Value Price Profit Text

7/31/2019 Value Price Profit Text

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KarlMarx

Value,PriceandProfit

Source:Marx,Karl.Value,PriceandProfit.NewYork:InternationalCo.,Inc,1969;Written:betweenendofMayandJune27,1865;Firstpublished:1898;Edited:byEleanorMarxAveling;HTMLMark-up:MikeBallard,[email protected],1995;Proofed:andcorrectedbyBrandonPoole,2009,MarkHarris2010.

TableofContentsIntroduction.................................................................................................................................2Preface.........................................................................................................................................4Preliminary..............................................................................................................................5I.ProductionandWages..........................................................................................................5II.Production,Wages,Profits.................................................

................................................6IV.SupplyandDemand..........................................................

..............................................10V.WagesandPrices..............................................................................................................11VI.ValueandLabour............................................................................................................13VII.LabourPower.................................................................................................................17VIII.ProductionofSurplusValue.........................................................................................18IX.ValueofLabour..............................................................................................................19

X.ProfitisMadebySellingaCommodityatitsValue........................................................20XI.TheDifferentPartsintowhichSurplusValueisDecomposed.......................................21XII.GeneralRelationofProfits,Wages,andPrices.............................................................22XIII.MainCasesofAttemptsatRaisingWagesorResistingtheirFall...............................24XIV.TheStruggleBetweenCapitalandLabouranditsResults..........................................27



Introduction1

ThepresentworkisanaddressdeliveredbyKarlMarxattwosessionsoftheGeneralCounciloftheFirstInternationalonJune20and27,1865.Thecircumstanceswhichledtothisreportarebrieflyasfollows:

AtthesessionoftheGeneralCouncilonApril4,1865,JohnWeston,aninfluentialmemberoftheGeneralCouncilandEnglishworkersrepresentative,proposedthattheGeneralCouncilshoulddiscussthefollowingquestions:

Canthesocialandmaterialprospectsoftheworkingclassbeingeneralimprovedbywageincreases?

Donottheeffortsofthetradeunionstosecureincreaseshaveaharmfuleffectonotherbranchesofindustry?

Westondeclaredthathewouldupholdanegativeanswertothefirstquestionandapositiveanswerto

thesecondone.

WestonsreportwasdeliveredanddiscussedatthesessionoftheCouncilonMay2and20.InalettertoEngelsofMay20,1865,Marxreferstothisasfollows:

.ThiseveningaspecialsessionoftheInternational.Agoodoldfellow,anoldOwenist,Weston(carpenter)hasputforwardthetwofollowingpropositions,whichheiscontinuallydefendingintheBeehive:(1)thatageneralriseintherateofwageswouldbeofnousetotheworkers;(2)thattherefore,etc.,thetradeunionshaveaharmful

effect.

.Ifthesetwopropositions,inwhichhealoneinoursocietybelieves,wereaccepted,weshouldbeturnedintoajokebothonaccountofthetradeunionshereandoftheinfectionofstrikes1whichnowprevailsontheContinent....Iam,ofcourse,expectedtosupplyrefutation.Ioughtreallythereforetohaveworkedoutmyreplyforthisevening,butthoughtitmoreimportanttowriteonatmybook2andsoshallhavetodependuponimprovisation.

.OfcourseIknowbeforehandwhatthetwomainpointsare:(1)Thatthewagesoflabourdeterminethevalueofcommodities,(2)thatifthecapitalistspayfiveinsteadoffourshillingstoday,theywillselltheircommoditiesforfiveinsteadoffourshillingstomorrow(beingenabledtodosobytheincreaseddemand).

.Inanethoughthisis,onlyattachingitselftothemostsuperficialexternalap



pearance,itisneverthelessnoteasytoexplaintoignorantpeoplealltheeconomicquestionswhichcompetewithoneanotherhere.Youcantcompressacourseofpoliticaleconomyintoonehour.Butweshallhavetodoourbest..3

AtthesessionofMay20,WestonsviewsweresubjectedtoasmashingcriticismbyMarx,andWheeler,arepresentativeoftheEnglishtradeunionsontheGeneralCouncil,alsospokeagainstWeston.Marxdidnoconfinehimselfto.improvisation,.butproceededtodeliveracounter-report.ProposalsweremadeatthesessionsoftheCentralCounciltopublishthereportsofMarxandWeston.InconnectionwiththeMarxwroteasFollowstoEngelsonJune24:

IhavereadapaperintheCentralCouncil(itwouldmaketwoprinterssheets4perhaps)onthequestionbroughtupbyMr.Westonastotheeffectofageneralriseofwages,etc.ThefirstpartofitwasananswertoWestonsnonsense;thesecond,atheoreticalexplanation,insofarastheoccasionwassuitedtothis.

Nowthepeoplewanttohavethisprinted.Ontheonehand,thismightperhapsbeuseful,sincetheyareconnectedwithJohnStuartMill,ProfessorBeasley,Harrison,etc.OntheotherhandIhavethefollowingdoubts:(1)ItisnonetooflatteringtohaveMisterWestonasonesopponent;(2)inthesecondpartthethingcontains,inanextremelycondensedbutrelativelypopularform,muchthatis



1ThisintroductionisbytheeditorsoftheInternationalCo.,Inc,1969.

1ThisphrasewaswritteninEnglish.Ed.

2Capital.Ed.

3K.MarxandF.Engels,Correspondence1846-1895Ed.

4Onesheetis16printedpages.Ed.

new,takeninadvancefrommybook,whileatthesametimeithasnecessarilytosluroverallsortsofthings.Thequestionis,whethersuchanticipationisexpedient?

Thework,however,wasnotpublishedeitherbyMarxorEngels.ItwasfoundamongMarxspapersafterEngelsdeathandpublishedbyMarxsdaughter,EleanorAveling.IntheEnglishlanguageitwaspublishedunderthetitleofValue,PriceandProfit,whiletheGermantranslationborethetitleofWages,PriceandProfit.

Thiswork,asMarxhimselfnoted,fallsintotwoparts.Inthefirstpart,Marx,

whilecriticizingWeston,isatthesametimeessentiallyattackingtheso-called.theoryofwagesfund,.whichhadbeenpresentedinthemainbyWestoninhisreport,andwhichhadJohnStuartMillasitsmostformidablesupporter.

Thegistifthetheoryofwagesfundistheassertionthatthecapitalwhichmaybeexpendedinanygivenperiodforthepaymentofwagesisarigidanddefinitesumwhichcannotbeaugmented;andthatthereforethewagesofeachworkerarearrivedatbydividingupthiswagesfundamountthetotal

numberofworkersinthecountry.Fromthistheoryitwouldfollowthatthestruggleoftheworkingclasstoraisewagesisinexpedientandevenharmful.Thistheorywasthusaweaponinthehandsofemployersintheirstruggleagainsttheworkingmasses.Fromthedenialoftheexpediencyoftheeconomicstruggle,thistheoryleadsdirectlytoadenialoftheexpediencyofthepoliticalstruggleoftheworkers,ofthestruggleagainstcapitalismandconsequentlypreachestotheworkerspoliticalabstinence,and,atbest,politicalsubserviencetothetutelageandleadershipofthebourgeoisie.BypresentingsuchviewsatthesessionsoftheGeneralCouncil,Westonshowedhims

elftobeessentiallyamouthpieceofbourgeoisieviews.ThiswaswhyMarxdeemeditnecessarytosubjectWestonsviewstoanannihilatingcriticisminaspecialcounter-report.ThesubjectdealtwithbyMarxhaslostnoneofitsactualityatthepresentday.Theideasunderlyingthetheoryof.wagefund.continuetobeputforwardinmoreorlessdisguisedforms,notonlybycapitalisteconomistsbutalsobythesocialfascisttradeunionandreformistleadershipintheirargumentsforacceptanceo



fwagecuts.

InthesecondpartofthepresentworkMarxgivepopularexpositionofthefundamentalthesesofthetheoriesofvalueandsurplusvalueandoftheconclusionsderivedfromthesetheories.AsismentionedbyMarxinhislettertoEngels,thispartcontainsanexpositionofseveralthesesfromhisbookCapitalonwhichhewasworkingatthetime.Althoughitissocondensed,thispartoftheworkneverthelessconstitutesamodeloflucidexpositionandaconsummatepopularizationoftheeconomictheoryofMarx.AstudyofthispamphletisstillthebestintroductiontoMarxsCapital.

.



Preface

Thecircumstancesunderwhichthispaperwasreadarenarratedatthebeginningofthework.ThepaperwasneverpublishedduringthelifetimeofMarx.ItwasfoundamongsthispapersafterthedeathofEngels.AmongmanyothercharacteristicsofMarx,thispapershowstwoespecially.Thesearehispatientwillingnesstomakethemeaningofhisideasplaintothehumbleststudent,andtheextraordinaryclearnessofthoseideas.InapartialsensethepresentvolumeisanepitomeofthefirstvolumeofCapital.Morethanoneofushaveattemptedtoanalyzeandsimplifythatvolume,withnottoomuchsuccessperhaps.Infact,awittyfriendandcommentatorhassuggestedthatwhatisnowrequiredisanexplanationbyMarxofourexplanationsofhim.IamoftenaskedwhatisthebestsuccessionofbooksforthestudenttoacquirethefundamentalprinciplesofSocialism.Thequestionisadifficultonetoanswer.But,bywayofsuggestion,onemightsay,first,Engels'Socialism,ScientificAndUtopian,thenthepresentwo

rk,thefirstvolumeofCapital,andtheStudent'sMarx.Mysmallpartinthepreparationofthisworkhasbeenreadingthemanuscript,makingafewsuggestionsastoEnglishformsofexpression,dividingtheworkupintochaptersandnamingthechapters,andrevisingtheproofsforpress.Alltherest,andbyfarthemostimportantpart,oftheworkhasbeendonebyherwhosenameappearsonthetitlepage.ThepresentvolumehasalreadybeentranslatedintoGerman.

EdwardAveling.



Preliminary

CITIZENS,

Beforeenteringintothesubject-matter,allowmetomakeafewpreliminaryremarks.TherereignsnowontheContinentarealepidemicofstrikes,andageneralclamourforariseofwages.ThequestionwillturnupatourCongress.You,astheheadoftheInternationalAssociation,oughttohavesettledconvictionsuponthisparamountquestion.Formyownpart,Iconsidereditthereforemydutytoenterfullyintothematter,evenattheperilofputtingyourpatiencetoaseveretest.

AnotherpreliminaryremarkIhavetomakeinregardtoCitizenWeston.Hehasnotonlyproposedtoyou,buthaspubliclydefended,intheinterestoftheworkingclass,ashethinks,opinionsheknowstobemostunpopularwiththeworkingclass.Suchanexhibitionofmoralcourageallofusmusthighlyhonour.Ihopethat,despitetheunvarnishedstyle

ofmypaper,atitsconclusionhewillfindmeagreeingwithwhatappearstomethejustidealyingatthebottomofhistheses,which,however,intheirpresentform,Icannotbutconsidertheoreticallyfalseandpracticallydangerous.

Ishallnowatonceproceedtothebusinessbeforeus.

I.ProductionandWages

CitizenWeston'sargumentrested,infact,upontwopremises:firstly,theamountofnational

productionisafixedthing,aconstantquantityormagnitude,asthemathematicianswouldsay;secondly,thattheamountofrealwages,thatistosay,ofwagesasmeasuredbythequantityofthecommoditiestheycanbuy,isafixedamount,aconstantmagnitude.

Now,hisfirstassertionisevidentlyerroneous.Yearafteryearyouwillfindthatthevalueandmassofproductionincrease,thattheproductivepowersofthenationallabourincrease,andthattheamountofmoneynecessarytocirculatethisincreasingproductioncontinuouslychanges.Whatistrueattheendoftheyear,andfordifferentyearscomparedwitheach

other,istrueforeveryaveragedayoftheyear.Theamountormagnitudeofnationalproductionchangescontinuously.Itisnotaconstantbutavariablemagnitude,andapartfromchangesinpopulationitmustbeso,becauseofthecontinuouschangeintheaccumulationofcapitalandtheproductivepowersoflabour.Itisperfectlytruethatifariseinthegeneralrateofwagesshouldtakeplacetoday,thatrise,whateveritsulterioreffectsmightbe,would,byitself,not



immediatelychangetheamountofproduction.Itwould,inthefirstinstance,proceedfromtheexistingstateofthings.Butifbeforetheriseofwagesthenationalproductionwasvariable,andnotfixed,itwillcontinuetobevariableandnotfixedaftertheriseofwages.

Butsupposetheamountofnationalproductiontobeconstantinsteadofvariable.Eventhen,whatourfriendWestonconsidersalogicalconclusionwouldstillremainagratuitousassertion.IfIhaveagivennumber,sayeight,theabsolutelimitsofthisnumberdonotpreventitspartsfromchangingtheirrelativelimits.Ifprofitsweresixandwagestwo,wagesmightincreasetosixandprofitsdecreasetotwo,andstillthetotalamountremaineight.Thefixedamountofproductionwouldbynomeansprovethefixedamountofwages.HowthendoesourfriendWestonprovethisfixity?Byassertingit.

Butevenconcedinghimhisassertion,itwouldcutbothways,whilehepressesitonlyinonedirection.Iftheamountofwagesisaconstantmagnitude,thenitcanbeneithe

rincreasednordiminished.Ifthen,inenforcingatemporaryriseofwages,theworkingmenactfoolishly,thecapitalists,inenforcingatemporaryfallofwages,wouldactnotlessfoolishly.OurfriendWestondoesnotdenythat,undercertaincircumstances,theworkingmencanenforceariseofwages,buttheiramountbeingnaturallyfixed,theremustfollowareaction.Ontheotherhand,he



knowsalsothatthecapitalistscanenforceafallofwages,and,indeed,continuouslytrytoenforceit.Accordingtotheprincipleoftheconstancyofwages,areactionoughttofollowinthiscasenotlessthanintheformer.Theworkingmen,therefore,reactingagainsttheattemptat,ortheactof,loweringwages,wouldactrightly.Theywould,therefore,actrightlyinenforcingariseofwages,becauseeveryreactionagainsttheloweringofwagesisanactionforraisingwages.AccordingtoCitizenWeston'sownprincipleoftheconstancyofwages,theworkingmenought,therefore,undercertaincircumstances,tocombineandstruggleforariseofwages.Ifhedeniesthisconclusion,hemustgiveupthepremisefromwhichitflows.Hemustnotsaythattheamountofwagesisaconstantquantity,butthat,althoughitcannotandmustnotrise,itcanandmustfall,whenevercapitalpleasestolowerit.Ifthecapitalistpleasestofeedyouuponpotatoesinsteadofuponmeat,anduponoatsinsteadofuponwheat,youmustaccepthiswillasalawofpoliticaleconomy,andsubmittoit.Ifinonecountrytherateofwagesishigh

erthaninanother,intheUnitedStates,forexample,thaninEngland,youmustexplainthisdifferenceintherateofwagesbyadifferencebetweenthewilloftheAmericancapitalistandthewilloftheEnglishcapitalist,amethodwhichwouldcertainlyverymuchsimplify,notonlythestudyofeconomicphenomena,butofallotherphenomena.

