36th”

V。37th-45th”

VI。46th-[54th]”4th1/2-9thweek13th1/2-18th”

22nd1/2-27th”

31st1/2-36th”

40th1/2-45th”

49th1/2-[54th]”£；450

£；450

£；450

£；450

£；450

£；45010th-13th1/2week19th-22nd1/2”

28th-31st1/2”

37th-40th1/2”

46th-49th1/2”

[55th-58th1/2]”Withinthe51weekswhichherestandforoneyear，capitalIrunsthroughsixfullworkingperiods，producing6times450，or£；2，700worthofcommodities，andcapitalIIproducinginfivefullworkingperiods5

times£；450，or£；2，250worthofcommodities。Inaddition，capitalIIproduced，withinthelastoneandahalfweeksoftheyear(middleofthe50thtotheendofthe51stweek)，anextra£；150worth。Theaggregateproductin51weeksisworth£；5，100。Sofarasthedirectproductionofsurplus-valueisconcerned，whichtakesplaceonlyduringtheworkingperiod，theaggregatecapitalof£；900wouldhavebeenturnedover52/3times(52/3times900equals£；5，100))。Butifweconsidertherealturnover，capitalIhasbeenturnedover52/3times，sinceatthecloseofthe51stweekitstillhas3weekstogoofitssixthperiodofturnover；52/3times450makes£；2，550；andcapitalIIturnedover51/6times，sinceithascompletedonly11/2weeksofitssixthperiodofturnover，sothat71/2weeksofitrunintothenextyear；5

1/6times450makes£；2，325；realaggregateturnover:£；4，875。

LetusconsidercapitalIandcapitalIIastwocapitalswhollyindependentofoneanother。Theyareentirelyindependentintheirmovements；

thesemovementscomplementoneanothermerelybecausetheirworkingandcirculatingperiodsdirectlyrelieveoneanother。Theymayberegardedastwototallyindependentcapitalsbelongingtodifferentcapitalists。

CapitalIhascompletedfivefullturnoversandtwo-thirdsofitssixthturnoverperiod。Attheendoftheyearithastheformofcommodity-capital，whichisthreeweeksshortofitsnormalrealisation。Duringthistimeitcannotenterintotheprocessofproduction。Itfunctionsascommodity-capital，itcirculates。Ithascompletedonlytwo-thirdsofitslastperiodofturnover。

Thisisexpressedasfollows:Ithasbeenturnedoveronlytwo-thirdsofatime，onlytwo-thirdsofitstotalvaluehaveperformedacompleteturnover。

Wesaythat£；450completetheirturnoverin9weeks，hence£；300

doin6weeks。Butinthismodeofexpressiontheorganicrelationsbetweenthetwospecificallydifferentcomponentsoftheturnovertimeareignored。

Theexactmeaningoftheexpressionthattheadvancedcapitalof£；450

hasmade52/3turnoversismerelythatithasaccomplishedfiveturnoversfullyandonlytwo-thirdsofthesixth。Ontheotherhandtheexpressionthattheturned-overcapitalequals52/3timestheadvancedcapital——

hence，intheabovecase，52/3times£；450，making£；2，550——

iscorrect，meaningthatunlessthiscapitalof£；450werecomplementedbyanothercapitalof£；450，oneportionofitwouldhavetobeintheprocessofproductionwhileanotherintheprocessofcirculation。

Ifthetimeofturnoveristobeexpressedintermsofthecapitalturnedover，itcanalwaysbeexpressedonlyintermsofexistingvalue(infact，offinishedproduct)。Thecircumstancethattheadvancedcapitalisnotinaconditioninwhichitmayre-opentheprocessofproductionfindsexpressioninthefactthatonlyapartofitisinastatecapableofproductionorthat，inordertobeinastateofuninterruptedproduction，thecapitalwouldhavetobedividedintoaportionwhichwouldbecontinuallyintheperiodofproductionandintoanotherwhichwouldbecontinuallyintheperiodofcirculation，dependingupontherelationoftheseperiodstoeachother。Itisthesamelawwhichdeterminesthequantityoftheconstantlyfunctioningproductivecapitalbytheratioofthetimeofcirculationtothetimeofturnover。

Bytheendofthe51stweek，whichweregardhereastheendoftheyear，£；150ofcapitalIIhavebeenadvancedtotheproductionofanunfinishedlotofgoods。Anotherpartofitexistsintheformofcirculatingconstantcapital——rawmaterials，etc——i。e。，inaforminwhichitcanfunctionasproductivecapitalintheproductionprocess。

Butathirdpartofitexistsintheformofmoney，atleasttheamountofthewagesfortheremainderoftheworkingperiod(3weeks)，whichisnotpaid，however，untiltheendofeachweek。Now，althoughatthebeginningofanewyear，henceofanewturnovercycle，thisportionofthecapitalisnotintheformofproductivecapitalbutinthatofmoney-capital，inwhichitcannottakepartintheprocessofproduction，attheopeningofthenewturnovercirculatingvariablecapital，i。e。，livinglabour-power，isneverthelessactiveintheprocessofproduction。Thisisduetothefactthatlabour-powerisnotpaiduntiltheendoftheweek，althoughboughtatthebeginningoftheworkingperiod，say，perweek，andsoconsumed。

Moneyserveshereasameansofpayment。Forthisreasonitisstillasmoneyinthehandsofthecapitalist，ontheonehand，while，ontheotherhand，labour-power，thecommodityintowhichmoneyisbeingtransformed，isalreadyactiveintheprocessofproduction，sothatthesamecapital-valueappearsheredoubly。

