[ Addenda to the Chapters on Money and on Capital]
/ / " T H E MONEY CIRCULATING IN A COUNTRY IS A CERTAIN PORTION OF THE CAPITAL
OF THE COUNTRY, ABSOLUTELY WITHDRAWN FROM PRODUCTIVE PURPOSES, IN ORDER TO FACILITATE OR INCREASE THE PRODUCTIVENESS OF THE REMAINDER. A CERTAIN AMOUNT
OF WEALTH IS, THEREFORE, AS NECESSARY, IN ORDER TO ADOPT GOLD AS A CIRCULATING MEDIUM, AS IT IS TO MAKE A MACHINE, IN ORDER TO FACILITATE ANY OTHER PRODUCTION" (The Economist, Vol. V, [No. 193, 8 May 1847,] p. 520).//
//"What is the practice? A manufacturer receives from his BANKER £500 in notes on Saturday for WAGES; these he distributes among his workers. On the same day, the majority of the notes are carried to the SHOPKEEPERS, and by them returned to their various BANKERS" (I.e., [No. 195, 22 May 1847,] p. 575).//
//"A COTTON SPINNER, who with a capital of £100,000 laid out £95,000 for HIS MILL AND MACHINERY, WOULD SOON FIND HE WANTED MEANS TO BUY COTTON AND PAY WAGES. HIS TRADE WOULD BE HAMPERED AND HIS FINANCES DERANGED. AND YET MEN EXPECT THAT A NATION WHICH HAS RECKLESSLY SUNK THE BULK OF ITS AVAILABLE MEANS IN RAILWAYS, shall nevertheless be able TO CONDUCT THE INFINITE OPERATIONS OF MANUFACTURE AND COMMERCE" (I.e., [No. 219, 6 November 1847] p. 1271).//
"MONEY... AN ADEQUATE EQUIVALENT FOR ANY THING ALIENABLE" (J. Steuart, [An Inquiry into the Principles of Political Oeconomy,] (p. 13),[33] Vol. I, Dublin, 1770, p. 32).
//"In old times ... TO MAKE MANKIND LABOUR BEYOND THEIR WANTS, TO MAKE ONE PART OF A STATE WORK, TO MAINTAIN THE OTHER GRATUITOUSLY, could only be brought about by slavery... IF MANKIND BE NOT FORCED TO LABOUR, THEY WILL ONLY LABOUR FOR THEMSELVES; AND IF THEY HAVE FEW WANTS, THERE WILL BE LITTLE LABOUR. BUT WHEN STATES COME TO BE FORMED AND HAVE OCCASION FOR IDLE HANDS
TO DEFEND THEM AGAINST THE VIOLENCE OF THEIR ENEMIES, FOOD AT ANY RATE MUST BE PROCURED [VII-26] FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT LABOUR; AND AS, BY THE SUPPOSITION, THE WANTS OF THE LABOURERS ARE SMALL, A METHOD MUST BE FOUND TO INCREASE THEIR LABOUR ABOVE THE PROPORTION OF THEIR WANTS. FOR THIS PURPOSE SLAVERY WAS CALCULATED... HERE THEN WAS A VIOLENT METHOD OF MAKING MEN LABORIOUS IN RAISING FOOD; ... MEN WERE THEN FORCED TO LABOUR BECAUSE THEY WERE SLAVES TO OTHERS; MEN ARE NOW FORCED TO LABOUR BECAUSE THEY ARE SLAVES TO THEIR OWN WANTS" (Steuart, Vol. I, pp. 38-40).
"IT INFINITE VARIETY WANTS, KINDS COMMODITIES NECESSARY TO THEIR GRATIFICATION, WHICH ALONE RENDERS THE PASSION FOR WEALTH INDEFINITE AND INSATIABLE" (Wakefield in a commentary to Ad. Smithfs An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations], p. 64 note).//
"MACHINES I CONSIDER AS A M E T H O D O F AUGMENTING (VIRTUALLY) T H E NUMBER O F THE INDUSTRIOUS, WITHOUT THE EXPENSE OF FEEDING AN ADDITIONAL NUMBER" (Steuart, Vol. I, p. 123).
( " W H E N MANUFACTURERS G E T TOGETHER IN BODIES, THEY DEPEND N O T DIRECTLY UPON CONSUMERS, BUT UPON MERCHANTS") (Steuart, vol. I, p. 153).
( " T H E ABUSIVE AGRICULTURE IS N O TRADE, BECAUSE I T APPLIES NO ALIENATION, B U T IS
PURELY A M E T H O D O F SUBSISTING") (I.E., P . 1 5 6 ) . (" TRADE IS AN OPERATION, BY W H I C H T H E WEALTH, OR WORK, EITHER OF INDIVIDUALS,
OR OF SOCIETIES, MAY BE EXCHANGED, BY A SET OF MEN CALLED MERCHANTS, FOR AN
EQUIVALENT, PROPER FOR SUPPLYING EVERY WANT, W I T H O U T ANY INTERRUPTION T O
INDUSTRY, OR ANY CHECK UPON C O N S U M P T I O N " (Steuart, I, p. 166).)
