第12章

ThisisnotthecasewiththeBlabourer。Asfarasthelatterisconcerned，themoneyishere，trueenough，amediumofpaymentforworkalreadydonebyhim，butthisworkdoneisnotpaidforwiththevaluewhichititselfproducedandwhichwasturnedintomoney(notwiththemoney-formofthevalueofthelabouritselfhasproduced)。Thiscannotbedoneuntilthebeginningofthesecondyear，whentheBlabourerispaidwiththevalueproducedbyhimintheprecedingyearandturnedintomoney。

Theshortertheperiodofturnoverofcapital——theshorterthereforetheintervalsatwhichitisreproducedthroughouttheyear——thequickeristhevariableportionofthecapital，originallyadvancedbythecapitalistintheformofmoney，transformedintothemoney-formofthevalue(including，besides，surplus-value)createdbythelabourertoreplacethisvariablecapital；theshorteristhetimeforwhichthecapitalistmustadvancemoneyoutofhisownfunds，andthesmalleristhecapitaladvancedbyhimingeneralinproportiontothegivenscaleofproduction；andthegreatercomparativelyisthequantityofsurplus-valuewhichheextractsduringtheyearwithagivenrateofsurplus-value，becausehecanbuythelabourersomuchmorefrequentlywiththemoney-formofthevaluecreatedbythatlabourerandcansomuchmorefrequentlysethislabourintomotionagain。

Ifthescaleofproductionisgiven，theabsolutemagnitudeoftheadvancedvariablemoney-capital(andofthecirculatingcapitalingeneral)decreasedproportionatelytothedecreaseoftheturnoverperiod，whiletheannualrateofsurplus-valueincreases。Ifthemagnitudeoftheadvancedcapitalisgiven，thescaleofproductiongrows；hence，iftherateofsurplus-valueisgiven，theabsolutequantityofsurplus-valuecreatedinoneperiodofturnoverlikewisegrows，simultaneouslywiththeriseintheannualrateofsurplus-valueeffectedbytheshorteningoftheperiodsofreproduction。Itgenerallyfollowsfromtheforegoinginvestigationthatthedifferentlengthsoftheturnoverperiodsmakeitnecessaryformoney-capitaltobeadvancedinverydifferentamountsinordertosetinmotionthesamequantityofproductivecirculatingcapitalandthesamequantityoflabourwiththesamedegreeofexploitationoflabour。

Second——andthisisinterlinkedwiththefirstdifference——theBandAlabourerspayforthemeansofsubsistencewhichtheybuywiththevariablecapitalthathasbeentransformedintheirhandsintoamediumofcirculation。Forinstancetheynotonlywithdrawwheatfromthemarket，buttheyalsoreplaceitwithanequivalentinmoney。ButsincethemoneywherewiththeBlabourerpaysforhismeansofsubsistence，whichhewithdrawsfromthemarket，isnotthemoney-formofavalueproducedandthrownbyhimonthemarketduringtheyear，asitisinthecaseoftheAlabourer，hesuppliesthesellerofthemeansofsubsistencewithmoney，butnotwithcommodities——betheymeansofproductionormeansofsubsistence——whichthissellercouldbuywiththeproceedsofthesale，ashecaninthecaseofA。Themarketisthereforestrippedoflabour-power，meansofsubsistenceforthislabour-power，fixedcapitalintheformofinstrumentsoflabourusedinthecaseofB，andofmaterialsofproduction，andtoreplacethemanequivalentinmoneyisthrownonthemarket；butduringtheyearnoproductisthrownonthemarketwithwhichtoreplacethematerialelementsofproductivecapitalwithdrawnfromit。Ifweconceivesocietyasbeingcapitalisticbutcommunistic，therewillbenomoney-capitalatallinthefirstplace，notthedisguisescloakingthetransactionsarisingonaccountofit。Thequestionthencomesdowntotheneedofsocietytocalculatebeforehandhowmuchlabour，meansofproduction，andmeansofsubsistenceitcaninvest，withoutdetriment，insuchlinesofbusinessasforinstancethebuildingofrailways，whichdonotfurnishanymeansofproductionorsubsistence，norproduceanyusefuleffectforalongtime，ayearormore，whiletheyextractlabour，meansofproductionandmeansofsubsistencefromthetotalannualproduction。Incapitalistsocietyhoweverwheresocialreasonalwaysassertsitselfonlypostfestumgreatdisturbancesmayandmustconstantlyoccur。Ontheonehandpressureisbroughttobearonthemoney-market，whileontheother，aneasymoney-marketcallssuchenterprisesintobeingenmasse，thuscreatingtheverycircumstanceswhichlatergiverisetopressureonthemoney-market。Pressureisbroughttobearonthemoney-market，sincelargeadvancesofmoney-capitalareconstantlyneededhereforlongperiodsoftime。Andthisregardlessofthefactthatindustrialistsandmerchantsthrowthemoney-capitalnecessarytocarryontheirbusinessintospeculativerailwayschemes；etc。，andmakeitgoodbyborrowinginthemoney-market。

Ontheotherhandpressureonsociety’savailableproductivecapital。

Sinceelementsofproductivecapitalareforeverbeingwithdrawnfromthemarketandonlyanequivalentinmoneyisthrownonthemarketintheirplace，theeffectivedemandriseswithoutitselffurnishinganyelementofsupply。Henceariseinthepricesofproductivematerialsaswellasmeansofsubsistence。Tothismustbeaddedthatstock-jobbingisaregularpracticeandcapitalistransferredonalargescale。Abandofspeculators，contractors，engineers，lawyers，etc。，enrichthemselves。Theycreateastrongdemandforarticlesofconsumptiononthemarket，wagesrisingatthesametime。Sofarasfoodstuffsareinvolved，agriculturetooisstimulated。

Butasthesefoodstuffscannotbesuddenlyincreasedinthecourseoftheyear，theirimportgrows，justasthatofexoticfoodsingeneral(coffee，sugar，wine，etc。)andofarticlesofluxury。Henceexcessiveimportsandspeculationinthislineoftheimportbusiness。Meanwhile，inthosebranchesofindustryinwhichproductioncanberapidlyexpanded(manufactureproper，mining，etc。)，climbingpricesgiverisetosuddenexpansionsoonfollowedbycollapse。Thesameeffectisproducedinthelabour-market，attractinggreatnumbersofthelatentrelativesurplus-population，andevenoftheemployedlabourers，tothenewlinesofbusiness。Ingeneralsuchlarge-scaleundertakingsasrailwayswithdrawadefinitequantityoflabour-powerfromthelabour-market，whichcancomeonlyfromsuchlinesofbusinessasagriculture，etc。，whereonlystrongladsareneeded。Thisstillcontinuesevenafterthenewenterpriseshavebecomeestablishedlinesofbusinessandthemigratoryworking-classneededforthemhasalreadybeenformed，asforinstanceinthecaseoftemporaryriseabovetheaverageinthescaleofrailwayconstruction。Aportionofthereservearmyoflabourers，whichkeepwagesdown，isabsorbed。Ageneralriseinwagesensues，eveninthehithertowellemployedsectionsofthelabour-market。Thislastsuntiltheinevitablecrashagainreleasesthereservearmyoflabourandwagesareoncemoredepressedtotheirminimum，andlower。[32]

Inasmuchasthelength，greatorsmall，oftheperiodofturnoverdependsontheworkingperiodproper，thatis，theperiodnecessarytogettheproductreadyforthemarket，itisbasedontheexistingmaterialconditionsofproductionspecificforthevariousinvestmentsofcapital。

Inagriculturetheyassumemoreofthecharacterofnaturalconditionsofproduction，inmanufactureandthegreaterpartoftheminingindustrytheyvarywiththesocialdevelopmentoftheprocessofproductionitself。

Inasmuchasthelengthoftheworkingperioddependsonthesizeofthesupply(thequantitativevolumeinwhichtheproductisgenerallythrownuponthemarketascommodities)，itisconventionalincharacter。

Buttheconventionitselfhasitsmaterialbasisinthescaleofproduction，andisthereforeaccidentalonlywhenexaminedsingly。

Finally，inasmuchasthelengthoftheturnoverperiodhingesonthatoftheperiodofcirculation，itispartlydependentontheincessantchangeofmarketconditions，thegreaterorlessereaseofselling，andtheresultantnecessityofdisposingofpartoftheproductinnearerorremotermarkets。Apartfromthevolumeofthedemandingeneral，themovementofpricesishereofcardinalimportancesincesalesareintentionallyrestrictedwhenpricesarefalling，whileproductionproceeds；viceversa，productionandsaleskeeppacewhenpricesarerisingorsalescanbemadeinadvance。Butwemustconsidertheactualdistanceoftheplaceofproductionfromthemarketastherealmaterialbasis。

