第21章

Thecoal，therefore，hasvalue，mustbepaidforbyanequivalent，andhasacost。Thewaterfallisanaturalproductionagentintheproductionofwhichnolabourenters。

Butthisisnotall。Themanufacturerwhooperateswithsteamalsoemploysnaturalforceswhichcosthimnothingyetmakethelabourmoreproductiveandincreasethesurplus-valueandtherebytheprofit，inasmuchastheythuscheapenthemanufactureofthemeansofsubsistencerequiredforthelabourers。Thesenaturalforcesarethusquiteasmuchmonopolisedbycapitalasthesocialnaturalforcesoflabourarisingfromco-operation，divisionoflabour，etc。Themanufacturerpaysforcoal，butnotforthecapacityofwatertoalteritsphysicalstate，toturnintosteam，notfortheelasticityofthesteam，etc。Thismonopolisationofnaturalforces，thatis，oftheincreaseinlabour-powerproducedbythem，iscommontoallcapitaloperatingwithsteam-engines。Itmayincreasethatportionoftheproductoflabourwhichrepresentssurplus-valueinrelationtothatportionwhichistransformedintowages。Insofarasitdoesthis，itraisesthegeneralrateofprofit，butitdoesnotcreateanysurplus-profit，forthisconsistsoftheexcessofindividualprofitoveraverageprofit。Thefactthattheapplicationofanaturalforce，awaterfall，createssurplus-profitinthiscase，cannotthereforebeduesolelytothecircumstancethattheincreasedproductivityoflabourhereresultsfromtheapplicationofanaturalforce。Othermodifyingcircumstancesarenecessary。

Conversely。Themereapplicationofnaturalforcesinindustrymayinfluencethelevelofthegeneralrateofprofitbecauseitaffectsthequantityoflabourrequiredtoproducethenecessarymeansofsubsistence。

Butinitselfitdoesnotcreateanydeviationfromthegeneralrateofprofit，andthisispreciselythepointinwhichweareinterestedhere。

Furthermore，thesurplus-profitwhichsomeindividualcapitalotherwiserealisesinaparticularsphereofproduction-fordeviationsoftheratesofprofitinvariousspheresofproductionarecontinuallybalancedoutintoanaveragerate-isdue，asidefromfortuitousdeviations，toareductionincost-price，inproductioncosts。Thisreductionariseseitherfromthefactthatcapitalisusedingreaterthanaveragequantities，sothatfauxfraisofproductionarereduced，whilethegeneralcausesincreasingtheproductivenessoflabour(cooperation，divisionoflabour，etc。)canbecomeeffectivetoahigherdegree，withmoreintensity，becausetheirfieldofactivityhasbecomelarger；oritmayarisefromthefactthat，asidefromtheamountoffunctioningcapital，bettermethodsoflabour，newinventions，improvedmachinery，chemicalmanufacturingsecrets，etc。，inshort，newandimproved，betterthanaveragemeansofproductionandmethodsofproductionareused。Thereductionincost-priceandthesurplus-profitarisingfromitareheretheresultofthemannerinwhichthefunctioningcapitalisinvested。Theyresulteitherfromthefactthatthecapitalisconcentratedinthehandsofonepersoninextraordinarilylargequantities(aconditionthatiscancelledoutassoonasequalmagnitudesofcapitalareusedontheaverage)，orfromthefactthatacertainmagnitudeofcapitalfunctionsinaparticularlyproductivemanner(aconditionthatdisappearsassoonastheexceptionalmethodofproductionbecomesgeneralorissurpassedbyastillmoredevelopedone)。

Thecauseofthesurplus-profit，then，arisesherefromthecapitalitself(whichincludesthelaboursetinmotionbyit)whetheritbeduetothegreatermagnitudeofcapitalemployedortoitsmoreefficientapplication；

and，asamatteroffact，thereisnoparticularreasonwhyallcapitalinthesameproductionsphereshouldnotbeinvestedinthesamemanner。

Onthecontrary，thecompetitionbetweencapitalstendstocancelthesedifferencesmoreandmore。Thedeterminationofvaluebythesociallynecessarylabour-timeassertsitselfthroughthecheapeningofcommoditiesandthecompulsiontoproducecommoditiesunderthesamefavourableconditions。