( " W H I L E WANTS C O N T I N U E SIMPLE AND FEW, A WORKMAN FINDS TIME ENOUGH T O
DISTRIBUTE ALL HIS WORK; WHEN WANTS BECOME MORE MULTIPLIED, MEN MUST WORK
HARDER; TIME BECOMES PRECIOUS; HENCE TRADE IS I N T R O D U C E D . T H E MERCHANT AS mediator between the WORKMAN a n d the CONSUMER") (I.e., p. 171).
( " M O N E Y the COMMON PRICE of all things") (I.e., p. 177). "Money is represented by the merchant. T o the CONSUMERS, he represents the whole body of MANUFACTURERS; to the latter, the whole body of CONSUMERS; a n d to both CLASSES HIS CREDIT SUPPLIES THE USE OF MONEY. H e represents WANTS, MANUFACTURERS and MONEY BY TURNS" (I.e., pp. 177, 178).
(In Vol. I, pp. 181-83, q.v., Steuart considers profit as PROFIT UPON ALIENATION, fluctuating with DEMAND, and contrasts it with REAL VALUE, which he defines in a very confused fashion (in doing so he thinks of the production costs) as the quantity of objectified labour (WHAT
A WORKMAN CAN PERFORM IN A DAY, etc . ) , NECESSARY EXPENSE o f t h e WORKMEN, and price of the raw material.)
(With Steuart, the categories are still very changeable, not yet fixed as with A. Smith. We have just seen REAL VALUE presented as identical with the production costs, for alongside the labour of the WORKMEN and the VALUE of the material, WAGES still figure confusedly as a particular component. Elsewhere he understands by the INTRINSIC VALUE of a commodity the value of its raw material or the raw material itself, while by USEFUL VALUE he understands the labour time expended on the commodity.
" T h e former is SOMETHING REAL IN ITSELF, e.g. the silver in wrought silver plate. T h e INTRINSIC WORTH OF A SILK, WOOLLEN OR LINEN MANUFACTURE IS LESS THAN THE PRIMITIVE VALUE EMPLOYED, BECAUSE IT IS RENDERED ALMOST UNSERVICEABLE FOR ANY OTHER USE BUT THAT FOR WHICH THE MANUFACTURE IS INTENDED; the USEFUL VALUE,
on the other hand, MUST BE ESTIMATED ACCORDING TO THE LABOUR IT HAS COST TO
PRODUCE IT. THE LABOUR EMPLOYED IN THE MODIFICATION REPRESENTS A PORTION OF A
MAN'S TIME. WHICH HAVING BEEN USEFULLY EMPLOYED, HAS GIVEN A FORM TO SOME
SUBSTANCE WHICH HAS RENDERED I T USEFUL, ORNAMENTAL, OR IN SHORT, F I T FOR MAN, MEDIATELY OR IMMEDIATELY" (I.e., Vol. I, p p . 3 6 1 , 362).)
//The real use value is the form which is given to the substance. But this form is itself merely labour in repose.//
"WHEN WE SUPPOSE A COMMON STANDARD IN THE PRICE OF ANY THING, WE MUST SUPPOSE THE ALIENATION OF IT TO BE FREQUENT OR FAMILIAR. IN COUNTRIES WHERE SIMPLICITY REIGNS, it is scarcely possible TO DETERMINE ANY STANDARD FOR THE PRICE OF ARTICLES OF FIRST NECESSITY ... in such a state of society, the ARTICLES OF FOOD AND
NECESSARIES ARE HARDLY FOUND IN COMMERCE: NO PERSON PURCHASES THEM; BECAUSE
THE PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION OF EVERYBODY IS T O PROCURE THEM FOR HIMSELF... SALE ALONE CAN DETERMINE PRICES, AND FREQUENT SALE CAN ONLY FIX A STANDARD. NOW
THE FREQUENT SALE OF ARTICLES OF THE FIRST NECESSITY MARKS A DISTRIBUTION OF INHABITANTS IN LABOURERS and FREE HANDS" etc. (I.e., Vol. I, pp. 395, 396).)
(The theory of the determination of price by the volume of the circulating medium was first postulated by Locke; repeated in The Spectator of 19 October, 1711; developed and elegantly formulated by Hume and Montesquieu[34]; in its basic premisses formally carried to an extreme by Ricardo; and, with all its absurdities, applied in practice to banking, etc., by Loyd, Colonel Torrens, etc.) Steuart polemises against it, and his analysis essentially anticipates pretty well all that was later asserted by Bosanquet, Tooke and Wilson. (Notebook, p. 26.[33]) [Steuart, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 399-404.]
