第20章

Withoutthis，ouranalysisofcapitalwouldnotbecomplete。Wethereforeconfineourselvesexclusivelytotheinvestmentofcapitalinagricultureitself，thatis，inproducingtheprincipalagriculturalcropwhichfeedsagivenpeople。Wecanusewheatforthispurpose，becauseitistheprincipalmeansofsubsistenceinmoderncapitalisticallydevelopednations。(Or，insteadofagriculture，wecanuseminingbecausethelawsarethesameforboth。)

OneofthebigcontributionsofAdamSmithwastohaveshownthatground-rentforcapitalinvestedintheproductionofsuchagriculturalproductsasflaxanddye-stuffs，andinindependentcattle-raising，etc。，isdeterminedbytheground-rentobtainedfromcapitalinvestedintheproductionoftheprincipalarticleofsubsistence。[Smith，AnInquiryintotheNatureandCauses0ftheWealthofNations，Aberdeen，London，1848，pp。105-16——Ed。]Infact，nofurtherprogresshasbeenmadeinthisregardsincethen。Anylimitationsoradditionswouldbelonginanindependentstudyoflandedproperty，nothere。Hence，weshallnotspeakoflandedpropertyexprofesso——insofarasitdoesnotrefertolanddestinedforwheatproduction-butshallmerelyrefertoitonoccasionbywayofillustration。

Itshouldbenotedforthesakeofcompletenessthatwealsoincludewater，etc。，inthetermland，insofarasitbelongstosomeoneasanaccessorytotheland。

Landedpropertyisbasedonthemonopolybycertainpersonsoverdefiniteportionsoftheglobe，asexclusivespheresoftheirprivatewilltotheexclusionofallothers。[26]Withthisinmind，theproblemistoascertaintheeconomicvalue，thatis，therealisationofthismonopolyonthebasisofcapitalistproduction。

Withthelegalpowerofthesepersonstouseormisusecertainportionsoftheglobe，nothingisdecided。Theuseofthispowerdependswhollyuponeconomicconditions，whichareindependentoftheirwill。Thelegalviewitselfonlymeansthatthelandownercandowiththelandwhateveryownerofcommoditiescandowithhiscommodities。Andthisview，thislegalviewoffreeprivateownershipofland，arisesintheancientworldonlywiththedissolutionoftheorganicorderofsociety，andinthemodernworldonlywiththedevelopmentofcapitalistproduction。IthasbeenimportedbyEuropeanstoAsiaonlyhereandthere。Inthesectiondealingwithprimitiveaccumulation(BuchI，Kap。XXIV*)，wesawthatthismodeofproductionpresupposes，ontheonehand，theseparationofthedirectproducersfromtheirpositionasmereaccessoriestotheland(intheformofvassals，serfs，slaves，etc。)，and，ontheotherhand，theexpropriationofthemassofthepeoplefromtheland。Tothisextentthemonopolyoflandedpropertyisahistoricalpremise，andcontinuestoremainthebasisofthecapitalistmodeofproduction，justasinallpreviousmodesofproductionwhicharebasedontheexploitationofthemassesinoneformoranother。

Buttheformoflandedpropertywithwhichtheincipientcapitalistmodeofproductionisconfronteddoesnotsuitit。Itfirstcreatesforitselftheformrequiredbysubordinatingagriculturetocapital。Itthustransformsfeudallandedproperty，clanproperty，smallpeasantpropertyinmarkcommunes-nomatterhowdivergenttheirjuristicformsmaybe-intotheeconomicformcorrespondingtotherequirementsofthismodeofproduction。Oneofthemajorresultsofthecapitalistmodeofproductionisthat，ontheonehand，ittransformsagriculturefromamereempiricalandmechanicalself-perpetuatingprocessemployedbytheleastdevelopedpartofsocietyintotheconsciousscientificapplicationofagronomy，insofarasthisisatallfeasibleunderconditionsofprivateproperty；[27]thatitdivorceslandedpropertyfromtherelationsofdominionandservitude，ontheonehand，and，ontheother，totallyseparateslandasaninstrumentofproductionfromlandedpropertyandlandowner-forwhomthelandmerelyrepresentsacertainmoneyassessmentwhichhecollectsbyvirtueofhismonopolyfromtheindustrialcapitalist，thecapitalistfarmer；itdissolvestheconnectionbetweenlandownershipandthelandsothoroughlythatthelandownermayspendhiswholelifeinConstantinople，whilehisestateslieinScotland。Landedpropertythusreceivesitspurelyeconomicformbydiscardingallitsformerpoliticalandsocialembellishmentsandassociations，inbriefallthosetraditionalaccessories，whicharedenounced，asweshallseelater，asuselessandabsurdsuperfluitiesbytheindustrialcapitaliststhemselves，aswellastheirtheoreticalspokesmen，intheheatoftheirstrugglewithlandedproperty。Therationalisingofagriculture，ontheonehand，whichmakesitforthefirsttimecapableofoperatingonasocialscale，andthereductionadabsurdumofpropertyinland，ontheother，arethegreatachievementsofthecapitalistmodeofproduction。

Likeallofitsotherhistoricaladvances，italsoattainedthesebyfirstcompletelyimpoverishingthedirectproducers。

Beforeweproceedtotheproblemitself，severalmorepreliminaryremarksarenecessarytoavoidmisunderstanding。

Theprerequisitesforthecapitalistmodeofproductionthereforearethefollowing:Theactualtillersofthesoilarewagelabourersemployedbyacapitalist，thecapitalistfarmerwhoisengagedinagriculturemerelyasaparticularfieldofexploitationforcapital，asinvestmentforhiscapitalinaparticularsphereofproduction。Thiscapitalistfarmerpaysthelandowner，theownerofthelandexploitedbyhim，asumofmoneyatdefiniteperiodsfixedbycontract，forinstance，annually(justastheborrowerofmoney-capitalpaysafixedinterest)，fortherighttoinvesthiscapitalinthisspecificsphereofproduction。Thissumofmoneyiscalledground-rent，nomatterwhetheritispaidforagriculturalland，buildinglots，mines，fishinggrounds，orforests，etc。Itispaidfortheentiretimeforwhichthelandownerhascontractedtorenthislandtothecapitalistfarmer。Ground-rent，therefore，isherethatforminwhichpropertyinlandisrealisedeconomically，thatis，producesvalue。

Here，then，wehaveallthreeclasses-wage-labourers，industrialcapitalists，andlandownersconstitutingtogether，andintheirmutualopposition，theframeworkofmodernsociety。

Capitalmaybefixedintheland，incorporatediniteitherinatransitorymanner，asthroughimprovementsofachemicalnature，fertilisation，etc。，ormorepermanently，asindrainagecanals，irrigationworks，leveling，farmbuildings，etc。ElsewhereIhavecalledthecapitalthusappliedtolandlaterrecapital。[28]Itbelongstothecategoryoffixedcapital。Theinterestoncapitalincorporatedinthelandandtheimprovementsthusmadeinitasaninstrumentofproductioncanconstituteapartoftherentpaidbythecapitalistfarmertothelandowner，[29]butitdoesnotconstitutetheactualground-rent，whichispaidfortheuseofthelandassuch-beitinanaturalorcultivatedstate。Inasystematictreatmentoflandedproperty，whichisnotwithinourscope，thispartofthelandowner’srevenuewouldhavetobediscussedatlength。Butafewwordsaboutitwillsufficehere。Themoretransitorycapitalinvestments，whichaccompanytheordinaryproductionprocessesinagriculture，areallmadewithoutexceptionbythecapitalistfarmer。Theseinvestments，likecultivationproperingeneral，improvetheland，[30]increaseitsoutput，andtransformthelandfrommerematerialintoland-capitalwhenthecultivationiscarriedonmoreorlessrationally，i。e。，whenitisnotreducedtoabrutalspoliationofthesoil，aswasinvogue，e。g。，amongtheformerslave-holdersintheUnitedStates；however，thegentlemenlandownerssecurethemselvesagainstsuchpracticebycontract。