Buteventhen,wemightask,whythewilloftheAmericancapitalistdiffersfromthewilloftheEnglishcapitalist?Andtoanswerthequestionyoumustgobeyondthedomainofwill.Aperson

maytellmethatGodwillsonethinginFrance,andanotherthinginEngland.IfIsummonhimtoexplainthisdualityofwill,hemighthavethebrasstoanswermethatGodwillstohaveonewillinFranceandanotherwillinEngland.ButourfriendWestoniscertainlythelastmantomakeanargumentofsuchacompletenegationofallreasoning.

Thewillofthecapitalistiscertainlytotakeasmuchaspossible.Whatwehavetodoisnottotalkabouthiswill,buttoenquireintohispower,thelimitsofthatpower,andthecharacterofthoselimits.

II.Production,Wages,Profits

TheaddressCitizenWestonreadtousmighthavebeencompressedintoanutshell.

Allhisreasoningamountedtothis:Iftheworkingclassforcesthecapitalistclasstopayfiveshillingsinsteadoffourshillingsintheshapeofmoneywages,thecapitalistwillreturninthe



shapeofcommoditiesfourshillings'worthinsteadoffiveshillings'worth.Theworkingclasswouldhavetopayfiveshillingsforwhat,beforetheriseofwages,theyboughtwithfourshillings.Butwhyisthisthecase?Whydoesthecapitalistonlyreturnfourshillings'worthforfiveshillings?Becausetheamountofwagesisfixed.Bywhyisitfixedatfourshillings'worthofcommodities?Whynotatthree,ortwo,oranyothersum?Ifthelimitoftheamountofwagesissettledbyaneconomicallaw,independentalikeofthewillofthecapitalistandthewilloftheworkingman,thefirstthingCitizenWestonhadtodowastostatethatlawandproveit.Heoughtthen,moreover,tohaveprovedthattheamountofwagesactuallypaidateverygivenmomentalwayscorrespondsexactlytothenecessaryamountofwages,andneverdeviatesfromit.If,ontheotherhand,thegivenlimitoftheamountofwagesisfoundedonthemerewillofthecapitalist,orthelimitsofhisavarice,itisanarbitrarylimit.Thereisnothingnecessaryinit.Itmaybechangedbythewillofthecapitalist,andmay,therefore,bechangedagainsthiswill.

CitizenWestonillustratedhistheorybytellingyouthatabowlcontainsacertainquantityofsoup,tobeeatenbyacertainnumberofpersons,anincreaseinthebroadnessofthespoonswouldproducenoincreaseintheamountofsoup.Hemustallowmetofindthisillustrationratherspoony.ItremindedmesomewhatofthesimileemployedbyMeneniusAgrippa.WhentheRomanplebeiansstruckagainsttheRomanpatricians,thepatricianAgrippatoldthemthatthepatricianbellyfedtheplebeianmembersofthebodypolitic.Agrippafailedtoshowthatyoufeed

themembersofonemanbyfillingthebellyofanother.CitizenWeston,onhispart,hasforgotten



thatthebowlfromwhichtheworkmeneatisfilledwiththewholeproduceofnationallabour,andthatwhatpreventsthemfetchingmoreoutofitisneitherthenarrownessofthebowlnorthescantinessofitscontents,butonlythesmallnessoftheirspoons.

Bywhatcontrivanceisthecapitalistenabledtoreturnfourshillings'worthforfiveshillings?Byraisingthepriceofthecommodityhesells.Now,doesariseandmoregenerallyachangeinthepricesofcommodities,dothepricesofcommoditiesthemselves,dependonthemerewillofthecapitalist?Orare,onthecontrary,certaincircumstanceswantedtogiveeffecttothatwill?Ifnot,theupsanddowns,theincessantfluctuationsofmarketprices,becomeaninsolubleriddle.

Aswesupposethatnochangewhateverhastakenplaceeitherintheproductivepowersoflabour,orintheamountofcapitalandlabouremployed,orinthevalueofthemoneywhereinthevaluesofproductsareestimated,butonlyachangeintherateofwages,howcouldthatriseofwages

affectthepricesofcommodities?Onlybyaffectingtheactualproportionbetweenthedemandfor,andthesupplyofthesecommodities.

Itisperfectlytruethat,consideredasawhole,theworkingclassspends,andmustspend,itsincomeuponnecessaries.Ageneralriseintherateofwageswould,therefore,produceariseinthedemandfor,andconsequentlyinthemarketpricesofnecessaries.Thecapitalistswhoproducethesenecessarieswouldbecompensatedfortherisenwagesbytherisingmarketpricesoftheircommodities.Buthowwiththeothercapitalistswhodonotproducenece

ssaries?Andyoumustnotfancythemasmallbody.Ifyouconsiderthattwo-thirdsofthenationalproduceareconsumedbyone-fifthofthepopulationamemberoftheHouseofCommonsstateditrecentlytobebutone-seventhofthepopulationyouwillunderstandwhatanimmenseproportionofthenationalproducemustbeproducedintheshapeofluxuries,orbeexchangedforluxuries,andwhatanimmenseamountofthenecessariesthemselvesmustbewasteduponflunkeys,horses,cats,andsoforth,awasteweknowfromexperiencetobecomealwaysmuchlimitedwiththe

risingpricesofnecessaries.

Well,whatwouldbethepositionofthosecapitalistswhodonotproducenecessaries?Forthefallintherateofprofit,consequentuponthegeneralriseofwages,theycouldnotcompensatethemselvesbyariseinthepriceoftheircommodities,becausethedemandforthosecommoditieswouldnothaveincreased.Theirincomewouldhavedecreased,andfromthisdecreasedincome



theywouldhavetopaymoreforthesameamountofhigher-pricednecessaries.Butthiswouldnotbeall.Astheirincomehaddiminishedtheywouldhavelesstospenduponluxuries,andthereforetheirmutualdemandfortheirrespectivecommoditieswoulddiminish.Consequentuponthisdiminisheddemandthepricesoftheircommoditieswouldfall.Inthesebranchesofindustry,therefore,therateofprofitwouldfall,notonlyinsimpleproportiontothegeneralriseintherateofwages,butinthecompoundratioofthegeneralriseofwages,theriseinthepricesofnecessaries,andthefallinthepricesofluxuries.

Whatwouldbetheconsequenceofthisdifferenceintheratesofprofitforcapitalsemployedinthedifferentbranchesofindustry?Why,theconsequencethatgenerallyobtainswhenever,fromwhateverreason,theaveragerateofprofitcomestodifferindifferentspheresofproduction.Capitalandlabourwouldbetransferredfromthelessremunerativetothemoreremunerativebranches;andthisprocessoftransferwouldgoonuntilthesupplyintheonedepartmentof

industrywouldhaverisenproportionatelytotheincreaseddemand,andwouldhavesunkintheotherdepartmentsaccordingtothedecreaseddemand.Thischangeeffected,thegeneralrateofprofitwouldagainbeequalizedinthedifferentbranches.Asthewholederangementoriginallyarosefromamerechangeintheproportionofthedemandfor,andsupplyof,differentcommodities,thecauseceasing,theeffectwouldcease,andPRICESwouldreturntotheirformerlevelandequilibrium.Insteadofbeinglimitedtosomebranchesofindustry,thefallintherateofprofitconsequentupontheriseofwageswouldhavebecomegeneral.Accordingto

oursupposition,therewouldhavetakenplacenochangeintheproductivepowersoflabour,norintheaggregateamountofproduction,butthatgivenamountofproductionwouldhavechangedits



form.Agreaterpartoftheproducewouldexistintheshapeofnecessaries,alesserpartintheshapeofluxuries,orwhatcomestothesame,alesserpartwouldbeexchangedforforeignluxuries,andbeconsumedinitsoriginalform,or,whatagaincomestothesame,agreaterpartofthenativeproducewouldbeexchangedforforeignnecessariesinsteadofforluxuries.Thegeneralriseintherateofwageswould,therefore,afteratemporarydisturbanceofmarketprices,onlyresultinageneralfalloftherateofprofitwithoutanypermanentchangeinthepricesofcommodities.IfIamtoldthatinthepreviousargumentIassumethewholesurpluswagestobespentuponnecessaries,IanswerthatIhavemadethesuppositionmostadvantageoustotheopinionofCitizenWeston.Ifthesurpluswageswerespentuponarticlesformerlynotenteringintotheconsumptionoftheworkingmen,therealincreaseoftheirpurchasingpowerwouldneednoproof.Being,however,onlyderivedfromanadvanceofwages,thatincreaseoftheirpurchasingpowermustexactlycorrespondtothedecreaseofthepurchasingpower

ofthecapitalists.Theaggregatedemandforcommoditieswould,therefore,notincrease,buttheconstituentpartsofthatdemandwouldchange.Theincreasingdemandontheonesidewouldbecounterbalancedbythedecreasingdemandontheotherside.Thustheaggregatedemandremainingstationary,nochangewhatevercouldtakeplaceinthemarketpricesofcommodities.Youarrive,therefore,atthisdilemma:Eitherthesurpluswagesareequallyspentuponallarticlesofconsumptionthentheexpansionofdemandonthepartoftheworkingclassmustbe

compensatedbythecontractionofdemandonthepartofthecapitalistclassorthesurpluswagesareonlyspentuponsomearticleswhosemarketpriceswilltemporarilyrise.Theconsequentriseintherateofprofitinsome,andtheconsequentfallintherateofprofitinotherbranchesofindustrywillproduceachangeinthedistributionofcapitalandlabour,goingonuntilthesupplyisbroughtuptotheincreaseddemandintheonedepartmentofindustry,andbroughtdowntothediminisheddemandintheotherdepartmentsofindustry.Ontheonesuppositiontherewilloccurnochangeinthepricesofcommodities.Ontheothersuppositio

n,aftersomefluctuationsofmarketprices,theexchangeablevaluesofcommoditieswillsubsidetotheformerlevel.Onbothsuppositionsthegeneralriseintherateofwageswillultimatelyresultinnothingelsebutageneralfallintherateofprofit.

TostirupyourpowersofimaginationCitizenWestonrequestedyoutothinkofthedifficultieswhichageneralriseofEnglishagriculturalwagesfromnineshillingstoeighte



enshillingswouldproduce.Think,heexclaimed,oftheimmenseriseinthedemandfornecessaries,andtheconsequentfearfulriseintheirprices!Now,allofyouknowthattheaveragewagesoftheAmericanagriculturallaboureramounttomorethandoublethatoftheEnglishagriculturallabourer,althoughthepricesofagriculturalproducearelowerintheUnitedStatesthanintheUnitedKingdom,althoughthegeneralrelationsofcapitalandlabourobtainintheUnitedStatesthesameasinEngland,andalthoughtheannualamountofproductionismuchsmallerintheUnitedStatesthaninEngland.Why,then,doesourfriendringthisalarmbell?Simplytoshifttherealquestionbeforeus.Asuddenriseofwagesfromnineshillingstoeighteenshillingswouldbeasuddenrisetotheamountof100percent.Now,wearenotatalldiscussingthequestionwhetherthegeneralrateofwagesinEnglandcouldbesuddenlyincreasedby100percent.Wehavenothingatalltodowiththemagnitudeoftherise,whichineverypracticalinstancemustdependon,andbesuitedto,givencircumstances.Wehaveonlytoinquirehowa

generalriseintherateofwages,evenifrestrictedtoonepercent,willact.

DismissingfriendWeston'sfancyriseof100percent,IproposecallingyourattentiontotherealriseofwagesthattookplaceinGreatBritainfrom1849to1859.

YouareallawareoftheTenHoursBill,orratherTen-and-a-halfHoursBill,introducedsince1848.Thiswasoneofthegreatesteconomicalchangeswehavewitnessed.Itwasasuddenandcompulsoryriseofwages,notinsomelocaltrades,butintheleadingindustrialbranchesby

whichEnglandswaysthemarketsoftheworld.Itwasariseofwagesundercircumstancessingularlyunpropitious.Dr.Ure,ProfessorSenior,andalltheotherofficialeconomical



mouthpiecesofthemiddleclass1,proved,andImustsayuponmuchstrongergroundsthanthoseofourfriendWeston,thatitwouldsoundthedeath-knellofEnglishindustry.Theyprovedthatitnotonlyamountedtoasimpleriseofwages,buttoariseofwagesinitiatedby,andbasedupon,adiminutionofthequantityoflabouremployed.Theyassertedthatthetwelfthhouryouwantedtotakefromthecapitalistwasexactlytheonlyhourfromwhichhederivedhisprofit.Theythreatenedadecreaseofaccumulation,riseofprices,lossofmarkets,stintingofproduction,consequentreactionuponwages,ultimateruin.Infact,theydeclaredMaximillianRobespierre'sMaximumLaws2tobeasmallaffaircomparedtoit;andtheywererightinacertainsense.Well,whatwastheresult?Ariseinthemoneywagesofthefactoryoperatives,despitethecurtailingoftheworkingday,agreatincreaseinthenumberoffactoryhandsemployed,acontinuousfallinthepricesoftheirproducts,amarvellousdevelopmentintheproductivepowersoftheirlabour,anunheard-ofprogressiveexpansionofthemarketsfortheircommodities.InMan

chester,atthemeeting,in1860,oftheSocietyfortheAdvancementofScience,ImyselfheardMr.Newmanconfessthathe,Dr.Ure,Senior,andallotherofficialpropoundersofeconomicalsciencehadbeenwrong,whiletheinstinctofthepeoplehadbeenright.ImentionMr.W.Newman,notProfessorFrancisNewman,becauseheoccupiesaneminentpositionineconomicalscience,asthecontributorto,andeditorof,Mr.ThomasTooke'sHistoryOfPrices,thatmagnificentworkwhichtracesthehistoryofpricesfrom1793to1856.IfourfriendWeston'sfixedideaofafixed

amountofwages,afixedamountofproduction,afixeddegreeoftheproductivepoweroflabour,afixedandpermanentwillofthecapitalist,andallhisotherfixednessandfinalitywerecorrect,ProfessorSenior'swoefulforebodingswouldbeenright,andRobertOwen3,whoalreadyin1816proclaimedagenerallimitationoftheworkingdaythefirstpreparatorysteptotheemancipationoftheworkingclass,andactuallyintheteethofthegeneralprejudiceinaugurateditonhisownhookinhiscottonfactoryatNewLanark,wouldhavebeenwrong.

IntheverysameperiodduringwhichtheintroductionoftheTenHoursBill,and

theriseofwagesconsequentuponit,occurred,theretookplaceinGreatBritain,forreasonswhichitwouldbeoutofplacetoenumeratehere,ageneralriseinagriculturalwages.Althoughitisnotrequiredformyimmediatepurpose,inordernottomisleadyou,Ishallmakesomepreliminaryremarks.

Ifamangottwoshillingsweeklywages,andifhiswagesrosetofourshillings



,therateofwageswouldhaverisenby100percent.Thiswouldseemaverymagnificentthingifexpressedasariseintherateofwages,althoughtheactualamountofwages,fourshillingsweekly,wouldstillremainawretchedlysmall,astarvationpittance.Youmustnot,therefore,allowyourselvestobecarriedawaybythehighsoundingpercentsinrateofwages.Youmustalwaysask:Whatwastheoriginalamount?