(By way of historical illustration he says, among other things:
"It is a FACT that at the time when Greece and Rome ABOUNDED IN WEALTH, WHEN EVERY RARITY AND THE WORK OF CHOICEST ARTISTS WAS CARRIED TO AN EXCESSIVE PRICE, AN OX WAS BOUGHT FOR A MERE TRIFLE, AND GRAIN WAS CHEAPER PERHAPS THAN EVER IT WAS IN SCOTLAND... DEMAND IS PROPORTIONED, NOT TO THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO CONSUME, BUT OF THOSE WHO BUY: NOW THOSE WHO CONSUME, ARE ALL THE INHABITANTS, BUT THOSE WHO BUY, ARE ONLY THE FEW INDUSTRIOUS WHO ARE FREE ... Slavery in Greece and Rome: THOSE WHO WERE FED by the labour of their own SLAVES, [by that of] the slaves of the State, or by GRAIN gratuitously distributed
t o t h e p e o p l e , HAD NO OCCASION T O GO T O THE MARKET; THEY DID NOT ENTER INTO COMPETITION WITH THE BUYERS... T h e FEW MANUFACTURERS THEN KNOWN, MADE WANTS IN GENERAL LESS EXTENSIVE; CONSEQUENTLY, THE NUMBER OF THE INDUSTRIOUS FREE WAS SMALL, AND THEY WERE THE ONLY PERSONS WHO COULD HAVE OCCASION T O PURCHASE FOOD AND NECESSARIES; CONSEQUENTLY, THE COMPETITION OF THE BUYERS MUST HAVE BEEN SMALL IN PROPORTION, AND PRICES LOW; further , t h e MARKETS Were
SUPPLIED partly from the SURPLUS PRODUCED on the LANDS of the GREAT MEN, LABOURED BY SLAVES; WHO BEING FED FROM THE LANDS, THE SURPLUS COST IN A MANNER NOTHING TO THE PROPRIETORS; and as the number of those who had OCCASION to buy was very small, THIS SURPLUS WAS SOLD CHEAP. Besides, the GRAIN DISTRIBUTED TO THE PEOPLE gratis must necessarily have kept the market DOWN, etc. By contrast, A FINE MULLET or an ARTIST, etc., were the object of great competition, with prices consequently rising extraordinarily high. T H E LUXURY OF THOSE TIMES, THOUGH EXCESSIVE, WAS CONFINED TO A FEW, AND AS MONEY, IN GENERAL, CIRCULATED BUT SLOWLY THROUGH THE HANDS OF THE MULTITUDE, IT WAS CONSTANTLY STAGNATING IN THOSE OF THE RICH, WHO FOUND NO MEASURE, BUT THEIR OWN CAPRICE, IN REGULATING THE PRICES OF WHAT THEY WISHED TO POSSESS") ([Pp.] 26, 27, Notebook [on] Steuart [op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 403-05].)
"MONEY OF ACCOUNT is no more than an ARBITRARY SCALE OF EQUAL PARTS, INVENTED FOR MEASURING THE RESPECTIVE VALUE OF THINGS VENDIBLE. MONEY OF ACCOUNT is something quite different from MONEY-COIN, WHICH IS PRICE, and could exist even if there were no substance in the world which could be a PROPORTIONAL EQUIVALENT for every commodity" (Vol. II, p. 102). "MONEY OF ACCOUNT performs the same office with regard to the value of things that [degrees,] minutes, seconds, etc., do with regard to angles or as SCALES do to GEOGRAPHICAL MAPS, etc. In all these INVENTIONS, there is always SOME DENOMINATION TAKEN FOR THE UNIT" (I.e.). " T H E USEFULNESS OF ALL THOSE INSTITUTIONS BEING SOLELY CONFINED TO THE MARKING OF PROPORTION. JUST SO THE UNIT IN MONEY CAN HAVE NO INVARIABLE DETERMINATE PROPORTION TO ANY PART OF VALUE, I.E. IT CANNOT BE FIXED TO ANY PARTICULAR QUANTITY OF GOLD, SILVER or ANY OTHER COMMODITY WHATSOEVER. T H E UNIT ONCE FIXED, WE CAN, BY [ V I I - 2 7 ] MULTIPLYING IT, ASCEND T O THE GREATEST VALUE", e t c . ( p . 1 0 3 ) . " S O MONEY A SCALE FOR MEASURING VALUE" ( p . 1 0 2 ) .
" T H E VALUE OF COMMODITIES, THEREFORE, DEPENDING UPON A GENERAL COMBINATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES RELATIVE T O THEMSELVES AND [TO] THE FANCIES OF MEN, THEIR VALUE OUGHT T O BE CONSIDERED AS CHANGING ONLY WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER; CONSEQUENTLY, ANY THING WHICH TROUBLES OR PERPLEXES THE ASCERTAINING THOSE CHANCES OF PROPORTION BY THE MEANS OF A GENERAL, DETERMINATE AND INVARIABLE SCALE, MUST BE HURTFUL T O TRADE AND A CLOG UPON ALIENATION" ( p . 1 0 4 ) . " I t is absolutely essential to distinguish between PRICE (i.e. COIN) CONSIDERED AS A MEASURE AND price CONSIDERED AS AN EQUIVALENT FOR VALUE. The METALS do not discharge both functions equally well... MONEY IS AN IDEAL SCALE OF EQUAL PARTS. IF IT BE DEMANDED, WHAT OUGHT TO BE THE STANDARD OF VALUE OF ONE PART? I ANSWER, BY PUTTING ANOTHER QUESTION: W H A T IS THE STANDARD LENGTH OF A DEGREE, A MINUTE,
A SECOND? I T HAS NONE — BUT SO SOON AS ONE PART BECOMES DETERMINED, BY THE NATURE OF A SCALE, ALL THE REST MUST FOLLOW IN PROPORTION" ( p . 1 0 5 ) . " E x a m p l e s of this ideal money are the bank money of Amsterdam, and the MONEY in Angola, on the African coast. The BANK MONEY STANDS INVARIABLE LIKE A ROCK IN THE SEA. ACCORDING TO THIS IDEAL STANDARD ARE THE PRICES OF ALL THINGS REGULATED" (pp. 106, 107).
