第30章

Thetypicalformtakenbythisaccelerationinthemachineproductionofmachinery，butinfactitinvolvestheproductionofothermaterialfactorsaswellasthemechanicalapparatus，notablythematerialsusedinindustry。

Theestablishedconcernshavingbeencapitalizedonthebasisofpastcost，wecansaythatintheolderestablishments，cap-

f(cost)，butinthenewestablishmentswithanequalearningcapacity，cap1=f(cost1=cost-deltacost)；hencetherateofearnings[=f(ea/cost)]willbeprogressivelyhigherascostdecreases:

f(ea/cost)

26。Recurringtothenotationemployedinnote2，page168，andlettingUm=unitofmaterialefficiency，thenagivenestablishedconcern，A，withagivenequipmentUm(cap)a=Ue(cap)

=Um(cap)=Ue(ea/int)，presentlyfindsitselfincompetitionwithayoungerconcern，B，havinganequivalentmaterialequipment=Um(cap)bprocuredatalowercostandrequiringlowerearnings(=ea’)andlowerfixedcharges。

Um(cap)b=Uc(ea’/int=(ea-deltaea)/int)=Ue(cap’=cap-deltacap)。

ButUm(cap)a=Um(cap)bascompetitorsinthemarket。Hence，withthecompetitiveloweringofearnings，andthereforeofeffectivecapitalization，A’saccountcomestostand:

Um(cap)a=Uc(cap’)-Uc(cap-deltacap)

IneffectAisovercapitalizedbyUc(cap-cap’)。A’snominalcapital，Un(cap)a=Uc(cap’+deltacap)，whileA’seffectivecapitalizationUc(cap’)a=Uc(cap-deltacap)。

Thebusinessman’ssensibilitiesinthecase，therefore，sufferalesion=f[Un(ea/int)-Uc((ea-deltaea)/int)]，whichisamonotonicfunction。ThediscrepancybetweenUn(cap)zandUc(cap’)is，inlargepart，embodiedinsecuritieswithfixedcharges；whichmakesareadjustmentverydifficultevenapartfromA’sreluctance。

WiththeaboveanalysismaybecontrastedMarx’sdiscussionofthedecliningrateofprofitsandthemannerinwhichheconceivesoverproduction，speculation，andcrisestoariseoutofthetendencyofprofitstoaminimum。

Inthesameconnection，seeTugan-Baranowsky’scriticismofMarx，Handelskrisen，

Inpointofdirectmaterialserviceability，nodoubt，afreshsupplyofthepreciousmetalsisoneoftheleastusefulformsofwealthtotheproductionofwhichindustrialeffortcanbedirected，butforthepurposesofbusinessprosperityatlargeitisprobablythemostserviceablesolutionthatcanbemadetotheaggregatewealth。Rapidlyincreasingefficiencyintheproductionofotherformsofwealthisdetrimentaltothebusinessinterests，inthatitbringsdepression；butarapidincreaseofthepreciousmetalsisthemostfortunatematerialcircumstancesforthebusinessintereststhatindustrialactivitycanbring，becauseitputsoffdepressionbykeepingupprices。

Cf。Smart，StudiesinEconomics，EssayVI，“MustPricesFall？“DistributionofIncomes，bk。II，ch。III。

30。Workgoesonduringdulltimes，thoughataslackenedpace，andextensionsandimprovementsarecontinuallybeingmade。Thevolumeofoutputconsequentlyincreases，sothat，eveniftherehasbeenasetbacktoproductionatthebeginningofthedepression，theaggregateoutputpresentlyagainreachesthevolumewhichithadwhenthedulltimessetin。Itmaybeaddedthattherateofconsumptionisalsoappreciablylowerduringdulltimes，particularlyinthemorewastefulformsofconsumption。Thisloweredaggregateconsumptionoffsetstheloweredintensityofproductionduringdulltimestosuchanextentthatitisprobablysafetosaythatthenetsurplusproduct，measuredbyweightandtale，isatleastnotappreciablysmallerduringdepressionthanduringprosperity。Cf。CarrollD。

Wright，TestimonyinReportoftheIndustrialCommission，vol。

Thereducedscaleoflivingoftheworkingpopulationisthechieffactorthatcountsasanoffsetagainstthereductionofthegrossproductionduringdulltimes，asindicatedabove。

Cf。articlesbyG。Cassel，“OmKriserochDaligaTider，“nowrunninginEkonomiskTidskriftNos。1and2)，foraparalleldiscussionofthetopicsheredealtwith。MrCassel’sexpositionconnectsmorecloselywiththereceivednotionsofCapital，Production，etc。andgoesmoreintodetailatcertainpoints，particularlyonSaving，Investment(Kapitalbildning)，andPecuniaryExpectancy(Vantandet)。Hisexpositionisnotyetcompleted，butsofarasmaybegatheredfromwhathascometohandhe

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