Acultivatedfieldisworthmorethananuncultivatedoneofthesamenaturalquality。Themorepermanentfixedcapitalinvestments，whichareincorporatedinthesoilandusedupinalongerperiodoftime，arealsointhemain，andinsomespheresoftenexclusively，madebythecapitalistfarmer。Butassoonasthetimestipulatedbycontracthasexpired-andthisisoneofthereasonswhywiththedevelopmentofcapitalistproductionthelandownersseektoshortenthecontractperiodasmuchaspossible-theimprovementsincorporatedinthesoilbecomethepropertyofthelandownerasaninseparablefeatureofthesubstance，theland。Inthenewcontractmadebythelandownerheaddstheinterestforcapitalincorporatedinthelandtotheground-rentitself。Andhedoesthiswhetherhenowleasesthelandtothecapitalistfarmerwhomadetheseimprovementsortosomeotherfarmer。Hisrentisthusinflated；andshouldhewishtosellhisland(weshallseeimmediatelyhowitspriceisdetermined)，itsvalueisnowhigher。Hesellsnotmerelythelandbuttheimprovedland，thecapitalincorporatedinthelandforwhichhepaidnothing。Quiteasidefromthemovementsofground-rentitself，hereliesoneofthesecretsoftheincreasingenrichmentoflandowners，thecontinuousinflationoftheirrents，andtheconstantlygrowingmoney-valueoftheirestatesalongwithprogressineconomicdevelopment。Thustheypocketaproductofsocialdevelopmentcreatedwithouttheirhelp——frugesconsumerenati。[Horace，Epistles，BookI，Epistles2，27——Ed]。Butthisisatthesametimeoneofthegreatestobstaclestoarationaldevelopmentofagriculture，forthetenantfarmeravoidsallimprovementsandoutlaysforwhichhecannotexpectcompletereturnsduringthetermofhislease。Wefindthissituationdenouncedassuchanobstacleagainandagain，notonlyinthe18thcenturybyJamesAnderson，theactualdiscovererofthemoderntheoryofrent[OnJ。Anderson’stheoryofrentseeK。Marx，TheorienaberdenMehrwert(K。marx/F。Engels，Werke，Band26，2。Teil，S。103-05，110-14，134-39)——Ed。]——whowasalsoapracticalcapitalistfarmerandanadvancedagronomistforhistime——

butalsoinourowndaybyopponentsofthepresentconstitutionoflandedpropertyinEngland。

A。A。Walton，inhisHistoryOftheLandedTenuresofGreatBritainandIreland，London，1865，saysonthisscore(pp。96，97):”Alltheeffortsofthenumerousagriculturalassociationsthroughoutthecountrymustfailtoproduceanyveryextensiveorreallyappreciableresultsintherealadvancementofagriculturalimprovement，solongassuchimprovementsmeaninafarhigherdegreeincreasedvaluetotheestateandrent-rollofthelandlord，thanbetteringtheconditionofthetenantfarmerorthelabourer。Thefarmers，generally，areaswellawareaseitherthelandlordorhisagent，oreventhepresidentoftheAgriculturalAssociation，thatgooddrainage，plentyofmanure，andgoodmanagement，combinedwiththeincreasedemploymentoflabour，tothoroughlycleanseandworktheland，willproducewonderfulresultsbothinimprovementandproduction。Todoallthis，however，considerableoutlayisrequired，andthefarmersarealsoaware，thathowevermuchtheymayimprovethelandorenhanceitsvalue，thelandlordswill，inthelongrun，reaptheprincipalbenefit，inhigherrentsandtheincreasedvalueoftheirestates……Theyareshrewdenoughtoobservewhatthoseorators[landownersandtheiragentsspeakingatagriculturalfestivities]，bysomesingularinadvertence，omittotellthem——namely，thatthelion’sshareofanyimprovementstheymaymakeissuretogointothepocketsofthelandlordsinthelongrun……Howevermuchtheformertenantmayhaveimprovedthefarm，hissuccessorwillfindthatthelandlordwillalwaysincreasetherentinproportiontotheincreasedvalueofthelandfromformerimprovements。”

Inagricultureproperthisprocessdoesnotyetappearquiteasplainlyaswhenthelandisusedforbuildingpurposes。ByfarthelargestportionoflandusedinEnglandforbuildingpurposesbutnotsoldasafreeholdisleasedbythelandownersfor99yearsor，ifpossible，forashorterterm。Afterthelapseofthisperiodthebuildingsfallintothehandsofthelandownertogetherwiththelanditself。”They[thetenants]

areboundtodeliverupthehouseattheexpirationofthelease，ingoodtenantablecondition，tothegreatlandlord，afterhavingpaidanexorbitantground-rentuptotheexpirationofthelease。Nosooneristheleaseexpired，thantheagentorsurveyorwillcomeandexamineyourhouse，andseethatyouputitintogoodrepair，andthentakepossessionofit，andannexittohislord’sdomains……Thefactis，ifthissystemispermittedtobeinfulloperationforanyconsiderableperiodlonger，thewholeofthehousepropertyinthekingdomwillbeinthehandsofthegreatlandlords，aswellastheland。ThewholeoftheWestEndofLondon，northandsouthfromTempleBar，maybesaidtobelongtoabouthalfadozengreatlandlords，allletatenormousrents，andwheretheleaseshavenotquiteexpiredtheyarefastfallingdue。Thesamemaybesaideithermoreorlessofeverytowninthekingdom。Nordoesthisgraspingsystemofexclusionandmonopolystopevenhere。Nearlythewholeofthedockaccommodationinourseaporttownsisbythesameprocessofusurpationinthehandsofthegreatleviathansoftheland”(1。c。，pp。92-93)。ItisevidentinthesecircumstancesthatwhenthecensusforEnglandandWalesin1861givesthetotalpopulationas20，066，224andthenumberoflandlordsas36，032，theproportionofownerstothenumberofhousesandtopopulationwouldlookcompletelydifferentifthelargelandlordswereplacedononesideandthesmallonesontheother。

Thisillustrationofownershipinbuildingsisimportant。Inthefirstplace，itclearlyshowsthedifferencebetweenactualground-rentandinterestonfixedcapitalincorporatedintheland，whichmayconstituteanadditiontoground-rent。Interestonbuildings，likethatoncapitalincorporatedinthelandbythetenantinagriculture，fallsintothehandsoftheindustrialcapitalist，thebuildingspeculator，orthetenant，solongastheleaselasts，andhasinitselfnothingtodowithground-rent，whichmustbepaidonstateddatesannuallyfortheuseoftheland。Secondly，itshowsthatcapitalincorporatedinthelandbyothersultimatelypassesintothehandsofthelandlordtogetherwiththeland，andthattheinterestforitinflateshisrent。

Somewriters，actingeitherasspokesmenoflandlordismandtakingupthecudgelsagainsttheattacksofbourgeoiseconomists，orinanendeavourtotransformthecapitalistsystemofproductionfromasystemofcontradictionsintooneof”harmonies”，likeCarey，havetriedtorepresentground-rent，thespecificeconomicexpressionoflandedproperty，asidenticalwithinterest。Thiswouldeliminatetheoppositionbetweenlandlordsandcapitalists。

Theoppositemethodwasemployedintheearlystagesofcapitalistproduction。

Inthosedays，landedpropertywasstillregardedbypopularconceptionasthepristineandrespectableformofprivateproperty，whileinterestoncapitalwasdecriedasusury。DudleyNorth，Lockeandothers，therefore，representedinterestoncapitalasaformanalogoustoground-rent，justasTurgotdeducedthejustificationforinterestfromtheexistenceofground-rent——Asidefromthefactthatground-rentmay，anddoes，existinitspureformwithoutanyadditionforinterestoncapitalincorporatedintheland，thosemorerecentwritersforgetthat，inthisway，thelandlordnotonlyreceivesinterestonotherpersons’capitalthatcostshimnothing，butalsopocketsthiscapitalofotherswithoutrecompense。Thejustificationoflandedproperty，likethatofallotherformsofpropertycorrespondingtoacertainmodeofproduction，isthatthemodeofproductionitselfisatransienthistoricalnecessity，andthisincludestherelationsofproductionandexchangewhichstemfromit。Itistrue，asweshallseelater，thatlandedpropertydiffersfromotherkindsofpropertyinthatitappearssuperfluousandharmfulatacertainstageofdevelopment，evenfromthepointofviewofthecapitalistmodeofproduction。

Ground-rentmayinanotherformbeconfusedwithinterestandtherebyitsspecificcharacteroverlooked。Ground-rentassumestheformofacertainsumofmoney，whichthelandlorddrawsannuallybyleasingacertainplotonourplanet。Wehaveseenthateveryparticularsumofmoneymaybecapitalised，thatis，consideredastheinterestonanimaginarycapital。Forinstance，iftheaveragerateofinterestis5%，thenanannualground-rentof£；200mayberegardedasinterestonacapitalof£；4，000。

Ground-rentsocapitalisedconstitutesthepurchasepriceorvalueoftheland，acategorywhichlikethepriceoflabourisprimalacteirrational，sincetheearthisnottheproductoflabourandthereforehasnovalue。

Butontheotherhand，arealrelationinproductionisconcealedbehindthisirrationalform。Ifacapitalistbuyslandyieldingarentof£；200

annuallyandpays£；4，000forit，thenhedrawstheaverageannualinterestof5%onhiscapitalof£；4，000，justasifhehadinvestedthiscapitalininterest-bearingpapersorloaneditdirectlyat5%interest。

Itistheexpansionofacapitalof£；4，000at5%。Onthisassumption，hewouldrecoverthepurchasepriceofhisestatethroughitsrevenuesintwentyyears。InEngland，therefore，thepurchasepriceoflandiscalculatedinsomanyyears’purchasewhichismerelyanotherwayofexpressingthecapitalisationofground-rent。Itisinfactthepurchaseprice-notoftheland，butoftheground-rentyieldedbyit——calculatedinaccordancewiththeusualinterestrate。Butthiscapitalisationofrentassumestheexistenceofrent，whilerentcannotinverselybederivedandexplainedfromitsowncapitalisation。Itsexistence，independentofitssale，isratherthestarting-pointfortheinquiry。