Ifwelookmerelyattheworkingperiods，capitalIproduces6times450，or£；2，700capitalIIproduces51/3times450，or£；2，400——Hencetogether51/3times900，or£；5，100。

Hencethetotaladvancedcapitalof£；900hasfunctioned52/3

timesthroughouttheyearasproductivecapital。Itisimmaterialfortheproductionofthesurplus-valuewhethertherearealways£；450intheproductionprocessandalways£；450inthecirculationprocess，orwhether£；900function41/2weeksintheprocessofproductionandthefollowing41/2weeksintheprocessofcirculation。

Ontheotherhand，ifweconsidertheperiodsofturnover，therehasbeenturnedover:

capitalI，52/3times450，or£；2，550capitalII，51/6times450，or£；2，325——Hencethetotalcapital55/12times900，or£；4，875。

ForthenumberofturnoversofthetotalcapitalisequaltothesumoftheamountsturnedoverbyIandII，dividedbythesumofIandII。

ItistobenotedthatifcapitalsIandIIwereindependentofeachothertheywouldneverthelessformmerelydifferentindependentportionsofthesocialcapitaladvancedinthesamesphereofproduction。HenceifthesocialcapitalwithinthissphereofproductionwerecomposedsolelyofIandII，thesamecalculationwouldapplytotheturnoverofthesocialcapitalinthissphereasappliesheretotheconstituentpartsIandII

ofthesameprivatecapital。Goingfurther，everyportionoftheentiresocialcapitalinvestedinanyparticularsphereofproductionmaybesocalculated。Butinthelastanalysis，thenumberofturnoversmadebytheentiresocialcapitalisequaltothesumofthecapitalsturnedoverinthevariousspheresofproductiondividedbythesumofthecapitalsadvancedinthosespheres。

ItmustfurtherbenotedthatjustascapitalsIandIIinthesameprivatebusinesshaveherestrictlyspeakingdifferentturnoveryears(thecycleofturnoverofcapitalIIbeginning41/2weekslaterthanthatofcapitalI，sothattheyearofIends41/2weeksearlierthanthatofII)，sothevariousprivatecapitalsinthesamesphereofproductionbegintheiroperationsattotallydifferentperiodsandthereforeconcludetheirturnoveryearsatdifferenttimesoftheyear。ThesamecalculationofaveragesthatweemployedaboveforIandIIsufficesalsoheretobringdowntheturnoveryearsofthevariousindependentportionsofthesocialcapitaltooneuniformturnoveryear。

II。THEWORKINGPERIODGREATERTHANTHEPERIODOFCIRCULATIONTheworkingandturnoverperiodsofcapitalsIandIIcrossoneanotherinsteadofrelievingoneanother。Simultaneouslysomecapitalissetfree。

Thiswasnotsointhepreviouslyconsideredcase。

Butthisdoesnotalterthefactthat，asbefore，1)thenumberofworkingperiodsofthetotalcapitaladvancedisequaltothesumofthevalueoftheannualproductofbothadvancedportionsofcapitaldividedbythetotalcapitaladvanced，and2)thenumberofturnoversmadebythetotalcapitalisequaltothesumofthetwoamountsturnedoverdividedbythesumofthetwoadvancedcapitals。Heretoowemustconsiderbothportionsofcapitalasiftheyperformedturnovermovementsentirelyindependentofeachother。

Thus，weassumeoncemore，that£；100aretobeadvancedweeklytothelabour-process。Lettheworkingperiodlast6weeks，requiringthereforeeverytimeanadvanceof£；600(capitalI)。Letthetimeofcirculationbe3weeks，sothattheperiodofturnoveris9weeks，asbefore。LetcapitalIIof£；300stepinduringthethree-weekcirculationperiodofcapitalI。Consideringbothcapitalsasindependentofeachother，wefindthescheduleoftheannualturnovertobeasfollows:

TableIICAPITALI，£；600

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsAdvancePeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。10th-18th”

III。19th-27th”

IV。28th-36th”

V。37th-45th”

VI。46th-[54th]”1st-6thweek10th-15th”

19th-24th”

28th-33rd”

37th-42nd”

46th-51st”£；600

£；600

£；600

£；600

£；600

£；6007th-9thweek16th-18th”

25th-27th”

34th-36th”

43rd-45th”

[52nd-54th]”ADDITIONALCAPITALII，£；300

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsAdvancePeriodsofCirculationI。7th-15thweekII。16th-24th”

III。25th-33rd”

IV。34th-42nd”

V。43rd-51st”7th-9thweek16th-18th”

25th-27th”

34th-36th”

43rd-45th”£；300

£；300

£；300

£；300

£；30010th-15thweek19th-24th”

28th-33rd”

37th-42nd”

46th-51st”Theprocessofproductioncontinuesuninterruptedlythewholeyearroundonthesamescale。ThetwocapitalsIandIIremainentirelyseparate。

Butinordertorepresentthemasseparate，wehadtotearaparttheirrealintersectionsandintertwinings，andthusalsotochangethenumberofturnovers。Foraccordingtotheabovetabletheamountsturnedoverwouldbe:

bycapitalI，52/3times600，or£；3，400andbycapitalII，5times300，or£；1，500——Hencebythetotalcapital54/9times900，or£；4，900。

Butthisisnotcorrect，for，asweshallsee，theactualperiodsofproductionandcirculationdonotabsolutelycoincidewiththoseoftheaboveschedule，inwhichitwasmainlyaquestionofpresentingcapitalsIandIIasindependentofeachother。