Moreover,youwillunderstand,thatifthereweretenmenreceivingeach2s.perweek,fivemenreceivingeach5s.,andfivemenreceiving11s.weekly,thetwentymentogetherwouldreceive100s.,or5Pounds,weekly.Ifthenarise,sayby20percent,upontheaggregatesumoftheirweeklywagestookplace,therewouldbeanadvancefrom5Poundsto6Pounds.Takingtheaverage,wemightsaythatthegeneralrateofwageshadrisenby25percent,although,infact,thewagesofthetenmenhadremainedstationary,thewagesoftheonelotoffivemenhadrisenfrom5s.to6s.only,andthewagesoftheotherlotoffivefrom55s.to70s.4

Onehalfofthemenwouldnothaveimprovedatalltheirposition,onequarterwouldhaveimproveditinanimperceptibledegree,andonlyonequarterwouldhavebettereditreally.Still,reckoningbytheaverage,thetotalamountofthewagesofthosetwentymenwouldhaveincreasedby25percent,andasfarastheaggregatecapitalthatemploysthem,andthepricesofthecommoditiestheyproduce,areconcerned,itwouldbeexactlythesameasifallofthemhadequallysharedintheaverageriseofwages.Inthecaseofagriculturallabour,thestandardwagesbeingverydifferent

inthedifferentcountiesofEnglandandScotland,theriseaffectedthemveryunequally.



Lastly,duringtheperiodwhenthatriseofwagestookplacecounteractinginfluenceswereatworksuchasthenewtaxesconsequentupontheRussianwar,theextensivedemolitionofthedwelling-housesoftheagriculturallabourers,andsoforth.Havingpremisedsomuch,Iproceedtostatethatfrom1849to1859theretookplaceariseofabout40percentintheaveragerateoftheagriculturalwagesofGreatBritain.Icouldgiveyouampledetailsinproofofmyassertion,butforthepresentpurposethinkitsufficienttoreferyoutotheconscientiousandcriticalpaperreadin1860bythelateMr.JohnC.MortonattheLondonSocietyofArtson.TheForcesusedinAgriculture..Mr.Mortongivesthereturns,frombillsandotherauthenticdocuments,whichhehadcollectedfromaboutonehundredfarmers,residingintwelveScotchandthirty-fiveEnglishcounties.

AccordingtoourfriendWeston'sopinion,andtakentogetherwiththesimultaneousriseinthewagesofthefactoryoperatives,thereoughttohaveoccurredatremendousrise

inthepricesofagriculturalproduceduringtheperiod1849to1859.Butwhatisthefact?DespitetheRussianwar,andtheconsecutiveunfavourableharvestsfrom1854to1856,theaveragepriceofwheat,whichistheleadingagriculturalproduceofEngland,fellfromabout3Poundsperquarterfortheyears1838to1848toabout2Pounds10Shillingsperquarterfortheyears1849to1859.Thisconstitutesafallinthepriceofwheatofmorethan16percentsimultaneouslywithanaverageriseofagriculturalwagesof40percent.Duringthesameperiod,ifwecompareitsendwithits

beginning,1859with1849,therewasadecreaseofofficialpauperismfrom934,419to860,470,thedifferencebeing73,949;averysmalldecrease,Igrant,andwhichinthefollowingyearswasagainlost,butstilladecrease.

Itmightbesaidthat,consequentupontheabolitionoftheCornLaws,theimportofforeigncornwasmorethandoubledduringtheperiodfrom1849to1859,ascomparedwiththeperiodfrom1838to1848.Andwhatofthat?FromCitizenWeston'sstandpointonewouldhaveexpectedthatthissudden,immense,andcontinuouslyincreasingdemanduponforeignmarketsmu

sthavesentupthepricesofagriculturalproducetheretoafrightfulheight,theeffectofincreaseddemandremainingthesame,whetheritcomesfromwithoutorfromwithin.Whatwasthefact?Apartfromsomeyearsoffailingharvests,duringallthatperiodtheruinousfallinthepriceofcornformedastandingthemeofdeclamationinFrance;theAmericanswereagainandagaincompelledtoburntheirsurplusproduce;andRussia,ifwearetobelieveMr.Ur



quhart,promptedtheCivilWarintheUnitedStatesbecauseheragriculturalexportswerecrippledbytheYankeecompetitioninthemarketsofEurope.

Reducedtoitsabstractform,CitizenWeston'sargumentwouldcometothis:Everyriseindemandoccursalwaysonthebasisofagivenamountofproduction.Itcan,therefore,neverincreasethesupplyofthearticlesdemanded,butcanonlyenhancetheirmoneyprices.Nowthemostcommonobservationshowsthananincreaseddemandwill,insomeinstances,leavethemarketpricesofcommoditiesaltogetherunchanged,andwill,inotherinstances,causeatemporaryriseofmarketpricesfollowedbyanincreasedsupply,followedbyareductionofthepricestotheiroriginallevel,andinmanycasesbelowtheiroriginallevel.Whethertheriseofdemandspringsfromsurpluswages,orfromanyothercause,doesnotatallchangetheconditionsoftheproblem.FromCitizenWeston'sstandpointthegeneralphenomenonwasasdifficulttoexplainasthephenomenonoccurringundertheexceptionalcircumsta

ncesofariseofwages.Hisargumenthad,therefore,nopeculiarbearingwhateveruponthesubjectwetreat.Itonlyexpressedhisperplexityataccountingforthelawsbywhichanincreaseofdemandproducesanincreaseofsupply,insteadofanultimateriseofmarketprices.

IV.SupplyandDemand

OurfriendWestonacceptstheLatinproverbthat.repetitioestmaterstudiorum,.thatistosay,thatrepetitionisthemotherofstudy,andconsequentlyherepeatedhisoriginaldogmaagain



underthenewform,thatthecontractionofcurrency,resultingfromanenhancementofwages,wouldproduceadiminutionofcapital,andsoforth.Havingalreadydealtwithhiscurrencycrotchet,Iconsideritquiteuselesstoenterupontheimaginaryconsequenceshefanciestoflowfromhisimaginarycurrencymishap.Ishallproceedtoatoncereducehisoneandthesamedogma,repeatedinsomanydifferentshapes,toitssimplesttheoreticalform.

Theuncriticalwayinwhichhehastreatedhissubjectwillbecomeevidentfromonesingleremark.Hepleadsagainstariseofwagesoragainsthighwagesastheresultofsucharise.Now,Iaskhim:Whatarehighwagesandwhatarelowwages?Whyconstitute,forexample,fiveshillingsweeklylow,andtwentyshillingsweeklyhighwages?Iffiveislowascomparedwithtwenty,twentyisstilllowerascomparedwithtwohundred.Ifamanwastolectureonthethermometer,andcommencedbydeclaimingonhighandlowdegrees,hewouldimpartnoknowledgewhatever.Hemustfirsttellmehowthefreezing-pointisfoundout,a

ndhowtheboiling-point,andhowthesestandardpointsaresettledbynaturallaws,notbythefancyofthesellersormakersofthermometers.Now,inregardtowagesandprofits,CitizenWestonhasnotonlyfailedtodeducesuchstandardpointsfromeconomicallaws,buthehasnotevenfeltthenecessitytolookafterthem.Hesatisfiedhimselfwiththeacceptanceofthepopularslangtermsoflowandhighassomethinghavingafixedmeaning,althoughitisself-evidentthatwagescanonlybesaidtobehighorlowascomparedwithastandardbywhichtomeasuretheir

magnitudes.

Hewillbeunabletotellmewhyacertainamountofmoneyisgivenforacertainamountoflabour.Ifheshouldanswerme,.Thiswassettledbythelawofsupplyanddemand,.Ishouldaskhim,inthefirstinstance,bywhatlawsupplyanddemandarethemselvesregulated.Andsuchananswerwouldatonceputhimoutofcourt.Therelationsbetweenthesupplyanddemandoflabourundergoperpetualchange,andwiththemthemarketpricesoflabour.Ifthedemandovershootsthesupplywagesrise;ifthesupplyovershootsthedemandwagessink

,althoughitmightinsuchcircumstancesbenecessarytotesttherealstateofdemandandsupplybyastrike,forexample,oranyothermethod.Butifyouacceptsupplyanddemandasthelawregulatingwages,itwouldbeaschildishasuselesstodeclaimagainstariseofwages,because,accordingtothesupremelawyouappealto,aperiodicalriseofwagesisquiteasnecessaryandlegitimateasaperiodicalfallofwages.Ifyoudonotacceptsupplyanddemandasthelawregu



latingwages,Iagainrepeatthequestion,whyacertainamountofmoneyisgivenforacertainamountoflabour?

Buttoconsidermattersmorebroadly:Youwouldbealtogethermistakeninfancyingthatthevalueoflabouroranyothercommoditywhateverisultimatelyfixedbysupplyanddemand.Supplyanddemandregulatenothingbutthetemporaryfluctuationsofmarketprices.Theywillexplaintoyouwhythemarketpriceofacommodityrisesaboveorsinksbelowitsvalue,buttheycanneveraccountforthevalueitself.Supposesupplyanddemandtoequilibrate,or,astheeconomistscallit,tocovereachother.Why,theverymomenttheseoppositeforcesbecomeequaltheyparalyzeeachother,andceasetoworkintheoneorotherdirection.Atthemomentwhensupplyanddemandequilibrateeachother,andthereforeceasetoact,themarketpriceofacommoditycoincideswithitsrealvalue,withthestandardpriceroundwhichitsmarketpricesoscillate.IninquiringintothenatureofthatVALUE,wehavethereforenothingatalltodowith

thetemporaryeffectsonmarketpricesofsupplyanddemand.Thesameholdstrueofwagesandofthepricesofallothercommodities.

V.WagesandPrices

Reducedtotheirsimplesttheoreticalexpression,allourfriend'sargumentsresolvethemselvesintothisonedogma:.Thepricesofcommoditiesaredeterminedorregulatedbywages."

Imightappealtopracticalobservationtobearwitnessagainstthisantiquatedandexploded

fallacy.ImighttellyouthattheEnglishfactoryoperatives,miners,shipbuilders,andsoforth,



whoselabourisrelativelyhigh-priced,undersellbythecheapnessoftheirproduceallothernations;whiletheEnglishagriculturallabourer,forexample,whoselabourisrelativelylow-priced,isundersoldbyalmosteveryothernationbecauseofthedearnessofhisproduce.Bycomparingarticlewitharticleinthesamecountry,andthecommoditiesofdifferentcountries,Imightshow,apartfromsomeexceptionsmoreapparentthanreal,thatonanaveragethehigh-pricedlabourproducesthelow-priced,andlowpricedlabourproducesthehigh-pricedcommodities.This,ofcourse,wouldnotprovethatthehighpriceoflabourintheone,anditslowpriceintheotherinstance,aretherespectivecausesofthosediametricallyopposedeffects,butatalleventsitwouldprovethatthepricesofcommoditiesarenotruledbythepricesoflabour.However,itisquitesuperfluousforustoemploythisempiricalmethod.

Itmight,perhaps,bedeniedthatCitizenWestonhasputforwardthedogma:.Thepricesofcommoditiesaredeterminedorregulatedbywages..Inpointoffact,hehasneve

rformulatedit.Hesaid,onthecontrary,thatprofitandrentalsoformconstituentpartsofthepricesofcommodities,becauseitisoutofthepricesofcommoditiesthatnotonlytheworkingman'swages,butalsothecapitalist'sprofitsandthelandlord'srentsmustbepaid.Buthowinhisideaarepricesformed?Firstbywages.Thenanadditionalpercentageisjoinedtothepriceonbehalfofthecapitalist,andanotheradditionalpercentageonbehalfofthelandlord.Supposethewagesofthelabouremployedintheproductionofacommoditytobeten.Iftherateofprofitwas100

percent,tothewagesadvancedthecapitalistwouldaddten,andiftherateofrentwasalso100percentuponthewages,therewouldbeaddedtenmore,andtheaggregatepriceofthecommoditywouldamounttothirty.Butsuchadeterminationofpriceswouldbesimplytheirdeterminationbywages.Ifwagesintheabovecaserosetotwenty,thepriceofthecommoditywouldrisetosixty,andsoforth.Consequentlyallthesuperannuatedwritersonpoliticaleconomywhopropoundedthedogmathatwagesregulateprices,havetriedtoproveitbytreatingprofitandrentasmereadditionalpercentagesuponwages.Noneofthemwere,ofcourse

,abletoreducethelimitsofthosepercentagestoanyeconomiclaw.Theyseem,onthecontrary,tothinkprofitssettledbytradition,custom,thewillofthecapitalist,orbysomeotherequallyarbitraryandinexplicablemethod.Iftheyassertthattheyaresettledbythecompetitionbetweenthecapitalists,theysaynothing.Thatcompetitionissuretoequalizethedifferentratesofprofitindifferenttrades,orreducethemtooneaveragelevel,butitcanneverdetermin



ethelevelitself,orthegeneralrateofprofit.

Whatdowemeanbysayingthatthepricesofthecommoditiesaredeterminedbywages?Wagesbeingbutanameforthepriceoflabour,wemeanthatthepricesofcommoditiesareregulatedbythepriceoflabour.As.price.isexchangeablevalueandinspeakingofvalueIspeakalwaysofexchangeablevalueisexchangeablevalueexpressedinmoney,thepropositioncomestothis,that.thevalueofcommoditiesisdeterminedbythevalueoflabour,.orthat.thevalueoflabouristhegeneralmeasureofvalue."

Buthow,then,isthe.valueoflabour.itselfdetermined?Herewecometoastandstill.Ofcourse,wecometoastandstillifwetryreasoninglogically,yetthepropoundersofthatdoctrinemakeshortworkoflogicalscruples.TakeourfriendWeston,forexample.Firsthetoldusthatwagesregulatethepriceofcommoditiesandthatconsequentlywhenwagesrisepricesmustrise.Thenheturnedroundtoshowusthatariseofwageswillbenogoodbecausethepric

esofcommoditieshadrisen,andbecausewageswereindeedmeasuredbythepricesofthecommoditiesuponwhichtheyarespent.Thuswebeginbysayingthatthevalueoflabourdeterminesthevalueofcommodities,andwewindupbysayingthatthevalueofcommoditiesdeterminesthevalueoflabour.Thuswemovetoandfrointhemostviciouscircle,andarriveatnoconclusionatall.

Onthewhole,itisevidentthatbymakingthevalueofonecommodity,saylabour,corn,orany

othercommodity,thegeneralmeasureandregulatorofvalue,weonlyshiftthedifficulty,sincewedetermineonevaluebyanother,whichonitssidewantstobedetermined.



Thedogmathat.wagesdeterminethepriceofcommodities,.expressedinitsmostabstractterms,comestothis,that.valueisdeterminedbyvalue,.andthistautologymeansthat,infact,weknownothingatallaboutvalue.Acceptingthispremise,allreasoningaboutthegenerallawsofpoliticaleconomyturnsintomeretwaddle.Itwas,therefore,thegreatmeritofRicardothatinhisworkontheprinciplesofpoliticaleconomy,publishedin1817,hefundamentallydestroyedtheoldpopular,andworn-outfallacythat.wagesdetermineprices,.afallacywhichAdamSmithandhisFrenchpredecessorshadspurnedinthereallyscientificpartsoftheirresearches,butwhichtheyreproducedintheirmoreexotericalandvulgarizingchapters.