Itfollows，then，thatthepriceoflandmayriseorfallinverselyastheinterestraterisesorfallsifweassumeground-renttobeaconstantmagnitude。Iftheordinaryinterestrateshouldfallfrom5%to4%，thentheannualground-rentof£；200wouldrepresenttheannualrealisationfromacapitalof£；5，000insteadof£；4，000。Thepriceofthesamepieceoflandwouldthushaverisenfrom£；4，000to£；5，000，orfrom20years’to25years’purchase。Theconversewouldtakeplaceintheoppositecase。Thisisamovementofthepriceoflandwhichisindependentofthemovementofground-rentitselfandregulatedonlybytheinterestrate。Butaswehaveseenthattherateofprofithasatendencytofallinthecourseofsocialprogress，and，therefore，theinterestratehasthesametendency，sofarasitisregulatedbytherateofprofit；

andthat，furthermore，theinterestrateshowsatendencytofallinconsequenceofthegrowthofloanablecapital，apartfromtheinfluenceoftherateofprofit，itfollowsthatthepriceoflandhasatendencytorise，evenindependentlyofthemovementofground-rentandthepricesoftheproductsoftheland，ofwhichrentconstitutesapart。

Theconfusionofground-rentitselfwiththeinterestformwhichitassumesforthebuyeroftheland-aconfusionresultingfromcompletelackoffamiliaritywiththenatureofground-rentmustnecessarilyleadtothemostabsurdconclusions。Sincelandedpropertyisconsideredinallancientcountriesasaparticularlygenteelformofproperty，anditspurchasealsoasaneminentlysafecapitalinvestment，theinterestrateatwhichground-rentisboughtisgenerallylowerthanthatofotherlong-terminvestmentsofcapital，sothatabuyerofrealestatedraws，forinstance，only4%onhispurchaseprice，whereashewoulddraw5%forthesamecapitalinotherinvestments。Inotherwords，hepaysmorecapitalforground-rentthanhewouldforthesameannualamountofincomefromotherinvestments。

ThisleadsMr。ThierstoconcludeinhisgenerallyverypoorworkonLaPropriete’(areprintofhisspeechintheFrenchNationalAssemblyin1849directedagainstProudhon)[Proudbon’sspeechwaspublishedin”Compterendudesseancesdel’Assemble’eNationale，”TomeII，Paris，1849，pp。666-71——Ed。]thatground-rentislow，whereasitmerelyprovesthatitspurchasepriceishigh。

Thefactthatcapitalisedground-rentappearsasthepriceorvalueofland，sothatland，therefore，isboughtandsoldlikeanyothercommodity，servessomeapologistsasajustificationforlandedpropertysincethebuyerpaysanequivalentforit，thesameasforothercommodities；

andthemajorportionoflandedpropertyhaschangedhandsinthisway。

Thesamereasoninthatcasewouldalsoservetojustifyslavery，sincethereturnsfromthelabouroftheslave，whomtheslave-holderhasbought，merelyrepresenttheinterestonthecapitalinvestedinthispurchase。

Toderiveajustificationfortheexistenceofground-rentfromitssaleandpurchasemeansingeneraltojustifyitsexistencebyitsexistence。

Asimportantasitmaybeforascientificanalysisofground-rent-thatis，theindependentandspecificeconomicformoflandedpropertyonthebasisofthecapitalistmodeofproductionstudyitinitspureformfreeofalldistortingandobfuscatingirrelevancies，itisjustasimportantforanunderstandingofthepracticaleffectsoflandedproperty~venforatheoreticalcomprehensionofamultitudeoffactswhichcontradicttheconceptandnatureofground-rentandyetappearasmodesofexistenceofground-rent-tolearnthesourceswhichgiverisetosuchmuddlingintheory。

Inpractice，naturally，everythingappearsasground-rentthatispaidasleasemoneybytenanttolandlordfortherighttocultivatethesoil。Nomatterwhatthecompositionofthistributeandnomatterwhatitssources，ithasthisincommonwiththeactualground-rent-thatthemonopolyoftheso-calledlandedproprietorofaportionofourplanetenableshimtolevysuchtributeandimposesuchanassessment。Ithasthisincommonwiththeactualground-rent-thatitdeterminesthepriceofland，which，aswehaveindicatedearlier，isnothingbutthecapitalisedincomefromtheleaseoftheland。

Wehavealreadyseenthatinterestforthecapitalincorporatedinthelandmayconstitutesuchanextraneouscomponentofground-rent，acomponentwhichmustbecomeacontinuallygrowingextrachargeonthetotalrentofacountryaseconomicdevelopmentprogresses。Butasidefromthisinterest，itispossiblethattheleasemoneymayconcealinpart，andincertaincasesinitsentirety，i。e。，incompleteabsenceoftheactualground-rentwhenthelandis，therefore，actuallyworthless-adeductionfromtheaverageprofitorfromthenormalwages，orboth。Thisportion，whetherofprofitorwages，appearshereasground-rent，becauseinsteadoffallingtotheindustrialcapitalistorthewage-worker，aswouldnormallybethecase，itispaidtothelandlordintheformofleasemoney。Economicallyspeaking，neithertheonenortheotheroftheseportionsconstitutesground-rent；

but，inpractice，itconstitutesthelandlord’srevenue，aneconomicrealisationofhismonopoly，muchasactualground-rent，andithasjustasdetermininganinfluenceonlandprices。

Wearenotspeakingnowofconditionsinwhichground-rent，themannerofexpressinglandedpropertyinthecapitalistmodeofproduction，formallyexistswithouttheexistenceofthecapitalistmodeofproductionitself，i。e。，withoutthetenanthimselfbeinganindustrialcapitalist，northetypeofhismanagementbeingacapitalistone。Suchisthecase，e。g。，inIreland。Thetenantthereisgenerallyasmallfarmer。Whathepaystothelandlordintheformofrentfrequentlyabsorbsnotmerelyapartofhisprofit，thatis，hisownsurpluslabour(towhichheisentitledaspossessorofhisowninstrumentsoflabour)，butalsoapartofhisnormalwage，whichhewouldotherwisereceiveforthesameamountoflabour。

Besides，thelandlord，whodoesnothingatallfortheimprovementoftheland，alsoexpropriateshissmallcapital，whichthetenantforthemostpartincorporatesinthelandthroughhisownlabour。Thisispreciselywhatausurerwoulddoundersimilarcircumstances，withjustthedifferencethattheusurerwouldatleastriskhisowncapitalintheoperation。ThiscontinualplunderisthecoreofthedisputeovertheIrishTenancyRightsBill。ThemainpurposeofthisBillistocompelthelandlordwhenorderinghistenantoffthelandtoindemnifythelatterforhisimprovementsontheland，orforhiscapitalincorporatedintheland。Palmerstonusedtowavethisdemandasidewiththecynicalanswer；”TheHouseofCommonsisahouseoflandedproprietors。”

Norarewereferringtoexceptionalcircumstancesinwhichthelandlordmayenforceahighrental-evenincountrieswithcapitalistproduction-thatstandsinnorelationtotheyieldfromthesoil。Ofsuchanature，forexample，istheleasingofsmallpatchesoflandtolabourersinEnglishfactorydistricts，eitherassmallgardensorforamateurspare-timefarming。

(ReportsofInspectorsofFactories。)

Wearereferringtoground-rentincountrieswithdevelopedcapitalistproduction。AmongEnglishtenants，forinstance，thereareanumberofsmallcapitalistswhoaredestinedandcompelledbyeducation，training，tradition，competition，andothercircumstancestoinvesttheircapitalastenantsinagriculture。Theyareforcedtobesatisfiedwithlessthantheaverageprofit，andtoturnoverpartofittothelandlordsasrent。

Thisistheonlyconditionunderwhichtheyarepermittedtoinvesttheircapitalintheland，inagriculture。Sincelandlordseverywhereexertconsiderable，andinEnglandevenoverwhelming，influenceonlegislation，theyareabletoexploitthissituationforthepurposeofvictimisingtheentireclassoftenants。Forinstance，theCornLawsof1815——abreadtax，admittedlyimposeduponthecountrytosecurefortheidlelandlordsacontinuationoftheirabnormallyincreasedrentalsduringtheanti-Jacobinwar——hadindeedtheeffect，excludingcasesofafewextraordinarilyrichharvests，ofmaintainingpricesofagriculturalproductsabovetheleveltowhichtheywouldhavefallenhadcornimportsbeenunrestricted。Buttheydidnothavetheeffectofmaintainingpricesattheleveldecreedbythelawmakinglandlordstoserveasnormalpricesinsuchmannerastoconstitutethelegallimitforimportsofforeigncorn。Buttheleaseholdswerecontractedinanatmospherecreatedbythesenormalprices。Assoonastheillusionwasdispelled，anewlawwaspassed，containingnewnormalprices，whichwereasmuchtheimpotentexpressionofagreedylandlord’sfantasyastheoldones。Inthisway，tenantsweredefraudedfrom1815uptothethirties。

Hencethestandingproblemofagriculturaldistressduringthisentireperiod。Hencetheexpropriationandtheruinofawholegenerationoftenantsduringthisperiodandtheirreplacementbyanewclassofcapitalists。[31]