Inreality，capitalIIhasnoworkingandcirculatingperiodsseparateanddistinctfromthoseofcapitalI。Theworkingperiodis6

weeks，thecirculationperiod3weeks。SincecapitalIIamountstoonly£；300，itcansufficeonlyforapartoftheworkingperiod。Thisisindeedthecase。Attheendofthe6thweekaproductvaluedat£；600

passesintocirculationandreturnsinmoney-formatthecloseofthe9thweek。Then，attheopeningofthe7thweek，capitalIIbeginsitsactivity，andcoverstherequirementsofthenextworkingperiod，the7thto9thweek。Butaccordingtoourassumptiontheworkingperiodisonlyhalfupattheendofthe9thweek。HencecapitalIof£；600havingjustreturned，atthebeginningofthe10thweek，oncemoreentersintooperationandwithits£；300suppliestheadvancesneededforthe10thto12thweek。

Thisdisposesofthesecondworkingperiod。Aproductvalueof£；600

isincirculationandwillreturnatthecloseofthe15thweek。Atthesametime，£；300，theamountoftheoriginalcapitalII，aresetfreeandareabletofunctioninthefirsthalfofthefollowingworkingperiod，thatistosay，inthe13thto15thweek。Afterthelapseoftheseweeksthe£；600return；£；300ofthemsufficefortheremainderoftheworkingperiod，and£；300remainforthefollowingworkingperiod。

Thethingthereforeworksasfollows:

Firstperiodofturnover:1st-9thweek。1stworkingperiod:1st-6thweek。CapitalI，£；600，performsitsfunction。1stperiodofcirculation:7th-9thweek。Endof9thweek，£；600return。Secondperiodofturnover:7th-15thweek。2ndworkingperiod:7th-12thweek。

Firsthalf:7th-9thweek。CapitalII，£；300，performsitsfunction。

Endof9thweek，£；600returninmoney-form(capitalI)。

Secondhalf:10th-12thweek。£；300ofcapitalIperformtheirfunction。Theother£；300ofcapitalIremainfreed。2ndperiodofcirculation:13th-15thweek。

Endof15thweek，£；600(halftakenfromcapitalI，halffromcapitalII)returnintheformofmoney。Thirdperiodofturnover；13-21stweek。3rdworkingperiod:13th-18thweek。

Firsthalf:13th-15thweek。Thefreed£；300performtheirfunction。

Endof15thweek，£；600returninmoney-form。

Secondhalf:16th-18thweek，£；300ofthereturned£；600

function，theother£；300againremainfreed。3rdperiodofcirculation:19th-21stweekatthecloseofwhich£；600

againreturninmoney-form。Inthese£；600capitalIandcapitalII

arenowindistinguishablyfused。Andsothereareeightfullturnoverperiodsofacapitalof£；600

(I:1st-9thweek；II:7th-15thweek；III:13th-21st；IV:19th-27th；V:

25th-33rd；VI:31st-39th；VII:37th-45th；VIII:43rd-51stweek)totheendofthe51stweek。Butasthe49th-51stweeksfallwithintheeighthperiodofcirculation，the£；300offreedcapitalmuststepinandkeepproductiongoing。Thustheturnoverattheendoftheyearisasfollows:

£；600havecompletedtheircircuiteighttimes，making£；4，800。

Inadditionwehavetheproductofthelast3weeks(49th-51st)，which，however，hascompletedonlyone-thirdofitscircuitof9weeks，sothatinthesumturnedoveritcountsforonlyone-thirdofitsamount，£；100。

If，then，theannualproductof51weeksis£；5，100，thecapitalturnedoverisonly4，800plus100，or£；4，900。Thetotalcapitaladvanced，£；900，hasthereforebeenturnedover54/9times，atriflemorethaninthefirstcase。

Inthepresentexampleweassumedacaseinwhichtheworkingtimewas2/3andthecirculationtime1/3oftheperiodofturnover，i。e。，theworkingtimewasasimplemultipleofthecirculationtime。Thequestionnowiswhethercapitalislikewisesetfree，inthewayshownabove，whenthisassumptionisnotmade。

Letusassumeaworkingof5weeks，acirculationtimeof4weeks，andacapitaladvanceof£；100perweek。

Firstperiodofturnover:1st-9thweek。1stworkingperiod:1st-5thweek。CapitalI，or£；500，performsitsfunction。1stcirculationperiod:6th-9thweek。Endof9thweek，£；500returninmoney-form。Secondperiodofturnover:6th-14thweek。2ndworkingperiod:6th-10thweek。

Firstsection:6th-9thweek。CapitalII，of£；400，performsitsfunction。Endof9thweek，capitalIof£；500returnsinmoney-form。

Secondsection:10thweek。£；100ofthereturned£；500performtheirfunction。Theremaining£；400aresetfreeforthefollowingworkingperiod。2ndcirculationperiod:11th-14thweek。Endof14thweek。£；500returninmoney-form。Uptotheendofthe14thweek(11th-14th)，the£；400setfreeaboveperformtheirfunction；£；100ofthe£；500thenreturnedfilltherequirementsofthethirdworkingperiod(11th-15thweek)sothat£；400

areoncemorereleasedforthefourthworkingperiod。Thesamethingisrepeatedineveryworkingperiod；atitsbeginning£；40arereadyathand，sufficingforthefirst4weeks。Endofthe4thweek，£；500

returninmoney-form，only£；100ofwhichareneededforthelastweek，whiletheother£；400remainfreeforthenextworkingperiod。