Butmattersaredifferentwiththesurplus-profitofanindustrialcapitalistwhomakesuseofthewaterfall。Theincreasedproductivenessofthelabourusedbyhimcomesneitherfromthecapitalandlabouritself，norfromthemereapplicationofsomenaturalforcedifferentfromcapitalandlabourbutincorporatedinthecapital。ItarisesfromthegreaternaturalproductivenessoflabourboundupwiththeapplicationofaforceofNature，butnotaforceofNaturethatisatthecommandofallcapitalinthesamesphereofproduction，asforexampletheelasticityofsteam。Inotherwords，itsapplicationisnottobetakenforgrantedwhenevercapitalisgenerallyinvestedinthissphereofproduction。Onthecontrary，itisamonopolisableforceofNaturewhich，likethewaterfall，isonlyatthecommandofthosewhohaveattheirdisposalparticularportionsoftheearthanditsappurtenances。

Itisbynomeanswithinthepowerofcapitaltocallintoexistencethisnaturalpremiseforagreaterproductivityoflabourinthesamemannerasanycapitalmaytransformwaterintosteam。ItisfoundonlylocallyinNatureand，whereveritdoesnotexist，itcannotbeestablishedbyadefiniteinvestmentofcapital。Itisnotboundtogoodswhichlabourcanproduce，suchasmachinesandcoal，buttospecificnaturalconditionsprevailingincertainportionsofland。Thosemanufacturerswhoownwaterfallsexcludethosewhodonotfromusingthisnaturalforce，becauseland，andparticularlylandendowedwithwater-power，isscarce。Thisdoesnotpreventtheamountofwater-poweravailableforindustrialpurposesfrombeingincreased，eventhoughthenumberofnaturalwaterfallsinagivencountryislimited。Thewaterfallmaybeharnessedbymaninordertofullyexploititsmotiveforce。Ifsuchexists，thewater-wheelmaybeimprovedsoastomakeuseofasmuchofthewater-poweraspossible；wheretheordinarywheelisnotsuitableforthewater-supply，turbinesmaybeused，etc。

Thepossessionofthisnaturalforceconstitutesamonopolyinthehandsofitsowner；itisaconditionforanincreaseintheproductivenessoftheinvestedcapitalthatcannotbeestablishedbytheproductionprocessofthecapitalitself；[33]thisnaturalforce，whichcanbemonopolisedinthismanner，isalwaysboundtotheland。Suchanaturalforcedoesnotbelongtothegeneralconditionsofthesphereofproductioninquestion，nortothoseconditionsofthelatterwhichmaybegenerallyestablished。

Nowletusassumethatthewaterfalls，alongwiththelandtowhichtheybelong，areheldbyindividualswhoareregardedasownersoftheseportionsoftheearth，i。e。，whoarelandowners。Theseownerspreventtheinvestmentofcapitalinthewaterfallsandtheirexploitationbycapital。

Theycanpermitorforbidsuchutilisation。Butawaterfallcannotbecreatedbycapitaloutofitself。Therefore，thesurplus-profitwhicharisesfromtheemploymentofthiswaterfallisnotduetocapital，buttotheutilisationofanaturalforcewhichcanbemonopolised，andhasbeenmonopolised，bycapital。Underthesecircumstances，thesurplus-profitistransformedintoground-rent，thatis，itfallsintopossessionoftheownerofawaterfall。

Ifthemanufacturerpaystheownerofawaterfall£；10annually，thenhisprofitis£；15，thatis，15%onthe£；100whichthenmakeuphiscostofproduction；andheisjustaswellorpossiblybetteroffthanallothercapitalistsinhissphereofproductionwhooperatewithsteam。Itwouldnotaltermattersonebitifthecapitalisthimselfshouldbetheownerofawaterfall。Hewould，insuchacase，pocketasbeforethesurplus-profitof£；10inhiscapacityaswaterfallowner，andnotinhiscapacityascapitalist；andpreciselybecausethissurplusdoesnotstemfromhiscapitalassuch，butratherfromthecontrolofalimitednaturalforcedistinctfromhiscapitalwhichcanbemonopolised，isittransformedintoground-rent。

First，itisevidentthatthisrentisalwaysadifferentialrent，foritdoesnotenterasadeterminingfactorintothegeneralproductionpriceofcommodities，butratherisbasedonit。Itinvariablyarisesfromthedifferencebetweentheindividualproductionpriceofaparticularcapitalhavingcommandoverthemonopolisednaturalforce，ontheonehand，andthegeneralproductionpriceofthetotalcapitalinvestedinthesphereofproductionconcerned，ontheother。

Secondly，thisground-rentdoesnotarisefromtheabsoluteincreaseintheproductivenessofemployedcapital，orlabourappropriatedbyit，sincethiscanonlyreducethevalueofcommodities；itisduetothegreaterrelativefruitfulnessofspecificseparatecapitalsinvestedinacertainproductionsphere，ascomparedwithinvestmentsofcapitalwhichareexcludedfromtheseexceptionalandnaturalconditionsfavouringproductiveness。