ForinstanceEnglishcottongoodsoryarnaresoldtoIndia。SupposetheexporterhimselfpaystheEnglishcottonmanufacturer(theexporterdoessowillinglyonlyifthemoney-marketisstrong。Butwhenthemanufacturerhimselfreplaceshismoney-capitalbysomecredittransaction，thingsarenotsogood)。TheexportersellshiscottongoodslaterintheIndianmarket，fromwherehisadvancedcapitalisremittedtohim。Uptothisremittancethecaserunstheverysamecourseaswhenthelengthoftheworkingperiodnecessitatedtheadvanceofnewmoney-capitaltomaintaintheproductionprocessonagivenscale。Themoney-capitalwithwhichthemanufacturerpayshislabourersandrenewstheotherelementsofhiscirculatingcapitalisnotthemoney-formoftheyarnproducedbyhim。ThiscannotbethecaseuntilthevalueofthisyarnhasreturnedtoEnglandintheformofmoneyorproducts。Itisadditionalmoney-capitalasbefore。Theonlydifferenceisthatinsteadofthemanufacturer，itisadvancedbythemerchant，whointurnmaywellhaveobtaineditbymeansofcreditoperations。Similarly，beforethismoneyisthrownonthemarket，orsimultaneouslywiththis，noadditionalproducthasbeenputontheEnglishmarketthatcouldbeboughtwiththismoneyandwouldenterthesphereofproductiveorindividualconsumption。Ifthissituationcontinuesforaratherlongperiodoftimeandonaratherlargescale，itmusthavethesameeffectasthepreviouslymentionedprolongationoftheworkingperiod。

NowitmaybethatinIndiatheyarnisagainsoldoncredit。

WiththiscreditproductsareboughtinIndiaandsentasreturnshipmenttoEnglandordraftsremittedforthisamount。Ifthisconditionisprotracted，theIndianmoney-marketcomesunderpressureandthereactiononEnglandmayhereproduceacrisis。Thiscrisis，initsturn，evenifconnectedwithbullionexporttoIndia，callsforthanewcrisisinthatcountryonaccountofthebankruptcyofEnglishfirmsandtheirIndianbranches，whichhadreceivedcreditfromIndianbanks。Thusacrisisoccurssimultaneouslyinthemarketinwhichthebalanceoftradeisfavourable，aswellasintheoneinwhichitisunfavourable。Thisphenomenonmaybestillmorecomplicated。AssumeforinstancethatEnglandhassentsilverbulliontoIndiabutIndia’sEnglishcreditorsarenoturgentlycollectingtheirdebtsinthatcountry，andIndiawillsoonafterhavetoshipitssilverbullionbacktoEngland。

ItispossiblethattheexporttradetoIndiaandtheimporttradefromIndiamayapproximatelybalanceeachother，althoughthevolumeoftheimporttrade(exceptunderspecialcircumstances，suchasascarcityofcotton，etc。)isdeterminedandstimulatedbytheexporttrade。ThebalanceoftradebetweenEnglandandIndiamayseemequilibratedormaydiscloseslightoscillationsineitherdirection。ButassoonasthecrisisbreaksoutinEnglanditturnsoutthatunsoldcottongoodsarestoredinIndia(hencehavenotbeentransformedfromcommodity-capitalintomoney-capital——anover-productiontothisextent)，andthatontheotherhandtherearestoredupinEnglandunsoldsuppliesofIndiangoods，andmoreover，agreatportionofthesoldandconsumedsuppliesisnotyetpaid。Hencewhatappearsasacrisisonthemoney-marketisinrealityanexpressionofabnormalconditionsintheveryprocessofproductionandreproduction。

Third。Sofarastheemployedcirculatingcapitalitself(constantandvariable)isconcerned，thelengthoftheperiodofturnover，sinceitderivesfromtheworkingperiod，makesthisdifference:Inthecaseofseveralturnoversduringoneyear，anelementofthevariableorconstantcirculatingcapitalmaybesuppliedthroughitsownproduct，forinstanceintheproductionofcoal，theready-madeclothesbusiness，etc。

Inothercasesthiscannotoccur，atleastnotwithinthesameyear。

NOTES

[32]Inthemanuscript，thefollowingnoteishereinsertedforfutureamplification:”Contradictioninthecapitalistmodeofproduction:thelabourersasbuyersofcommoditiesareimportantforthemarket。Butassellersoftheirowncommodity——labour-power——

capitalistsocietytendstokeepthemdowntotheminimumprice。”Furthercontradiction:theperiodsinwhichcapitalistproductionexertsallitsforcesregularlyturnouttobeperiodsofover-production，becauseproductionpotentialscanneverbeutilisedtosuchanextentthatmorevaluemaynotonlybeproducedbutalsorealised；butthesaleofcommodities，therealisationofcommodity-capitalandthusofsurplus-value，islimited，notbytheconsumerrequirementsofsocietyingeneral，butbytheconsumerrequirementsofasocietyinwhichthevastmajorityarealwayspoorandmustalwaysremainpoor。However，thispertainstothenextpart。”

1885:CapitalII——Chapter17

partII

THETURNOVEROFCAPITAL

CHAPTERXVII

THECIRCULATIONOFSURPLUS-VALUEWehavejustseenthatadifferenceintheperiodofturnovercausesadifferenceintheannualrateofsurplus-value，evenifthemassoftheannuallyproducedsurplus-valueisthesame。

Buttherearefurthermorenecessarilydifferencesinthecapitalisationofsurplus-value，inaccumulation，andalsointhequantityofsurplus-valueproducedduringtheyear，whiletherateofsurplus-valueremainsthesame。

Tobeginwith，wenotethatcapitalA(intheillustrationoftheprecedingchapter)hasacurrentperiodicalrevenue，sothatwiththeexceptionoftheperiodofturnoverinauguratingthebusiness，itpaysforitsownconsumptionwithintheyearoutofitsproductionofsurplus-value，andneednotcoveritbyadvancesoutofitsownfunds。ButthelatterhastobedoneinthecaseofB。Whileitproducesasmuchsurplus-valueinthesameintervalsoftimeasA，thesurplus-valueisnotrealisedandthereforecannotbeconsumedeitherproductivelyorindividually。Sofarasindividualconsumptionisconcerned，thesurplus-valueisanticipated。

Fundsforthatpurposemustbeadvanced。

Oneportionoftheproductivecapital，whichitisdifficulttoclassifynamelytheadditionalcapitalrequiredfortherepairandmaintenanceofthefixedcapital，isnowlikewiseseeninanewlight。

InthecaseofAthisportionofcapitalisnotadvanced——infullorforthegreaterpart——atthebeginningofproduction。Itneednotbeavailableoreveninexistence。Itcomesoutofthebusinessitselfbyadirecttransformationofsurplus-valueintocapital，i。e。，byitsdirectemploymentascapital。Apartofthesurplus-valuewhichisnotonlyperiodicallygeneratedbutalsorealisedduringtheyearcandefraytheexpendituresthatmustbeincurredforrepairs，etc。Aportionofthecapitalneededtocarryonthebusinessonitsoriginalscaleisthusproducedinthecourseofbusinessbythebusinessitselfbymeansofcapitalisingpartofthesurplus-value。ThisisimpossibleforcapitalB。Theportionofcapitalinquestionmustinhiscaseformapartofthecapitaloriginallyadvanced。Inbothcasesthisportionwillfigureinthebooksofthecapitalistsasanadvancedcapital，whichitreallyis，sinceaccordingtoourassumptionitformsapartoftheproductivecapitalrequiredformaintainingthebusinessonacertainscale。Butitmakesallthedifferenceintheworldoutofwhichfundsitisadvanced。InthecaseofBitisreallyapartofthecapitaltobeoriginallyadvancedorheldavailable。InthecaseofAontheotherhanditisapartofthesurplus-valueusedascapital。

Thislastcaseshowsthatnotonlytheaccumulatedcapitalbutalsoaportionoftheoriginallyadvancedcapitalmaysimplybecapitalisedsurplus-value。

Assoonasthedevelopmentofcreditinterferes，therelationbetweenoriginallyadvancedcapitalandcapitalisedsurplus-valuebecomesstillmorecomplicated。Forinstancefromnothavingsufficientcapitalofhisownattheveryoutsetforthispurpose，AborrowsfrombankerC

aportionoftheproductivecapitalwithwhichhestartsinbusinessorcontinuesitduringtheyear。BankerClendshimasumofmoneywhichconsistsonlyofsurplus-valuedepositedwiththebankerbycapitalistsD，E，F，etc。AsfarasAisconcernedthereisasyetnoquestionofaccumulatedcapital。ButwithregardtoD，E，F，etc。，Ais，infact，nothingbutanagentcapitalisingsurplus-valueappropriatedbythem。

Wehaveseen(BuchI，Kap。XXII)[Englishedition:Ch。XXIV——Ed。]thataccumulation，theconversionofsurplus-valueintocapital，isessentiallyaprocessofreproductiononaprogressivelyincreasingscale，whetherthisexpansionisexpressedextensivelyintheformofanadditionofnewfactoriestotheold，orintensivelybytheenlargementoftheexistingscaleofoperation。