In Custodi's collection of Italian economists, Parte Antica, Tomo III, (Geminiano) Montanari's Delia Moneta, written ABOUT 1683, says the following about the "invention" of money:
"Intercourse between nations has spread across the whole globe to such an extent that one could say all the world has virtually become a single city in which a permanent fair of all commodities is taking place, so that everyone, without leaving his home, can, by means of money, obtain and enjoy everything produced by the earth, the animals and human industry. A marvellous invention!" (P. 40.) "It is also a feature of measures to enter into such a relation with the thing measured that in a certain way the latter becomes the measure of the former, so that, just as motion is the measure of time, time becomes the measure of motion itself; and so it comes about that not only is money the measure of our desires, but, conversely, the desires are the measure of money itself and of value" (pp. 41, 42). "Obviously, the larger the quantity of money circulating in commerce within the confines of a province in proportion to the quantity of saleable things there, the more expensive those things will become — if one can call a thing expensive because it is worth a great deal of gold in a country in which gold is abundant, rather than considering the gold itself to be cheap in this case, since so much gold is equated to another thing which is elsewhere considered to be cheaper" (p. 48).a
a Marx quotes in Italian.— Ed.
"A hundred years ago, the AMASSING OF GOLD AND SILVER, AS A KIND OF WEALTH par excellence, was the CHIEF FEATURE IN THE COMMERCIAL POLICY OF NATIONS (Wm. Gouge, A Short History of Paper Money and Banking in the United States, Philadelphia, 1833, [Part IJ p. 67).
(Barter in the United States (see Gouge, Notebook VIII,[33] pp. 81 et sqq.):
"In Pennsylvania, as well as in the other colonies, a considerable TRAFFIC WAS CARRIED ON BY BARTER ... in Maryland, as late as 1732, an act was PASSED MAKING TOBACCO A LEGAL TENDER AT ONE PENNY A POUND, AND INDIAN CORN AT 20 D. A BUSHEL" (p. 5) (PART II). But soon "THEIR TRADE WITH THE WEST INDIES, AND A CLANDESTINE COMMERCE widi the SPANISH MADE SILVER SO PLENTIFUL that, in 1652 A MINT WAS ESTABLISHED IN NEW ENGLAND FOR COINING SHILLINGS, SIXPENCES AND THREE-PENNY PIECES (p. 5) (I.e.). "Virginia, in 1645, prohibited DEALINGS BY BARTER, and established the SPANISH PIECE OF 8 TO 6 SH. AS THE STANDARD CURRENCY of the COLONY" (the Spanish dollar). "The other colonies AFFIXED different DENOMINATIONS to the dollar... The MONEY IN ACCOUNT was everywhere the same nominally as in England. The country's COIN was chiefly Spanish and Portuguese", etc. [pp. 5-6] Cf. p. 81, Notebook VIII. (P. 6. By an Act of QUEEN Anne an attempt was made to put an end to this confusion.)
Tuckett: A History of the Past and Present State of the Labouring Population etc., 2 vols, London, 1846.
"Woollen manufacture: At the time of Elizabeth, the CLOTHIER OCCUPIED THE PLACE OF THE MILLOWNER OR MANUFACTURER; HE WAS THE CAPITALIST WHO BOUGHT
THE WOOL, AND DELIVERED IT T O THE WEAVER, IN PORTIONS OF ABOUT [12] POUNDS, TO BE MADE INTO CLOTH. It the beginning, the MANUFACTURE [was] CONFINED TO CITIES and CORPORATE and MARKET-TOWNS, THE INHABITANTS OF THE VILLAGES MAKING LITTLE MORE THAN [ sufficed ] FOR THE USE OF THEIR FAMILIES. Later IN NON-CORPORATE TOWNS FAVOURED BY LOCAL ADVANTAGES a n d a l s o IN COUNTRY PLACES BY FARMERS, GRAZIERS
a n d HUSBANDMEN, WHO COMMENCED MAKING CLOTH FOR SALE, AS WELL AS FOR DOMESTIC USE. (The coarser types.) In 1551 a statute was passed that limited the number of LOOMS and APPRENTICES that could be kept BY CLOTHIERS AND WEAVERS RESIDING OUT OF CITIES; a n d t h a t n o COUNTRY WEAVER SHOULD HAVE A TUCKING MILL, NOR ANY TUCKER A LOOM. Under a law of the same year, all WEAVERS of BROAD CLOTH had to undergo an APPRENTICESHIP of 7 years. Nevertheless, VILLAGE MANUFACTURE, AS AN OBJECT OF MERCANTILE PROFIT, TOOK FIRM ROOT. 5 and 6 Edward VI (22) A STATUTE which prohibited the USE OF MACHINERY. The FLEMINGS and DUTCH therefore retained superiority in this manufacture until the end of the 17th century. In 1668, the DUTCH LOOM introduced from Holland" ([Vol. IJ pp. 136-41). "As a result of the introduction of machinery, one person in 1800 could do as much WORK as 46 in 1785. In 1800, the CAPITAL INVESTED IN MILLS, MACHINERY, etc., APPROPRIATED f o r t h e WOOLLEN TRADE w a s n o t LESS t h a n 6 MILLIONS POUNDS STERLING, and the total number of PERSONS OF ALL AGES employed in this branch of industry in England was 1,500,000" (pp. 142-43).