Amuchmoregeneralandimportantfact，however，isthedepressionoftheactualfarm-labourer’swagebelowitsnormalaverage，sothatpartofitisdeductedtobecomepartoftheleasemoneyandthus，intheguiseofground-rent，itflowsintothepocketofthelandlordratherthanthelabourer。Thisis，forexample，quitegenerallythecaseinEnglandandScotland，withtheexceptionofafewfavourablysituatedcounties。Theinquiriesintothelevelofwagesbytheparliamentaryinvestigatingcommittees，whichwereappointedbeforethepassageoftheCornLawsinEngland-sofarthemostvaluableandalmostunexploitedcontributionstothehistoryofwagesinthe19thcentury，andatthesametimeapilloryerectedforthemselvesbytheEnglisharistocracyandbourgeoisie-provedconvincinglyandbeyondadoubtthatthehighratesofrent，andthecorrespondingriseinlandpricesduringtheanti-Jacobinwar，weredueinparttonoothercausebutdeductionsfromwagesandtheirdepressiontoalevelthatwasevenbelowthephysicalminimumrequirement；inotherwords，topartofthenormalwagebeinghandedovertothelandlords。Variouscircumstances，suchasthedepreciationofmoneyandthemanipulationofthePoorLawsintheagriculturaldistricts，hadmadethisoperationpossibleatatimewhentheincomesofthetenantswereenormouslyincreasingandthelandlordswereamassingfabulousriches。Indeed，oneofthemainargumentsofbothtenantsandlandlordsfortheintroductionofdutiesoncornwasthatitwasphysicallyimpossibletodepressfarmlabourerswagesanylower。Thisstateofaffairshasnotsignificantlychanged，andinEngland，asinallEuropeancountries，aportionofthenormalwageisabsorbedbyground-rentjustasever。WhenCountShaftesbury，thenLordAshley，oneofthephilanthropicaristocrats，wassoextraordinarilymovedbytheconditionofEnglishfactoryoperativesandactedastheirspokesmaninParliamentduringtheagitationforaten-hourday，thespokesmenoftheindustrialiststooktheirrevengebypublishingwagestatisticsofagriculturallabourersinthevillagesbelongingtohim(seeBuchI，Kap。XXIII，5，e[Englishedition:ChXXV

5e——Ed])(”TheBritishAgriculturalProletariat”)，whichclearlyshowedthataportionoftheground-rentofthisphilanthropistconsistedoflootfilchedforhimbyhistenantsoutofthewagesofagriculturallabourers。Thispublicationisalsointerestingforthefactthatitsrevelationsmaybravelytaketheirplacebesidetheworstexposuresmadebythecommitteesin1814and1815。Assoonascircumstancesforceatemporaryincreaseinthewageofagriculturallabourersacrygoesupfromthecapitalisttenantfarmersthatraisingwagestothenormallevel，asdoneinotherbranchesofindustry，wouldbeimpossibleandwouldruinthem，unlessground-rentwerereducedatthesametime。Thereinliestheconfessionthatundertheheadofground-rentthereisadeductionofthelabourers’wageswhichishandedovertothelandlords。Forinstance，from1849to1859thewagesofagriculturallabourersroseinEnglandthroughacombinationofmomentousevents:theexodusfromIreland，whichcutoffthesupplyofagriculturallabourerscomingfromthere；anextraordinaryabsorptionoftheagriculturalpopulationbyfactories；awar-timedemandforsoldiers；anexceptionallylargeemigrationtoAustraliaandtheUnitedStates(California)，andothercircumstanceswhichneednotbedweltuponhere。Atthesametime，averagepricesofgrainfellbymorethan16%duringthisperiod，withtheexceptionofthepooragriculturalyears1854to1856。Thetenantfarmersclamouredforareductioninrents。Theyweresuccessfulinindividualcases，butonthewholefailedtoachievethisdemand。Theyhadrecoursetoareductionofproductioncosts，amongotherthingsbythemassproductionofsteam-enginesandnewmachinery，whichtosomeextentreplacedhorsesandpushedthemoutoftheeconomy，butalsobroughtabout，inpart，anartificialover-populationbythrowingagriculturalday-labourersoutofwork，andtherebycausedanewdropinwages。Andthistookplaceinspiteoftheoverallrelativedecreaseinagriculturalpopulationduringthatdecadeascomparedwiththegrowthoftotalpopulation，andinspiteofanabsolutedecreaseinagriculturalpopulationinsomepurelyagriculturaldistricts。[32]ThusFawcett，thenprofessorofpoliticaleconomyatCambridge[whodiedin1884whilePostmasterGeneral]，statedattheSocialScienceCongressonOctober12，1865:”Thelabourerswerebeginningtoemigrate，andthefarmerswerealreadybeginningtocomplainthattheywouldnotbeabletopaysuchhighrentsastheyhavebeenaccustomedtopay，becauselabourwasbecomingdearerinconsequenceofemigration。”Here，then，highground-rentisdirectlyidentifiedwithlowwages。Andinsofarastheleveloflandpricesisdeterminedbythiscircumstance-increasingrent-ariseinthevalueoflandisidenticalwithadepreciationoflabour，thehighpriceoflandisidenticalwiththelowpriceoflabour。

ThesameistrueofFrance。”Therentalrisesbecausethepricesofbread，wine，meat，vegetablesandfruitrise，ontheonehand，while，ontheotherhand，thepriceoflabourremainsunchanged。Iftheolderpeopleexaminetheaccountsoftheirfathers，takingusbackabout100

years，theywillfindthatthepriceofaday’slabourinruralFrancewasthesameasitisnow。Thepriceofmeathastrebledsincethen……

Whoisthevictimofthisrevolution？Isittherichman，whoistheproprietorofanestate，orthepoormanwhoworksit？……Theincreaseinrentalisevidenceofapublicdisaster。”(DuMecanisimedelaSocieteenFranceetenAngleterre，byM。Rubichon，2nded。，Paris，1837，p。101。)

Illustrationsofrentrepresentingdeductions，ontheonehand，fromaverageprofitand，ontheother，fromaveragewages:

Morton，[HereMarxquotesJohnLockartMorton——Ed。]realestateagentandagriculturalmechanicwhowaspreviouslyquoted，statesthatithasbeenobservedinmanylocalitiesthatrentforlargeestatesislowerthanforsmallonesbecause”thecompetitionisusuallygreaterforthelatterthanfortheformer，andasfewsmallfarmersareabletoturntheirattentiontoanyotherbusinessthanthatoffarming，theiranxietytogetasuitableoccupationleadstheminmanyinstancestogivemorerentthantheirjudgementcanapproveof。”(JohnL。Morton，TheResourcesofEstates，London，1858，p。116。)

However，thisdifferenceissupposedtobegraduallydisappearinginEngland；thisheattributeslargelytotheemigrationpreciselyoftheclassofsmalltenants。ThesameMortonillustrateswithanexampleinwhichclearlythewageofthetenanthimself，andevenmoresurelythatofhislabourers，suffersadeductionforground-rent。Thistakesplaceinthecaseofleaseholdswithlesstban70to80acres(30-34ha。)whereatwo-horseploughcannotbemaintained。”Unlessthetenantworkswithhisownhandsaslaboriouslyasanylabourer，hisfarmwillnotkeephim。

Ifheentruststheperformanceofhisworktoworkmenwhilehecontinuesmerelytoobservethem，thechancesare，thatatnodistantperiod，hewillfindheisunabletopayhisrent”(1。c。，p。148)。Mortonconcludes，therefore，thatunlessthetenantsofacertainlocalityareverypoor，theleaseholdsshouldnotbesmallerthan70acres，sothatthetenantsmaykeeptwoorthreehorses。

ExtraordinarysagacityonthepartofMonsieurLeoncedeLavergne，Membredel’InstitutetdelaSocieteCentraled’Agriculture。InhisEconoimieRuraledel’Angleterre(quotedfromtheEnglishtranslation，London，1855)，hemakesthefollowingcomparisonoftheannualadvantagederivedfromcattlewhichisemployedinFrancebutnotinEnglandwhereitisreplacedbyhorses(p。42):

FRANCEMilk£；4millionENGLANDMilk£；16millionMeat£；16millionMeat£；20millionLabour£；8millionLabour——

TOTAL:£；28millionTOTAL:£；30millionButthegreatertotalforEnglandisobtainedherebecauseaccordingtohisowntestimonymilkistwiceasexpensiveinEnglandasinFrancewhereasheassumesthesamepricesformeatinbothcountries(p。35)；therefore，Englishmilkproductionshrinksto£；8millionandthetotalto£；28

million，whichisthesameasinFrance。ItisindeedrathertoomuchwhenMr。LavergneallowsthequantitiesandpricedifferencestoentersimultaneouslyintohiscalculationssothatwhenEnglandproducescertainarticlesmoredearlythanFrance~thisappearstobeanadvantageofEnglishagriculture，whereasatbestitsignifiesalargerprofitforthetenantsandlandlords。

ThatMr。LavergneisnotonlyfamiliarwiththeeconomicachievementsofEnglishagriculture，butalsosubscribestotheprejudicesoftheEnglishtenantsandlandlords，isshownonpage48:”Onegreatdrawbackattendscerealsgenerally……theyexhaustthesoilwhichbearsthem。”NotonlydoesMr。Lavergnebelievethatotherplantsdonotdoso，butalsobelievesthatfoddercropsandrootcropsenrichthesoil:”Forageplantsderivefromtheatmospheretheprincipalelementsoftheirgrowth，whiletheygivetothesoilmorethantheytakefromit；thusbothdirectlyandbytheirconversionintoanimalmanurecontributingintwowaystorepairthemischiefdonebycerealsandexhaustingcropsgenerally；onep？inciple，therefore，isthattheyshouldatleastalternatewiththesecrops；inthisconsiststheNorfolkrotation”(pp。50，51)。