VI.ValueandLabour

Citizens,IhavenowarrivedatapointwhereImustenterupontherealdevelopmentofthequestion.Icannotpromisetodothisinaverysatisfactoryway,becausetodosoIshouldbeobligedtogooverthewholefieldofpoliticaleconomy.Ican,astheFrenchwo

uldsay,but.effleurerlaquestion,.touchuponthemainpoints.Thefirstquestionwehavetoputis:Whatisthevalueofacommodity?Howisitdetermined?

Atfirstsightitwouldseemthatthevalueofacommodityisathingquiterelative,andnottobesettledwithoutconsideringonecommodityinitsrelationstoallothercommodities.Infact,inspeakingofthevalue,thevalueinexchangeofacommodity,wemeantheproportionalquantitiesinwhichitexchangeswithallothercommodities.Butthenarisesthequestion:Howarethe

proportionsinwhichcommoditiesexchangewitheachotherregulated?Weknowfromexperiencethattheseproportionsvaryinfinitely.Takingonesinglecommodity,wheat,forinstance,weshallfindthataquarterofwheatexchangesinalmostcountlessvariationsofproportionwithdifferentcommodities.Yet,itsvalueremainingalwaysthesame,whetherexpressedinsilk,gold,oranyothercommodity,itmustbesomethingdistinctfrom,andindependentof,thesedifferentratesofexchangewithdifferentarticles.Itmustbepossibletoexpress,inaverydifferentform,thesevariousequationswithvariouscommodit

ies.

Besides,ifIsayaquarterofwheatexchangeswithironinacertainproportion,orthevalueofaquarterofwheatisexpressedinacertainamountofiron,Isaythatthevalueofwheatanditsequivalentinironareequaltosomethirdthing,whichisneitherwheatnoriron,becauseIsupposethemtoexpressthesamemagnitudeintwodifferentshapes.Eitherofthem,thewheator



theiron,must,therefore,independentlyoftheother,bereducibletothisthirdthingwhichistheircommonmeasure.

ToelucidatethispointIshallrecurtoaverysimplegeometricalillustration.Incomparingtheareasoftrianglesofallpossibleformsandmagnitudes,orcomparingtriangleswithrectangles,oranyotherrectilinearfigure,howdoweproceed?Wereducetheareaofanytrianglewhatevertoanexpressionquitedifferentfromitsvisibleform.Havingfoundfromthenatureofthetrianglethatitsareaisequaltohalftheproductofitsbasebyitsheight,wecanthencomparethedifferentvaluesofallsortsoftriangles,andofallrectilinearfigureswhatever,becauseallofthemmayberesolvedintoacertainnumberoftriangles.

Thesamemodeofproceduremustobtainwiththevaluesofcommodities.Wemustbeabletoreduceallofthemtoanexpressioncommontoall,anddistinguishingthemonlybytheproportionsinwhichtheycontainthatidenticalmeasure.

Astheexchangeablevaluesofcommoditiesareonlysocialfunctionsofthosethings,andhavenothingatalltodowiththenaturalqualities,wemustfirstask:Whatisthecommonsocialsubstanceofallcommodities?Itislabour.Toproduceacommodityacertainamountoflabourmustbebestoweduponit,orworkedupinit.AndIsaynotonlylabour,butsociallabour.Amanwhoproducesanarticleforhisownimmediateuse,toconsumeithimself,createsaproduct,butnotacommodity.Asaself-sustainingproducerhehasnothingtodowithsociety.Buttoproduceacommodity,amanmustnotonlyproduceanarticlesatisfyingsomesoci

alwant,buthis



labouritselfmustformpartandparcelofthetotalsumoflabourexpendedbysociety.Itmustbesubordinatetothedivisionoflabourwithinsociety.Itisnothingwithouttheotherdivisionsoflabour,andonitspartisrequiredtointegratethem.

Ifweconsidercommoditiesasvalues,weconsiderthemexclusivelyunderthesingleaspectofrealized,fixed,or,ifyoulike,crystallizedsociallabour.Inthisrespecttheycandifferonlybyrepresentinggreaterorsmallerquantitiesoflabour,as,forexample,agreateramountoflabourmaybeworkedupinasilkenhandkerchiefthaninabrick.Buthowdoesonemeasurequantitiesoflabour?Bythetimethelabourlasts,inmeasuringthelabourbythehour,theday,etc.Ofcourse,toapplythismeasure,allsortsoflabourarereducedtoaverageorsimplelabourastheirunit.Wearrive,therefore,atthisconclusion.Acommodityhasavalue,becauseitisacrystallizationofsociallabour.Thegreatnessofitsvalue,oritsrelativevalue,dependsuponthegreaterorlessamountofthatsocialsubstancecontainedinit;thatistosay,

ontherelativemassoflabournecessaryforitsproduction.Therelativevaluesofcommoditiesare,therefore,determinedbytherespectivequantitiesoramountsoflabour,workedup,realized,fixedinthem.Thecorrelativequantitiesofcommoditieswhichcanbeproducedinthesametimeoflabourareequal.Orthevalueofonecommodityistothevalueofanothercommodityasthequantityoflabourfixedintheoneistothequantityoflabourfixedintheother.

Isuspectthatmanyofyouwillask:Doesthen,indeed,thereexistsuchavastoranydifference

whatever,betweendeterminingthevaluesofcommoditiesbywages,anddeterminingthembytherelativequantitiesoflabournecessaryfortheirproduction?Youmust,however,beawarethattherewardforlabour,andquantityoflabour,arequitedisparatethings.Suppose,forexample,equalquantitiesoflabourtobefixedinonequarterofwheatandoneounceofgold.IresorttotheexamplebecauseitwasusedbyBenjaminFranklininhisfirstEssaypublishedin1721,andentitledAModestEnquiryintotheNatureandNecessityofaPaperCurrency,wherehe,oneofthefirst,hituponthetruenatureofvalue.

Well.Wesuppose,then,thatonequarterofwheatandoneounceofgoldareequalvaluesorequivalents,becausetheyarecrystallizationsofequalamountsofaveragelabour,ofsomanydays'orsomanyweeks'labourrespectivelyfixedinthem.Inthusdeterminingtherelativevaluesofgoldandcorn,dowereferinanywaywhatevertothewagesoftheagriculturallabourerandtheminer?Notabit.Weleaveitquiteindeterminatehowtheirday'sortheirw



eek'slabourwaspaid,orevenwhetherwagelabourwasemployedatall.Ifitwas,wagesmayhavebeenveryunequal.Thelabourerwhoselabourisrealizedinthequarterofwheatmayreceivetwobushelsonly,andthelaboureremployedinminingmayreceiveone-halfoftheounceofgold.Or,supposingtheirwagestobeequal,theymaydeviateinallpossibleproportionsfromthevaluesofthecommoditiesproducedbythem.Theymayamounttoone-fourth,one-fifth,oranyotherproportionalpartoftheonequarterofcornortheoneounceofgold.Theirwagescan,ofcourse,notexceed,notbemorethanthevaluesofthecommoditiestheyproduced,buttheycanbelessineverypossibledegree.Theirwageswillbelimitedbythevaluesoftheproducts,butthevaluesoftheirproductswillnotbelimitedbythewages.Andaboveall,thevalues,therelativevaluesofcornandgold,forexample,willhavebeensettledwithoutanyregardwhatevertothevalueofthelabouremployed,thatistosay,towages.Todeterminethevaluesofcommoditiesbytherelativequantitiesoflabourfixedinthem,is,therefore,athingquitedifferentfrom

thetautologicalmethodofdeterminingthevaluesofcommoditiesbythevalueoflabour,orbywages.Thispoint,however,willbefurtherelucidatedintheprogressofourinquiry.

Incalculatingtheexchangeablevalueofacommoditywemustaddtothequantityoflabourpreviouslyworkedupintherawmaterialofthecommodity,andthelabourbestowedontheimplements,tools,machinery,andbuildings,withwhichsuchlabourisassisted.Forexample,thevalueofacertainamountofcottonyarnisthecrystallizationofthequantityoflabouraddedto

thecottonduringthespinningprocess,thequantityoflabourpreviouslyrealizedinthecottonitself,thequantityoflabourrealizedinthecoal,oil,andotherauxiliarysubstancesused,the



quantityoflabourfixedinthesteam-engine,thespindles,thefactorybuilding,andsoforth.Instrumentsofproductionproperlyso-called,suchastools,machinery,buildings,serveagainandagainforlongerorshorterperiodduringrepeatedprocessesofproduction.Iftheywereusedupatonce,liketherawmaterial,theirwholevaluewouldatoncebetransferredtothecommoditiestheyassistinproducing.Butasaspindle,forexample,isbutgraduallyusedup,anaveragecalculationismade,basedupontheaveragetimeitlasts,anditsaveragewasteorwearandtearduringacertainperiod,sayaday.Inthiswaywecalculatehowmuchofthevalueofthespindleistransferredtotheyarndailyspin,andhowmuch,therefore,ofthetotalamountoflabourrealizedinapoundofyarn,forexample,isduetothequantityoflabourpreviouslyrealizedinthespindle.Forourpresentpurposeitisnotnecessarytodwellanylongeruponthispoint.

Itmightseemthatifthevalueofacommodityisdeterminedbythequantityoflabourbestowed

uponitsproduction,thelazieraman,ortheclumsieraman,themorevaluablehiscommodity,becausethegreaterthetimeoflabourrequiredforfinishingthecommodity.This,however,wouldbeasadmistake.YouwillrecollectthatIusedtheword.sociallabour,.andmanypointsareinvolvedinthisqualificationof.social..Insayingthatthevalueofacommodityisdeterminedbythequantityoflabourworkeduporcrystallizedinit,wemeanthequantityoflabournecessaryforitsproductioninagivenstateofsociety,undercertainsocialaverageconditionsofproduction,withagivensocialaverageintensity,andaverageski

llofthelabouremployed.When,inEngland,thepower-loomcametocompetewiththehand-loom,onlyhalftheformertimeoflabourwaswantedtoconvertagivenamountofyarnintoayardofcottonorcloth.Thepoorhand-loomweavernowworkedseventeenoreighteenhoursdaily,insteadofthenineortenhourshehadworkedbefore.Stilltheproductoftwentyhoursofhislabourrepresentednowonlytensocialhoursoflabour,ortenhoursoflaboursociallynecessaryfortheconversionofacertainamountofyarnintotextilestuffs.Hisproductoftwentyhourshad,

therefore,nomorevaluethanhisformerproductoftenhours.

Ifthenthequantityofsociallynecessarylabourrealizedincommoditiesregulatestheirexchangeablevalues,everyincreaseinthequantityoflabourwantedfortheproductionofacommoditymustaugmentitsvalue,aseverydiminutionmustlowerit.

Iftherespectivequantitiesoflabournecessaryfortheproductionoftherespectivecommodities



remainedconstant,theirrelativevaluesalsowouldbeconstant.Butsuchisnotthecase.Thequantityoflabournecessaryfortheproductionofacommoditychangescontinuouslywiththechangesintheproductivepowersoflabour,themoreproduceisfinishedinagiventimeoflabour;andthesmallertheproductivepowersoflabour,thelessproduceisfinishedinthesametime.If,forexample,intheprogressofpopulationitshouldbecomenecessarytocultivatelessfertilesoils,thesameamountofproducewouldbeonlyattainablebyagreateramountoflabourspent,andthevalueofagriculturalproducewouldconsequentlyrise.Ontheotherhand,if,withthemodernmeansofproduction,asinglespinnerconvertsintoyarn,duringoneworkingday,manythousandtimestheamountofcottonwhichhecouldhavespunduringthesametimewiththespinningwheel,itisevidentthateverysinglepoundofcottonwillabsorbmanythousandtimeslessofspinninglabourthanitdidbefore,andconsequently,thevalueaddedbyspinningtoeverysinglepoundofcottonwillbeathousandtimeslessthanbefore.Thevalueofyarnwillsink

accordingly.

Apartfromthedifferentnaturalenergiesandacquiredworkingabilitiesofdifferentpeoples,theproductivepowersoflabourmustprincipallydepend:

Firstly.Uponthenaturalconditionsoflabour,suchasfertilityofsoil,mines,andsoforth.

Secondly.Upontheprogressiveimprovementofthesocialpowersoflabour,suchasarederivedfromproductiononagrandscale,concentrationofcapitalandcombinationoflabour,subdivision

oflabour,machinery,improvedmethods,applianceofchemicalandothernaturalagencies,shorteningoftimeandspacebymeansofcommunicationandtransport,andeveryother



contrivancebywhichsciencepressesnaturalagenciesintotheserviceoflabour,andbywhichthesocialorco-operativecharacteroflabourisdeveloped.Thegreatertheproductivepowersoflabour,thelesslabourisbestoweduponagivenamountofproduce;hencethesmallerthevalueoftheproduce.Thesmallertheproductivepowersoflabour,themorelabourisbestoweduponthesameamountofproduce;hencethegreateritsvalue.Asagenerallawwemay,therefore,setitdownthat:

Thevaluesofcommoditiesaredirectlyasthetimesoflabouremployedintheirproduction,andareinverselyastheproductivepowersofthelabouremployed.

Havingtillnowonlyspokenofvalue,Ishalladdafewwordsaboutprice,whichisapeculiarformassumedbyvalue.

Price,takenbyitself,isnothingbutthemonetaryexpressionofvalue.Thevaluesofallcommoditiesofthecountry,forexample,areexpressedingoldprices,whileon

theContinenttheyaremainlyexpressedinsilverprices.Thevalueofgoldorsilver,likethatofallothercommoditiesisregulatedbythequantityoflabournecessaryforgettingthem.Youexchangeacertainamountofyournationalproducts,inwhichacertainamountofyournationallabouriscrystallized,fortheproduceofthegoldandsilverproducingcountries,inwhichacertainquantityoftheirlabouriscrystallized.Itisinthisway,infactbybarter,thatyoulearntoexpressingoldandsilverthevaluesofallcommodities,thatistherespectivequantitiesoflabour

bestoweduponthem.Lookingsomewhatcloserintothemonetaryexpressionofvalue,orwhatcomestothesame,theconversionofvalueintoprice,youwillfindthatitisaprocessbywhichyougivetothevaluesofallcommoditiesanindependentandhomogeneousform,orbywhichyouexpressthemasquantitiesofequalsociallabour.Sofarasitisbutthemonetaryexpressionofvalue,pricehasbeencallednaturalpricebyAdamSmith,.prixnecessaire.bytheFrenchphysiocrats.

Whatthenistherelationbetweenvalueandmarketprices,orbetweennaturalpr

icesandmarketprices?Youallknowthatthemarketpriceisthesameforallcommoditiesofthesamekind,howevertheconditionsofproductionmaydifferfortheindividualproducers.Themarketpriceexpressesonlytheaverageamountofsociallabournecessary,undertheaverageconditionsofproduction,tosupplythemarketwithacertainmassofacertainarticle.Itiscalculateduponthewholelotofacommodityofacertaindescription.