Forinstance，iftheuseofsteamshouldofferoverwhelmingadvantagesnotofferedbytheuseofwater-power，despitethefactthatcoalhasvalueandthewater-powerhasnot，andiftheseadvantagesmorethancompensatedfortheexpense，then，thewater-powerwouldnotbeusedandcouldnotproduceanysurplus-profit，andthereforecouldnotproduceanyrent。

Thirdly，thenaturalforceisnotthesourceofsurplus-profit，butonlyitsnaturalbasis，becausethisnaturalbasispermitsanexceptionalincreaseintheproductivenessoflabour。Inthesameway，use-valueisingeneralthebearerofexchange-value，butnotitscause。Ifthesameuse-valuecouldbeobtainedwithoutlabour，itwouldhavenoexchange-value，yetitwouldretain，asbefore，thesamenaturalusefulnessasuse-value。

Ontheotherhand，nothingcanhaveexchange-valueunlessithasuse-value，i。e。，unlessitisanaturalbeareroflabour。Wereitnotforthefactthatthevariousvaluesareaveragedoutintopricesofproduction，andthevariousindividualpricesofproductionintoageneralpriceofproductionregulatingthemarket，themereincreaseinproductivityoflabourthroughutilisationofthewaterfallwouldmerelylowerthepriceofcommoditiesproducedwiththeaidofthiswaterfall，withoutincreasingtheshareofprofitcontainedinthesecommodities。Similarly，ontheotherhand，thisincreasedproductivityoflabouritselfwouldnotbeconvertedintosurplus-valuewereitnotforthefactthatcapitalappropriatesthenaturalandsocialproductivityofthelabourusedbyitasitsown。

Fourthly，theprivateownershipofthewaterfallinitselfhasnothingtodowiththecreationofthesurplus-value(profit)portion，andtherefore，ofthepriceofthecommodityingeneral，whichisproducedbymeansofthewaterfall。Thissurplus-profitwouldalsoexistiflandedpropertydidnotexist；forinstance，ifthelandonwhichthewaterfallissituatedwereusedbythemanufacturerasunclaimedland。Hencelandedpropertydoesnotcreatetheportionofvaluewhichistransformedintosurplus-profit，butmerelyenablesthelandowner，theownerofthewaterfall，tocoaxthissurplus-profitoutofthepocketofthemanufacturerandintohisown。Itisnotthecauseofthecreationofsuchsurplus-profit，butisthecauseofitstransformationintotheformofground-rent，andthereforeoftheappropriationofthisportionoftheprofit，orcommodity-price，bytheownerofthelandorwaterfall。

Fifthly，itisevidentthatthepriceofthewaterfall，thatis，thepricewhichthelandownerwouldreceivewerehetosellittoathirdpartyoreventothemanufacturerhimself，doesnotimmediatelyenterintotheproductionpriceofthecommodities，althoughitdoesenterintotheindividualcost-priceofthemanufacturer；becausetherentarisesherefromthepriceofproductionofsimilarcommoditiesproducedbysteammachinery，andthispriceisregulatedindependentlyofthewaterfall。Furthermore，thispriceofthewaterfallonthewholeisanirrationalexpression，butbehinditisbiddenarealeconomicrelationship。Thewaterfall，likelandingeneral，andlikeanynaturalforce，hasnovaluebecauseitdoesnotrepresentanymaterialisedlabour，andtherefore，ithasnoprice，whichisnormallynomorethantheexpressionofvalueinmoneyterms。Wherethereisnovalue，thereisalsoeoipsonothingtobeexpressedinmoney。

Thispriceisnothingmorethanthecapitalisedrent。Landownershipenablesthelandownertoappropriatethedifferencebetweentheindividualprofitandaverageprofit。Theprofitthusacquired，whichisrenewedeveryyear，maybecapitalised，andappearsthenasthepriceofthenaturalforceitself。Ifthesurplus-profitrealisedbythemanufacturerusingthewaterfallamountsto£；10peryear，andtheaverageinterestis5%，thenthese£；10representtheannualinterestonacapitalof£；200andthecapitalisationoftheannual£；10whichthewaterfallenablesitsownertoappropriatefromthemanufacturer，appearsthenasthecapital-valueofthewaterfallitself。Thatitisnotthewaterfallitselfwhichhasvalue，butthatitspriceisamerereflectionoftheappropriatedsurplus-profitcapitalisticallycalculated，becomesatonceevidentfromthefactthatthepriceof£；200representsmerelytheproductobtainedbymultiplyingasurplus-profitof£；10by20years，whereas，otherconditionsremainingequal，thesamewaterfallwillenableitsownertoappropriatethese£；10

everyyearforanindefinitenumberofyears-30years，100years，orxyears；and，whereas，ontheotherhand，shouldsomenewmethodofproductionnotapplicablewithwater-powerreducethecost-priceofcommoditiesproducedbysteammachineryfrom£；100to£；90，thesurplus-profit，andtherebytherent，andthusthepriceofthewaterfall，woulddisappear。