NowonderthatMr。Lavergne，whobelievestheseEnglishrusticfairy-tales，alsobelievesthatthewagesofEnglishfarmlabourershavelosttheirformerabnormalitysincethedutiesoncornhavebeenlifted。

(Seewhathasbeenpreviouslysaidonthispoint。BuchI，Kap。XXIII，5，pp。704to729。[Englishedition:Ch。XXV，5，pp。673-96——Ed。]ButletusalsolistentoMr。JohnBright’sspeechinBirmingham，December14，1865。Atermentioningthe5millionfamiliesentirelyunrepresentedinParliament，hecontinues:”Thereisamongthemonemillion，orrathermorethanonemillion，intheUnitedKingdomwhoareclassedintheunfortunatelistofpaupers。Thereisanothermillionjustabovepauperism，butalwaysinperillesttheyshouldbecomepaupers。Theirconditionandprospectsarenotmorefavourablethanthat。Nowlookattheignorantandlowerstrataofthisportionofthecommunity。Looktotheirabjectcondition，totheirpoverty，totheirsuffering，totheirutterhopelessnessofanygood。Why，intheUnitedStates~venintheSouthernStatesduringthereignofslaveryeveryNegrohadanideathattherewasadayofjubileeforhim。Buttothesepeople-tothisclassoftheloweststratainthiscountry-Iamheretostatethatthereisneitherthebeliefofanythingbetternorscarcelyanaspirationafterit。HaveyoureadaparagraphwhichlatelyappearedinthenewspapersaboutJohnCross，aDorsetshirelabourer？Heworkedsixdaysintheweek，hadanexcellentcharacterfromhisemployerforwhomhehadworkedtwenty-fouryearsattherateofeightshillingsperweek。

JohnCrosshadafamilyofsevenchildrentoprovideforoutofthesewagesinhishovel-forafeeblewifeandaninfantchild。Hetook-legally，I

believehestole-awoodenhurdleofthevalueofsixpence。Forthisoffencehewastriedbeforethemagistratesandsentencedto14or20days’imprisonment……

IcantellyouthatmanythousandsofcaseslikethatofJohnCrossaretobefoundthroughoutthecountry，andespeciallyinthesouth，andthattheirconditionissuchthathithertothemostanxiousinvestigatorhasbeenunabletosolvethemysteryastohowtheykeepbodyandsoultogether。

Nowcastyoureyeovertbecountryandlookatthesefivemillionoffamiliesandthedesperateconditionofthisstrataofthem。Isitnottruethattheunenfranchisednationmaybesaidtotoilandtoilandknowingalmostnorest？Compareitwiththerulingclass——butifIdoIshallbechargedwithcommunism……Butcomparethisgreattoilingandunenfranchisednationwiththesectionwhomaybeconsideredthegoverningclasses。Lookatitswealth；lookatitsostentation-lookatitsluxury。Beholditsweariness-forthereiswearinessamongstthem，butitisthewearinessofsatiety-andseehowtheyrushfromplacetoplace，asitwere，todiscoversomenewpleasure。”(MorningStar，December14，1865。)

Itisshowninwhatfollowshowsurplus-labour，andconsequentlysurplus-product，isgenerallyconfusedwithground-rentthatqualitativelyandquantitativelyspecificallydetermined，atleastonthebasisofthecapitalistmodeofproduction，partofthesurplus-product。Thenaturalbasisofsurplus-labouringeneral，thatis，anaturalprerequisitewithoutwhichsuchlabourcannotbeperformed，isthatNaturemustsupply-intheformofanimalorvegetableproductsoftheland，infisheries，etc。thenecessarymeansofsubsistenceunderconditionsofanexpenditureoflabourwhichdoesnotconsumetheentireworkingday。Thisnaturalproductivityofagriculturallabour(whichincludesherethelabourofsimplegathering，hunting，fishingandcattle-raising)isthebasisofallsurplus-labour，asalllabourisprimarilyandinitiallydirectedtowardtheappropriationandproductionoffood。(Animalsalsosupplyatthesametimeskinsforwarmthincolderclimates；alsocave-dwellings，etc。)

Thesameconfusionbetweensurplus-productandground-rentisfounddifferentlyexpressedbyMr。Dove。[P。Dove，TheElementsolPoliticalScience，EdiNburgh，1854，pp。264，273——Ed。]Originallyagriculturalandindustriallabourwerenotseparated；thelatterwasanadjunctoftheformer。Thesurplus-labourandthesurplus-productoftheland-cultivatingtribe，housecommune，orfamilyincludedbothagriculturalandindustriallabour。Bothwenthandinhand。Hunting，fishingandagriculturewereimpossiblewithoutsuitabletools。Weaving，spinning，etc。，werefirstcarriedonasanagrariansideline。

WehavepreviouslyshownthatjustasthelabourofanindividualworkmanbreaksupintonecessaryandsurplusLabour，theaggregatelabouroftheworking-classmaybesodividedthattheportionwhichproducesthetotalmeansofsubsistencefortheworking-class(includingthemeansofproductionrequiredforthispurpose)performsthenecessarylabourforthewholeofsociety。Thelabourperformedbytheremainderoftheworking-classmaythenberegardedassurplus4abour。Butthenecessarylabourconsistsbynomeansonlyofagriculturallabour，butalsoofthatlabourwhichproducesallotherproductsnecessarilyincludedintheaverageconsumptionofthelabourer。Furthermore，fromthesocialstandpoint，someperformonlynecessarylabourbecauseothersperformonlysurplus4abour，andviceversa。Itisbutadivisionoflabourbetweenthem。Thesameholdsforthedivisionoflabourbetweenagriculturalandindustriallabourersingeneral。Thepurelyindustrialcharacteroflabour，ontheonehand，correspondstothepurelyagriculturalcharacterontheother。Thispurelyagriculturallabourisbynomeansnatural，butisrather。aproduct-andaverymodernoneatthat，whichhasnotyetbeenachievedeverywhere-ofsocialdevelopmentandcorrespondstoaverydefinitestageofthedevelopmentofproduction。Justasaportionofagriculturallabourismaterialisedinproductswhicheitherministeronlytoluxuryorserveasrawmaterialsinindustry，butbynomeansserveasfood，letaloneasfoodforthemasses，soontheotherhandaportionofindustriallabourismaterialisedinproductswhichserveasnecessarymeansofconsumptionforbothagriculturalandnonagriculturallabourers。Itisamistake，fromasocialpointofview，toregardthisindustriallabourassurplus-labour。Itis，inpart，asmuchnecessarylabourasthenecessaryportionoftheagriculturallabour。

Itisalsobutaformrenderedindependentofapartofindustriallabourwhichwasformerlynaturallyconnectedwithagriculturallabour，anecessarymutualsupplementtothespecificallyagriculturallabournowseparatedfromit。(Fromapurelymaterialpointofview，500mechanicalweavers，e。g。，producesurplus-fabricstoafargreaterdegree，thatis，morethanisrequiredfortheirownclothing。)

Finally，itshouldbeborneinmindinconsideringthevariousformsofmanifestationofground-rent，thatis，theleasemoneypaidundertheheadingofground-renttothelandlordfortheuseofthelandforpurposesofproductionorconsumption，thatthepriceofthingswhichhaveinthemselvesnovalue，i。e。，arenottheproductoflabour，suchasland，orwhichatleastcannotbereproducedbylabour，suchasantiquesandworksofartbycertainmasters，etc。，maybedeterminedbymanyfortuitouscombinations。Inordertosellathing，nothingmoreisrequiredthanitscapacitytobemonopolisedandalienated。

Therearethreemainerrorstobeavoidedinstudyinggroundrent，andwhichobscureitsanalysis。

1)Confusingthevariousformsofrentpertainingtodifferentstagesofdevelopmentofthesocialproductionprocess。

Whateverthespecificformofrentmaybe，alltypeshavethisincommon:theappropriationofrentisthateconomicforminwhichlandedpropertyisrealised，andground-rent，inturn，presupposestheexistenceoflandedproperty，theownershipofcertainportionsofourplanetbycertainindividuals。Theownermaybeanindividualrepresentingthecommunity，asinAsia，Egypt，etc。；orthislandedpropertymaybemerelyincidentaltotheownershipoftheimmediateproducersthemselvesbysomeindividualasunderslaveryorserfdom；oritmaybeapurelyprivateownershipofNaturebynon-producers，ameretitletoland；or，finally，itmaybearelationshiptothelandwhich，asinthecaseofcolonistsandsmallpeasantsowningland，seemstobedirectlyincluded-intheisolatedandnotsociallydevelopedlabour-intheappropriationandproductionoftheproductsofparticularplotsoflandbythedirectproducers。

Thiscommonelementinthevariousformsofrent，namelythatofbeingtheeconomicrealisationoflandedproperty，oflegalfictionbygraceofwhichcertainindividualshaveanexclusiverighttocertainpartsofourplanet-makesitpossibleforthedifferencestoescapedetection。