Sofarthemarketpriceofacommoditycoincideswithitsvalue.Ontheotherhand,theoscillationsofmarketprices,risingnowover,sinkingnowunderthevalueornaturalprice,dependuponthefluctuationsofsupplyanddemand.Thedeviationsofmarketpricesfromvaluesarecontinual,butasAdamSmithsays:

.Thenaturalpriceisthecentralpricetowhichthepricesofcommoditiesarecontinuallygravitating.Differentaccidentsmaysometimeskeepthemsuspendedagooddealaboveit,andsometimesforcethemdownevensomewhatbelowit.Butwhatevermaybetheobstacleswhichhinderthemfromsettlinginthiscenterofreposeandcontinuance,theyareconstantlytendingtowardsit..

Icannotnowsiftthismatter.Itsufficestosaytheifsupplyanddemandequilibrateeachother,themarketpricesofcommoditieswillcorrespondwiththeirnaturalprices,thatistosaywiththeirvalues,asdeterminedbytherespectivequantitiesoflabourrequiredfortheirproduction.Butsupplyanddemandmustconstantlytendtoequilibrateeachother,althoughtheydosoonlyby

compensatingonefluctuationbyanother,arisebyafall,andviceversa.Ifinsteadofconsideringonlythedailyfluctuationsyouanalyzethemovementofmarketpricesforlongerperiods,asMr.Tooke,forexample,hasdoneinhisHistoryofPrices,youwillfindthatthefluctuationsofmarketprices,theirdeviationsfromvalues,theirupsanddowns,paralyzeandcompensateeachother;sothatapartfromtheeffectofmonopoliesandsomeothermodificationsImustnowpassby,alldescriptionsofcommoditiesare,onaverage,soldattheirrespectivevaluesornatural



prices.Theaverageperiodsduringwhichthefluctuationsofmarketpricescompensateeachotheraredifferentfordifferentkindsofcommodities,becausewithonekinditiseasiertoadaptsupplytodemandthanwiththeother.

Ifthen,speakingbroadly,andembracingsomewhatlongerperiods,alldescriptionsofcommoditiessellattheirrespectivevalues,itisnonsensetosupposethatprofit,notinindividualcases;butthattheconstantandusualprofitsofdifferenttradesspringfromthepricesofcommodities,orsellingthematapriceoverandabovetheirvalue.Theabsurdityofthisnotionbecomesevidentifitisgeneralized.Whatamanwouldconstantlywinasasellerhewouldconstantlyloseasapurchaser.Itwouldnotdotosaythattherearemenwhoarebuyerswithoutbeingsellers,orconsumerswithoutbeingproducers.Whatthesepeoplepaytotheproducers,theymustfirstgetfromthemfornothing.Ifamanfirsttakesyourmoneyandafterwardsreturnsthatmoneyinbuyingyourcommodities,youwillneverenrichyourselvesbyselli

ngyourcommoditiestoodeartothatsameman.Thissortoftransactionmightdiminishaloss,butwouldneverhelpinrealizingaprofit.Toexplain,therefore,thegeneralnatureofprofits,youmuststartfromthetheoremthat,onanaverage,commoditiesaresoldattheirrealvalues,andthatprofitsarederivedfromsellingthemattheirvalues,thatis,inproportiontothequantityoflabourrealizedinthem.Ifyoucannotexplainprofituponthissupposition,youcannotexplainitatall.Thisseemsparadoxandcontrarytoevery-dayobservation.Itisalsoparadoxthattheearthmoves

roundthesun,andthatwaterconsistsoftwohighlyinflammablegases.Scientifictruthisalwaysparadox,ifjudgedbyevery-dayexperience,whichcatchesonlythedelusiveappearanceofthings.

VII.LabourPower

Havingnow,asfarasitcouldbedoneinsuchacursorymanner,analyzedthenatureofvalue,ofthevalueofanycommoditywhatever,wemustturnourattentiontothespecificvalueoflabour.Andhere,again,Imuststartleyoubyaseemingparadox.Allofyoufeelsuret

hatwhattheydailysellistheirLabour;that,therefore,Labourhasaprice,andthat,thepriceofacommoditybeingonlythemonetaryexpressionofitsvalue,theremustcertainlyexistsuchathingasthevalueoflabour.However,thereexistsnosuchthingasthevalueoflabourinthecommonacceptanceoftheword.Wehaveseenthattheamountofnecessarylabourcrystallizedinacommodityconstitutesitsvalue.Now,applyingthisnotionofvalue,howcouldwedefine,



say,thevalueofatenhoursworkingday?Howmuchlabouriscontainedinthatday?Tenhours'labour.

Tosaythatthevalueofatenhoursworkingdayisequaltotenhours'labour,orthequantityoflabourcontainedinit,wouldbeatautologicaland,moreover,anonsensicalexpression.Ofcourse,havingoncefoundoutthetruebuthiddensenseoftheexpression.valueoflabour,.weshallbeabletointerpretthisirrational,andseeminglyimpossibleapplicationofvalue,inthesamewaythat,havingoncemadesureoftherealmovementofthecelestialbodies,weshallbeabletoexplaintheirapparentormerelyphenomenalmovements.

Whattheworkingmansellsisnotdirectlyhislabour,buthislabouringpower,thetemporarydisposalofwhichhemakesovertothecapitalist.ThisissomuchthecasethatIdonotknowwhetherbytheEnglishLaws,butcertainlybysomeContinentalLaws,themaximumtimeisfixedforwhichamanisallowedtosellhislabouringpower.Ifallowedtodosoforanyindefinite

periodwhatever,slaverywouldbeimmediatelyrestored.Suchasale,ifitcomprisedhislifetime,forexample,wouldmakehimatoncethelifelongslaveofhisemployer.

OneoftheoldesteconomistsandmostoriginalphilosophersofEnglandThomasHobbeshasalready,inhisLeviathan,instinctivelyhituponthispointoverlookedbyallhissuccessors.Hesays:.thevalueorworthofamanis,asinallotherthings,hisprice:thatissomuchaswouldbegivenfortheuseofhispower..Proceedingfromthisbasis,weshallbeabletodeterminethevalueoflabourasthatofallothercommodities.



Butbeforedoingso,wemightask,howdoesthisstrangephenomenonarise,thatwefindonthemarketasetofbuyers,possessedofland,machinery,rawmaterial,andthemeansofsubsistence,allofthem,savelandinitscrudestate,theproductsoflabour,andontheotherhand,asetofsellerswhohavenothingtosellexcepttheirlabouringpower,theirworkingarmsandbrains?Thattheonesetbuyscontinuallyinordertomakeaprofitandenrichthemselves,whiletheothersetcontinuallysellsinordertoearntheirlivelihood?Theinquiryintothisquestionwouldbeaninquiryintowhattheeconomistscall.previousororiginalaccumulation,.butwhichoughttobecalledoriginalexpropriation.Weshouldfindthatthisso-calledoriginalaccumulationmeansnothingbutaseriesofhistoricalprocesses,resultinginadecompositionoftheoriginalunionexistingbetweenthelabouringManandhisInstrumentsofLabour.Suchaninquiry,however,liesbeyondthepaleofmypresentsubject.TheseparationbetweentheManofLabourandtheInstrumentsofLabouronceestablished,suchastateofthingswillmaintainits

elfandreproduceitselfuponaconstantlyincreasingscale,untilanewandfundamentalrevolutioninthemodeofproductionshouldagainoverturnit,andrestoretheoriginalunioninanewhistoricalform.

What,then,isthevalueoflabouringpower?

Likethatofeveryothercommodity,itsvalueisdeterminedbythequantityoflabournecessarytoproduceit.Thelabouringpowerofamanexistsonlyinhislivingindividuality.Acertainmassofnecessariesmustbeconsumedbyamantogrowupandmaintainhislife.Butthe

man,likethemachine,willwearout,andmustbereplacedbyanotherman.Besidethemassofnecessariesrequiredforhisownmaintenance,hewantsanotheramountofnecessariestobringupacertainquotaofchildrenthataretoreplacehimonthelabourmarketandtoperpetuatetheraceoflabourers.Moreover,todevelophislabouringpower,andacquireagivenskill,anotheramountofvaluesmustbespent.Forourpurposeitsufficestoconsideronlyaveragelabour,thecostsofwhoseeducationanddevelopmentarevanishingmagnitudes.StillImustseizeuponthisoccasion

tostatethat,asthecostsofproducinglabouringpowersofdifferentqualitydiffer,somuchdifferthevaluesofthelabouringpowersemployedindifferenttrades.Thecryforanequalityofwagesrests,therefore,uponamistake,isaninanewishnevertobefulfilled.Itisanoffspringofthatfalseandsuperficialradicalismthatacceptspremisesandtriestoevadeconclusions.Uponthebasisofthewagessystemthevalueoflabouringpowerissettledlikethatofeveryother



commodity;andasdifferentkindsoflabouringpowerhavedifferentvalues,orrequiredifferentquantitiesoflabourfortheirproduction,theymustfetchdifferentpricesinthelabourmarket.Toclamourforequalorevenequitableretributiononthebasisofthewagessystemisthesameastoclamourforfreedomonthebasisoftheslaverysystem.Whatyouthinkjustorequitableisoutofthequestion.Thequestionis:Whatisnecessaryandunavoidablewithagivensystemofproduction?Afterwhathasbeensaid,itwillbeseenthatthevalueoflabouringpowerisdeterminedbythevalueofthenecessariesrequiredtoproduce,develop,maintain,andperpetuatethelabouringpower.

VIII.ProductionofSurplusValue

Nowsupposethattheaverageamountofthedailynecessariesofalabouringmanrequiresixhoursofaveragelabourfortheirproduction.Suppose,moreover,sixhoursofaveragelabourtobealsorealizedinaquantityofgoldequalto3s.Then3s.wouldbetheprice,orthemonetary

expressionofthedailyvalueofthatman'slabouringpower.Ifheworkeddailysixhourshewoulddailyproduceavaluesufficienttobuytheaverageamountofhisdailynecessaries,ortomaintainhimselfasalabouringman.

Butourmanisawageslabourer.Hemust,therefore,sellhislabouringpowertoacapitalist.Ifhesellsitat3s.daily,or18s.weekly,hesellsitatitsvalue.Supposehimtobeaspinner.Ifheworkssixhoursdailyhewilladdtothecottonavalueof3s.daily.Thisvalue,dailyaddedbyhim,wouldbeanexactequivalentforthewages,orthepriceofhislabouringpower,

receiveddaily.



Butinthatcasenosurplusvalueorsurplusproducewhateverwouldgotothecapitalist.Here,then,wecometotherub.

Inbuyingthelabouringpoweroftheworkman,andpayingitsvalue,thecapitalist,likeeveryotherpurchaser,hasacquiredtherighttoconsumeorusethecommoditybought.Youconsumeorusethelabouringpowerofamanbymakinghimwork,asyouconsumeoruseamachinebymakingitrun.Bybuyingthedailyorweeklyvalueofthelabouringpoweroftheworkman,thecapitalisthas,therefore,acquiredtherighttouseormakethatlabouringpowerduringthewholedayorweek.Theworkingdayortheworkingweekhas,ofcourse,certainlimits,butthoseweshallafterwardslookmorecloselyat.

ForthepresentIwanttoturnyourattentiontoonedecisivepoint.Thevalueofthelabouringpowerisdeterminedbythequantityoflabournecessarytomaintainorreproduceit,buttheuseofthatlabouringpowerisonlylimitedbytheactiveenergiesandphysicalstrengt

hofthelabourer.Thedailyorweeklyvalueofthelabouringpowerisquitedistinctfromthedailyorweeklyexerciseofthatpower,thesameasthefoodahorsewantsandthetimeitcancarrythehorsemanarequitedistinct.Thequantityoflabourbywhichthevalueoftheworkman'slabouringpowerislimitedformsbynomeansalimittothequantityoflabourwhichhislabouringpowerisapttoperform.Taketheexampleofourspinner.Wehaveseenthat,todailyreproducehislabouringpower,hemustdailyreproduceavalueofthreeshillings,whichhewilldobyworkingsixhours

daily.Butthisdoesnotdisablehimfromworkingtenortwelveormorehoursaday.Butbypayingthedailyorweeklyvalueofthespinner'slabouringpowerthecapitalisthasacquiredtherightofusingthatlabouringpowerduringthewholedayorweek.Hewill,therefore,makehimworksay,daily,twelvehours.Overandabovethesixhoursrequiredtoreplacehiswages,orthevalueofhislabouringpower,hewill,therefore,havetoworksixotherhours,whichIshallcallhoursofsurpluslabour,whichsurpluslabourwillrealizeitselfinasurplusvalueandasurplusproduce.Ifourspinner,forexample,byhisdailylabourofsixhours,addedth

reeshillings'valuetothecotton,avalueforminganexactequivalenttohiswages,hewill,intwelvehours,addsixshillings'worthtothecotton,andproduceaproportionalsurplusofyarn.Ashehassoldhislabouringpowertothecapitalist,thewholevalueofproducecreatedbyhimbelongstothecapitalist,theownerprotem.ofhislabouringpower.Byadvancingthreeshillings,thecapitalistwill,therefore,realizeavalueofsixshillings,because,advancingavaluein



whichsixhoursoflabourarecrystallized,hewillreceiveinreturnavalueinwhichtwelvehoursoflabourarecrystallized.Byrepeatingthissameprocessdaily,thecapitalistwilldailyadvancethreeshillingsanddailypocketsixshillings,onehalfofwhichwillgotopaywagesanew,andtheotherhalfofwhichwillformsurplusvalue,forwhichthecapitalistpaysnoequivalent.Itisthissortofexchangebetweencapitalandlabouruponwhichcapitalisticproduction,orthewagessystem,isfounded,andwhichmustconstantlyresultinreproducingtheworkingmanasaworkingman,andthecapitalistasacapitalist.

Therateofsurplusvalue,allothercircumstancesremainingthesame,willdependontheproportionbetweenthatpartoftheworkingdaynecessarytoreproducethevalueofthelabouringpowerandthesurplustimeorsurpluslabourperformedforthecapitalist.Itwill,therefore,dependontheratioinwhichtheworkingdayisprolongedoverandabovethatextent,byworkingwhichtheworkingmanwouldonlyreproducethevalueofhislabouringpo

wer,orreplacehiswages.

IX.ValueofLabour

Wemustnowreturntotheexpression,.value,orpriceoflabour..Wehaveseenthat,infact,itisonlythevalueofthelabouringpower,measuredbythevaluesofcommoditiesnecessaryforitsmaintenance.Butsincetheworkmanreceiveshiswagesafterhislabourisperformed,andknows,moreover,thatwhatheactuallygivestothecapitalistishislabour,thevalueorpriceofhis



labouringpowernecessarilyappearstohimasthepriceorvalueofhislabouritself.Ifthepriceofhislabouringpoweristhreeshillings,inwhichsixhoursoflabourarerealized,andifheworkstwelvehours,henecessarilyconsidersthesethreeshillingsasthevalueorpriceoftwelvehoursoflabour,althoughthesetwelvehoursoflabourrealizethemselvesinavalueofsixshillings.Adoubleconsequenceflowsfromthis.