Theexpansionofthescaleofproductionmayproceedinsmallportions，apartofthesurplus-valuebeingusedforimprovementswhicheithersimplyincreasetheproductivepowerofthelabouremployedorpermitatthesametimeofitsmoreintensiveexploitation。Or，wheretheworking-dayisnotlegallylimited，anadditionalexpenditureofcirculatingcapital(inmaterialsofproductionandwages)sufficestoenhancetheproductionscalewithoutanexpansionofthefixedcapital，whosedailytimeofemploymentisthusmerelylengthened，whileitsperiodofturnoveriscorrespondinglyshortened。Orthecapitalisedsurplus-valuemay，underfavourablemarketconditions，permitofspeculationinrawmaterials，operationsforwhichthecapitaloriginallyadvancedwouldnothavebeensufficient，etc。

Howeveritisclearthatincaseswherethegreaternumberofperiodsofturnoverbringswithitamorefrequentrealisationofsurplus-valueduringtheyear，therewillbeperiodsinwhichtherecanbeneitheraprolongationoftheworking-daynoranintroductionofimprovementsindetails；ontheotherhandaproportionalexpansionofthewholebusiness，partlybyexpandingitsentireplant，thebuildingsforexample，partlybyenlargingthecultivatedareasinagriculture，ispossibleonlywithincertainmoreorlessnarrowlimitsand，besides，requiressuchavolumeofadditionalcapitalascanbesuppliedonlybyseveralyears’accumulationofsurplus-value。

Alongwiththerealaccumulationorconversionofsurplus-valueintoproductivecapital(andacorrespondingreproductiononanextendedscale)，there，isthen，anaccumulationofmoney，arakingtogetherofaportionofthesurplus-valueintheformoflatentmoney-capital，whichisnotintendedtofunctionasadditionalactivecapitaluntillater，whenitswellstoacertainvolume。

Thatishowthematterlooksfromthestandpointoftheindividualcapitalcapitalist。Butsimultaneouslywiththedevelopmentofcapitalistproductionthecreditsystemalsodevelops。Themoney-capitalwhichthecapitalistcannotasyetemployinhisownbusinessisemployedbyothers，whopayhiminterestforitsuse。Itserveshimasmoney-capitalinitsspecificmeaning，asakindofcapitaldistinguishedfromproductivecapital。

Butitservesascapitalinanother’shands。Itisplainthatwiththemorefrequentrealisationofsurplus-valueandtherisingscaleonwhichitisproduced，thereisanincreaseintheproportionofnewmoney-capitalormoneyascapitalthrownuponthemoney-marketandthenabsorbed——atleastthegreaterpartofit——byextendedproduction。

Thesimplestforminwhichtheadditionallatentmoney-capitalmayberepresentedisthatofahoard。Itmaybethatthishoardisadditionalgoldorsilversecureddirectlyorindirectlyinexchangewithcountriesproducingpreciousmetals。Andonlyinthismannerdoesthehoardedmoneyinacountrygrowabsolutely。Ontheotherhanditmaybe——andissointhemajorityofcases——thatthishoardisnothingbutmoneywhichhasbeenwithdrawnfromcirculationathomeandhasassumedtheformofahoardinthehandsofindividualcapitalists。Itisfurthermorepossiblythatthislatentmoney-capitalconsistsonlyoftokensofvalue——westillignorecredit-moneyatthispoint——orofmereclaimsofcapitalists(titles)

againstthirdpersonsconferredbylegaldocuments。Inallsuchcases，whatevermaybetheformofexistenceofthisadditionalmoney-capital，itrepresents，sofarasitiscapitalinspe，nothingbutadditionalandreservedlegaltitlesofcapitaliststofutureannualadditionalsocialproduction。”Themassofrealaccumulatedwealth，inpointofmagnitude……issoutterlyinsignificantwhencomparedwiththepowersofproductionofthesamesocietyinwhateverstateofcivilisation，orevencomparedwiththeactualconsumptionforevenafewyearsofthatsociety，thatthegreatattentionoflegislatorsandpoliticaleconomistsshouldbedirectedto`productivepowers’andtheirfuturefreedevelopment，andnot，ashitherto，tothemereaccumulatedwealththatstrikestheeye。Ofwhatiscalledaccumulatedwealth，byfarthegreaterpartisonlynominal，consistingnotofanyrealthings，ships，houses，cottons，improvementsonland，butofmeredemandsonthefutureannualproductivepowersofsociety，engenderedandperpetuatedbytheexpedientsorinstitutionsofinsecurity……

Theuseofsucharticles(accumulationsofphysicalthingsoractualwealth)

asameremeansofappropriatingtotheirpossessorsthewealthtobecreatedbythefutureproductivepowersofsociety，beingthataloneofwhichthenaturallawsofdistributionwould，withoutforce，graduallydeprivethem，or，ifaidedbycooperativelabour，wouldinaveryfewyearsdeprivethem。”

(WilliamThompson，AnInquiryintothePrinciplesoftheDistributionofWealth，London，1850，p。453。Thisbookoriginallyappearedin1824。)”Itislittlethought，bymostpersonsnotatallsuspected，howverysmallaproportion，eitherinextentorinfluence，theactualaccumulationsofsocietybeartohumanproductivepowers，eventotheordinaryconsumptionofafewyearsofasinglegeneration。Thereasonisobvious；buttheeffectverypernicious。Thewealththatisannuallyconsumed，disappearingwithitsconsumption，isseenbutforamoment，andmakesnoimpressionbutduringtheactofenjoymentoruse。Butthatpartofwealthwhichisofslowconsumption，furniture，machinery，buildings，fromchildhoodtooldagestandoutbeforetheeye，thedurablemonumentsofhumanexertion。

Bymeansofthepossessionofthisfixed，permanent，orslowlyconsumed，partofnationalwealth，ofthelandandmaterialstoworkupon，thetoolstoworkwith，thehousestoshelterwhilstworking，theholdersofthesearticlescommandfortheirownbenefittheyearlyproductivepowersofallthereallyefficientproductivelabourersofsociety，thoughthesearticlesmaybeareversosmallaproportiontotherecurringproductsofthatlabour。ThepopulationofBritainandIrelandbeingtwentymillions，theaverageconsumptionofeachindividual，man，woman，andchild，isprobablyabouttwentypounds，makingfourhundredmillionsofwealth，theproductoflabourannuallyconsumed。Thewholeamountoftheaccumulatedcapitalofthesecountries，ithasbeenestimated，doesnotexceedtwelvehundredmillions，orthreetimestheyear’slabourofthecommunity；or，ifequallydivided，sixtypoundscapitalforeveryindividual。`Tiswiththeproportions，ratherthanwiththeabsoluteaccurateamountoftheseestimatedsums，weareconcerned。Theinterestofthiscapitalstockwouldsupportthewholepopulationinthesamecomfortinwhichtheynowexist，forabouttwomonthsofoneyear，thewholeaccumulatedcapitalitselfwouldmaintaintheminidleness(couldpurchasersbefound)forthreeyears！attheendofwhichtime，withouthouses，clothes，orfood，theymuststarve，orbecometheslavesofthosewhosupportedtheminthethreeyearsidleness。Asthreeyearstothelifeofonehealthygeneration，sayfortyyears，soisthemagnitudeandimportanceoftheactualwealth，theaccumulatedcapitalofeventhewealthiestcommunity，totheproductivepowersofonlyonegeneration；notofwhat，underjudiciousarrangementsofequalsecurity，theymightproduce，particularlywiththeaidofcooperativelabour，butofwhat，underthedefectiveanddepressingexpedientsofinsecurity，theydoabsolutelyproduce！……Theseemingmightymassofexistingcapitaltomaintainandperpetuatewhich(orratherthecommandoftheproductsofyearlylabourwhichitservesasthemeansofengrossing)……initspresentstateofforceddivision，areallthehorriblemachinery，thevices，crimes，andmiseriesofinsecurity，soughttobeperpetuated。Asnothingcanbeaccumulatedwithoutfirstsupplyingnecessaries，andasthegreatcurrentofhumaninclinationistoenjoyment；hencethecomparativelytriflingamountoftheactualwealthofsocietyatanyparticularmoment。`Tisaneternalroundofproductionandconsumption。Fromtheamountofthisimmensemassofannualconsumptionandproduction，thehandfulofactualaccumulationwouldhardlybemissed；andyetitistothishandful，andnottothemassofproductivepowersthatattentionhaschieflybeendirected。Thishandful，however，havingbeenseizeduponbyafew，andbeenmadetheinstrumentofconvertingtotheirusetheconstantlyrecurringannualproductsofthelabourofthegreatmajorityoftheirfellow-creatures；hence，intheopinionofthesefew，theparamountimportanceofsuchaninstrument……Aboutone-thirdpartoftheannualproductsofthelabourofthesecountriesisnowabstractedfromtheproducers，underthenameofpublicburdens，andunproductivelyconsumedbythosewhogivenoequivalent，thatistosay，nonesatisfactorytotheproducers……Withtheaccumulatedmasses，particularlywhenheldforthinthehandsofafewindividuals，thevulgareyehasbeenalwaysstruck。Theannuallyproducedandconsumedmasses，liketheeternalandincalculablewavesofamightyriver，rollonandarelostintheforgottenoceanofconsumption。Onthiseternalconsumption，however，aredependent，notonlyforalmostallgratifications，butevenforexistence，thewholehumanrace。Thequantityanddistributionoftheseyearlyproductsoughttobetheparamountobjectsofconsideration。