2)Allground-rentissurplus-value，theproductofsurplus-labour。

Initsundevelopedformasrentinkinditisstilldirectlythesurplus-productitself。Hence，themistakenideathattherentcorrespondingtothecapitalistmodeofproduction-whichisalwaysasurplusoverandaboveprofit，i。e。，aboveavalueportionofcommoditieswhichitselfconsistsofsurplus-value(surplus-labour)——thatthisspecialandspecificcomponentofsurplus-valueisexplainedbymerelyexplainingthegeneralconditionsfortheexistenceofsurplus-valueandprofitingeneral。Theseconditionsare:thedirectproducersmustworkbeyondthetimenecessaryforreproducingtheirownlabour-power，fortheirownreproduction。Theymustperformsurplus-labouringeneral。Thisisthesubjectivecondition。Theobjectiveconditionisthattheymustbeabletoperformsurplus-labour。Thenaturalconditionsmustbesuchthatapartoftheiravailablelabourtimesufficesfortheirreproductionandself-maintenanceasproducers，thattheproductionoftheirnecessarymeansofsubsistenceshallnotconsumetheirwholelabour-power。

ThefertilityofNatureestablishesalimithere，astarting-point，abasis。

Ontheotberhand，thedevelopmentofthesocialproductivepoweroftheirlabourformstheotherlimit。Examinedmoreclosely，sincetheproductionofmeansofsubsistenceistheveryfirstconditionoftheirexistenceandofallproductioningeneral，labourusedinthisproduction，thatis，agriculturallabourinthebroadesteconomicsense，mustbefruitfulenoughsoasnottoabsorbtheentireavailablelabour-timeintheproductionofmeansofsubsistenceforthedirectproducers，thatis，agriculturalsurplus-labourandthereforeagriculturalsurplus-productmustbepossible。

Developedfurther，thetotalagriculturallabour，bothnecessaryandsurpluslabour，ofasegmentofsocietymustsufficetoproducethenecessarysubsistenceforthewholeofsociety，thatis，fornon-agriculturallabourerstoo。

Thismeansthereforethatthemajordivisionoflabourbetweenagriculturalandindustrialmustbepossible；andsimilarlybetweentillersofthesoilproducingmeansofsubsistenceandthoseproducingrawmaterials。Althoughthelabourofthedirectproducersofmeansofsubsistencebreaksupintonecessaryandsurpluslaboura~farastheythemselvesareconcerned，itrepresentsfromthesocialstandpointonlythenecessarylabourrequiredtoproducethemeansofsubsistence。Incidentally，thesameistrueforalldivisionoflabourwithinsocietyasawhole，asdistinctfromthedivisionoflabourwithinindividualworkshops。Itisthelabournecessaryfortheproductionofparticulararticles，forthesatisfactionofsomeparticularneedofsocietyfortheseparticulararticles。Ifthisdivisionisproportional，thentheproductsofvariousgroupsaresoldattheirvalues(atalaterstageofdevelopmenttheyaresoldattheirpricesofproduction)，oratpriceswhicharecertainmodificationsofthesevaluesorpricesofproductiondeterminedbygenerallaws。Itisindeedtheeffectofthelawofvalue，notwithreferencetoindividualcommoditiesorarticles，buttoeachtotalproductoftheparticularsocialspheresofproductionmadeindependentbythedivisionoflabour；sothatnotonlyisnomorethanthenecessarylabour-timeusedupforeachspecificcommodity，butonlythenecessaryproportionalquantityofthetotalsociallabour-timeisusedupinthevariousgroups。Fortheconditionremainsthatthecommodityrepresentsusevalue。Butiftheuse-valueofindividualcommoditiesdependsonwhethertheysatisfyaparticularneedthentheuse-valueofthemassofthesocialproductdependsonwhetheritsatisfiesthequantitativelydefinitesocialneedforeachparticularkindofproductinanadequatemanner，andwhetherthelabouristhereforeproportionatelydistributedamongthedifferentspheresinkeepingwiththesesocialneeds，whicharequantitativelycircumscribed。(Thispointistobenotedinthedistributionofcapitalamongthevariousspheresofproduction。)Thesocialneed，thatis，theuse-valueonasocialscale，appearshereasadeterminingfactorfortheamountoftotalsociallabour-timewhichisexpendedinvariousspecificspheresofproduction。Butitismerelythesamelawwhichisalreadyappliedinthecaseofsinglecommodities，namely，thattheuse-valueofacommodityisthebasisofitsexchange-valueandthusofitsvalue。

Thispointhasabearingupontherelationshipbetweennecessaryandsurpluslabouronlyinsofarasaviolationofthisproportionmakesitimpossibletorealisethevalueofthecommodityandthusthesurplus-valuecontainedinit。Forinstance；letusassumethatproportionallytoomuchcottongoodshavebeenproduced，althoughonlythelabour-timenecessaryundertheprevailingconditionsisincorporatedinthistotalclothproduction。

Butingeneraltoomuchsociallabourhasbeenexpendedinthisparticularline；illotherwords，aportionofthisproductisuseless。Itisthereforesoldsolelyasifithadbeenproducedinthenecessaryproportion。Thisquantitativelimittothequotaofsociallabourtimeavailableforthevariousparticularspheresofproductionisbutamoredevelopedexpressionofthelawofvalueingeneral，althoughthenecessarylabour-timeassumesadifferentmeaninghere。Onlyjustsomuchofitisrequiredforthesatisfactionofsocialneeds。Thelimitationoccurringhereisduetotheusevalue。

Societycanuseonlysomuchofitstotallabour-timeforthisparticularkindofproductunderprevailingconditionsofproduction。Butthesubjectiveandobjectiveconditionsofsurplus4abourandsurplus-valueingeneralhavenothingtodowiththeparticularformofeithertheprofitortherent。Theseconditionsapplytosurplus-valueassuch，nomatterwhatspecialformitmayassume。Hencetheydonotexplaingroundrent。

3)Itispreciselyintheeconomicrealisationoflandedproperty，inthedevelopmentofground-rent，thatthefollowingcharacteristicpeculiaritycomestothefore，namelythatitsamountisbynomeansdeterminedbytheactionsofitsrecipient，butisdeterminedratherbytheindependentdevelopmentofsociallabourinwhichtherecipienttakesnopart。Itmayeasilyhappen，therefore，thatsomethingisregardedasapeculiarityofrent(andoftheproductsofagricultureingeneral)，whichisreallyacommonfeatureofallbranchesofproductionandalltheirproductswherethebasisiscommodity-production-and，inparticular，capitalistproduction，whichisinitsentiretycommodityproduction。

Theamountofground-rent(andwithitthevalueofland)growswithsocialdevelopmentasaresultofthetotalsociallabour。Ontheonehand，thisleadstoanexpansionofthemarketandofthedemandforproductsofthesoil，and，ontheother，itstimulatesthedemandforlanditself，whichisaprerequisiteofcompetitiveproductioninalllinesofbusinessactivity，eventhosewhicharenotagricultural。Moreexactly-ifoneconsidersonlytheactualagriculturairent-rent，andtherebythevalueoftheland，developswiththemarketfortheproductsofthesoil，andthuswiththeincreaseinthenon-agriculturalpopulation，withitsneedanddemandformeansofsubsistenceandrawmaterials。Itisinthenatureofcapitalistproductiontocontinuallyreducetheagriculturalpopulationascomparedwiththenon-agricultural，becauseinindustry(inthestrictsense)theincreaseofconstantcapitalinrelationtovariablecapitalgoeshandinhandwithanabsoluteincrease，thoughrelativedecrease，invariablecapital；ontheotherhand，inagriculturethevariablecapitalrequiredfortheexploitationofacertainplotoflanddecreasesabsolutely；

itcanthusonlyincreasetotheextentthatnewlandistakenintocultivation，butthisagainrequiresasaprerequisiteastillgreatergrowthofthenon-agriculturalpopulation。

Infact，wearenotdealingherewithacharacteristicpeculiarityofagricultureanditsproducts。Onthecontrary，thesameappliestoallotherbranchesofproductionandproductswherethebasisiscommodity-productionanditsabsoluteform，capitalistproduction。

Theseproductsarecommodities，oruse-values，whichhaveanexchange-valuethatistoberealised，tobeconvertedintomoney，onlyinsofarasothercommoditiesformanequivalentforthem，thatis，otherproductscoiafrontthemascommoditiesandvalues；thus，insofarastheyarenotproducedasimmediatemeansofsubsistencefortheproducersthemselves，butascommodities，asproductswhichbecomeuse-valuesonlybytheirtransformationintoexchange-values(money)，bytheiralienation。Themarketforthesecommoditiesdevelopsthroughthesocialdivisionoflabour；thedivisionofproductivelaboursmutuallytransformstheirrespectiveproductsintocommodities，intoequivalentsforeachother，makingthemmutuallyserveasmarkets。Thisisinnowaypeculiartoagriculturalproducts。