The productive power of labour had therefore increased by 4,600%. But, firstly, in relation to the fixed capital alone this figure waS only about V6; in relation to the total capital (raw material, etc.) perhaps only 72o-
"There is scarcely a manufacture [which has gained] such advantage from the IMPROVEMENTS IN SCIENCE as the art of dyeing cloth, by the application of the LAWS OF CHEMISTRY" (I.e., pp. 143-44). SILK MANUFACTURE. Till the beginning of the 18th century, "the ART OF SILK-THROWING at its most proficient in Italy, where MACHINERY OF A PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION [was] ADOPTED for this purpose. In 1715, John Lombe, one of 3 brothers who were in business as THROWSTERS and SILK-MERCHANTS, travelled to Italy, and managed to obtain a model in one of the MILLS. A SILK MILL, with the IMPROVED MACHINERY, [was] set up by Lombe and his brothers in Derby in 1719. This MILL CONTAINED 26,586 WHEELS, ALL TURNED BY ONE WATER WHEEL. PARLIAMENT granted £14,000 to him FOR THROWING OPEN THE SECRET TO THE TRADE. This MILL came nearer TO THE IDEA OF A MODERN FACTORY THAN ANY PREVIOUS ESTABLISHMENT of the kind. The machine had 97,746 WHEELS, MOVEMENTS, AND INDIVIDUAL PARTS [VII-28] WORKING DAY AND NIGHT, which all obtained their MOTION FROM ONE LARGE WATER WHEEL AND WERE GOVERNED BY ONE REGULATOR: a n d IT EMPLOYED 300 PERSONS TO ATTEND AND SUPPLY IT WITH WORK" ([pp.] 133-34).
(No SPIRIT OF INVENTION was ever manifested in the English SILK TRADE; first introduced by the weavers of Antwerp, who had fled after the SACKING OF THE TOWN by the Duke of Parma; then different branches were introduced by FRENCH REFUGEES in 1685-92 [pp. 132, 135, 136].)
In 1740, 1,700 TONS of iron was produced by 59 blast furnaces; in 1827, 690,000 tons by 284 furnaces. Hence the number of blast furnaces increased l:4[48]/[59], not even five-fold; the TONS increased l:405[15]/i7- (For the relationship over a number of years see I.e. [p. 157,] Notebook,[11] p. 12.)
Glass manufacturing provides the best illustration of how the progress of science depends upon manufacturing. On the other hand, e.g. the invention of the quadrant originated in the needs of navigation; Parliament offered a premium to stimulate inventions [ibid., pp. 171-79].
8 COTTON machines, which in 1825 cost £5,000 WERE SOLD in 1833 for £300. (On COTTON spinning, see I.e., [p. 204,] p. 13, Notebook.)
"A FIRST-RATE C O T T O N SPINNING FACTORY CANNOT BE BUILT, FILLED W I T H MACHINERY, AND FITTED WITH GAS-WORKS AND STEAM-ENGINE, UNDER £100,000. A STEAM-ENGINE OF ONE HUNDRED HORSE POWER WILL TURN 50,000 SPINDLES, WHICH WILL PRODUCE 62,500 MILES OF FINE COTTON-THREAD PER DAY. I N SUCH A FACTORY 1,000 PERSONS WILL SPIN AS MUCH THREAD AS 250,000 PERSONS COULD WITHOUT MACHINERY. McCulloch ESTIMATES THE NUMBER IN BRITAIN AT 130,000" (I.e., p. 218).
"WHERE THERE ARE NO REGULAR ROADS, THERE CAN HARDLY BE SAID TO BE A COMMUNITY; THE PEOPLE COULD HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON" (Tuckett, I.e., [Vol. I,] p. 270).
"Of the PRODUCE of the EARTH, USEFUL TO MEN, 99/ioo are the PRODUCE OF MEN" (I.e., [Vol. II,] p. 348).