Nowthatwehavedescribedthegeneralconceptofdifferentialrent，weshallpassontoitsconsiderationinagricultureproper。Whatappliestoagriculturewillalsoapplyonthewholetomining。

NOTES

33。Concerningextraprofit，seetheInquiry[intothosePrinciples，RespectingtheNatureofDemandandtheNecessityofConsumption，latelyadvocatedbyMr。Malthus，London，1821-Ed。](againstMalthus)。1894:CapitalIII——Chapter39KarlMarx’sCAPITAL

volumeIII

THEPROCESSOFCAPITALISTPRODUCTIONASAWHOLECHAPTERXXXIX

FIRSTFORMOFDIFFERENTIALRENT(DIFFERENTIALRENTI)Ricardoisquiterightinthefollowingobservations:”Rentisalwaysthedifferencebetweentheproduceobtainedbytheemploymentoftwoequalquantitiesofcapitalandlabour”(Principles，p。59)。[Hemeansdifferentialrent，forheassumesthatnootherrentbutdifferentialrentexists。]Heshouldhaveadded，”onequalareasofland”insofarasitisamatterofground-rentandnotsurplus-profitingeneral。

Inotherwords，surplus-profit，ifnormalandnotduetoaccidentaloccurrencesinthecirculationprocess，isalwaysproducedasadifferencebetweentheproductsoftwoequalquantitiesofcapitalandlabour，andthissurplus-profitistransformedintogroundrentwhentwoequal。quantitiesofcapitalandlabourareemployedonequalareasoflandwithunequalresults。Moreover，itisbynomeansabsolutelynecessaryforthissurplus-profittoarisefromtheunequalresultsofequalquantitiesofinvestedcapital。

Thevariousinvestmentsmayalsoemployunequalquantitiesofcapital。

Indeed，thisisgenerallythecase。Butequalproportions，forinstance£；100ofeach，produceunequalresults；thatis，theirratesofprofitaredifferent。Thisisthegeneralprerequisitefortheexistenceofsurplus-profitinanysphereofcapitalinvestment。Thesecondprerequisiteisthetransformationofthissurplus-profitintotheformofground-rent(ofrentingeneralasaformdistinctfromprofit)；itmustbeinvestigatedineachcasewhen，how，underwhatconditionsthistransformationtakesplace。

Ricardoisalsorightinthefollowingobservation，provideditislimitedtodifferentialrent:”Whateverdiminishestheinequalityintheproduceobtainedonthesameoronnewland，tendstolowerrent，andwhateverincreasesthatinequality，necessarilyproducesanoppositeeffectandtendstoraiseit”(p。74)。

However，amongthesecausesarenotmerelythegeneralones(fertilityandlocation)，butalso1)thedistributionoftaxes，dependingonwhetheritoperatesuniformlyornot；thelatterisalwaysthecasewhen，asinEngland，itisnotcentralisedandwhenthetaxisleviedonland，notonrent；2)theinequalitiesarisingfromadifferenceinagriculturaldevelopmentindifferentpartsofthecountry，sincethislineofproduction，owingtoitstraditionalcharacter，evensoutwithmoredifficultythanmanufacture；and3)theinequalityindistributionofcapitalamongcapitalisttenants。Sincetheinvasionofagriculturebythecapitalistmodeofproduction，transformationofindependentlyproducingpeasantsintowage-workers，isinfactthelastconquestofthismodeofproduction，theseinequalitiesaregreaterherethaninanyotherlineofproduction。

Havingmadethesepreliminaryremarks，IwillfirstpresentabriefsummaryofthecharacteristicfeaturesofmyanalysisincontradistinctiontothatofRicardo，etc。

Weshallfirstconsidertheunequalresultsofequalquantitiesofcapitalappliedtodifferentplotsoflandofequalsize；or，inthecaseofunequalsize，resultscalculatedonthebasisofequalareas。