Rentcandevelopasmoney-rentonlyonthebasisofcommodityproduction，inparticularcapitalistproduction，anditdevelopstothesameextentthatagriculturalproductionbecomescommodityproduction，thatis，tothesameextentthatnon-agriculturalproductiondevelopsindependentlyofagriculturalproduction，fortothatdegreetheagriculturalproductbecomescommodity，exchange-value，andvalue。Insofarascommodity-productionandthustheproductionofvaluedevelopswithcapitalistproductionsodoestheproductionofsurplus-valueandsurplusproduct。Butinthesameproportionasthelatterdevelops，landedpropertyacquiresthecapacityofcapturinganever-increasingportionofthissurplus-valuebymeansofitslandmonop~lyandthereby，ofraisingthevalueofitsrentandthepriceofthelanditself。Thecapitaliststillperformsanactivefunctioninthedevelopmentofthissurplus-valueandsurplus-product。Butthelandownerneedonlyappropriatethegrowingshareinthesurplus-productandthesurplus-value，withouthavingcontributedanythingtothisgrowth。Thisisthecharacteristicpeculiarityofhisposition，andnotthefactthatthevalueoftheproductsoftheland，andthusofthelanditself，increasestothedegreethatthemarketforthemexpands，thedemandgrowsandwithittheworldofcommoditieswhichconfrontstheproductsoftheland-inotherwords，themassofnon-agriculturalcommodityproducersandnon-agriculturalcommodity-production。Butsincethistakesplacewithoutanyactiononhispart，itappearstohimassomethinguniquethatthemassofvalue，themassofsurplus-value，andthetransformationofaportionofsurplusvalueintoground-rentshoulddependuponthesocialproductionprocess，onthedevelopmentofcommodity-productioningeneral。Forthisreason，Dove，forinstance，triestoevolverentfromthis。Hesaysthatrentdoesnotdependuponthemassoftheagriculturalproduct，butuponitsvalue，[P。

Dove，TheElementsofPoliticalScience，Edinburgh，1854，p。279——Ed。]however，thisdependsuponthemassandproductivityofthenon-agriculturalpopulation。Butitisalsotrueofeveryotherproductthatitcanonlydevelopasacommoditypartlyasthemassandpartlyasthevarietyofothercommoditieswhichformequivalentsforitsincrease。

Thishasalreadybeendemonstratedinconnectionwiththegeneralpresentationofvalue。[Englishedition:Vol。I，p。88——Ed。]Ontheonehand，theexchangeabilityofaproductingeneraldependsonthemultiplicityofcommoditiesexistinginadditiontoit。Ontheotherhand，onitdependsinparticularthequantityinwhichthisproductcanbeproducedasacommodity。

Noproducer，whetherindustrialoragricultural，whenconsideredbyhimselfalone，producesvalueorcommodities。Hisproductbecomesavalueandacommodityonlyinthecontextofdefinitesocialinterrelations。

Inthefirstplace，insofarasitappearsastheexpressionofsociallabour，henceinsofarastheindividualproducer’slabour-timecountsasapartofthesociallabour-timeingeneral；and，secondly，thissocialcharacterofhislabourappearsimpresseduponhisproductthroughitspecuniarycharacterandthroughitsgeneralexchangeabilitydeterminedbyitsprice。

Therefore，if，ontheonehand，surplus-valueor，stillmorenarrowly，thesurplus-productingeneralisexplainedinsteadofrent，themistakeismade，ontheotherhand，ofascribingexclusivelytoagriculturalproductsacharacteristicwhichbelongstoallproductsintheircapacityascommoditiesandvalues。Thisisvulgarisedstillmorebythosewhopassfromthegeneraldeterminationofvalueovertotherea1isat~nofthevalueofaspecificcommodity。Everycommoditycanrealiseitsvalueonlyintheprocessofcirculation，andwhetheritrealisesitsvalue，ortowhatextentitdoesso，dependsonprevailingmarketconditions。

Itisnotasingularityofground-rent，then，thatagriculturalprodoctsdevelopinto，andas，values，i。e。，thattheyconfrontothercommoditiesascommodities，andthatnon-agriculturalproductsconfrontthemascommodities；

orthattheydevelopasspecificexpressionsofsociallabour。Thesingularityofground-rentisratherthattogetherwiththeconditionsinwhichagriculturalproductsdevelopasvalues(commodities)，andtogetherwiththeconditionsinwhichtheirvaluesarerealised，therealsogrowsthepoweroflandedpropertytoappropriateanincreasingportionofthesevalues，whichwerecreatedwithoutitsassistance；andsoanincreasingportionofsurplus-valueistransformedintoground-rent。Notes26。NothingcouldhemorecomicalthanHegel’sdevelopmentofprivatelandedproperty。Accordingtothis，manasanindividualmustendowhiswillwitlirealityasthesoulofexternalnature，andmustthereforetakepossessionofthisnatureandmakeithisprivateproperty。Ifthiswerethedestinyofthe”individual，”ofmanasanindividual，itwouldfollowthateveryhumanbeingmustbealandowner，inordertobecomearealindividual。Freeprivateownershipofland，averyrecentproduct，isaccordingtoHegel，notadefinitesocialrelation，butarelationofmanasanindividualto”nature，”anabsoluterightofmantoappropriateallthings(HegelPhilosophiedesRechts，Berlin1840p79)Thismuchatleastisevidenttheindividualcannotmaintainhimselfasalandownerbyhismere”will”againstthewillofanotherindividual，wholikewisewantstobecomearealindividualbyvirtueofthesamestripoflandItdefinitelyrequiressomethingotherthangoodwillFurthermore，itisabsolutelyimpossibletodeterminewherethe”individualdrawsthelineforrealisinghiswillwhetherthiswillrequiresforitsrealisationawholecountry，orwhetheritrequiresawholegroupofcountriesbywhoseappropriation”thesupremacyofmywilloverthethingcanbemanifested。”

HereHegelcomestoacompleteimpasse。”Theappropriationisofaveryparticularkind；IdonottakepossessionofmorethanItouchwithmybody；butitisclear，ontheotherhaad，thatexternalthingsaremoreextensivethanIcangrasp。Bythushavingpossessionofsuchathing，someotheristherebyconnectedtoit。Icarryouttheactofappropriationbymeansofmyhand，butitsscopecanbeextended”(p。90)。Butthisotherthingisagainlinkedwithstillanotherandsotheboundarywithinwhichmywill，asthesoul，canpourintothe’soil，disappears。”WhenIpossesssomething，mymindatoncepassesovertotheideathatnotonlythispropertyinmyimmediatepossession，butwhatisassociatedwithitisalsomine。

Herepositiverightmustdecide，fornothingmorecanbededucedfromtheconcept”(p。91)。Thisisanextraordinarilynaiveadmission”oftheconcept，andprovesthatthisconceptwhichmakestheblunderattheveryoutsetofregardingasabsoluteaverydefinitelegalviewoflandedpropertybelongingtobourgeoissociety-understandsnothing”oftheactualnatureofthislandedproperty。Thiscontainsatthesametimetheadmissionthat”positiveright”can，andmust，alteritsdeterminationsastherequirementsofsocial，i。e。，economic，developmentchange。

27。Veryconservativeagriculturalchemists，suchasJohnston，admitthatareallyrationalagricultureisconfrontedeverywherewithinsurmountablebarriersstemmingfromprivateproperty。

Sodowriterswhoareex-prolessoadvocatesofthemonopolyofprivatepropertyintheworld，forinstance，CharlesComteinhistwo-volumework，whichhasasitsspecialaimthedefenceofprivateproperty。”Anation，”

hesays，”cannotattaintothedegreeofprosperityandpowercompatiblewithitsnature，unlesseveryportionofthesoilnourishingitisassignedtothatpurposewhichagreesbestwiththegeneralinterest。Inordertogivetoitswealthastrongdevelopment，onesoleandaboveallhighlyenlightenedwillshould，ifpossible，takeituponitselftoassigneachpieceofitsdomainitstaskandmakeeverypiececontributetotheprosperityofallothers。Buttheexistenceofsuchawill……wouldbeincompatiblewiththedivisionofthelandintoprivateplots——andwiththeauthorityguaranteedeachownertodisposeofhispropertyinanalmostabsolutemanner。[”Traitedelapropriete，”TomeI，Paris，1834，p。228——Ed。]Johnston，Comte，andothers，onlyhaveinmindthenecessityoftillingthelandofacertaincountryasawhole，whentheyspeakofacontradictionbetweenpropertyandarationalsystemofagronomy。Butthedependenceofthecultivationofparticularagriculturalproductsuponthefluctuationsofmarket-prices，andthecontinualchangesinthiscultivationwiththesepricefluctuations-thewholespiritofcapitalistproduction，whichisdirectedtowardtheimmediategainofmoneyareincontradictiontoagriculture，whichhastoministertotheentirerangeofpermanentnecessitiesofliferequiredbythechainofsuccessivegenerations。A

strikingillustrationofthisisfurnishedbytheforests，whichareonlyrarelymanagedinawaymoreorlesscorrespondingtotheinterestsofsocietyasawhole，i。e。，whentheyarenotprivateproperty，butsubjecttothecontrolofthestate。

28。MiseredelaPhilosophie，p。165。

ThereIhavemadeadistinctionbetweenterre-matiereandterre-capital。”Themereapplicationoffurtheroutlaysofcapitaltolandalreadytransformedintomeansofproductionincreaseslandascapitalwithoutaddinganythingtolandasmatter，thatis，totheextentoftheland……Landascapitalisnomoreeternalthananyothercapital……Landascapitalisfixedcapital；butfixedcapitalgetsusedupjustasmuchascirculatingcapital。”

29。Isay”can”becauseundercertaincircumstancesthisinterestisregulatedbythelawofground-rentand，therefore，candisappear，asinthecaseofcompetitionbetweenvirginlandsofgreatnaturalfertility。