Theactualaccumulationisaltogetherofsecondaryimportance，andderivesalmostthewholeofthatimportancefromitsinfluenceonthedistributionoftheyearlyproductions……Actualaccumulationsanddistributionshavebeenalwaysconsidered(inThompson’sworks)inreference，andsubordinatetoactualaccumulations，andtotheperpetuatingoftheexistingmodesofdistribution。Incomparisontothepreservationoftheactualdistribution，theeverrecurringmiseryofhappinessofthewholehumanracehasbeenconsideredasunworthyofregard。Toperpetuatetheresultsofforce，fraud，andchance，hasbeencalledsecurity；andtothesupportofthisspurioussecurity，havealltheproductivepowersofthehumanracebeenunrelentinglysacrificed。”(Ibid。，pp。440-43。)

Forreproductiononlytwonormalcasesarepossible，apartfromdisturbances，whichinterferewithreproductionevenonafixedscale。

Thereiseitherreproductiononasimplescale。

Orthereiscapitalisationofsurplus-value，accumulation。

I。SIMPLEREPRODUCTION

Inthecaseofsimplereproductionthesurplus-valueproducedandrealisedannually，orperiodically，ifthereareseveralturnoversduringtheyear，isconsumedindividually，thatistosay，unproductively，byitsowner，thecapitalist。

Thecircumstancethatthevalueoftheproductconsistsinpartofsurplus-valueandinpartofthatportionofvaluewhichisformedbythevariablecapitalreproducedintheproductplustheconstantcapitalconsumedbyit，doesnotalteranythingwhatevereitherinthequantityorinthevalueofthetotalproduct，whichconstantlystepsintocirculationascommodity-capitalandisjustasconstantlywithdrawnfromit，inordertobeproductivelyorindividuallyconsumed，i。e。，toserveasmeansofproductionorconsumption。ifconstantcapitalisleftaside，onlythedistributionoftheannualproductbetweenthelabourersandthecapitalistsisaffectedthereby。

Evenifsimplereproductionisassumed，aportionofthesurplus-valuemustthereforealwaysexistintheformofmoneyandnotofproducts，becauseotherwiseitcouldnotbeconvertedforpurposesofconsumptionfrommoneyintoproducts。Thisconversionofthesurplus-valuefromitsoriginalcommodity-formintomoneymustbefurtheranalysedatthisplace。Inordertosimplifythematter，weshallpresupposethemostelementaryformoftheproblem，namelytheexclusivecirculationofmetalcoin，ofmoneywhichisarealequivalent。

Accordingtothelawsofthesimplecirculationofcommodities(developedinBuchI，Kap。III)，[Englishedition:Ch。III——Ed。]

themassofthemetalcoinexistinginacountrymustnotonlybesufficienttocirculatethecommodities，butmustalsosufficetomeetthecurrencyfluctuations，whicharisepartlyfromfluctuationsinthevelocityofthecirculation，partlyfromachangeinthepricesofcommodities，partlyfromthevariousandvaryingproportionsinwhichthemoneyfunctionsasamediumofpaymentorasamediumofcirculationproper。Theproportioninwhichtheexistingquantityofmoneyissplitintoahoardandmoneyincirculationvariescontinually，butthetotalquantityofmoneyisalwaysequaltothesumofthemoneyhoardedandthemoneycirculating。Thisquantityofmoney(quantityofpreciousmetal)isagraduallyaccumulatedhoardofsociety。Sinceaportionofthishoardisconsumedbywearandtear，itmustbereplacedannually，thesameasanyotherproduct。Thistakesplaceinrealitybyadirectorindirectexchangeofapartoftheannualproductofaparticularcountryfortheproductofcountriesproducinggoldandsilver。However，thisinternationalcharacterofthetransactionconcealsitssimplecourse。Inordertoreducetheproblemtoitssimplestandmostlucidexpression，itmustbeassumedthattheproductionofgoldandsilvertakesplaceinthatparticularcountryitself，thatthereforetheproductionofgoldandsilverconstitutesapartofthetotalsocialproductionwithineverycountry。

Apartfromthegoldandsilverproducedforarticlesofluxury，theminimumoftheirannualproductionmustbeequaltothewearofmetalcoinannuallyoccasionedbythecirculationofmoney。Furthermore，ifthesumofthevaluesoftheannuallyproducedandcirculatingquantityofcommoditiesincreases，theannualproductionofgoldandsilvermustlikewiseincrease，inasmuchastheincreasedsumofvaluesofthecirculatingcommoditiesandthequantityofmoneyrequiredfortheircirculation(andthecorrespondingformationofahoard)arenotmadegoodbyagreatervelocityofmoneycurrencyandamorecomprehensivefunctionofmoneyasamediumofpayment，i。e。，byagreatermutualbalancingofpurchasesandsaleswithouttheinterventionofactualmoney。

Aportionofthesociallabour-powerandaportionofthesocialmeansofproductionmustthereforebeexpendedannuallyintheproductionofgoldandsilver。

Thecapitalistswhoareengagedintheproductionofgoldandsilverandwho，accordingtoourassumptionofsimplereproduction，carryontheirproductiononlywithintheboundsoftheannualaveragewearandtearandtheannualaverageconsumptionofgoldandsilverentailedtherebythrowtheirsurplus-value——whichtheyconsumeannually，accordingtoourassumption，with-outcapitalisinganyofit——directlyintocirculationinthemoney-form，whichisitsnaturalform；unliketheotherbranchesofproduction，whereitistheconvertedformoftheproduct。

Furthermore，asfaraswagesareconcerned——themoney-forminwhichthevariablecapitalisadvanced——theyarealsonotreplacedbythesaleoftheproduct，byitsconversionintomoney，butbyaproductitselfwhosenaturalformisfromtheoutsetthatofmoney。

Finallythesameappliesalsotothatportionoftheproductofpreciousmetalswhichisequaltothevalueoftheperiodicallyconsumedconstantcapital，boththeconstantcirculatingandconstantfixedcapitalconsumedduringtheyear。

Letusconsiderthecircuit，orturnover，ofthecapitalinvestedintheproductionofpreciousmetalsfirstintheformofM——C……P……M’。SinceCinM——Cconsistsnotonlyoflabour-powerandmeansofproductionbutalsooffixedcapital，onlyapartofwhosevalueisconsumedinP，itisevidentthatM’，theproduct，isasumofmoneyequaltothevariablecapitallaidoutinwagesplusthecirculatingconstantcapitallaidoutinmeansofproductionplusaportionofthevalueequivalenttotheworn-outfixedcapitalplusthesurplus-value。Ifthesumweresmaller，thegeneralvalueofgoldremainingthesame，thentheminewouldbeunproductiveor，ifthisgottobegenerallythecase，thevalueofgoldcomparedwiththevalueofcommoditiesthatremainsunchangedwouldsubsequentlyrise；

i。e。，thepricesofcommoditieswouldfall，sothathenceforththeamountofmoneylaidoutinM——Cwouldbesmaller。

IfweconsideratfirstonlythecirculatingportionofcapitaladvancedinM，thestarting-pointofM——C……P……M’，wefindthatacertainsumofmoneyisadvanced，thrownintocirculationforthepaymentoflabour-powerandthepurchaseofmaterialsofproduction。Butthissumisnotwithdrawnfromcirculationbythecircuitofthiscapital，inordertobethrownintoitanew。Theproductismoneyeveninitsbodilyform；thereisnoneedthereforeoftransformingitintomoneybymeansofexchange，byaprocessofcirculation。Itpassesfromtheprocessofproductionintothesphereofcirculation，notintheformofcommodity-capitalwhichhastobereconvertedinmoney-capital，butasmoney-capitalwhichistobereconvertedintoproductivecapital，i。e。，whichistobuyfreshlabour-powerandmaterialsofproduction。Themoney-formofthecirculatingcapitalconsumedinlabour-powerandmeansofproductionisreplaced，notbythesaleoftheproduct，butbythebodilyformoftheproductitself；

hence，notbyoncemorewithdrawingitsvaluefromcirculationinmoney-form，butbyadditionalnewlyproducedmoney。

Letussupposethatthiscirculatingcapitalis£；500，theperiodofturnover5weeks，theworkingperiod4weeks，theperiodofcirculationonly1week。Fromtheoutset，moneyfor5weeksmustbepartlyadvancedforaproductivesupply，andpartlybereadytobepaidoutgraduallyinwages。Atthebeginningofthe6thweek，£；400willhavereturnedand£；100willhavebeenreleased。Thisisconstantlyrepeated。Here，asinpreviouscases，£；100willalwaysbefoundinreleasedformduringacertaintimeoftheturnover。Buttheyconsistofadditional，newlyproduced，money，thesameastheother£；400。Wehaveinthiscase10turnoversperyearandtheannualproductis£；5，000ingold。