Letusfurtherassumeaworkingperiodof7weeks，withacapitalIof£；700；acirculationperiodof2weeks，withacapitalIIof£；200。

Inthatcasethefirstperiodofturnoverlastsfromthe1sttothe9thweek；itsfirstworkingperiodfromthe1sttothe7thweek，withanadvanceof£；700，itsfirstcirculationperiodfromthe8thtothe9thweek。Endofthe9thweek，£；700flowbackinmoney-form。

Thesecondperiodofturnover，fromthe8thtothe16thweek，containsthesecondworkingperiodofthe8thtothe14thweek。Therequirementsofthe8thand9thweeksofthisperiodarecoveredbycapitalII。Endofthe9thweek，theabove£；700return。Uptothecloseofthisworkingperiod(10th-14thweek)，£；500ofthissumareusedup；£；200

remainfreeforthenextworkingperiod。Thesecondcirculationperiodlastsfromthe15thtothe16thweek。Endofthe16thweek£；700returnoncemore。Fromnowon，thesamethingisrepeatedineveryworkingperiod。

Theneedforcapitalduringthefirsttwoweeksiscoveredbythe£；200

setfreeatthecloseoftheprecedingworkingperiod；atthecloseofthesecondweek£；700return；butonly5weeksremainoftheworkingperiod，sothatitcanconsumeonly£；500；therefore£；200alwaysremainfreeforthenextworkingperiod。

Wefind，then，thatinthegivencase，wheretheworkingperiodhasbeenassumedtobegreaterthanthecirculationperiod，amoney-capitalwillatalleventshavebeensetfreeatthecloseofeachworkingperiod，whichisofthesamemagnitudeascapitalIIadvancedforthecirculationperiod。InourthreeillustrationscapitalIIwas£；300inthefirst，£；400inthesecond，and£；200inthird。Accordingly，thecapitalsetfreeatthecloseofeachworkingperiodwas£；300，£；400

and£；200respectively。

III。THEWORKINGPERIODSMALLERTHANTHECIRCULATIONPERIODWebeginbyassumingoncemoreaperiodofturnoverof9weeks，ofwhich3weeksareassignedtotheworkingperiodwithanavailablecapitalI

of£；300。Letthecirculationperiodbe6weeks。Forthese6weeks，anadditionalcapitalof£；600isrequired，whichwemaydivideinturnintotwocapitalsof£；300，eachofthemmeetingtherequirementsofoneworkingperiod。Wethenhavethreecapitalsof£；300each，ofwhich£；300arealwaysengagedinproduction，while£；600

circulate。

TableIIICAPITALI

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。10th-18th”

III。19th-27th”

IV。28th-36th”

V。37th-45th”

VI。46th-[54th]”1st-3rdweek10th-12th”

19th-21st”

28th-30th”

37th-39th”

46th-48th”4th-9thweek13th-18th”

22nd-27th”

31st-36th”

40th-45th”

49th-[54th]”CAPITALII

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。4th-12thweekII。13th-21st”

III。22nd-30th”

IV。31st-39th”

V。40th-48th”

VI。49th-[57th]”4th-6thweek13th-15th”

22nd-24th”

31st-33rd”

40th-42nd”

49th-51st”7th-12thweek16th-21st”

25th-30th”

34th-39th”

43rd-48th”

51st-[57th]”CAPITALIII

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。7th-15thweekII。16th-24th”

III。25th-33rd”

IV。34th-42nd”

V。43rd-51st”7th-9thweek16th-18th”

25th-27th”

34th-36th”

43rd-45th”10th-15thweek19th-24th”

28th-33rd”

37th-42nd”

46th-51st”WehaveheretheexactcounterpartofCaseI，withtheonlydifferencethatnowthreecapitalsrelieveoneanotherinsteadoftwo。Thereisnointersectionorintertwiningofcapitals。Eachoneofthemcanbetracedseparatelytotheendoftheyear。JustasinCaseI，nocapitalissetfreeatthecloseofaworkingperiod，CapitalIiscompletelylaidoutattheendofthe3rdweek，returnsentirelyattheendofthe9th，andresumesitsfunctionsatthebeginningofthe10thweek。SimilarlywithcapitalsIIandIII。Theregularandcompletereliefexcludesanyreleaseofcapital。

Thetotalturnoverisasfollows:

capitalI，£；300times52/3，or£；1，700capitalII，£；300times51/3，or£；1，600capitalIII，£；300times5

，or£；1，500——Totalcapital，£；900times51/3，or£；4，800

Letusnowalsotakeanillustrationinwhichthecirculationperiodisnotanexactmultipleoftheworkingperiod。Forinstance，workingperiod——4weeks，circulationperiod——5weeks。Thecorrespondingamountsofcapitalwouldthenbe:capitalI——£；400；capitalII——£；400；

capitalIII——£；100。Wepresentonlythefirstthreeturnovers。

TableIVCAPITALI

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。1st-9thweekII。9th-17th”

III。18th-25th”1st-4thweek9。10th-12th”

17。18th-20th”5th-9thweek13th-17th”

21st-25th”CAPITALII

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。5th-13thweekII。13th-21st”

III。21st-29th”5th-8thweek13。14th-16th”

21。22nd-24th”9th-13thweek17th-21st”

25th-29th”CAPITALIII

PeriodsofTurnoverWorkingPeriodsPeriodsofCirculationI。9th-17thweekII。17th-25th”

III。25th-33rd”9thweek17th”

25th”10th-17thweek18th-25th”