Firstly.Thevalueorpriceofthelabouringpowertakesthesemblanceofthepriceorvalueoflabouritself,although,strictlyspeaking,valueandpriceoflabouraresenselessterms.

Secondly.Althoughonepartonlyoftheworkman'sdailylabourispaid,whiletheotherpartisunpaid,andwhilethatunpaidorsurpluslabourconstitutesexactlythefundoutofwhichsurplusvalueorprofitisformed,itseemsasiftheaggregatelabourwaspaidlabour.

Thisfalseappearancedistinguisheswageslabourfromotherhistoricalformsoflabour.Onthe

basisofthewagessystemeventheunpaidlabourseemstobepaidlabour.Withtheslave,onthecontrary,eventhatpartofhislabourwhichispaidappearstobeunpaid.Ofcourse,inordertoworktheslavemustlive,andonepartofhisworkingdaygoestoreplacethevalueofhisownmaintenance.Butsincenobargainisstruckbetweenhimandhismaster,andnoactsofsellingandbuyingaregoingonbetweenthetwoparties,allhislabourseemstobegivenawayfornothing.

Take,ontheotherhand,thepeasantserf,suchashe,Imightsay,untilyester

dayexistedinthewholeofEastofEurope.Thispeasantworked,forexample,threedaysforhimselfonhisownfieldorthefieldallottedtohim,andthethreesubsequentdaysheperformedcompulsoryandgratuitouslabourontheestateofhislord.Here,then,thepaidandunpaidpartsoflabourweresensiblyseparated,separatedintimeandspace;andourLiberalsoverflowedwithmoralindignationatthepreposterousnotionofmakingamanworkfornothing.

Inpointoffact,however,whetheramanworksthreedaysoftheweekforhimselfonhisown

fieldandthreedaysfornothingontheestateofhislord,orwhetherheworksinthefactoryortheworkshopsixhoursdailyforhimselfandsixforhisemployer,comestothesame,althoughinthelattercasethepaidandunpaidportionsoflabourareinseparablymixedupwitheachother,andthenatureofthewholetransactioniscompletelymaskedbytheinterventionofacontractandthepayreceivedattheendoftheweek.Thegratuitouslabourappearstobevoluntarilygiveninthe



oneinstance,andtobecompulsoryintheother.Thatmakesallthedifference.

Inusingtheword.valueoflabour,.Ishallonlyuseitasapopularslangtermfor.valueoflabouringpower."

X.ProfitisMadebySellingaCommodityatitsValue

Supposeanaveragehouroflabourtoberealizedinavalueequaltosixpence,ortwelveaveragehoursoflabourtoberealizedinsixshillings.Suppose,further,thevalueoflabourtobethreeshillingsortheproduceofsixhours'labour.If,then,intherawmaterial,machinery,andsoforth,usedupinacommodity,twenty-fourhoursofaveragelabourwererealized,itsvaluewouldamounttotwelveshillings.If,moreover,theworkmanemployedbythecapitalistaddedtwelvehoursoflabourtothosemeansofproduction,thesetwelvehourswouldberealizedinanadditionalvalueofsixshillings.Thetotalvalueoftheproductwould,therefore,amounttothirty-sixhoursofrealizedlabour,andbeequaltoeighteenshillings.Butasthevalueoflabour,orthe

wagespaidtotheworkman,wouldbethreeshillingsonly,noequivalentwouldhavebeenpaidbythecapitalistforthesixhoursofsurpluslabourworkedbytheworkman,andrealizedinthevalueofthecommodity.Bysellingthiscommodityatitsvalueforeighteenshillings,thecapitalistwould,therefore,realizeavalueofthreeshillings,forwhichhadpaidnoequivalent.Thesethreeshillingswouldconstitutethesurplusvalueorprofitpocketedbyhim.Thecapitalistwouldconsequentlyrealizetheprofitofthreeshillings,notbysellinghiscommodityatapriceoverandaboveitsvalue,butbysellingitatitsrealvalue.



Thevalueofacommodityisdeterminedbythetotalquantityoflabourcontainedinit.Butpartofthatquantityoflabourisrealizedinavalueforwhichandequivalenthasbeenpaidintheformofwages;partofitisrealizedinavalueforwhichNOequivalenthasbeenpaid.Partofthelabourcontainedinthecommodityispaidlabour;partisunpaidlabour.Byselling,therefore,thecommodityatitsvalue,thatis,asthecrystallizationofthetotalquantityoflabourbestoweduponit,thecapitalistmustnecessarilysellitataprofit.Hesellsnotonlywhathascosthimanequivalent,buthesellsalsowhathascosthimnothing,althoughithascosthisworkmanlabour.Thecostofthecommoditytothecapitalistanditsrealcostaredifferentthings.

Irepeat,therefore,thatnormalandaverageprofitsaremadebysellingcommoditiesnotabove,butattheirrealvalues.

XI.TheDifferentPartsintowhichSurplusValueisDecomposed

Thesurplusvalue,orthatpartofthetotalvalueofthecommodityinwhichthesurpluslabourorunpaidlabouroftheworkingmanisrealized,Icallprofit.Thewholeofthatprofitisnotpocketedbytheemployingcapitalist.Themonopolyoflandenablesthelandlordtotakeonepartofthatsurplusvalue,underthenameofrent,whetherthelandisusedforagriculturalbuildingsorrailways,orforanyotherproductivepurpose.Ontheotherhand,theveryfactthatthepossessionoftheinstrumentsoflabourenablestheemployingcapitalisttoproduceasurplusvalue,or,what

comestothesame,toappropriatetohimselfacertainamountofunpaidlabour,enablestheownerofthemeansoflabour,whichhelendswhollyorpartlytotheemployingcapitalistenables,inoneword,themoney-lendingcapitalisttoclaimforhimselfunderthenameofinterestanotherpartofthatsurplusvalue,sothatthereremainstotheemployingcapitalistassuchonlywhatiscalledindustrialorcommercialprofit.

Bywhatlawsthisdivisionofthetotalamountofsurplusvalueamongstthethreecategoriesofpeopleisregulatedisaquestionquiteforeigntooursubject.Thismuch,howev

er,resultsfromwhathasbeenstated.

Rent,interest,andindustrialprofitareonlydifferentnamesfordifferentpartsofthesurplusvalueofthecommodity,ortheunpaidlabourenclosedinit,andtheyareequallyderivedfromthissourceandfromthissourcealone.Theyarenotderivedfromlandassuchorfromcapitalassuch,butlandandcapitalenabletheirownerstogettheirrespectivesharesou



tofthesurplusvalueextractedbytheemployingcapitalistfromthelabourer.Forthelabourerhimselfitisamatterofsubordinateimportancewhetherthatsurplusvalue,theresultofhissurpluslabour,orunpaidlabour,isaltogetherpocketedbytheemployingcapitalist,orwhetherthelatterisobligedtopayportionsofit,underthenameofrentandinterest,awaytothirdparties.Supposetheemployingcapitalisttouseonlyhisowncapitalandtobehisownlandlord,thenthewholesurplusvaluewouldgointohispocket.

Itistheemployingcapitalistwhoimmediatelyextractsfromthelabourerthissurplusvalue,whateverpartofithemayultimatelybeabletokeepforhimself.Uponthisrelation,thereforebetweentheemployingcapitalistandthewageslabourerthewholewagessystemandthewholepresentsystemofproductionhinge.Someofthecitizenswhotookpartinourdebatewere,there,wrongintryingtomincematters,andtotreatthisfundamentalrelationbetweentheemployingcapitalistandtheworkingmanasasecondaryquestion,althoughtheywereright

instatingthat,undergivencircumstances,ariseofpricesmightaffectinveryunequaldegreestheemployingcapitalist,thelandlord,themoneyedcapitalist,and,ifyouplease,thetax-gatherer.

Anotherconsequencefollowsfromwhathasbeenstated.

Thatpartofthevalueofthecommoditywhichrepresentsonlythevalueoftherawmaterials,themachinery,inoneword,thevalueofthemeansofproductionusedup,formsnorevenueatall,



butreplacesonlycapital.But,apartfromthis,itisfalsethattheotherpartofthevalueofthecommoditywhichformsrevenue,ormaybespentintheformofwages,profits,rent,interest,isconstitutedbythevalueofwages,thevalueofrent,thevalueofprofits,andsoforth.Weshall,inthefirstinstance,discardwages,andonlytreatindustrialprofits,interest,andrent.Wehavejustseenthatthesurplusvaluecontainedinthecommodity,orthatpartofitsvalueinwhichunpaidlabourisrealized,resolvesitselfintodifferentfractions,bearingthreedifferentnames.

Butitwouldbequitethereverseofthetruthtosaythatitsvalueiscomposedof,orformedby,theadditionoftheindependentvaluesofthesethreeconstituents.

Ifonehouroflabourrealizesitselfinavalueofsixpence,iftheworkingdayofthelabourercomprisestwelvehours,ifhalfofthistimeisunpaidlabour,thatsurpluslabourwilladdtothecommodityasurplusvalueofthreeshillings,thatisofvalueforwhichnoequivalenthasbeen

paid.Thissurplusvalueofthreeshillingsconstitutesthewholefundwhichtheemployingcapitalistmaydivide,inwhateverproportions,withthelandlordandthemoney-lender.Thevalueofthesethreeshillingsconstitutesthelimitofthevaluetheyhavetodivideamongstthem.Butitisnottheemployingcapitalistwhoaddstothevalueofthecommodityanarbitraryvalueforhisprofit,towhichanothervalueisaddedforthelandlord,andsoforth,sothattheadditionofthesearbitrarilyfixedvalueswouldconstitutethetotalvalue.Yousee,therefore,thefallacyofthepopularnotion,whichconfoundsthedecompositionofagivenvalueintothreepa

rts,withtheformationofthatvaluebytheadditionofthreeindependentvalues,thusconvertingtheaggregatevalue,fromwhichrent,profit,andinterestarederived,intoanarbitrarymagnitude.

Ifthetotalprofitrealizedbyacapitalistisequalto100Pounds,wecallthissum,consideredasabsolutemagnitude,theamountofprofit.Butifwecalculatetheratiowhichthose100Poundsbeartothecapitaladvanced,wecallthisrelativemagnitude,therateofprofit.Itisevidentthatthisrateofprofitmaybeexpressedinadoubleway.

Suppose100Poundstobethecapitaladvancedinwages.Ifthesurplusvaluecreatedisalso100Poundsandthiswouldshowusthathalftheworkingdayofthelabourerconsistsofunpaidlabourandifwemeasuredthisprofitbythevalueofthecapitaladvancedinwages,weshouldsaythattherateofprofitamountedtoonehundredpercent,becausethevalueadvancedwouldbeonehundredandthevaluerealizedwouldbetwohundred.



If,ontheotherhand,weshouldnotonlyconsiderthecapitaladvancedinwages,butthetotalcapitaladvanced,say,forexample,500Pounds,ofwhich400Poundsrepresentedthevalueofrawmaterials,machinery,andsoforth,weshouldsaythattherateofprofitamountedonlytotwentypercent,becausetheprofitofonehundredwouldbebutthefifthpartofthetotalcapitaladvanced.

Thefirstmodeofexpressingtherateofprofitistheonlyonewhichshowsyoutherealratiobetweenpaidandunpaidlabour,therealdegreeoftheexploitation(youmustallowmethisFrenchword)oflabour.Theothermodeofexpressionisthatincommonuse,andis,indeed,appropriateforcertainpurposes.Atallevents,itisveryusefulforconcealingthedegreeinwhichthecapitalistextractsgratuitouslabourfromtheworkman.

IntheremarksIhavestilltomakeIshallusethewordprofitforthewholeamountofthesurplusvalueextractedbythecapitalistwithoutanyregardtothedivisionofthatsur

plusvaluebetweendifferentparties,andinusingthewordsrateofprofit,Ishallalwaysmeasureprofitsbythevalueofthecapitaladvancedinwages.

XII.GeneralRelationofProfits,Wages,andPrices

Deductfromthevalueofacommoditythevaluereplacingthevalueoftherawmaterialsandothermeansofproductionuseduponit,thatistosay,deductthevaluerepresentingthepastlabourcontainedinit,andtheremainderofitsvaluewillresolveintothequantityoflabouradded



bytheworkingmanlastemployed.Ifthatworkingmanworkstwelvehoursdaily,iftwelvehoursofaveragelabourcrystallizethemselvesinanamountofgoldequaltosixshillings,thisadditionalvalueofsixshillingsistheonlyvaluehislabourwillhavecreated.Thisgivenvalue,determinedbythetimeofhislabour,istheonlyfundfromwhichbothheandthecapitalisthavetodrawtheirrespectivesharesordividends,theonlyvaluetobedividedintowagesandprofits.Itisevidentthatthisvalueitselfwillnotbealteredbythevariableproportionsinwhichitmaybedividedamongstthetwoparties.Therewillalsobenothingchangedifintheplaceofoneworkingmanyouputthewholeworkingpopulation,twelvemillionworkingdays,forexample,insteadofone.

Sincethecapitalistandworkmanhaveonlytodividethislimitedvalue,thatis,thevaluemeasuredbythetotallabouroftheworkingman,themoretheonegetsthelesswilltheotherget,andviceversa.Wheneveraquantityisgiven,onepartofitwillincreaseinver

selyastheotherdecreases.Ifthewageschange,profitswillchangeinanoppositedirection.Ifwagesfall,profitswillrise;andifwagesrise,profitswillfall.Iftheworkingman,onourformersupposition,getsthreeshillings,equaltoonehalfofthevaluehehascreated,orifhiswholeworkingdayconsistshalfofpaid,halfofunpaidlabour,therateofprofitwillbe100percent,becausethecapitalistwouldalsogetthreeshillings.Iftheworkingmanreceivesonlytwoshillings,orworksonlyonethirdofthewholedayforhimself,thecapitalistwillgetfourshillings,andtherateofprofitwill

be200percent.Iftheworkingmanreceivesfourshillings,thecapitalistwillonlyreceivetwo,andtherateofprofitwouldsinkto50percent,butallthesevariationswillnotaffectthevalueofthecommodity.Ageneralriseofwageswould,therefore,resultinafallofthegeneralrateofprofit,butnotaffectvalues.