(Theperiodofcirculationisnotconstituted，inthiscase，bythetimerequiredfortheconversionofcommoditiesintomoney，butbythatrequiredfortheconversionofmoneyintotheelementsofproduction。)

Inthecaseofeveryothercapitalof£；500turnedoverunderthesameconditions，theeverrenewedmoney-formistheconvertedformofthecommodity-capitalproducedandthrownintocirculationevery4weeksandwhichbyitssale——thatistosay，byaperiodicalwithdrawalofthequantityofmoneyitrepresentedwhenitoriginallyenteredintotheprocess——assumesthismoney-formanewoverandoveragain。Here，onthecontrary，ineveryturnoverperiodanewadditional£；500inmoneyisthrownfromtheprocessofproductionitselfintocirculation，inordertowithdrawfromitcontinuallymaterialsofproductionandlabour-power。

Thismoneythrownintocirculationisnotwithdrawnfromitagainbythecircuitwhichthiscapitaldescribes，butisratherincreasedbyquantitiesofgoldconstantlyproducedanew。

Letuslookatthevariableportionofthiscirculatingcapital，andassumethatitis，asbefore，£；100。Thenthese£；100wouldbesufficientintheordinaryproductionofthesecommodities，with10

turnovers，topaycontinuallyforthelabour-power。Here，intheproductionofgold，thesameamountissufficient。Butthe£；100ofthereflux，withwhichthelabour-powerispaidevery5weeks，arenotaconvertedformofitsproductbutaportionofthiseverrenewedproductitself。

Theproducerofgoldpayshislabourersdirectlywithaportionofthegoldtheythemselvesproduced。The£；1，000thusexpendedannuallyinlabour-powerandthrownbythelabourersintocirculationdonotreturnthereforeviathiscirculationtotheirstarting-point。

Furthermore，sofarasthefixedcapitalisconcerned，itrequirestheinvestmentofacomparativelylargemoney-capitalontheoriginalestablishmentofthebusiness，andthiscapitalisthusthrownintocirculation。Likeallfixedcapitalitreturnsonlypiecemealinthecourseofyears。Butitreturnsasadirectportionoftheproduct，ofthegold，notbythesaleoftheproductanditsconsequentconversionintomoney。Inotherwords，itgraduallyassumesitsmoney-formnotbyawithdrawalofmoneyfromthecirculationbutbyanaccumulationofacorrespondingportionoftheproduct。Themoney-capitalsorestoredisnotaquantityofmoneygraduallywithdrawnfromthecirculationtocompensateforthesumoriginallythrownintoitforthefixedcapital。Itisanadditionalsumofmoney。

Finally，asconcernsthesurplus-value，itislikewiseequaltoacertainportionofthenewgoldproduct，whichisthrownintothecirculationineverynewperiodofturnoverinordertobeunproductivelyexpended，accordingtoourassumption，onmeansofsubsistenceandarticlesofluxury。

Butaccordingtoourassumption，theentireannualproductionofgold——whichcontinuallywithdrawslabour-powerandmaterialsofproduction，butnomoney，fromthemarket，whilecontinuouslyaddingfreshquantitiesofmoneytoit——merelyreplacesthemoneywornoutduringtheyear，henceonlykeepsintactthequantityofsocialmoneywhichexistsconstantly，althoughinvaryingportions，inthetwoformsofhoardedmoneyandmoneyincirculation。

Accordingtothelawofthecirculationofcommodities，thequantityofmoneymustbeequaltotheamountofmoneyrequiredforcirculationplusacertainamountheldintheformofahoard，whichincreasesordecreasesasthecirculationcontractsorexpands，andservesespeciallyfortheformationoftherequisitereservefundsofmeansofpayment。Whatmustbepaidinmoneyinsofarasthereisnobalancingofaccounts——isthevalueofthecommodities。Thefactthataportionofthisvalueconsistsofsurplus-value，thatistosay，didnotcostthesellerofthecommoditiesanything，doesnotalterthematterinanyway。Letussupposethattheproducersareallindependentownersoftheirmeansofproduction，sothatcirculationtakesplacebetweentheimmediateproducersthemselves。Apartfromtheconstantportionoftheircapital，theirannualvalue-productmightthenbedividedintotwoparts，analogouswithcapitalistconditions:

Parta，replacingonlythenecessarymeansofsubsistence，andpartb，consumedpartlyinarticlesofluxury，partlyforanexpansionofproduction。

Partathenrepresentsthevariablecapital，partbthesurplus-value。

Butthisdivisionwouldremainwithoutinfluenceonthemagnitudeofthesumofmoneyrequiredforthecirculationoftheirtotalproduct。Othercircumstancesremainingequal，thevalueofthecirculatingmassofcommoditieswouldbethesame，andthusalsotheamountofmoneyrequiredforthatvalue。Theywouldalsohavetohavethesamemoney-reservesiftheturnoverperiodsareequallydivided，i。e。，thesameportionoftheircapitalwouldalwayshavetobeheldintheformofmoney，becausetheirproduction，accordingtoourassumption，wouldbecommodityproduction，thesameasbefore。Hencethefactthataportionofthevalueofthecommoditiesconsistsofsurplus-valuewouldchangeabsolutelynothinginthequantityofthemoneyrequiredfortherunningofthebusiness。

AnopponentofTooke，whoclingstotheformulaM——C——M’，askshimhowthecapitalistmanagesalwaystowithdrawmoremoneyfromcirculationthanhethrowsintoit。Mindyou！Thequestionatissuehereisnottheformationofsurplus-value。This，theonlysecret，isamatterofcoursefromthecapitaliststandpoint。Thesumofvaluesemployedwouldnotbecapitalifitdidnotenrichitselfbymeansofsurplus-value。Butasitiscapitalbyassumption，surplus-valueistakenforgranted。

Thequestion，then，isnotwherethesurplus-valuecomesfrombutwhencethemoneycomesintowhichitisturned。

Butinbourgeoiseconomics，theexistenceofsurplus-valueisself-understood。Itisthereforenotonlyassumedbutalsoconnectedwiththefurtherassumptionthatapartofthemassofcommoditiesthrownintocirculationisasurplus-product，hencerepresentingavaluewhichthecapitalistdidnotthrowintocirculationaspartofhiscapital；that，consequently，withhisproductthecapitalistthrowsintocirculationasurplusoverandabovehiscapital，andthathewithdrawsthissurplusfromit。

Thecommodity-capital，whichthecapitalistthrowsintocirculation，hasagreatervalue(itisnotexplainedandremainsobscurewherethiscomesfrom，buttheabovePoliticalEconomyconsidersitafact)thantheproductivecapitalwhichhewithdrewfromcirculationintheformoflabour-powerplusmeansofproduction。OnthebasisofthisassumptionitisevidentwhynotonlycapitalistA，butalsoB，C，D，etc。，arealwaysabletowithdrawmorevaluefromcirculationbytheexchangeoftheircommoditiesthanthevalueofthecapitaloriginallyandrepeatedlyadvancedbythem。A，B，C，D，andtherestcontinuouslythrowagreatercommodity-valueintocirculationintheformofcommodity-capital——thisoperationisasmany-sidedasthevariousindependentlyfunctioningcapitals——thantheywithdrawfromitintheformofproductivecapital。Hencetheyhaveconstantlytodivideamongthemselvesasumofvalues(i。e。，everyone，onhispart，hastowithdrawfromcirculationaproductivecapital)equaltothesumofvaluesoftheproductivecapitalstheyrespectivelyadvanced；andjustasconstantlytheyhavetodivideamongthemselvesasumofvalueswhichtheyall，fromallsides，throwintocirculationintheformofcommoditiesrepresentingtherespectiveexcessesofthecommodity-valuesabovethevaluesoftheirelementsofproduction。

Butthecommodity-capitalmustbeturnedintomoneybeforeitsreconversionintoproductivecapitalandbeforethesurplus-valuecontainedinitisspent。Wheredoesthemoneyforthispurposecomefrom？ThisquestionseemsdifficultatthefirstglanceandneitherTookenoranyoneelsehasanswereditsofar。

Letthecirculatingcapitalof£；500advancedintheformofmoney-capital，whateveritsperiodofturnover，nowstandforthetotalcirculatingcapitalofsociety，thatis，ofthecapitalistclass。Letthesurplus-valuebe£；100。Howcantheentirecapitalistclassmanagetodrawcontinually£；600outofcirculation，whenitcontinuallythrowsonly£；500intoit？

Afterthemoney-capitalof£；500hasbeenconvertedintoproductivecapital，thelattertransformsitselfwithintheprocessofproductionintocommoditiesworth£；600andthereareincirculationnotonlycommoditiesvaluedat£；500，equaltothemoney-capitaloriginallyadvanced，butalsoanewlyproducedsurplus-valueof£；100。

Thisadditionalsurplus-valueof£；100isthrownintocirculationintheformofcommodities。Nodoubtaboutthat。Butsuchanoperationdoesnotbyanymeansfurnishtheadditionalmoneyforthecirculationofthisadditionalcommodity-value。