"WHEN SLAVERY OR LIFE-APPRENTICESHIP WAS ABOLISHED, THE LABOURER BECAME HIS OWN MASTER and was left to his own RESOURCES. But, if unprovided with
s u f f i c i e n t w o r k , e t c . , MEN WILL NOT STARVE WHILST THEY CAN BEG OR STEAL; CONSEQUENTLY THE FIRST CHARACTER THE POOR ASSUMED WAS THAT OF THIEVES AND MENDICANTS" (I.e., V o l . I I , p . 6 3 7 , NOTE).
" O N E REMARKABLE DISTINCTION OF THE PRESENT STATE OF SOCIETY, SINCE Elizabeth , is that her Poor Act was expressly an Act FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF INDUSTRY, INTENDED T O MEET THE MASS OF VAGRANCY THAT GREW OUT OF THE SUPPRESSION OF THE MONASTERIES AND THE TRANSITION FROM SLAVERY T O FREE LABOUR. A s a n e x a m p l e of that, the Act of 5 Elizabeth, DIRECTING HOUSEHOLDERS USING HALF A PLOUGH OF LAND IN TILLAGE, TO REQUIRE ANY PERSON THEY MIGHT FIND UNEMPLOYED, TO BECOME THEIR APPRENTICE IN HUSBANDRY, OR IN ANY ART OR MYSTERY; a n d if U n w i l l i n g , T O BRING h i m BEFORE A JUSTICE, WHO WAS ALMOST COMPELLED TO COMMIT HIM TO WARD UNTIL HE CONSENTED TO BE BOUND. At the time of Elizabeth, of every 100 men it was necessary to employ 85 for the production of FOOD. A T PRESENT, not A LACK OF INDUSTRY, BUT OF PROFITABLE EMPLOYMENT... THE GREAT DIFFICULTY THEN WAS T O OVERCOME THE PROPENSITY OF IDLENESS AND VAGABONDAGE, NOT T O PROCURE THEM REMUNERATIVE OCCUPATION. DURING THIS REIGN THERE WERE SEVERAL ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE TO ENFORCE THE IDLE TO LABOUR" (I.e., V o l . I I , p p . 6 4 3 , 6 4 4 ) .
"FIXED CAPITAL, WHEN ONCE FORMED, CEASES TO AFFECT THE DEMAND FOR LABOUR, BUT DURING ITS FORMATION IT GIVES EMPLOYMENT TO JUST AS MANY HANDS AS AN EQUAL AMOUNT WOULD EMPLOY, EITHER OF CIRCULATING CAPITAL OR OF REVENUE" (John Barton, Observations on the Circumstances which influence the condition of the labouring classes of society, London, 1817, p. 56).
"The COMMUNITY consists of 2 classes of persons, the one which CONSUMES and REPRODUCES; the other, which CONSUMES WITHOUT REPRODUCTION. If the whole of society consisted of PRODUCERS, it would be of little consequence at what price they exchanged their commodities amongst each other; BUT THOSE WHO ARE ONLY CONSUMERS FORM TOO NUMEROUS A CLASS TO BE OVERLOOKED. THEIR POWERS OF DEMANDING ARISE FROM RENTS, MORTGAGES, ANNUITIES, PROFESSIONS arid SERVICES OF VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS RENDERED TO THE COMMUNITY. T H E HIGHER THE PRICE AT WHICH THE CLASS OF CONSUMERS CAN BE MADE TO BUY, THE GREATER WILL BE THE PROFIT OF THE PRODUCERS UPON THE MASS OF COMMODITIES WHICH THEY SELL TO THEM. Among these purely consuming classes, the government holds THE MOST PROMINENT STATION" (W. Blake, Observations on the Effects produced by the expenditure of government during the restriction of cash payments, London, 1823, pp. 42, 43).
In order to show that capital loaned to the State is not necessarily capital which WAS previously EMPLOYED productively, Blake argues that — a n d here we are concerned only with his admission that a part of capital is always DORMANT—
"the error lies in supposing, (1) that the WHOLE CAPITAL of the COUNTRY [is] FULLY EMPLOYED; (2) THAT THERE IS IMMEDIATE EMPLOYMENT FOR SUCCESSIVE ACCUMULATIONS OF CAPITAL AS IT ACCRUES FROM SAVING. I BELIEVE THERE ARE AT ALL TIMES SOME PORTIONS OF CAPITAL DEVOTED T O UNDERTAKINGS THAT YIELD VERY SLOW RETURNS AND SLENDER PROFITS, AND SOME PORTIONS LYING WHOLLY DORMANT IN THE FORM OF GOODS, FOR WHICH THERE IS NO SUFFICIENT DEMAND... NOW, IF THESE DORMANT PORTIONS AND SAVINGS COULD BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE HANDS OF GOVERNMENT IN EXCHANGE FOR ITS ANNUITIES, THEY WOULD BECOME SOURCES OF NEW DEMAND, WITHOUT ENCROACHING UPON EXISTING CAPITAL" (I.e., p p . 5 4 , 5 5 ) .