26th-33rd”ThereisinthiscaseanintertwiningofcapitalsinsofarastheworkingperiodofcapitalII，whichhasnoindependentworkingperiod，becauseitsufficesforonlyoneweek，coincideswiththefirstworkingweekofcapitalI。Ontheotherhandanamountof£；100，equaltocapitalIII，issetfreeatthecloseoftheworkingperiodofbothcapitalIandII。ForifcapitalIIIfillsupthefirstweekofthesecondandallsucceedingworkingperiodsofcapitalIand£；400，theentirecapitalI，returnatthecloseofthisfirstweek，thenonly3weeksandacorrespondingcapitalinvestmentof£；300willremainfortherestoftheworkingperiodofcapitalI。The£；200thussetfreesufficeforthefirstweekoftheimmediatelyfollowingworkingperiodofcapitalII；attheendofthatweektheentirecapitalIIof£；400returns。Butsincetheworkingperiodalreadystartedcanabsorbonlyanother£；300，£；100areoncemoredisengagedatitsclose。Andsoforth。Wehave，then，areleaseofcapitalatthecloseofaworkingperiodwheneverthecirculationperiodisnotasimplemultipleoftheworkingperiod。Andthisliberatedcapitalisequaltothatportionofthecapitalwhichhastofilluptheexcessofthecirculationperiodovertheworkingperiodoroveramultipleofworkingperiods。

Inallcasesinvestigateditwasassumedthatboththeworkingperiodandthecirculationperiodremainthesamethroughouttheyearinanyofthebusinesseshereexamined。Thisassumptionwasnecessaryifwewishedtoascertaintheinfluenceofthetimeofcirculationontheturnoverandadvancementofcapital。Thatinrealitythisassumptionisnotsounconditionallyvalid，andthatitfrequentlyisnotvalidatalldoesnotalterthecaseintheleast。

Inthisentiresectionwehavediscussedonlytheturnoversofthecirculatingcapital，notthoseofthefixed，forthesimplereasonthatthequestionatissuehasnothingtodowithfixedcapital。Theinstrumentsoflabour，etc。，employedintheprocessofproductionformonlyfixedcapital，inasmuchastheirtimeofemploymentexceedstheperiodofturnoverofthecirculatingcapital；inasmuchastheperiodoftimeduringwhichtheseinstrumentsoflabourcontinuetoserveinperpetuallyrepeatedlabour-processesisgreaterthantheperiodofturnoverofthecirculatingcapital，andhenceequaltothenperiodsofturnoverofthecirculatingcapital。Regardlessofwhetherthetotaltimerepresentedbythesenperiodsofturnoverofthecirculatingcapitalislongerorshorter，thatportionoftheproductivecapitalwhichwasadvancedforthistimeinfixedcapitalisnotadvancedanewduringitscourse。Itcontinuesitsfunctionsinitsolduse-form。

Thedifferenceismerelythis:Inproportiontothevaryinglengthofasingleworkingperiodofeachperiodofturnoverofthecirculatingcapital，thefixedcapitalgivesupagreaterorsmallerpartofitsoriginalvaluetotheproductofthatworkingperiod，andproportionallytothedurationofthecirculationtimeofeachperiodofturnoverthisvalue-partofthefixedcapitalgivenuptotheproductreturnsquickerorslowerinmoney-form。Thenatureofthesubjectwearediscussinginthissection——theturnoverofthecirculatingportionofproductivecapital——derivesfromtheverynatureofthisportion。Thecirculatingcapitalemployedinaworkingperiodcannotbeappliedinanewworkingperioduntilithascompleteditsturnover，untilithasbeentransformedintocommodity-capital，fromthatintomoney-capital，andfromthatbackintoproductivecapital。

Hence，inorderthatthefirstworkingperiodmaybeimmediatelyfollowedbyasecond，capitalmustbeadvancedanewandconvertedintothecirculatingelementsofproductivecapital，anditsquantitymustbesufficienttofillthevoidoccasionedbythecirculationperiodofthecirculatingcapitaladvancedorthefirstworkingperiod。Thisisthesourceoftheinfluenceexertedbythelengthoftheworkingperiodofthecirculatingcapitaloverthescaleofthelabour-processandthedivisionoftheadvancedcapitalortheadditionofnewportionsofcapital。Thiswaspreciselywhatwehadtoexamineinthissection。

IV。CONCLUSION>FromtheprecedinginvestigationitfollowsthatA。Thedifferentportionsintowhichcapitalmustbedividedinorderthatonepartofitmaybecontinuallyintheworkingperiodwhileothersareintheperiodofcirculation，relieveoneanother，likedifferentindependentindividualcapitals，intwocases:(1)whentheworkingperiodisequaltotheperiodofcirculation，sothattheperiodofturnoverisdividedintotwoequalsections；(2)whentheperiodofcirculationislongerthantheworkingperiod，butatthesametimeisasimplemultipleoftheworkingperiod，sothatoneperiodofcirculationisequaltonworkingperiods，inwhichcasenmustbeawholenumber。Inthesecasesnoportionofthesuccessivelyadvancedcapitalissetfree。

B。Ontheotherhandinallcasesinwhich(1)theperiodofcirculationislongerthantheworkingperiodwithoutbeingasimplemultipleofit，and(2)inwhichtheworkingperiodislongerthanthecirculationperiod，aportionofthetotalcirculatingcapitalissetfreecontinuallyandperiodicallyatthecloseofeachworkingperiod，beginningwiththesecondturnover。Thisfreedcapitalisequaltothatportionofthetotalcapitalwhichhasbeenadvancedforthecirculationperiod，providedtheworkingperiodislongerthantheperiodofcirculation；andequaltothatportionofthecapitalwhichhastofilluptheexcessofthecirculationperiodovertheworkingperiodoroveramultipleofworkingperiods，providedthecirculationperiodislongerthantheworkingperiod。