Butalthoughthevaluesofcommodities,whichmustultimatelyregulatetheirmarketprices,areexclusivelydeterminedbythetotalquantitiesoflabourfixedinthem,andnotbythedivisionofthatquantityintopaidandunpaidlabour,itbynomeansfollowsthatthevalue

softhesinglecommodities,orlotsofcommodities,producedduringtwelvehours,forexample,willremainconstant.Thenumberormassofcommoditiesproducedinagiventimeoflabour,orbyagivenquantityoflabour,dependsupontheproductivepowerofthelabouremployed,andnotuponitsextentorlength.Withonedegreeoftheproductivepowerofspinninglabour,forexample,aworkingdayoftwelvehoursmayproducetwelvepoundsofyarn,withalesserdeg



reeofproductivepoweronlytwopounds.Ifthentwelvehours'averagelabourwererealizedinthevalueofsixshillingsintheonecase,thetwelvepoundsofyarnwouldcostsixshillings,intheothercasethetwopoundsofyarnwouldalsocostsixshillings.Onepoundofyarnwould,therefore,costsixpenceintheonecase,andthreeshillingsintheother.Thedifferenceofpricewouldresultfromthedifferenceintheproductivepowersoflabouremployed.Onehouroflabourwouldberealizedinonepoundofyarnwiththegreaterproductivepower,whilewiththesmallerproductivepower,sixhoursoflabourwouldberealizedinonepoundofyarn.Thepriceofapoundofyarnwould,intheoneinstance,beonlysixpence,althoughwageswererelativelyhighandtherateofprofitlow;itwouldbethreeshillingsintheotherinstance,althoughwageswerelowandtherateofprofithigh.Thiswouldbesobecausethepriceofthepoundofyarnisregulatedbythetotalamountoflabourworkedupinit,andnotbytheproportionaldivisionofthattotalamountintopaidandunpaidlabour.ThefactIhavementionedbefore

thathigh-pricelabourmayproducecheap,andlow-pricedlabourmayproducedearcommodities,loses,therefore,itsparadoxicalappearance.Itisonlytheexpressionofthegenerallawthatthevalueofacommodityisregulatedbythequantityoflabourworkedupinit,andthethequantityoflabourworkedupinitdependsaltogetherupontheproductivepowersoflabouremployed,andwilltherefore,varywitheveryvariationintheproductivityoflabour.



XIII.MainCasesofAttemptsatRaisingWagesorResistingtheirFall

Letusnowseriouslyconsiderthemaincasesinwhichariseofwagesisattemptedorareductionofwagesresisted.

1.Wehaveseenthatthevalueofthelabouringpower,orinmorepopularparlance,thevalueoflabour,isdeterminedbythevalueofnecessaries,orthequantityoflabourrequiredtoproducethem.

If,then,inagivencountrythevalueofthedailyaveragenecessariesofthelabourerrepresentedsixhoursoflabourexpressedinthreeshillings,thelabourerwouldhavetoworksixhoursdailytoproduceanequivalentforthisdailymaintenance.Ifthewholeworkingdaywastwelvehours,thecapitalistwouldpayhimthevalueofhislabourbypayinghimthreeshillings.Halftheworkingdaywouldbeunpaidlabour,andtherateofprofitwouldamountto100percent.But

nowsupposethat,consequentuponadecreaseofproductivity,morelabourshouldbewantedtoproduce,say,thesameamountofagriculturalproduce,sothatthepriceoftheaveragedailynecessariesshouldrisefromthreetofourshillings.Inthatcasethevalueoflabourwouldrisebyonethird,or331/3percent.Eighthoursoftheworkingdaywouldberequiredtoproduceanequivalentforthedailymaintenanceofthelabourer,accordingtohisoldstandardofliving.Thesurpluslabourwouldthereforesinkfromsixhourstofour,andtherateofprofitfrom100to50percent.Butininsistinguponariseofwages,thelabourerwouldonlyinsistu

pongettingtheincreasedvalueofhislabour,likeeveryothersellerofacommodity,who,thecostsofhiscommoditieshavingincreased,triestogetitsincreasedvaluepaid.Ifwagesdidnotrise,ornotsufficientlyrise,tocompensatefortheincreasedvaluesofnecessaries,thepriceoflabourwouldsinkbelowthevalueoflabour,andthelabourer'sstandardoflifewoulddeteriorate.

Butachangemightalsotakeplaceinanoppositedirection.Byvirtueoftheincreasedproductivityoflabour,thesameamountoftheaveragedailynecessariesmights

inkfromthreetotwoshillings,oronlyfourhoursoutoftheworkingday,insteadofsix,bewantedtoreproduceanequivalentforthevalueofthedailynecessaries.Theworkingmanwouldnowbeabletobuywithtwoshillingsasmanynecessariesashedidbeforewiththreeshillings.Indeed,thevalueoflabourwouldhavesunk,butdiminishedvaluewouldcommandthesameamountofcommoditiesasbefore.Thenprofitswouldrisefromthreetofourshillings,andtherateofpr



ofitfrom100to200percent.Althoughthelabourer'sabsolutestandardoflifewouldhaveremainedthesame,hisrelativewages,andtherewithhisrelativesocialposition,ascomparedwiththatofthecapitalist,wouldhavebeenlowered.Iftheworkingmanshouldresistthatreductionofrelativewages,hewouldonlytrytogetsomeshareintheincreasedproductivepowersofhisownlabour,andtomaintainhisformerrelativepositioninthesocialscale.Thus,aftertheabolitionoftheCornLaws,andinflagrantviolationofthemostsolemnpledgesgivenduringtheanti-cornlawagitation,theEnglishfactorylordsgenerallyreducedwagestenpercent.Theresistanceoftheworkmenwasatfirstbaffled,but,consequentuponcircumstancesIcannotnowenterupon,thetenpercentlostwereafterwardsregained.

2.Thevaluesofnecessaries,andconsequentlythevalueoflabour,mightremainthesame,butachangemightoccurintheirmoneyprices,consequentuponapreviouschangeinthevalueofmoney.Bythediscoveryofmorefertileminesandsoforth,twoouncesofgoldm

ight,forexample,costnomorelabourtoproducethanoneouncedidbefore.Thevalueofgoldwouldthenbedepreciatedbyonehalf,orfiftypercent.Asthevaluesofallothercommoditieswouldthenbeexpressedintwicetheirformermoneyprices,soalsothesamewiththevalueoflabour.Twelvehoursoflabour,formerlyexpressedinsixshillings,wouldnowbeexpressedintwelveshillings.Iftheworkingman'swagesshouldremainthreeshillings,insteadofrisingtosixshillings,themoneypriceofhislabourwouldonlybeequaltohalfthevalueofhislabour,and

hisstandardoflifewouldfearfullydeteriorate.Thiswouldalsohappeninagreaterorlesser



degreeifhiswagesshouldrise,butnotproportionatelytothefallinthevalueofgold.Insuchacasenothingwouldhavebeenchanged,eitherintheproductivepowersoflabour,orinsupplyanddemand,orinvalues.

Nothingwouldhavechangedexceptthemoneynamesofthosevalues.Tosaythatinsuchacasetheworkmanoughtnottoinsistuponaproportionateriseofwages,istosaythathemustbecontenttobepaidwithnames,insteadofwiththings.Allpasthistoryprovesthatwheneversuchadepreciationofmoneyoccurs,thecapitalistsareonthealerttoseizethisopportunityfordefraudingtheworkman.Averylargeschoolofpoliticaleconomistsassertthat,consequentuponthenewdiscoveriesofgoldlands,thebetterworkingofsilvermines,andthecheapersupplyofquicksilver,thevalueofpreciousmetalshasagaindepreciated.ThiswouldexplainthegeneralandsimultaneousattemptsontheContinentatariseofwages.

3.Wehavetillnowsupposedthattheworkingdayhasgivenlimits.Theworking

day,however,has,byitself,noconstantlimits.Itistheconstanttendencyofcapitaltostretchittoitsutmostphysicallypossiblelength,becauseinthesamedegreesurpluslabour,andconsequentlytheprofitresultingtherefrom,willbeincreased.Themorecapitalsucceedsinprolongingtheworkingday,thegreatertheamountofotherpeoples'labouritwillappropriate.

Duringtheseventeenthandeventhefirsttwothirdsoftheeighteenthcenturyatenhours'workingdaywasthenormalworkingdayalloverEngland.Duringtheanti-Jacobinwar,which

wasinfactawarwagedbytheBritishbaronsagainsttheBritishworkingmasses,capitalcelebrateditsbacchanalia,andprolongedtheworkingdayfromtentotwelve,fourteen,eighteenhours.Malthus,bynomeansamanwhomyouwouldsuspectofamaudlinsentimentalismdeclaredinapamphlet,publishedabout1815,thatifthissortofthingwastogoonthelifeofthenationwouldbeattackedatitsverysource.Afewyearsbeforethegeneralintroductionofnewly-inventedmachinery,about1765,apamphletappearedinEnglandunderthetitle,AnEssayOnTrade.Theanonymousauthor,anavowedenemyoftheworkingclasses,declaimson

thenecessityofexpandingthelimitsoftheworkingday.Amongstothermeanstothisend,heproposesworkinghouses,which,hesays,oughttobe.HousesofTerror..Andwhatisthelengthoftheworkingheprescribesforthese.HousesofTerror"?Twelvehours,theverysametimewhichin1832wasdeclaredbycapitalists,politicaleconomists,andministerstobenotonlytheexistingbutthenecessarytimeoflabourforachildundertwelveyears.



Bysellinghislabouringpower,andhemustdosounderthepresentsystem,theworkingmanmakesovertothecapitalisttheconsumptionofthatpower,butwithincertainrationallimits.Hesellshislabouringpowerinordertomaintainit,apartfromitsnaturalwearandtear,butnottodestroyit.Insellinghislabouringpoweratitsdailyorweeklyvalue,itisunderstoodthatinonedayoroneweekthatlabouringpowershallnotbesubmittedtotwodays'ortwoweeks'wasteorwearandtear.Takeamachineworth1000Pounds.Ifitisusedupintenyearsitwilladdtothevalueofthecommoditiesinwhoseproductionitassists100Poundsyearly.Ifitisusedupinfiveyearsitwilladd200Poundsyearly,orthevalueofitsannualwearandtearisininverseratiotothequicknesswithwhichitisconsumed.Butthisdistinguishestheworkingmanfromthemachine.Machinerydoesnotwearoutexactlyinthesameratioinwhichitisused.Man,onthecontrary,decaysinagreaterratiothanwouldbevisiblefromthemerenumericaladditionofwork.

Intheirattemptsatreducingtheworkingdaytoitsformerrationaldimensions,or,wheretheycannotenforcealegalfixationofanormalworkingday,atcheckingoverworkbyariseofwages,arisenotonlyinproportiontothesurplustimeexacted,butinagreaterproportion,workingmenfulfillonlyadutytothemselvesandtheirrace.Theyonlysetlimitstothetyrannicalusurpationsofcapital.Timeistheroomofhumandevelopment.Amanwhohasnofreetimetodisposeof,whosewholelifetime,apartfromthemerephysicalinterruptionsbysleep,meals,andsoforth,is

absorbedbyhislabourforthecapitalist,islessthanabeastofburden.HeisameremachineforproducingForeignWealth,brokeninbodyandbrutalizedinmind.Yetthewholehistoryof



modernindustryshowsthatcapital,ifnotchecked,willrecklesslyandruthlesslyworktocastdownthewholeworkingclasstothisutmoststateofdegradation.

Inprolongingtheworkingdaythecapitalistmaypayhigherwagesandstilllowerthevalueoflabor,iftheriseofwagesdoesnotcorrespondtothegreateramountoflabourextracted,andthequickerdecayofthelabouringpowerthuscaused.Thismaybedoneinanotherway.Yourmiddle-classstatisticianswilltellyou,forinstance,thattheaveragewagesoffactoryfamiliesinLancashirehasrisen.Theyforgetthatinsteadofthelabouroftheman,theheadofthefamily,hiswifeandperhapsthreeorfourchildrenarenowthrownundertheJuggernautwheelsofcapital,andthattheriseoftheaggregatewagesdoesnotcorrespondtotheaggregatesurpluslabourextractedfromthefamily.

Evenwithgivenlimitsoftheworkingday,suchastheynowexistinallbranchesofindustrysubjectedtothefactorylaws,ariseofwagesmaybecomenecessary,ifonlyto

keepuptheoldstandardvalueoflabour.Byincreasingtheintensityoflabour,amanmaybemadetoexpendasmuchvitalforceinonehourasheformerlydidintwo.Thishas,toacertaindegree,beeneffectedinthetrades,placedundertheFactoryActs,bytheaccelerationofmachinery,andthegreaternumberofworkingmachineswhichasingleindividualhasnowtosuperintend.Iftheincreaseintheintensityoflabourorthemassoflabourspentinanhourkeepssomefairproportiontothedecreaseintheextentoftheworkingday,theworkingmanwillstillbethewinner.Ifthislimitis

overshot,helosesinoneformwhathehasgainedinanother,andtenhoursoflabourmaythenbecomeasruinousastwelvehourswerebefore.Incheckingthistendencyofcapital,bystrugglingforariseofwagescorrespondingtotherisingintensityoflabour,theworkingmanonlyresiststhedepreciationofhislabourandthedeteriorationofhisrace.

4.Allofyouknowthat,fromreasonsIhavenotnowtoexplain,capitalisticproductionmovesthroughcertainperiodicalcycles.Itmovesthroughastateofquiescence,growinganimation,prosperity,overtrade,crisis,andstagnation.Themarketpricesofcommodities,

andthemarketratesofprofit,followthesephases,nowsinkingbelowtheiraverages,nowrisingabovethem.

Consideringthewholecycle,youwillfindthatonedeviationofthemarketpriceisbeingcompensatedbytheother,andthat,takingtheaverageofthecycle,themarketpricesofcommoditiesareregulatedbytheirvalues.Well!Duringthephasesofsinkingmarketpricesand



thephasesofcrisisandstagnation,theworkingman,ifnotthrownoutofemploymentaltogether,issuretohavehiswageslowered.Nottobedefrauded,hemust,evenwithsuchafallofmarketprices,debatewiththecapitalistinwhatproportionaldegreeafallofwageshasbecomenecessary.If,duringthephasesofprosperity,whenextraprofitsaremade,hedidnotbattleforariseofwages,hewould,takingtheaverageofoneindustrialcycle,notevenreceivehisaveragewages,orthevalueofhislabour.Itistheutmostheightoffollytodemand,thatwhilehiswagesarenecessarilyaffectedbytheadversephasesofthecycle,heshouldexcludehimselffromcompensationduringtheprosperousphasesofthecycle.Generally,thevaluesofallcommoditiesareonlyrealizedbythecompensationofthecontinuouslychangingmarketprices,springingfromthecontinuousfluctuationsofdemandandsupply.Onthebasisofthepresentsystemlabourisonlyacommoditylikeothers.Itmust,therefore,passthroughthesamefluctuationstofetchanaveragepricecorrespondingtoitsvalue.

Itwouldbeabsurdtotreatitontheonehandasacommodity,andtowantontheotherhandtoexemptitfromthelawswhichregulatethepricesofcommodities.Theslavereceivesapermanentandfixedamountofmaintenance;thewage-labourerdoesnot.Hemusttrytogetariseofwagesintheoneinstance,ifonlytocompensateforafallofwagesintheother.Ifheresignedhimselftoacceptthewill,thedictatesofthecapitalistasapermanenteconomicallaw,hewouldshareinallthemiseriesoftheslave,withoutthesecurityoftheslave.