Thetwogeneralcausesoftheseunequalresults-quiteindependentofcapital-aie:1)Fertility。(Withreferencetothisfirstpoint，itwillbenecessarytodiscusswhatismeantbynaturalfertilityoflandandwhatfactorsareinvolved。)2)Thelocationoftheland。Thisisadecisivefactorinthecaseofcoloniesandingeneraldeterminesthesequenceinwhichplotsoflandcanbecultivated。Furthermore，itisevidentthatthesetwodifferentcausesofdifferentialrent-fertilityandlocation-mayworkinoppositedirections。Acertainplotoflandmaybeveryfavourablylocatedandyetbeverypoorinfertility，andviceversa。Thiscircumstanceisimportant，foritexplainshowitispossiblethatbringingintocultivationthelandofacertaincountrymayequallywellproceedfromthebettertotheworselandasviceversa。Finally，itisclearthattheprogressofsocialproductioningeneralhas，ontheonehand，theeffectofeveningoutdifferencesarisingfromlocationasacauseofground-rent，bycreatinglocalmarketsandimprovinglocationsbyestablishingcommunicationandtransportationfacilities；ontheotherhand，itincreasesthedifferencesinindividuallocationsofplotsoflandbyseparatingagriculturefrommanufacturingandforminglargecentresofproduction，ontheonehand，whilerelativelyisolatingagriculturaldistricts，ontheother。

Forthepresent，however，weshallleavethispointconcerninglocationoutofconsiderationandconfineourselvestonaturalfertility。

Asidefromclimaticfactors，etc。，thedifferenceinnaturalfertilitydependsonthechemicalcompositionofthetopsoil，thatis，onitsdifferentplantnutritioncontent。However，assumingthechemicalcompositionandnaturalfertilityinthisrespecttobethesamefortwoplotsofland，theactualeffectivefertilitydiffersdependingonwhethertheseelementsofplantnutritionareinaformwhichmaybemoreorlesseasilyassimilatedandimmediatelyutilisedfornourishingthecrops。Hence，itwilldependpartlyuponchemicalandpartlyuponmechanicaldevelopmentsinagriculturetowhatextentthesamenaturalfertilitymaybemadeavailableonplotsoflandofsimilarnaturalfertility。Fertility，althoughanobjectivepropertyofthesoil，alwaysimpliesaneconomicrelation，arelationtotheexistingchemicalandmechanicallevelofdevelopmentinagriculture，and，therefore，changeswiththislevelofdevelopment。Whetherbychemicalmeans(suchastheuseofcertainliquidfertilisersonstiffclaysoilandcalcinationofheavyclayeysoils)ormechanicalmeans(suchasspecialploughsforheavysoils)，theobstacleswhichmadeasoilofequalfertilityactuallylessfertilecanbeeliminated(drainagealsobelongsunderthishead)。Oreventhesequenceintypesofsoilstakenundercultivationmaybechangedthereby，aswasthecase，forinstance，withlightsandysoilandheavyclayeysoilatacertainperiodofdevelopmentinEnglishagriculture。

Thisshowsonceagainthathistorically，inthesequenceofsoilstakenundercultivation，onemaypassoverfrommorefertiletolessfertilesoilsaswellasviceversa。Thesameresultsmaybeobtainedbyanartificiallycreatedimprovementinsoilcompositionorbyamerechangeinagriculturalmethods。Finally，thesameresultmaybebroughtaboutbyachangeinthehierarchicalarrangementofthesoiltypesduetodifferentconditionsofthesubsoil，assoonasthelatterlikewisebeginstobetilledandturnedoverintotoplayers。Thisisinpartdependentontheemploymentofnewagriculturalmethods(suchasthecultivationoffodder-grass)andinpartontheemploymentofmechanicalmeanswhicheitherturnthesubsoiloverintotoplayers，mixitwithtopsoil，orcultivatethesubsoilwithoutturningitup。

Alltheseinfluencesuponthedifferentialfertilityofvariousplotsoflandaresuchthatfromthestandpointofeconomicfertility，theleveloflabourproductivity，inthiscasethecapacityofagriculturetomakethenaturalsoilfertilityimmediatelyexploitable——acapacitywhichdiffersinvariousperiodsofdevelopment——isasmuchafactorinso-callednaturalsoilfertilityasitschemicalcompositionandothernaturalproperties。

Weassume，then，theexistenceofaparticularstageofdevelopmentinagriculture。Weassumefurthermorethatthehierarchicalarrangementofsoiltypesaccordswiththisstageofdevelopment，asis，ofcourse，alwaystheca