C。Itfollowsthatfortheaggregatesocialcapital，sofarasitscirculatingpartisconcerned，thereleaseofcapitalmustbetherule，whilethemerealternationofportionsofcapitalfunctioningsuccessivelyintheproductionprocessmustbetheexception。Fortheequalityoftheworkingandcirculationperiods，ortheequalityoftheperiodofcirculationandasimplemultipleoftheworkingperiod，thisregularproportionalityofthetwocomponentsoftheperiodofturnoverhasabsolutelynothingtodowiththenatureofthecaseandforthisreasonitcanoccuronthewholeonlyasamatterofexception。

Averyconsiderableportionofthesocialcirculatingcapital，whichisturnedoverseveraltimesayear，willthereforeperiodicallyexistintheformofreleasedcapitalduringtheannualturnovercycle。

Itisfurthermoreevidentthat，allothercircumstancesbeingequal，themagnitudeofthereleasedcapitalgrowswiththevolumeofthelabour-processorwiththescaleofproduction，hencewiththedevelopmentofcapitalistproductioningeneral。InthecasecitedunderB，(2)，becausethetotaladvancedcapitalincreases；inB(1)，becausewiththedevelopmentofcapitalistproductionthelengthoftheperiodofcirculationgrows，hencealsotheperiodofturnoverinthosecaseswheretheworkingperiodislessthantheperiodofcirculation，andthereisnoregularratiobetweenthetwoperiods。

Inthefirstcaseforinstancewehadtoinvest£；100perweek。Thisrequired£；600foraworkingperiodof6weeks，£；300

foracirculationperiodof3weeks，totalling£；900。Inthatcase£；300arereleasedcontinually。Ontheotherhandif£；300areinvestedweekly，wehave£；1，800fortheworkingperiodand£；900

forthecirculationperiod。Hence£；900forthecirculationperiod。

Hence£；900insteadof£；300areperiodicallysetfree。

D。Atotalcapitalof，say£；900mustbedividedintotwoportions，asabove，£；600fortheworkingperiodand£；300

fortheperiodofcirculation。Thatportionwhichisreallyinvestedinthelabour-processisthusreducedbyone-third，from£；900to£；600；

consequently，thescaleofproductionisdiminishedbyone-third。Ontheotherhandthe£；300functiononlytomaketheworkingperiodcontinuous，inorderthat£；100maybeinvestedeveryweekoftheyearinthelabour-process。

Abstractlyspeaking，itisallthesamewhether£；600workduring6times8，or48，weeks(product£；4，800)orwhetherthetotalcapitalof£；900isexpendedduring6weeksinthelabour-processandthenliesidleduringthe3-weekperiodofcirculation。Inthelattercase，itwouldbeworking，inthecourseofthe48weeks，51/3times6，or32weeks(product51/3times900，or£；4，800)，andlieidlefor16weeks。But，apartfromthegreaterspoilageofthefixedcapitalduringtheidle16weeksandapartfromtheappreciationoflabour，whichmustbepaidduringtheentireyear，evenifemployedonlyduringapartofit，sucharegularinterruptionoftheprocessofproductionisaltogetherirreconcilablewiththeoperationsofmodernbigindustry。Thiscontinuityisitselfaproductivepoweroflabour。

Now，ifwetakeacloserlookatthereleased，orrathersuspended，capital，wefindthataconsiderablepartofitmustalwaysbeintheformofmoney-capital。Letusadheretoourillustration:Workingperiod——

6weeks，periodofcirculation——3weeks，investmentperweek——£；100。

Inthemiddleofthesecondworkingperiod，endofthe9thweek，£；600

return，andonly£；300ofthemmustbeinvestedfortheremainderoftheworkingperiod。Attheendofthesecondworkingperiod，£；300

arethereforereleased。Inwhatstatearethese£；300？Weshallassumethat1/3isinvestedforwagesand2/3areforrawandauxiliarymaterials。

Then£；200ofthereturned£；600existintheformofmoneyforwagesand£；400intheformofproductivesupply，intheformofelementsoftheconstantcirculatingproductivecapital。Butsinceonlyonehalfofthisproductivesupplyisrequiredforthesecondhalfofthesecondworkingperiod，theotherhalfexistsfor3weeksintheformofasurplusproductivesupply，i。e。，ofasupplyexceedingtherequirementsofoneworkingperiod。Butthecapitalistknowsthatheneedsonlyonehalf，or£；200，ofthisportion(£；400)ofthereturnedcapitalforthecurrentworkingperiod。Itwillthereforedependonmarketconditionswhetherhewillimmediatelyreconvertthese£；200，inwholeorinpart，intoasurplusproductivesupply，orkeepthementirelyorpartiallyintheformofmoney-capitalinanticipationofamorefavourablemarket。Ontheotherhanditgoeswithoutsayingthattheportiontobelaidoutforwages(£；200)isretainedintheformofmoney。Thecapitalistcannotstorelabour-powerinwarehousesafterhehasboughtit，ashemaydowiththerawmaterial。Hemustincorporateitintheprocessofproductionandpayforitattheendoftheweek。Atanyratethese£；100ofthereleasedcapitalof£；300willthereforehavetheformofmoney-capitalsetfree，i。e。，notrequiredfortheworkingperiod。Thecapitalreleasedintheformofmoney-capitalmustthereforebeatleastequaltothevariableportionofcapitalinvestedinwages。Atamaximum，itmaycomprisetheentirereleasedcapital。Inrealityitfluctuatesconstantlybetweenthisminimumandmaximum。