5.InallthecasesIhaveconsidered,andtheyformninety-nineoutofahundred,youhaveseenthatastruggleforariseofwagesfollowsonlyinthetrackofpreviouschanges,andisthe



necessaryoffspringofpreviouschangesintheamountofproduction,theproductivepowersoflabour,thevalueoflabour,thevalueofmoney,theextentortheintensityoflabourextracted,thefluctuationsofmarketprices,dependentuponthefluctuationsofdemandandsupply,andconsistentwiththedifferentphasesoftheindustrialcycle;inoneword,asreactionsoflabouragainstthepreviousactionofcapital.Bytreatingthestruggleforariseofwagesindependentlyofallthesecircumstances,bylookingonlyuponthechangeofwages,andoverlookingallotherchangesfromwhichtheyemanate,youproceedfromafalsepremiseinordertoarriveatfalseconclusions.

XIV.TheStruggleBetweenCapitalandLabouranditsResults

1.Havingshownthattheperiodicalresistanceonthepartoftheworkingmenagainstareductionofwages,andtheirperiodicalattemptsatgettingariseofwages,areinseparablefromthewagessystem,anddictatedbytheveryfactoflabourbeingassimilatedtocommodities

,andthereforesubjecttothelaws,regulatingthegeneralmovementofprices;havingfurthermore,shownthatageneralriseofwageswouldresultinafallinthegeneralrateofprofit,butnotaffecttheaveragepricesofcommodities,ortheirvalues,thequestionnowultimatelyarises,howfar,inthisincessantstrugglebetweencapitalandlabour,thelatterislikelytoprovesuccessful.

Imightanswerbyageneralization,andsaythat,aswithallothercommodities,sowithlabour,itsmarketpricewill,inthelongrun,adaptitselftoitsvalue;that,therefore,d

espitealltheupsanddowns,anddowhathemay,theworkingmanwill,onanaverage,onlyreceivethevalueofhislabour,whichresolvesintothevalueofhislabouringpower,whichisdeterminedbythevalueofthenecessariesrequiredforitsmaintenanceandreproduction,whichvalueofnecessariesfinallyisregulatedbythequantityoflabourwantedtoproducethem.

Buttherearesomepeculiarfeatureswhichdistinguishthevalueofthelabouringpower,orthevalueoflabour,fromthevaluesofallothercommodities.Thevalueofthelabouringpoweris

formedbytwoelements--theonemerelyphysical,theotherhistoricalorsocial.Itsultimatelimitisdeterminedbythephysicalelement,thatistosay,tomaintainandreproduceitself,toperpetuateitsphysicalexistence,theworkingclassmustreceivethenecessariesabsolutelyindispensableforlivingandmultiplying.Thevalueofthoseindispensablenecessariesforms,therefore,theultimatelimitofthevalueoflabour.Ontheotherhand,thelengthoftheworking



dayisalsolimitedbyultimate,althoughveryelasticboundaries.Itsultimatelimitisgivenbythephysicalforceofthelabouringman.Ifthedailyexhaustionofhisvitalforcesexceedsacertaindegree,itcannotbeexertedanew,daybyday.

However,asIsaid,thislimitisveryelastic.Aquicksuccessionofunhealthyandshort-livedgenerationswillkeepthelabourmarketaswellsuppliedasaseriesofvigorousandlong-livedgenerations.Besidesthismerephysicalelement,thevalueoflabourisineverycountrydeterminedbyatraditionalstandardoflife.Itisnotmerephysicallife,butitisthesatisfactionofcertainwantsspringingfromthesocialconditionsinwhichpeopleareplacedandrearedup.TheEnglishstandardoflifemaybereducedtotheIrishstandard;thestandardoflifeofaGermanpeasanttothatofaLivonianpeasant.Theimportantpartwhichhistoricaltraditionandsocialhabitudeplayinthisrespect,youmaylearnfromMr.Thornton'sworkonover-population,whereheshowsthattheaveragewagesindifferentagriculturaldistrictsofEnglandstillnowadaysdiffer

moreorlessaccordingtothemoreorlessfavourablecircumstancesunderwhichthedistrictshaveemergedfromthestateofserfdom.

Thishistoricalorsocialelement,enteringintothevalueoflabour,maybeexpanded,orcontracted,oraltogetherextinguished,sothatnothingremainsbutthephysicallimit.Duringthetimeoftheanti-Jacobinwar,undertaken,astheincorrigibletax-eaterandsinecurist,oldGeorgeRose,usedtosay,tosavethecomfortsofourholyreligionfromtheinroadsoftheFrenchinfidels,thehonestEnglishfarmers,sotenderlyhandledinaformerchapterof

ours,depressed



thewagesoftheagriculturallabourersevenbeneaththatmerephysicalminimum,butmadeupbyPoorLawstheremaindernecessaryforthephysicalperpetuationoftherace.Thiswasagloriouswaytoconvertthewageslabourerintoaslave,andShakespeare'sproudyeomanintoapauper.

Bycomparingthestandardwagesorvaluesoflabourindifferentcountries,andbycomparingthemindifferenthistoricalepochsofthesamecountry,youwillfindthatthevalueoflabouritselfisnotafixedbutavariablemagnitude,evensupposingthevaluesofallothercommoditiestoremainconstant.

Asimilarcomparisonwouldprovethatnotonlythemarketratesofprofitchange,butitsaveragerates.

Butastoprofits,thereexistsnolawwhichdeterminestheirminimum.Wecannotsaywhatistheultimatelimitoftheirdecrease.Andwhycannotwefixthatlimit?Because,althoughwecanfix

theminimumofwages,wecannotfixtheirmaximum.

Wecanonlysaythat,thelimitsoftheworkingdaybeinggiven,themaximumofprofitcorrespondstothephysicalminimumofwages;andthatwagesbeinggiven,themaximumofprofitcorrespondstosuchaprolongationoftheworkingdayasiscompatiblewiththephysicalforcesofthelabourer.Themaximumofprofitisthereforelimitedbythephysicalminimumofwagesandthephysicalmaximumoftheworkingday.Itisevidentthatbetweenthetwolimitsofthemaximumrateofprofitandimmensescaleofvariationsispossible.Thefixa

tionofitsactualdegreeisonlysettledbythecontinuousstrugglebetweencapitalandlabour,thecapitalistconstantlytendingtoreducewagestotheirphysicalminimum,andtoextendtheworkingdaytoitsphysicalmaximum,whiletheworkingmanconstantlypressesintheoppositedirection.

Thematterresolvesitselfintoaquestionoftherespectivepowersofthecombatants.

2.AstothelimitationoftheworkingdayinEngland,asinallothercountries,ithasneverbeen

settledexceptbylegislativeinterference.Withouttheworkingmen'scontinuouspressurefromwithoutthatinterferencewouldneverhavetakenplace.Butatallevents,theresultwasnottobeattainedbyprivatesettlementbetweentheworkingmenandthecapitalists.Thisverynecessityofgeneralpoliticalactionaffordstheproofthatinitsmerelyeconomicalactioncapitalisthestrongerside.



Astothelimitsofthevalueoflabour,itsactualsettlementalwaysdependsuponsupplyanddemand,Imeanthedemandforlabouronthepartofcapital,andthesupplyoflabourbytheworkingmen.Incolonialcountriesthelawofsupplyanddemandfavourstheworkingman.HencetherelativelyhighstandardofwagesintheUnitedStates.Capitalmaytheretryitsutmost.Itcannotpreventthelabourmarketfrombeingcontinuouslyemptiedbythecontinuousconversionofwageslabourersintoindependent,self-sustainingpeasants.ThepositionofawageslabourerisforaverylargepartoftheAmericanpeoplebutaprobationalstate,whichtheyaresuretoleavewithinalongerorshorterterm.TomendthiscolonialstateofthingsthepaternalBritishGovernmentacceptedforsometimewhatiscalledthemoderncolonizationtheory,whichconsistsinputtinganartificialhighpriceuponcolonialland,inordertopreventthetooquickconversionofthewageslabourerintotheindependentpeasant.

Butletusnowcometooldcivilizedcountries,inwhichcapitaldomineersoverthewholeprocess

ofproduction.Take,forexample,theriseinEnglandofagriculturalwagesfrom1849to1859.Whatwasitsconsequence?Thefarmerscouldnot,asourfriendWestonwouldhaveadvisedthem,raisethevalueofwheat,norevenitsmarketprices.Theyhad,onthecontrary,tosubmittotheirfall.Butduringtheseelevenyearstheyintroducedmachineryofallsorts,adoptedmorescientificmethods,convertedpartofarablelandintopasture,increasedthesizeoffarms,andwiththisthescaleofproduction,andbytheseandotherprocessesdiminishingthedemandforlabourbyincreasingitsproductivepower,madetheagriculturalpopulationagai

nrelativelyredundant.Thisisthegeneralmethodinwhichareaction,quickerorslower,ofcapitalagainstariseofwagestakesplaceinold,settledcountries.Ricardohasjustlyremarkedthatmachineryis



inconstantcompetitionwithlabour,andcanoftenbeonlyintroducedwhenthepriceoflabourhasreachedacertainheight,buttheapplianceofmachineryisbutoneofthemanymethodsforincreasingtheproductivepowersoflabour.Theverysamedevelopmentwhichmakescommonlabourrelativelyredundantsimplifies,ontheotherhand,skilledlabour,andthusdepreciatesit.

Thesamelawobtainsinanotherform.Withthedevelopmentoftheproductivepowersoflabourtheaccumulationofcapitalwillbeaccelerated,evendespitearelativelyhighrateofwages.Hence,onemightinfer,asAdamSmith,inwhosedaysmodernindustrywasstillinitsinfancy,didinfer,thattheacceleratedaccumulationofcapitalmustturnthebalanceinfavouroftheworkingman,bysecuringagrowingdemandforhislabour.FromthissamestandpointmanycontemporarywritershavewonderedthatEnglishcapitalhavinggrowninthatlasttwentyyearssomuchquickerthanEnglishpopulation,wagesshouldnothavebeenmoreenhanced.But

simultaneouslywiththeprogressofaccumulationtheretakesplaceaprogressivechangeinthecompositionofcapital.Thatpartoftheaggregatecapitalwhichconsistsoffixedcapital,machinery,rawmaterials,meansofproductioninallpossibleforms,progressivelyincreasesascomparedwiththeotherpartofcapital,whichislaidoutinwagesorinthepurchaseoflabour.ThislawhasbeenstatedinamoreorlessaccuratemannerbyMr.Barton,Ricardo,Sismondi,ProfessorRichardJones,ProfessorRamsey,Cherbuilliez,andothers.

Iftheproportionofthesetwoelementsofcapitalwasoriginallyonetoone,it

will,intheprogressofindustry,becomefivetoone,andsoforth.Ifofatotalcapitalof600,300islaidoutininstruments,rawmaterials,andsoforth,and300inwages,thetotalcapitalwantsonlytobedoubledtocreateademandfor600workingmeninsteadoffor300.Butifofacapitalof600,500islaidoutinmachinery,materials,andsoforthand100onlyinwages,thesamecapitalmustincreasefrom600to3,600inordertocreateademandfor600workmeninsteadof300.Intheprogressofindustrythedemandforlabourkeeps,therefore,nopacewiththeaccumulationof

capital.Itwillstillincrease,butincreaseinaconstantlydiminishingratioascomparedwiththeincreaseofcapital.

Thesefewhintswillsufficetoshowthattheverydevelopmentofmodernindustrymustprogressivelyturnthescaleinfavourofthecapitalistagainsttheworkingman,andthatconsequentlythegeneraltendencyofcapitalisticproductionisnottoraise,buttosinktheaverage



standardofwages,ortopushthevalueoflabourmoreorlesstoitsminimumlimit.Suchbeingthetendencyofthingsinthissystem,isthissayingthattheworkingclassoughttorenouncetheirresistanceagainsttheencroachmentsofcapital,andabandontheirattemptsatmakingthebestoftheoccasionalchancesfortheirtemporaryimprovement?Iftheydid,theywouldbedegradedtoonelevelmassofbrokenwretchespastsalvation.IthinkIhaveshownthattheirstrugglesforthestandardofwagesareincidentsinseparablefromthewholewagessystem,thatin99casesoutof100theireffortsatraisingwagesareonlyeffortsatmaintainingthegivenvalueoflabour,andthatthenecessityofdebatingtheirpricewiththecapitalistisinherenttotheirconditionofhavingtosellthemselvesascommodities.Bycowardlygivingwayintheireverydayconflictwithcapital,theywouldcertainlydisqualifythemselvesfortheinitiatingofanylargermovement.

Atthesametime,andquiteapartfromthegeneralservitudeinvolvedinthewagessystem,theworkingclassoughtnottoexaggeratetothemselvestheultimateworkingofthes

eeverydaystruggles.Theyoughtnottoforgetthattheyarefightingwitheffects,butnotwiththecausesofthoseeffects;thattheyareretardingthedownwardmovement,butnotchangingitsdirection;thattheyareapplyingpalliatives,notcuringthemalady.Theyought,therefore,nottobeexclusivelyabsorbedintheseunavoidableguerillafightsincessantlyspringingupfromtheneverceasingencroachmentsofcapitalorchangesofthemarket.Theyoughttounderstandthat,withallthemiseriesitimposesuponthem,thepresentsystemsimultaneouslyengendersthematerial

conditionsandthesocialformsnecessaryforaneconomicalreconstructionofsociety.Insteadoftheconservativemotto:.Afairday'swageforafairday'swork!.theyoughttoinscribeontheirbannertherevolutionarywatchword:.Abolitionofthewagessystem!"



1ThearistocracywastheupperclassofGreatBritain,whilethecapitalistscomposedwhatwasknowntoMarxasthemiddleclass

2TheMaximumLawwasintroducedduringtheGreatFrenchRevolutionin1792,fixingdefinitepricelimitsforcommoditiesandstandardratesofwages.ThechiefsupportersoftheMaximumLawweretheso-called.madmen.whorepresentedtheinterestsoftheurbanandvillagepoor.Robespierre,theleaderoftheJacobinParty,introducedthislawatatimewhentheJacobinsasaresultoftacticalconsiderationshadformedablocwiththe.madmen..Ed.

3RobertOwen(1771-1858)wasaBritishmanufacturerwhobecameautopiansocialist.Heintroducedinhisfactorytheten-hourday,andalsoorganisedsicknessinsurance,consumers'co-operativesocieties,etc.Ed.

4Thesefigures,55s.-70s.,refertothetotalwagesofthegroupoffivemen.Thewageofeachmaninthegroupwouldincreasefrom11s.to14s.Ed.

Afterthisverylongand,Ifear,tediousexposition,whichIwasobligedtoenterintotodosomejusticetothesubjectmatter,Ishallconcludebyproposingthefollowingresolutions:

Firstly.Ageneralriseintherateofwageswouldresultinafallofthegeneralrateofprofit,but,broadlyspeaking,notaffectthepricesofcommodities.

Secondly.Thegeneraltendencyofcapitalistproductionisnottoraise,buttosinktheaveragestandardofwages.

Thirdly.TradesUnionsworkwellascentersofresistanceagainsttheencroachmentsofcapital.Theyfailpartiallyfromaninjudicioususeoftheirpower.Theyfailgenerallyfromlimitingthemselvestoaguerillawaragainsttheeffectsoftheexistingsystem,insteadofsimultaneouslytryingtochangeit,insteadofusingtheirorganizedforcesasaleverforthefinalemancipationoftheworkingclassthatistosaytheultimateabolitionofthewagessystem.



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