Itwillnotdotoobviatethisdifficultybyplausiblesubterfuges。

Forinstance:Sofarastheconstantcirculatingcapitalisconcerned，itisobviousthatnotallinvestitsimultaneously。WhilecapitalistA

sellshiscommodities，sothathisadvancedcapitalassumestheformofmoney，thereisontheotherhandtheavailablemoney-capitalofthebuyerBwhichassumestheformofhismeansofproduction——preciselywhatA

isproducing。BythesameactthroughwhichArestoresthemoney-formtohisproducedcommodity-capital，Breturnshiscapitaltoitsproductiveform，transformsitfrommoney-formintomeansofproductionandlabour-power；

thesameamountofmoneyfunctionsinthetwo-sidedprocessasineverysimplepurchaseC——M。OntheotherhandwhenAreconvertshismoneyintomeansofproduction，hebuysfromC，andthismanpaysBwithit，etc。，andthusthetransactionwouldbeexplained。But:

Noneofthelawsestablishedwithreferencetothequantityofthecirculatingmoneyinthecirculationofcommodities(BuchI，Kap。III)，[Englishedition:Ch。III——Ed。]arechangedinanywaybythecapitalistcharacteroftheprocessofproduction。

Hence，whenonesaysthatthecirculatingcapitalofsocietytobeadvancedintheformofmoneyamountsto£；500，onehasalreadytakenintoaccountthatthisisontheonehandthesumsimultaneouslyadvanced，andthatontheotherhanditsetsinmotionmoreproductivecapitalthan£；500becauseitservesalternatelyasthemoney-formofvariousproductivecapitals。Thismannerofexplanation，then，assumesthemoney，whoseexistenceitiscalledupontoexplain，asalreadyexisting。

Itmightbefurthersaid:CapitalistAproducesarticleswhichcapitalistBconsumesindividually，unproductively。B’smoneythereforeturnsA’scommodity-capitalintomoneyandthusthesamesumofmoneyservestorealiseB’ssurplus-valueandA’scirculatingconstantcapital。Butinthatcasethequestionthatstillawaitssolutionisassumedstillmoredirectlytohavebeensolved，namely:wheredoesBgetthemoneythatmakesuphisrevenue？Howdidhehimselfrealisethisportionofthesurplus-valueofhisproduct？

ItmightalsobesaidthatthepartofthecirculatingvariablecapitalwhichAsteadilyadvancestohislabourersreturnstohimsteadilyfromthecirculation，andonlyavaryingpartofitalwaysstayswithhimforthepaymentofwages。Butacertaintimeelapsesbetweentheexpenditureandthereflux，andmeanwhilethemoneypaidoutforwagesmight，amongotheruses，servefortherealisationofsurplus-value。

ButweknowinthefirstplacethatthelongerthistimethegreatermustbethesupplyofmoneywhichcapitalistAmustkeepconstantlyinpetto。Inthesecondplacethelabourerspendsthemoney，buyscommoditiesforitandthusconvertsintomoneyprotantothesurplus-valuecontainedinthem。Consequentlythesamemoneythatisadvancedintheformofvariablecapitalservesprotantoalsothepurposeofturningsurplus-valueintomoney。Withoutpenetratinganyfurtherintothequestionatthispoint，letthissuffice:theconsumptionoftheentirecapitalistclassanditsretainerskeepsstepwiththatoftheworking-class；hencesimultaneouslywiththemoneythrownintocirculationbythelabourersthecapitaliststoomustthrowmoneyintoit，inordertospendtheirsurplus-valueasrevenue。Hencemoneymustbewithdrawnfromcirculationforit。Thisexplanationwouldservemerelytoreduce，butnoteliminate，thequantityofmoneyrequired。

Finally，itmightbesaid:Alargeamountofmoneyisconstantlythrownintocirculationwhenfixedcapitalisfirstinvested，anditisrecoveredfromthecirculationonlygradually，piecemeal，afteralapseofyears，byhimwhothrewitintocirculation。Cannotthissumsufficetoconvertthesurplus-valueintomoney？

Theanswertothismustbethatperhapsthesumof£；500

(whichincludeshoardformationforneededreservefunds)impliesitsemploymentasfixedcapital，ifnotbyhimwhothrewitintocirculation，thenbysomebodyelse。Besides，itisalreadyassumedinregardtotheamountexpendedfortheprocurementofproductsservingasfixedcapitalthatthesurplus-valuecontainedinthemisalsopaid，andthequestionispreciselywherethismoneycomesfrom。

Thegeneralreplyhasalreadybeengiven:Ifamassofcommoditiesworthxtimes£；1，000hastocirculate，itchangesabsolutelynothinginthequantityofthemoneyrequiredforthiscirculationwhetherthevalueofthismassofcommoditieshasbeenproducedcapitalisticallyornot。Theproblemitselfthereforedoesnotexist。Allotherconditionsbeinggiven，suchasvelocityofthecurrencyofmoney，etc。，adefinitesumofmoneyisrequiredinordertocirculatecommoditiesworthxtimes£；1，000quiteindependentlyofhowmuchorhowlittleofthisvaluefallstotheshareofthedirectproducersofthesecommodities。Sofarasanyproblemexistshere，itcoincideswiththegeneralproblem:Wheredoesthemoneyrequiredforthecirculationofthecommoditiesofacountrycomefrom？

However，fromthepointofviewofcapitalistproduction，thesemblanceofaspecialproblemdoesindeedexist。Inthepresentcaseitisthecapitalistwhoappearsasthepointofdeparture，whothrowsmoneyintocirculation。Themoneywhichthelabourerexpendsforthepaymentofhismeansofsubsistenceexistedpreviouslyasthemoney-formofthevariablecapitalandwasthereforethrownoriginallyintocirculationbythecapitalistasameansofbuyingorpayingforthelabour-power。Thecapitalistfurthermorethrowsintocirculationthemoneywhichconstitutesoriginallythemoney-formofhisconstant，fixedandcirculating，capital；

heexpendsitasameansofpurchaseorpaymentforinstrumentsoflabourandmaterialsofproduction。Butbeyondthisthecapitalistnolongerappearsasthestarting-pointofthequantityofmoneyincirculation。Now，thereareonlytwopointsofdeparture:thecapitalistandthelabourer。Allthirdcategoriesofpersonsmusteitherreceivemoneyfortheirservicesfromthesetwoclassesor，totheextentthattheyreceiveitwithoutanyservicesinreturn，theyarejointownersofthesurplus-valueintheformofrent，interest，etc。Thatthesurplus-valuedoesnotallstayinthepocketoftheindustrialcapitalistbutmustbesharedbyhimwithotherpersons，hasnothingtodowiththepresentquestion。Thequestionishowheturnshissurplus-valueintomoney，nothowtheproceedsarelaterdivided。

Foroutpurposesthecapitalistmayaswellstillberegardedasthesoleownerofthesurplus-value。Asforthelabourer，ithasalreadybeensaidthatheisbutthesecondary，whilethecapitalististheprimary，starting-pointofthemoneythrownbythelabourerintocirculation。Themoneyfirstadvancedasvariablecapitalisgoingthroughitssecondcirculationwhenthelabourerspendsittopayformeansofsubsistence。

Thecapitalistclassremainsconsequentlythesolepointofdepartureofthecirculationofmoney。Iftheneed£；400forthepaymentofmeansofproductionand£；100forthepaymentoflabour-power，theythrow£；500intocirculation。Butthesurplus-valueincorporatedintheproduct，witharateofsurplus-valueincorporatedintheproduct，witharateofsurplus-valueof100%，isequalinvalueto£；100。

Howcantheycontinuallydraw£；600outofcirculation，whentheycontinuallythrowonly£；500intoit？Nothingcomesfromnothing。

Thecapitalistclassasawholecannotdrawoutofcirculationwhatwasnotpreviouslythrownintoit。

Wedisregardherethefactthatthesumof£；400maysuffice，whenturnedovertentimes，tocirculatemeansofproductionvaluedat£；4，000andlabour-powervaluedat£；1，000，andthattheother£；100maylikewisesufficeforthecirculationof£；1，000worthofsurplus-value。Theratioofthesumofmoneytothevalueofcommoditiescirculatedbyitisimmaterialhere。Theproblemremainsthesame。Unlessthesamepiecesofmoneycirculateseveraltimes，acapitalof£；5，000

mustbethrownintocirculation，and£；1，000isrequiredtoconvertthesurplus-valueintomoney。Thequestioniswherethismoneycomesfrom，whetheritis£；1，000or£；100。Inanyeventitisinexcessofthemoney-capitalthrownintothecirculation。

Indeed，paradoxicalasitmayappearatfirstsight，itisthecapitalistclassitselfthatthrowsthemoneyintocirculationwhichservesfortherealisationofthesurplus-valueincorporatedinthecommodities。

But，notabene，itdoesnotthrowitintocirculationasadvancedmoney，hencenotascapital。Itspendsitasameansofpurchaseforitsindividualconsumption。Themoneyisnotthereforeadvancedbythecapitalistclass，althoughitisthepointofdepartureofitscirculation。