30。SeeJamesAnderson[ACalmInvestigationoftheCircumstancesthathaveledtothePresentScarcityofGraininBritain，London，1801，pp。35-36，38——Ed。]andCarey，ThePast，thePresent，andtheFuture，Philadelphia，1848，pp。129-31——Ed。

31。SeetheAnti-CornLawPrize-Essays。

However，theCornLawsalwayskeptpricesatanartificiallyhigherlevel。

Forthebetterp]acedtenantsthiswasfavourable。Theyprofitedfromthepassivityinwhichtheprotectivedutieskeptthegreatmassoftenantswhorelied，withorwithoutgoodreason，ontheexceptionalaverageprice。

32。JohnC。Morton，TheForcesUsedinAgriculture。LectureintheLondonSocietyofArts，1860，baseduponauthenticdocumentscollectedfromaboutiOOtenantsin12Scottishand35Englishcounties。

1894:CapitalIII——Chapter38KarlMarx’sCAPITALvolumeIIICHAPTERXXXVIIIDIFFERENTIALRENT:GENERALREMARKS

Intheanalysisofground-rentweshallbeginwiththeassumptionthatproductspayingsucharent，productsinwhichaportionofthesurplus-value，andthereforealsoaportionofthetotalprice，resolvesitselfintoground-rent，i。e。，thatagriculturalaswella~miningproductsaresoldattheirpricesofproductionlikeallothercommodities。(Itsufficesforourpurposestoconfineourselvestoagriculturalandminingproducts。)Inotherwords，theirsellingpricesaremadeupoftheelementsoftheircost(thevalueofconsumedconstantandvariablecapital)plusaprofitdeterminedbythegeneralrateofprofitandcalculatedonthetotaladvancedcapital，whetherconsumedornot。

Weassume，then，thataveragesellingpricesoftheseproductsareequaltotheirpricesofproduction。Thequestionnowariseshowitispossibleforground-renttodevelopundertheseconditions，i。e。，howitispossibleforaportionoftheprofittobecometransformedintoground-rent，sothataportionofthecommodity-pricefallstothelandlord。

Inordertodemonstratethegeneralcharacterofthisformofground-rent，letusassumethatmostofthefactoriesofacertaincountryderivetheirpowerfromsteam-engines，whileasmallernumberderiveitfromnaturalwaterfalls。Letusfurtherassumethatthepriceofproductionintheformeramountsto115foraquantityofcommoditieswhichhaveconsumedacapitalof100。The15%profitiscalculatednotsolelyontheconsumedcapitalof100，butonthetotalcapitalemployedintheproductionofthiscommodity-value。Wehavepreviouslyshownthatthispriceofproductionisnotdeterminedbytheindividualcost-priceofeverysingleindustrialproducer，butbytheaveragecost-priceofthecommodityunderaverageconditionsofcapitalintheentiresphereofproduction。Itis，infact，themarket-priceofproduction，theaveragemarket-priceasdistinctfromitsoscillations。Itisingeneralintheformofthemarket-price，and，furthermore，intheformoftheregulatingmarket-price，ormarket-priceofproduction，thatthenatureofthevalueofcommoditiesassertsitself，itsdeterminationnotbythelabour-timenecessaryinthecaseofanyindividualproducerfortheproductionofacertainquantityofcommodities，orofsomeindividualcommodity，butbythesociallynecessarylabour-time；thatis，bythelabour-time，requiredfortheproductionofthesociallynecessarytotalquantityofcommodityvarietiesonthemarketundertheexistingaverageconditionsofsocialproductionAsdefinitefiguresareimmaterialinthiscase，weshallassumefurthermorethatthecost-priceinfactoriesrunonwater-powerisonly90insteadof100。Sincetheregulatingmarket-priceofproductionofthisquantityofcommodities=115，withaprofitof15%，themanufacturerswhooperatetheirmachinesonwaterpowerwillalsoselltheircommoditiesat115，i。e。，theaveragepriceregulatingthemarket-price。Theirprofitwouldthenbe25insteadof15；theregulatingpriceofproductionwouldallowthemasurplus-profitof10%notbecausetheyselltheircommoditiesabovethepriceofproduction，butbecausetheysellthematthepriceofproduction，becausetheircommoditiesareproduced，ortheircapitaloperates，underexceptionallyfavourableconditions，i。e。，underconditionswhicharemorefavourablethantheaverageprevailinginthissphere。

Twothingsbecomeevidentatonce:

First，thesurplus-profitoftheproducerswhouseanaturalwaterfallasmotivepoweristobeginwithinthesameclasswithallsurplus-profit(andwehavealreadyanalysedthiscategorywhendiscussingpricesofproduction)

whichisnotthefortuitousresultoftransactionsinthecirculationprocess，ofthefortuitousfluctuationsinmarket-prices。Thissurplus-profit，then，islikewiseequaltothedifferencebetweentheindividualpriceofproductionofthesefavouredproducersandthegeneralsocialpriceofproductionregulatingthemarketinthisentireproductionsphere。Thisdifferenceisequaltotheexcessofthegeneralpriceofproductionofthecommoditiesovertheirindividualpriceofproduction。Thetworegulatinglimitsofthisexcessare，ontheonehand，theindividualcost-price，andthustheindividualpriceofproduction，and，ontheotherhand，thegeneralpriceofproduction。Thevalueofcommoditiesproducedwithwater-powerissmallerbecauseasmallertotalquantityoflabourisrequiredfortheirproduction，i。e。，lesslabour-inmaterialisedform-entersintotheconstantcapitalaspartofthelatter。

Thelabouremployedhereismoreproductive，itsindividualproductivepowerisgreaterthanthatemployedinthemajorityoffactoriesofthesamekind。Itsgreaterproductivepowerisshowninthefactthatinordertoproducethesamequantityofcommodities，itrequiresasmallerquantityofconstantcapital，asmallerquantityofmaterialisedlabour，thantheothers。Italsorequireslesslivinglabour，becausethewater-wheelneednotbeheated。Thisgreaterindividualproductivenessofemployedlabourreducesthevalue，butalsothecost-priceandtherebythepriceofproductionofthecommodity。Fortheindividualindustrialcapitalistthisexpressesitselfinalowercost-priceforhiscommodities。Hehastopayforlessmaterialisedlabour，andalsolesswagesforlesslivinglabour-poweremployed。

Sincethecost-priceofhiscommoditiesislower，hisindividualpriceofproductionisalsolower。Hiscost-priceis90insteadof100。Hisindividualpriceofproductionwouldthereforebeonly1031/2insteadof115(100:

115-901031/)Thedifferencebetweenhisindividualpriceofproductionandthegeneralpriceofproductionislimitedbythedifferencebetweenhisindividualcost-priceandthegeneralcost-price。Thisisoneofthemagnitudeswhichformthelimitstohissurplus-profit。Theotheristhemagnitudeofthegeneralpriceofproductionintowhichthegeneralrateofprofitentersasoneoftheregulatingfactors。Werecoaltobecomecheaper，thedifferencebetweenhisindividualcost-priceandthegeneralcost-pricewoulddecrease，andwithithissurplus-profit。Shouldhebecompelledtosellhiscommoditiesattheirindividualvalue，oratthepriceofproductiondeterminedbytheirindividualvalue，thenthedifferencewoulddisappear。Itis，ontheonehand，aresultofthefactthatthecommoditiesaresoldattheirgeneralmarket-price，thepricebroughtaboutbytheequalisationofindividualpricesthroughcompetition，and，ontheother，aresultofthefactthatthegreaterindividualproductivityoflaboursetinmotionbyhimdoesnotbenefitthelabourer，buttheemployer，asdoesallproductivityoflabour，thatitappearsastheproductivenessofcapital。

Sincethelevelofthegeneralpriceofproductionisoneofthelimitsofthissurplus-profit，thelevelofthegeneralrateofprofitbeingoneofitsfactors，thissurplus-profitcanonlyarisefromthedifferencebetweenthegeneralandtheindividualpriceofproduction，andconsequentlyfromthedifferencebetweenthegeneralandtheindividualrateofprofit。

Anexcessabovethisdifferencepresupposesthesaleofproductsabove，notat，thepriceofproductionregulatedbythemarket。

Secondly，thusfar，thesurplus-profitofthemanufacturerusingnaturalwater-powerinsteadofsteamdoesnotdifferinanywayfromanyothersurplus-profit。Allnormalsurplus-profit，thatis，allsurplus-profitnotduetofortuitoussalesormarket-pricefluctuationsisdeterminedbythedifferencebetweentheindividualpriceofproductionofthecommoditiesofaparticularcapitalandthegeneralpriceofproduction，whichregulatesthemarket-pricesofthecommoditiesproducedbythecapitalinthissphereofproductioningeneral，or，inotherwords，themarket-pricesofcommoditiesofthetotalcapitalinvestedinthissphereofproduction。

Butnowwecometothedifference。

Towhatcircumstancedoestheindustrialcapitalistinthepresentcaseowehissurplus-profit，thesurplusresultingforhimpersonallyfromthepriceofproductionregulatedbythegeneralrateofprofit？

Heowesitinthefirstinstancetoanaturalforce-themotivepowerofthewaterfall-whichisfoundreadilyavailableinNatureandisnotitselfaproductoflabourlikethecoalwhichtransformswaterintosteam。