" WHATEVER AMOUNT OF PRODUCE IS WITHDRAWN FROM MARKET BY THE DEMAND OF THE SAVING CAPITALIST, IS POURED BACK AGAIN, WITH ADDITION, IN THE GOODS THAT HE REPRODUCES. The government, on the contrary, takes it away for consumption without reproduction. Whenever SAVINGS are made from REVENUE, it is clear that the person ENTITLED TO ENJOY THE PORTION SAVED IS SATISFIED WITHOUT CONSUMING IT. I T PROVES THAT THE INDUSTRY OF THE COUNTRY IS CAPABLE OF RAISING MORE PRODUCE THAN THE WANTS OF THE COMMUNITY REQUIRE. IF THE QUANTITY SAVED IS EMPLOYED AS CAPITAL IN REPRODUCING A VALUE EQUIVALENT TO ITSELF, TOGETHER WITH A PROFIT, THIS NEW CREATION, WHEN ADDED TO THE GENERAL FUND, CAN BE DRAWN OUT BY THAT PERSON ALONE WHO MADE THE SAVINGS, I.E. BY THE VERY PERSON
WHO HAS ALREADY SHOWN HIS DISINCLINATION TO CONSUME... I F EVERYONE CONSUMES WHAT HE HAS A RIGHT TO CONSUME, THERE MUST OF NECESSITY BE A MARKET. WHOEVER SAVES FROM HIS REVENUE, FOREGOES THIS RIGHT, AND HIS SHARE REMAINS UNDISPOSED OF. SHOULD THIS SPIRIT OF ECONOMY BE GENERAL, THE MARKET IS NECESSARILY
OVERSTOCKED, AND IT MUST DEPEND UPON THE DEGREE i n w h i c h t h i s SURPLUS ACCUMULATES, WHETHER IT CAN FIND NEW EMPLOYMENTS AS CAPITAL" ( [ p p . ] 5 6 , 5 7 ) .
(Cf. this work in general in the section on accumulation.) (Cf. Notebook, p. 68 and p. 70, n where it is shown that the rate
OF PROFITS and WAGES rose because of the prices, in consequence of wartime demand, WITHOUT ANY RESPECT "TO THE QUALITY OF LAND TAKEN LAST
INTO CULTIVATION".)
"During the Revolutionary War, the market rate of [VII-29] interest rose to 7, 8, 9 and even 10%, although during the whole time LANDS OF THE LOWEST QUALITY WERE CULTIVATED" (I.e., pp. 64-66). "The rise of interest to 6, 8, 10 and even 12% proves the rise of profit. The depreciation of money, SUPPOSING IT TO EXIST, could not alter anything in the relation of capital and interest. If £200 were now only worth £100, £10 interest would now only be worth £5. What AFFECTED the VALUE of the PRINCIPAL, WOULD EQUALLY AFFECT THE VALUE OF PROFITS. I T COULD NOT ALTER
THE RELATION BETWEEN THE T W O " ( p . 7 3 ) .
"Ricardo's argument that the price of WAGES cannot occasion a rise in the price of commodities, does not apply to a society in which A LARGE CLASS ARE NOT PRODUCERS" (I.e.). "MORE THAN THE JUST SHARE IS OBTAINED BY THE PRODUCERS AT
THE EXPENSE OF THAT PORTION, WHICH OF RIGHT BELONGS T O THE CLASS WHO ARE ONLY
CONSUMERS" ([p.] 7 4 ) .
This is, of course, important, since capital is not exchanged for capital alone, but for revenue as well, and every capital can itself be consumed as revenue. Nevertheless, it has no bearing on the determination of profit in general. Profit, under the different forms of PROFIT, INTEREST, RENT, PENSIONS, taxes, etc. (just as EVEN part of the wages), may be distributed under different names and to different classes of the population. They can never distribute more among themselves than the total surplus value or the total surplus produce. The ratio in which they distribute it is, of course, important economically, but it has no bearing on the matter in hand.
"If the circulation of commodities of 400 MILLIONS required A CURRENCY of 40 MILLIONS, and this proportion of Vio w a s the D U E LEVEL, then, if the value of the commodities to be circulated increased to 450 millions, FROM NATURAL CAUSES, THE CURRENCY, IN ORDER TO CONTINUE AT ITS LEVEL, would have to increase to 45 millions, or the 40 MILLIONS MUST BE MADE TO CIRCULATE with such INCREASED RAPIDITY, BY BANKING OR OTHER IMPROVEMENTS, AS TO PERFORM THE FUNCTIONS OF 45 MILLIONS... SUCH AN AUGMENTATION, OR SUCH RAPIDITY, is the CONSEQUENCE and not the CAUSE of the INCREASE OF PRICES" (W. Blake, I.e., p. 80 et sqq. Cf. Notebook, p. 70).
"The UPPER and MIDDLE CLASS in Rome obtained great wealth BY ASIATIC CONQUEST, BUT NOT BEING CREATED BY COMMERCE OR MANUFACTURES, IT RESEMBLED THAT OBTAINED BY SPAIN FROM HER AMERICAN COLONIES" (Mackinnon, History of Civilisation, London, 1846, Vol. I, p. 66).