Themoney-capitalthusreleasedbythemeremechanismoftheturnovermovement(togetherwiththatfreedbythesuccessiverefluxoffixedcapitalandthatrequiredineverylabour-processforvariablecapital)mustplayanimportantroleassoonasthecreditsystemdevelopsandmustatthesametimeformoneofthelatter’sfoundations。

Letusassumethatthetimeofcirculationinourillustrationisshortenedfrom3to2weeks。Thisisnottobeanormalchange，butdue，say，toprosperoustimes，shortertermsofpayment，etc。Thecapitalof£；600，whichislaidoutduringtheworkingperiod，returnsoneweekearlierthanneed。Itisthereforereleasedforthisweek。Furthermore，inthemiddleoftheworkingperiod，asbefore，£；300arereleased(aportionofthose£；600)，butfor4weeksinsteadof3。Therearethen，onthemoney-market£；600foroneweekand£；300for4

insteadof3weeks。Asthisconcernsnotonecapitalistalonebutmanyandoccursinvariousperiodsindifferentbusinesses，moreavailablemoney-capitalmakesitsappearanceinthemarket。Ifthisconditionslastsforsometime，productionwillbeexpandedwhereverfeasible。Capitalistsoperatingonborrowedmoneywillexerciselessdemandonthemoney-market，whicheasesitasmuchasincreasedsupply；orfinallythesumswhichhavebecomesuperfluousforthemechanismarethrowndefinitelyonthemoney-market。

Inconsequenceofthecontractionofthetimeofcirculationfrom3weeksto2，andconsequentlyoftheperiodofturnoverfrom9weeksto8，one-ninthofthetotalcapitaladvancedbecomessuperfluous。The6-weekworkingperiodcannowbekeptgoingascontinuouslywith£；800asformerlywith£；900。Oneportionofthevalueofthecommodity-capital，equalto£；100，onceithasbeenreconvertedintomoney，persiststhereforeinthestateofmoney-capitalwithoutperforminganymorefunctionsasapartofthecapitaladvancedfortheprocessofproduction。Whilethescaleofproductionandotherconditions，suchasprices，etc。，remainthesame，thesumofvalueoftheadvancedcapitalisreducedfrom£；900

to£；800。Theremainderoftheoriginallyadvancedvalueamountingto£；100iseliminatedintheformofmoney-capital。Assuchitentersthemoney-marketandformsanadditionalportionofthecapitalsfunctioninghere。

Thisshowsthewayinwhichaplethoraofmoney-capitalmayarise——andnotonlyinthesensethatthesupplyofmoney-capitalisgreaterthanthedemand；thisisalwaysonlyarelativeplethora，whichoccursforinstanceinthe搈elancholyperiod”openinganewcycleaftertheendofacrisis。Butalsointhesensethatadefiniteportionofthecapital-valueadvancedbecomessuperfluousfortheoperationoftheentireprocessofsocialreproductionwhichincludestheprocessofcirculationandisthereforeeliminatedintheformofmoney-capital——aplethorabroughtaboutbythemerecontractionoftheperiodofturnover，whilethesaleofproductionandpriesremainthesame。Theamountofmoneyincirculation，whethergreatorsmall，didnotinfluenceitintheleast。

Letusassumeonthecontrarythattheperiodofcirculationisprolongedfrom，say，3weeksto5。Inthatcaseattheverynextturnovertherefluxoftheadvancedcapitaltakesplace2weekstoolate。Thelastpartoftheprocessofproductionofthisworkingperiodcannotbecarriedonfurtherbythemechanismoftheturnoveroftheadvancedcapitalitself。

Shouldthisconditionlastanylengthoftime，acontractionoftheprocessofproduction，areductionofitsvolume，mighttakeplace，justasanextensionoccurredinthepreviouscase。Butinordertocontinuetheprocessonthesamescale，theadvancedcapitalwouldhavetobeincreasedby2/9，or£；200，fortheentiretermoftheprolongationofthecirculationperiod。Thisadditionalcapitalcanbeobtainedonlyfromthemoney-market。

Ifthelengtheningoftheperiodofcirculationappliestooneorseveralbigbranchesofbusiness，itmayexertpressureonthemoney-market，unlessthiseffectisparalysedbysomecounter-effect。Inthiscaseitislikewiseevidentandobviousthatthispressure，likethatplethorabefore，hadnothingwhatevertodowithamovementeitherofpricesofthecommoditiesorthemassofexistingcirculatingmedium。

[Thepreparationofthischapterforpublicationpresentednosmallnumberofdifficulties。FirmlygroundedasMarxwasinalgebra，hedidnotgettheknackofhandlingfigures，particularlycommercialarithmetic，althoughthereexistsathickbatchofcopybookscontainingnumerousexamplesofallkindsofcommercialcomputationswhichhehadsolvedhimself。Butknowledgeofthevariousmethodsofcalculationandexerciseindailypracticalcommercialarithmeticarebynomeansthesame，andconsequentlyMarxgotsotangledupinhiscomputationsofturnoversthatbesidesplacesleftuncompletedanumberofthingswereincorrectandcontradictory。InthetablesreproducedaboveIhavepreservedonlythesimplestandarithmeticallycorrectdata。Myreasonfordoingsowasmainlythefollowing:

TheuncertainresultsofthesepainstakingcalculationsledMarxtoattachunwarrantedimportancetoacircumstance，whichinmyopinion，hasactuallylittlesignificance。Irefertowhathecallsthe搑elease”

ofmoney-capital。Theactualstateofaffairs，basedontheaboveassumptions，isthis:

Nomatterwhatmaybetheratiobetweentheworkingperiodandcirculationtime，hencebetweencapitalIandcapitalII，thereisreturnedtothecapitalist，intheformofmoney，aftertheendofthefirstturnoverandthereafteratregularintervalsequaltothedurationofoneworkingperiod，thecapitalrequiredforoneworkingperiod，i。e。，asumequaltocapitalI。

Iftheworkingperiodis5weeks，thecirculationtime4weeks，andcapitalI£；500，thenasumofmoneyequalto£；500returnseachtimeattheendofthe9th，14th，19th，24th，29thweek，etc。

Iftheworkingperiodis6weeks，thecirculationtime3weeks，andcapitalI£；600，then£；600returnattheendofthe9th，15th，21st，27th，33rdweek，etc。

Finally，iftheworkingperiodis4weeks，thecirculationtime5weeks，andcapitalI£；400，then£；400arereturnedattheendofthe9th，13th，17th，21st，25thweek，etc。

Whetherany，andifsohowmuch，ofthisreturnedmoneyissuperfluousandthusreleasedforthecurrentworkingperiodisimmaterial。Itisassumedthatproductioncontinuesuninterruptedlyonthecurrentscale，andinorderthatthismaycomeaboutmoneymustbeavailableandmustthereforereturn，whether搑eleased”ornot。Ifproductionisinterrupted，releasestopslikewise。

Inotherwords:Thereisindeedareleaseofmoney，aformationthereforeoflatent，merelypotential，capitalintheformofmoney。Butittakesplaceunderallcircumstancesandnotonlyunderthespecialconditionssetforthinthetext；anditcomesaboutonalargerscalethanthatassumedinthetext。SofarascirculatingcapitalIisconcerned，theindustrialcapitalistisinthesamesituationattheendofeachturnoveraswhenheestablishedhisbusiness:hehasallofitinonebulk，whilehecanconvertitbackintoproductivecapitalonlygradually。

Theessentialpointinthetextistheproofthatontheonehandaconsiderableportionoftheindustrialcapitalmustalwaysbeavailableintheformofmoneyandthatontheotherhandastillmoreconsiderableportionmusttemporarilyassumetheformofmoney。Theproofis，ifanything，renderedstrongerbytheseadditionalremarksofmine——F。E。]

V。THEEFFECTOFACHANGEOFPRICESWehaveontheonehandjustassumedunalteredpricesandanunalteredscaleofproduction，andacontractionorexpansionofthetimeofcirculationontheother。Nowletussupposeonthecontraryanunalteredperiodofturnoverandanunalteredscaleofproduction，andontheotherhandpricechanges，i。e。，riseorfallofpricesofrawmaterials，auxiliarysubstances，andlabour，orofthetwofirst-namedelementsalone。Takeitthatthepriceofrawandauxiliarymaterials，aswellaswages，fallbyonehalf。

Inthatcasethecapitaltobeadvancedinourexamplewouldbe£；50

insteadof£；100perweek，andthatforthe9-weekturnoverperiodwouldbe£；450insteadof£；900。£；450oftheadvancedcapital-valueareeliminatedfirstofallintheformofmoney-capital，buttheprocessofproductioncontinuesonthesamescale，withthesameperiodofturnover，andwiththepreviousdivisionofthelatter。Theannualoutputlikewiseremainsthesamebutitsvaluehasbeencutinhalf。Thischange，whichisaccompaniedbyachangeinthesupplyanddemandofmoney-capital，isbroughtaboutneitherbyanaccelerationofthecirculation，norbyachangeinthequantityofcirculatingmoney。Onthecontrary。Afallbyhalfinthevalue，orprice，oftheelementsofproductivecapitalwouldfirsthavetheeffectofdiminishingbyhalfthecapital-valuetobeadvancedforthecontinuationofBusinessXonthesamescaleasbefore，andhenceonlyonehalfofthemoneywouldhavetobethrownonthemarketbyBusinessX，sinceBusinessXadvancesthiscapital-valuefirstintheformofmoney，i。e。，asmoney-capital。Theamountofmoneythrownintocirculationwoulddecreasebecausethepricesoftheelementsofproductionfell。Thiswouldbethefirsteffect。

Inthesecondplacehoweveronehalfoftheoriginallyadvancedcapital-valueof£；900，or£；450，which(a)passedsuccessivelythroughtheformsofmoney-capital，productivecapital，andcommodity-capital，and(b)existedsimultaneouslyandconstantlysidebysidepartlyintheformofmoney-capital，partlyinthatofproductivecapital，andpartlyinthatofcommodity-capital，wouldbeeliminatedfromthecircuitofBusinessX，andthuscomeintothemoney-marketasadditionalmoney-capital，affectingitasanadditionalconstituent。Thesereleased£；450actasmoney-capital，notbecausetheyhavebecomesuperfluousmoneyfortheoperationofBusinessXbutbecausetheyareaconstituentpartoftheoriginalcapital-value，andhenceareintendedtofunctionfurtherascapitalandnottobeexpendedasmeremeansofcirculation。Thebestmethodoflettingthemoperateascapitalisthatofthrowingthemasmoney-capitalonthemoney-market。