Letustakesomeindividualcapitalistwhoisstartinginbusiness，afarmerforinstance。Duringthefirstyear，headvancesamoney-capitalof，say，£；5，000，paying£；4，000formeansofproduction，and£；1，000forlabour-power。Lettherateofsurplus-valuebe100%，theamountofsurplus-valueappropriatedbyhim£；1，000。Theabove£；5，000

compriseallthemoneyheadvancesasmoney-capital。Butthemanmustalsolive，andhedoesnottakeinanymoneyuntiltheendoftheyear。Takeitthathisconsumptionamountsto£；1，000。Thesehemusthaveinhispossession。Hemaysaythathehastoadvancehimselfthese£；1，000

duringthefirstyear。Butthisadvance，whichherehasonlyasubjectivemeaning，denotesnothingelsebutthathemustpayforhisindividualconsumptionduringthefirstyearoutofhisownpocketinsteadofdefrayingitoutofthegratuitousproductionofhislabourers。Hedoesnotadvancethismoneyascapital。Hespendsit，paysitoutforanequivalentinmeansofsubsistencewhichheconsumes。Thisvaluehasbeenspentbyhiminmoney，thrownintocirculationandwithdrawnfromitintheformofcommodity-values。

Thesecommodity-valueshehasconsumed。Hehasthusceasedtobearanyrelationtotheirvalue。Themoneywithwhichhepaidforthisvalueexistsnowasanelementofthecirculatingmoney。Buthehaswithdrawnthevalueofthismoneyfromcirculationintheformofproducts；andthisvalueisnowdestroyedtogetherwiththeproductsinwhichitexisted。It’sallgone。Butattheendoftheyearhethrowscommoditiesworth£；6，000

intocirculationandsellsthem。Bythismeansherecovers:1)hisadvancedmoney-capitalof£；5，000；2)therealisedsurplus-valueof£；1，000。

Hehasadvancedascapital，hasthrownintocirculation，£；5，000，andhewithdrawsfromit£；6，000——£；5，000ofwhichcoverhiscapital，and£；1，000hissurplus-value。Thelast£；1，000areturnedintomoneywiththemoneywhichhehimselfhasthrownintocirculation，whichhedidnotadvance，butspentasaconsumer，notasacapitalist。

Theynowreturntohimasthemoney-formofthesurplus-valueproducedbyhim。Andhenceforththisoperationisrepeatedeveryyear。Butbeginningwiththesecondyear，the£；1，000whichhespendsareconstantlytheconvertedform，themoney-form，ofthesurplus-valueproducedbyhim。Hespendsthemannuallyandtheyreturntohimannually。

Ifhiscapitalwereturnedovermorefrequentlyayear，itwouldnotalterthisstateofaffairs，butwouldaffectthelengthoftime，andhencetheamountwhichhewouldhavetothrowintocirculationforhisindividualconsumptionoverandabovehisadvancedmoney-capital。

Thismoneyisnotthrownintocirculationbythecapitalistascapital。Butitisadecidedtraitofthecapitalisttobeabletoliveonmeansinhispossessionuntilsurplus-valuebeginstoreturn。

Inthepresentcaseweassumedthatthesumofmoneywhichthecapitalistthrowsintocirculationtopayforhisindividualconsumptionuntilthefirstreturnsofhiscapitalisexactlyequaltothesurplus-valuewhichheproducedandhencemustturnintomoney。Thisisobviouslyanarbitraryassumptionsofarastheindividualcapitalistisconcerned。

Butitmustbecorrectwhenappliedtotheentirecapitalistclassissimplereproductionisassumed。Itonlyexpressesthesamethingastheassumption；

namely，thattheentiresurplus-value，anditalone——hencenofractionoftheoriginalcapitalstock——isconsumedunproductively。

Ithadbeenpreviouslyassumedthatthetotalproductionofpreciousmetals(takentobeequalto£；500)sufficedonlyforthereplacementofthewearandtearofthemoney。

Thecapitalistsproducinggoldpossesstheirentireproductingold——thatportionwhichreplacesconstantcapitalaswellasthatwhichreplacesvariablecapital，andalsothatconsistingofsurplus-value。A

portionofthesocialsurplus-valuethereforeconsistsofgold，andnotofaproductwhichisturnedintogoldonlyintheprocessofcirculation。

Itconsistsfromtheoutsetofgoldandisthrownintocirculationinordertodrawproductsoutofit。Thesameappliesheretowagestovariablecapital，andtothereplacementoftheadvancedconstantcapital。Hence，whereasonepartofthecapitalistclassthrowsintocirculationcommoditiesgreaterinvalue(greaterbytheamountofthesurplus-value)thanthemoney-capitaladvancedbythem，anotherpartofthecapitaliststhrowsintocirculationmoneyofgreatervalue(greaterbytheamountofsurplus-value)

thanthatofthecommoditieswhichtheyconstantlywithdrawfromcirculationfortheproductionofgold。Whereasonepartofthecapitalistsconstantlypumpsmoremoneyoutofthecirculationthanitpoursintoit，thepartthatproducesgoldconstantlypumpsmoremoneyintoitthanittakesoutinmeansofproduction。

Althoughapartofthisproductof£；500ingoldissurplus-valueofthegold-producers，theentiresumis，nonetheless，intendedonlytoreplacethemoneynecessaryforthecirculationofcommodities。Itisimmaterialforthispurposehowmuchofthisgoldturnsintomoneythesurplus-valueincorporatedinthecommodities，andhowmuchofittheirothervalueconstituents。

Transferringtheproductionofgoldfromonecountrytoanotherproducesnochangewhateverinthematter。Onepartofthesociallabour-powerandthesocialmeansofproductionofcountryAisconvertedintoaproduct，forinstancelinen，valuedat£；500，whichisexportedtocountryBinordertobuygoldthere。TheproductivecapitalthusemployedinthecountryAthrowsnomorecommodities——asdistinctfrommoney——uponthemarketofcountryAthanitwoulditifwereemployeddirectlyintheproductionofgold。ThisproductofArepresents£；500ingoldandentersintothecirculationofthiscountryonlyasmoney。Thatportionofthesocialsurplus-valuewhichiscontainedinthisproductexistsforcountryAdirectlyintheformofmoney，andneverinanyotherform。Althoughforthegold-producingcapitalistsonlyapartoftheproductrepresentssurplus-value，andanotherpartofthereplacementcapital，stillthequestionofhowmuchofthisgold，outsidethecirculatingconstantcapital，replacesvariablecapitalandhowmuchofitrepresentssurplus-valuedependsexclusivelyontherespectiveratiosofwagesandsurplus-valuetothevalueofthecirculatingcommodities。Thepartwhichformssurplus-valueisdistributedamongthediversemembersofthecapitalistclass。Althoughthatpartiscontinuallyspentbythemforindividualconsumptionandrecoveredbythesaleofnewproducts——itispreciselythispurchaseandsalethatcirculatesamongthemthemoneyrequiredfortheconversionofthesurplus-valueintomoney——thereisneverthelessaportionofthesocialsurplus-value，intheformofmoney，evenifinvaryingproportions，inthepocketsofthecapitalists，justasaportionofthewagesstaysatleastduringpartoftheweekinthepocketsofthelabourersintheformofmoney。Andthispartisnotlimitedbythatpartofthemoneyproductwhichoriginallyformsthesurplus-valueofthegold-producingcapitalists，but，aswehavesaid，islimitedbytheproportioninwhichtheaboveproductof£；500

isgenerallydistributedbetweencapitalistsandlabourers，andinwhichthecommodity-supplytobecirculatedconsistsofsurplus-valueandtheotherconstituentsofvalue。

Howeverthatportionofsurplus-valuewhichdoesnotexistinothercommoditiesbutalongsideofthemintheformofmoney，consistsofaportionoftheannuallyproducedgoldonlytotheextentthataportionoftheannualproductionofgoldcirculatesfortherealisationofthesurplus-value。Theotherportionofmoney，whichiscontinuallyinthehandsofthecapitalistclassinvaryingportions，asthemoney-formoftheirsurplus-value，isnotanelementoftheannuallyproducedgold，butofthemassofmoneypreviouslyaccumulatedinthecountry。

Accordingtoourassumptiontheannualproductionofgold，£；500，justcoverstheannualwearofmoney。Ifwekeepinmindonlythese£；500

andignorethatportionoftheannuallyproducedmassofcommoditieswhichiscirculatedbymeansofpreviouslyaccumulatedmoney，thesurplus-valueproducedincommodity-formwillfindinthecirculationprocessmoneyforitsconversionintomoneyforthesimplereasonthatontheothersidesurplus-valueisannuallyproducedintheformofgold。Thesameappliestotheotherpartsofthegoldproductof£；500whichreplacetheadvancedmoney-capital。

