III. The Working Period Smaller Than the Circulation Period
We begin by assuming once more a period of turnover of 9 weeks, of which 3 weeks are assigned to the working period with an available capital I of £300. Let the circulation period be 6 weeks. For these 6 weeks, an additional capital of £600 is required, which we may divide in turn into two capitals of £300, each of them meeting the requirements of one working period. We then have three capitals of £300 each, of which £300 are always engaged in production, while £600 circulate.
Table III CAPITAL I
Periods of Turnover Working Periods Periods )[ Circulation
I. lst-9th week lst-3rd week 4th-9th week II. 10th-18th ,, 10th-12th 13th-18th ,, III. 19th-27th ,, 19lh-21st 22nd-27th ,, IV. 28th-36th „ 28th-30th 31st-36th .-V. 37th-45th ,, 37th-39th 40th-45th ,, VI. 46th-(54th) ,, 46th-48th 49th-(54ih ,, CAPITAL II
Periods of Turnover Working Periods Periods of Circulation
I. 4th-12th week 4th-6th week 7th-12th week
II. 13th-21st >> 13th-15th 16th-21st „ III. 22nd-30th ,, 22nd-24th 25th-30th „ IV. 31st-39th ,, 31st-33rd 34th-39th „ V. 40th-48th „ 40th-42nd 43rd-48th ,, VI. 49th-(57th) " 49th-51st (52nd-57th) "
CAPITAL III
Periods of Turnover Working Periods Periods of Circulation
I. 7th-15th week 7th-9th week 10th-15th week II. 16th-24th ,, 16th-18th 19th-24th ,, III. 25th-33rd ,, 25th-27th 28th-33rd „ IV. 34th-42nd „ 34th-36th 37th-42nd „ V. 43rd-51st » 43rd-45th 46th-51st »
We have here the exact counterpart of Case I, with the only difference that now three capitals relieve one another instead of two. There is no intersection or intertwining of capitals. Each one of them can be traced separately to the end of the year. Just as in Case I, no capital is set free at the close of a working period. Capital I is completely laid out at the end of the 3rd week, returns entirely at the end of the 9th, and resumes its functions at the beginning of the 10th week. Similarly with capitals II and III. The regular and complete relief excludes any release of capital.
The total turnover is as follows:
capital I capital II capital III
£300x5 [2]/ [3] = £1,700 £ 3 0 0 x 5 7[3] = £1,600 £ 3 0 0 x 5 =£1,500
Total capital £900 x 5 7[3] = £4,800.
Let us now also take an illustration in which the circulation period is not an exact multiple of the working period. For instance, working period — 4 weeks, circulation period — 5 weeks. The corresponding amounts of capital would then be: capital I — £400; capital II — £400; capital III — £100. We present only the first three turnovers.
Table IV
CAPITAL I
Periods of Turnover Working Periods Periods of Circulation
I. II. III.
lst-9th week 9th-17th 17th-25th
lst-4th week 9th, 10th-12th „ 17th, 18th-20th „
5th-9th week 13th-17th 21st-25th
CAPITAL II
Periods of Turnover Working Periods Periods of Circulation
I. II. III.
5th-13th week 13th-21st 21st-29th
5th-8th week 13th, 14th-16th „ 21th, 22nd-24th „
9th-13th week 17th-21st 25th-29th
CAPITAL III
Periods of Turnover Working Periods Periods of Circulation
I. II. III.
9th-17th week 17th-25th 25th-33rd
9th week 17th 25th
10th-17th week 18th-25th 26th-33rd
There is in this case an intertwining of capitals in so far as the working period of capital III, which has no independent working period, because it suffices for only one week, coincides with the first working week of capital I. On the other hand an amount of £100, equal to capital III, is set free at the close of the working period of both capital I and II. For if capital III fills up the first week of the second and all succeeding working periods of capital I and £400, the entire capital I, return at the close of this first week, then only 3 weeks and a corresponding capital investment of £300 will remain for the rest of the working period of capital I. The £100 thus set free suffice for the first week of the immediately following working period of capital II; at the end ofthat week the entire capital II of £400 returns. But since the working period already started can absorb only another £300, £100 are once more disengaged at its close. And so forth. We have, then, a release of capital at the close of a working period whenever the circulation period is not a simple multiple of the working period. And this liberated capital is equal to that portion of the capital which has to fill up the excess of the circulation period over the working period or over a multiple of working periods.
In all cases investigated it was assumed that both the working period and the circulation period remain the same throughout the year in any of the businesses here examined. This assumption was necessary if we wished to ascertain the influence of the time of circulation on the turnover and advancement of capital. That in reality this assumption is not so unconditionally valid, and that it frequently is not valid at all does not alter the case in the least.
Endnotes
[2] Engels did not have time to publish Marx's Theories of Surplus Value as the fourth volume of Capital. It was first published in 1905-10 by Karl Kautsky. In 1954-61 and 1962-64, the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the CC CPSU in Moscow published in Russian a new edition of Theories... which differed from that of Kautsky. In 1956-62 this Russian edition was used by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the CC SUPG as the basis for the publication of Theories... in German. In the present edition Theories of Surplus Value is published, according to MEGA 2, Abt. II, Bd. 3, Berlin, 1976-82, as part of the Economic Manuscript of 1861-63 (see present edition, vols 30-34).— 6
[3] From the numerous notebooks compiled by Marx in the period indicated by Engels, the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the CC CPSU published nearly all the passages from Russian sources (see Marx-Engels Archives, vols XI-XII, XVI, Moscow, 1948, 1952, 1955, 1982) as well as Mathematical Manuscripts (Moscow, 1968). Marx's notebooks are published in full in Section IV of Marx-Engels Gesamtausgabe.— 7