"In the 15th century, Harrison ASSERTS" (see also Edena), "the FARMERS were scarcely ABLE TO PAY THEIR RENTS without SELLING A COW, OR A HORSE, OR SOME OF THEIR PRODUCE, although they paid at most £4 for a FARM... T H E FARMER IN THESE TIMES CONSUMED THE CHIEF PART OF THE PRODUCE TO BE RAISED, HIS SERVANTS TAKING THEIR SEATS WITH HIM AT HIS TABLE... T H E PRINCIPAL MATERIALS FOR CLOTHING WERE NOT BOUGHT, BUT WERE OBTAINED BY THE INDUSTRY OF EACH FAMILY. T H E INSTRUMENTS OF HUSBANDRY WERE SO SIMPLE THAT MANY OF THEM WERE MADE, OR AT LEAST KEPT IN REPAIR BY THE FARMER HIMSELF. EVERY YEOMAN WAS EXPECTED TO KNOW HOW TO MAKE YOKES OR BOWS, AND PLOUGH GEAR; SUCH WORK EMPLOYED THEIR WINTER EVENINGS" (Tuckett, I.e., Vol. II, pp. 324, 325).
Interest and profit:
"Where an individual employs his own SAVINGS productively, [he obtains] the remuneration for HIS TIME AND SKILL— AGENCY FOR SUPERINTENDENCE (the profit further includes [an allowance for] the risk TO WHICH HIS CAPITAL MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED IN HIS PARTICULAR BUSINESS); and the remuneration for the PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENT OF HIS SAVINGS, INTEREST. The whole of this remuneration is the gross profit. Where an individual employs the SAVINGS of another, he obtains the AGENCY ONLY. Where an individual lends his SAVINGS to another, [he obtains] only the INTEREST or the NET PROFIT" (Westminster Review, JANUARY 1826, pp. 107, 108).
Therefore, here INTEREST=NET PROFIT= REMUNERATION FOR THE PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENTS OF SAVINGS; profit proper is the remuneration for the
AGENCY FOR SUPERINTENDENCE DURING HIS PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENT. T h e same philistine says:
"EVERY IMPROVEMENT IN THE ARTS OF PRODUCTION that DOES not DISTURB THE PROPORTIONS between the PORTIONS of CAPITAL dedicated and not dedicated to the
PAYMENT FOR WAGES, IS ATTENDED WITH AN INCREASE OF EMPLOYMENT T O THE LABOURING CLASSES; every FRESH APPLICATION OF MACHINERY AND HORSE-LABOUR IS ATTENDED WITH AN INCREASE OF PRODUCE and consequently of capital; TO WHATEVER EXTENT IT MAY DIMINISH THE RATIO WHICH THAT PART OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL FORMING THE FUND FOR THE PAYMENT OF WAGES BEARS TO THAT WHICH IS OTHERWISE EMPLOYED, its t e n d e n c y is, NOT TO DIMINISH BUT TO INCREASE THE ABSOLUTE
3 F. M. Eden, The State of the Poor; or, an history of the labouring classes in England etc., Vol. I, London, 1797, pp. 119-20.— Ed.
AMOUNT OF THAT FUND a n d HENCE TO INCREASE THE QUANTITY OF EMPLOYMENT" (I.e., p. 123).
Endnotes
[34] Marx took the information about the first representatives of the quantity theory of money from Steuart's book An Inquiry into the Principles of Political Oeconomy: being an essay on the science of domestic policy in free nations, Vol. I, Dublin, 1770, pp. 398-99; J. Locke, Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Value of Money. In a letter sent to a Member of Parliament in the year 1691, London, 1692; "On conquest and population", an article marked with the sign "T" and published in the London magazine The Spectator, No. 200, October 19, 1711; Ch. de Montesquieu, De l'esprit de loix, Geneva, 1748 and David Hume, Political Discourses, Edinburgh, 1752.—164
[12] Marx quotes Ricardo from his Excerpt Notebook VIII (London, April-mid-May 1851).—33, 77
[48] A reference to the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707 which led to Scotland's final unification with England. As a result, the autonomous Scottish parliament was abolished, Scots were granted seats in the English parliament and all economic barriers that existed between the two countries were removed.—237, 310
[59] Marx used the term bürgerliche Gesellschaft (see G.W.F. Hegel, Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts, in: Werke, Vol. 8, Berlin, 1833, § 182, Addendum) in two senses even in his earlier works: in a broad one, to denote the economic system of society regardless of the historical stage of its development, i.e. the totality of material relations determining the political institutions and ideological life; and in a narrower one, to denote the material relations of bourgeois society (later, bourgeois society as a whole), i.e. capitalism. Depending on the context, the term is translated either as "civil society" or as "bourgeois society".—262
[15] Marx is referring to the Excerpt Notebook compiled in Manchester in 1845.—76
[11] The reference is to Excerpt Notebook IX (London, mid-May-mid-June 1851).—31, 52, 79, 137, 145, 167, 169
[33] Here Marx gives the page of Excerpt Notebook VIII (London, April-mid-May 1851).—162, 164, 166