Now，twothingsaretobenotedhere。

Inthefirstplace，itfollowsthatthesurplus-valuespentbythecapitalistsasmoney，aswellasthevariableandotherproductivecapitaladvancedbytheminmoney，isactuallytheproductoflabourers，namelyofthelabourersengagedintheproductionofgold。Theyproduceanewnotonlythatportionofthegoldproductwhichis”advanced”tothemaswagesbutalsothatportionofthegoldproductinwhichthesurplus-valueofthecapitalistgold-producersisdirectlyrepresented。Finally，asforthatportionofthegoldproductwhichreplacesonlytheconstantcapital-valueadvancedforitsproduction，itre-appearsintheformofmoney(orproductingeneral)onlythroughtheannualworkofthelabourers。Whenthebusinessstarted，itwasoriginallyexpendedbythecapitalistintheformofmoney，whichwasnotnewlyproducedbutformedapartofthecirculatingmassofsocialmoney。Buttotheextentthatitisreplacedbyanewproduct，byadditionalgold，itistheannualproductofthelabourer。Theadvanceonthepartofthecapitalistappearshere，too，merelyasaformwhichowesitsexistencetothefactthatthelabourerisneithertheownerofhisownmeansofproductionnorabletocommand，duringproduction，themeansofsubsistenceproducedbyotherlabourers。

Inthesecondplacehowever，asfarasconcernsthatmassofmoneywhichexistsindependentlyofhisannualreplacementof£；500partlyintheformofahoardandpartlyintheformofcirculatingmoney，thingsmustbe，orrathermusthavebeenoriginallywithitjustastheyareannuallywithregardtothese£；500。Weshallreturntothispointatthecloseofthissub-section。[See:pp。347-48ofthisbook——Ed。]Butbeforethenwewishtomakeafewadditionalremarks。

Wehaveseenduringourstudyoftheturnoverthat，othercircumstancesremainingequal，changesinthelengthoftheperiodsofturnoverrequirechangesintheamountsofmoney-capital，inordertocarryonproductiononthesamescale。Theelasticityofthemoney-circulationmustthereforebesufficienttoadaptitselftothisalternationofexpansionandcontraction。

Ifwefurthermoreassumeothercircumstancesasremainingequal——includingthelength，intensity，andproductivityoftheworking-day——butadifferentdivisionofthevalueoftheproductbetweenwagesandsurplus-value，sothateithertheformerrisesandthelatterfalls，orviceversa，themassofthecirculatingmoneyisnotaffectedthereby。Thischangecantakeplacewithoutanyexpansionorcontractionofthemoneycurrency。Letusconsiderparticularlythecaseinwhichthereisageneralriseinwages，sothat，undertheassumptionsmade，therewillbeageneralfallintherateofsurplus-value，butbesidesthis，alsoaccordingtoourassumption，therewillbenochangeinthevalueofthecirculatingmassofcommodities。Inthiscasetherenaturallyisanincreaseinthemoney-capitalwhichmustbeadvancedasvariablecapital，henceintheamountofmoneywhichperformsthisfunction。Butthesurplus-value，andthereforealsotheamountofmoneyrequiredforitsrealisation，decreasesbyexactlythesameamountbywhichtheamountofmoneyrequiredforthefunctionofvariablecapitalincreases。Theamountofmoneyrequiredfortherealisationofthecommodity-valueisnotaffectedthereby，anymorethanthiscommodity-valueitself。Thecostpriceofthecommodityrisesfortheindividualcapitalistbutitssocialpriceofproductionremainsunchanged。whatischangedistheproportioninwhich，apartfromtheconstantpartofthevalue，thepriceofproductionofcommoditiesisdividedintowagesandprofit。

But，itisargued，agreateroutlayofvariablemoney-capital(thevalueofthemoneyis，ofcourse，consideredconstant)impliesalargeramountofmoneyinthehandsofthelabourers。Thiscausesagreaterdemandforcommoditiesonthepartofthelabourers。This，inturn，leadstoariseinthepriceofcommodities——Oritissaid:Ifwagesrise，thecapitalistsraisethepricesoftheircommodities——ineithercase，thegeneralriseinwagescausesariseincommodityprices。Henceagreateramountofmoneyisneededforthecirculationofthecommodities，nomatterhowtheriseinpricesisexplained。

Replytothefirstformulation:inconsequenceofariseinwages，thedemandofthelabourersforthenecessitiesoflifewillriseparticularly。

Theirdemandforarticlesofluxurywillincreasetoalesserdegree，orademandwilldevelopforthingswhichformerlydidnotcomewithinthescopeoftheirconsumption。Thesuddenandlarge-scaleincreaseinthedemandfortheindispensablemeansofsubsistencewilldoubtlessraisetheirpricesimmediately。Theconsequence:agreaterpartofthesocialcapitalwillbeemployedintheproductionofnecessitiesoflifeandasmallerintheproductionofluxuries，sincethesefallinpriceonaccountofthedecreaseinsurplus-valueandtheconsequentdecreaseinthedemandofthecapitalistsforthesearticles。Ontheotherhandasthelabourersthemselvesbuyarticlesofluxury，theriseintheirwagesdoesnotpromoteanincreaseinthepricesofthenecessitiesoflifebutsimplydisplacesbuyersofluxuries。Moreluxuriesthanbeforeareconsumedbylabourers，andrelativelyfewerbycapitalists。Voilá；tout。Aftersomeoscillationsthevalueofthemassofcirculatingcommoditiesisthesameasbefore。Asforthemomentaryfluctuations，theywillnothaveanyothereffectthantothrowunemployedmoney-capitalintodomesticcirculation，capitalwhichhithertosoughtemploymentinspeculativedealsonthestock-exchangeorinforeigncountries。

Replytothesecondformulation:Ifitwereinthepowerofthecapitalistproducerstoraisethepricesoftheircommoditiesatwill，theycouldandwoulddosowithoutariseinwages。Wageswouldneverriseifcommoditypricesfell。Thecapitalistclasswouldneverresistthetrades’

unions，ifitcouldalwaysandunderallcircumstancesdowhatitisnowdoingbywayofexception，underdefinite，special，sotosaylocal，circumstances，towit，availitselfofeveryriseinwagesinordertoraisepricesofcommoditiesmuchhigheryetandthuspocketgreaterprofits。

Theassertionthatthecapitalistscanraisethepricesofluxuries，becausethedemandforthemdecreases(inconsequenceofthereduceddemandofthecapitalistswhosemeansofpurchasingsucharticleshasdecreased)

wouldbeaveryuniqueapplicationofthelawofsupplyanddemand。Sinceitisnotameredisplacementofluxurybuyers，adisplacementofcapitalistsbylabourers——andsofarasthisdisplacementdoesoccur，thedemandofthelabourersdoesnotstimulateariseinthepricesofnecessities，forthelabourerscannotspendthatportionoftheirincreasedwagesfornecessitieswhichtheyspendforluxuries——thepricesofluxuriesfallinconsequenceofreduceddemand。Capitalisthereforewithdrawnfromtheproductionofluxuryarticles，untiltheirsupplyisreducedtodimensionscorrespondingtotheiralteredroleintheprocessofsocialproduction。

Withtheirproductionthusreduced，theyriseinprice——theirvalueotherwiseunchanged——totheirnormallevel。Solongasthiscontraction，orthisprocessoflevelling，lastsandthepricesofnecessitiesrise，asmuchcapitalissuppliedtotheproductionofthelatterasiswithdrawnfromotherbranchesofproduction，untilthedemandissatisfied。Thentheequilibriumisrestoredandtheendofthewholeprocessisthatthesocialcapital，andthereforealsothemoney-capital，isdividedinadifferentproportionbetweentheproductionofthenecessitiesoflifeandthatofluxuryarticles。

Theentireobjectionisabugbearsetupbythecapitalistsandtheireconomicsycophants。

Thefactswhichserveasthepretextforthisbugbearareofthreekinds:

1)Itisagenerallawofmoneycirculationthat，otherthingsbeingequal，thequantityofmoneyincirculationincreaseswithariseinthesumofthepricesofcirculatingcommodities，irrespectiveofwhetherthisaugmentationofthetotalityofpricesappliestothesamequantityofcommoditiesortoagreaterquantity。Theeffectisthenconfusedwiththecause。Wagesrise(althoughtheriseisrare，andproportionalonlyinexceptionalcases)withtherisingpricesofthenecessitiesoflife。

Wageadvancearetheconsequence，notthecause，ofadvancesinthepricesofcommodities。

2)Inthecaseofapartial，orlocal，riseofwages——thatis，ariseonlyinsomebranchesofproduction——alocalriseinthepricesoftheproductsofthesebranchesmayfollow。Buteventhisdependsonmanycircumstances。Forinstancethatwageswerenotabnormallydepressedandthatthereforetherateofprofitwasnotabnormallyhigh；thatthemarketforthesegoodsisnotnarrowedbytheriseinprices(henceacontractionoftheirsupplyprevioustoraisingtheirpricesisnotnecessary)，etc。

3)Inthecaseofageneralriseinwagesthepriceoftheproducedcommoditiesrisesinbranchesofindustrywherethevariablecapitalpreponderates，butfallsontheotherhandinbrancheswheretheconstant，orfixed，capitalpreponderates。