第1章

TheEconomicandPhilosophicalManuscripts：Preface

KarlMarx’sECONOMICANDPHILOSOPHICALMANUSCRIPTS

PrefaceIhavealreadygivennoticeintheDeutsch—FranzösischeJahrbücher，thecritiqueofjurisprudenceandpoliticalscienceintheformofacritiqueoftheHegelianPhilosophyofRight.Inthecourseofelaborationforpublication，theinterminglingofcriticismdirectedonlyagainstspeculationwithcriticismofthevarioussubjectsthemselvesprovedutterlyunsuitable，hamperingthedevelopmentoftheargumentandrenderingcomprehensiondifficult.

Moreoverthewealthanddiversityofthesubjectstobetreated，couldhavebeencompressedintooneworkonlyinapurelyaphoristicstyle;

whileanaphoristicpresentationofthiskind，foritspart，wouldhavegiventheimpressionofarbitrarysystemizing.Ishallthereforeissuethecritiqueoflaw，ethics，politics，etc.，inaseriesofdistinct，independentpamphlets，andattheendtryinaspecialworktopresentthemagainasaconnectedwholeshowingtheinterrelationshipoftheseparateparts，andfinally，shallmakeacritiqueofthespeculativeelaborationofthatmaterial.Forthisreasonitwillbefoundthattheinterconnectionbetweenpoliticaleconomyandthestate，law，ethics，civillife，etc.，istouchedoninthepresentworkonlytotheextenttowhichpoliticaleconomyitselfexprofessotouchesonthesesubjects.

Itishardlynecessarytoassurethereaderconversantwithpoliticaleconomythatmyresultshavebeenwonbymeansofawhollyempiricalanalysisbasedonaconscientiouscriticalstudyofpoliticaleconomy.

Whereastheuninformedreviewerwhotriestohidehiscompleteignoranceandintellectualpovertybyhurlingthe"utopianphrase"atthepositivecritic’shead，oragainsuchphrasesas"pure，resolute，utterlycriticalcriticism，"the"notmerelylegalbutsocial——utterlysocial——society，"the"compact，massymass，"the"oratoricaloratorsofthemassymass，"thisreviewerhasyettofurnishthefirstproofthatbesideshistheologicalfamily—affairshehasanythingtocontributetoadiscussionofworldlymatters.

ItgoeswithoutsayingthatbesidestheFrenchandEnglishSocialistsIhavemadeuseofGermanSocialistworksaswell.TheonlyoriginalGermanworksofsubstanceinthisscience，however——otherthanWeitling’swritings——aretheessaysbyHesspublishedinEinundzwanzigBogen，andEngels’sUmrissezueinerKritikderNationalökonomieintheDeutsch—FranzösischeJahrbücher，where，likewise，Iindicatedinaverygeneralwaythebasicelementsofthiswork.

Besidesbeingindebtedtotheseauthorswhohavegivencriticalattentiontopoliticaleconomy，positivecriticismasawhole——andthereforealsoGermanpositivecriticismofpoliticaleconomy——owesitstruefoundationtothediscoveriesofFeuerbach，againstwhosePhilosophiederZukunftandThesenzurReformderPhilosophieintheAnecdotis，despitethetacitusethatismadeofthem，thepettyenvyofsomeandtheveritablewrathofothersseemtohaveinstigatedaregularconspiracyofsilence.

ItisonlywithFeuerbachthatpositive，humanisticandnaturalisticcriticismbegins.Thelessnoisetheymake，themorecertain，profound，widespreadandenduringistheeffectofFeuerbach’swritings，theonlywritingssinceHegel’sPhänomenologieandLogiktocontainarealtheoreticalrevolution.

Incontrasttothecriticaltheologiansofourday，Ihavedeemedtheconcludingchapterofthepresentwork——thesettlingofaccountswithHegeliandialecticandHegelianphilosophyasawhole——tobeabsolutelynecessary，atasknotyetperformed.Thislackofthoroughnessisnotaccidental，sinceeventhecriticaltheologianremainsatheologian.Hence，eitherhehadtostartfromcertainpresuppositionsofphilosophyacceptedasauthoritative;orifintheprocessofcriticismandasaresultofotherpeople’sdiscoveriesdoubtsaboutthesephilosophicalpresuppositionshaveariseninhim，heabandonsthemwithoutvindicationandinacowardlyfashion，abstractsfromthemshowinghisserviledependencemerelyinanegative，unconsciousandsophisticalmanner.

Inthisconnectionthecriticaltheologianiseitherforeverrepeatingassurancesaboutthepurityofhisowncriticism，ortriestomakeitseemasthoughallthatwasletforcriticismtodealwithnowwassomeotherimmatureformofcriticismoutsideitself——sayeighteenth—centurycriticism——andthebackwardnessofthemasses，inordertodiverttheobserver’sattentionaswellashisownfromthenecessarytaskofsettlingaccountsbetweencriticismanditspointoforigin——

HegeliandialecticandGermanphilosophyasawhole——fromthisnecessaryraisingofmoderncriticismaboveitsownlimitationandcrudity.

Eventually，however，wheneverdiscoveries（suchasFeuerbach’s）

aremadeaboutthenatureofhisownphilosophicpresuppositions，thecriticaltheologianpartlymakesitappearasifheweretheonewhohadaccomplishedthis，producingthatappearancebytakingtheresultsofthesediscoveriesand，withoutbeingabletodevelopthem，hurlingthemintheformofcatch—phrasesatwritersstillcaughtintheconfinesofphilosophy;partlyheevenmanagestoacquireasenseofhisownsuperioritytosuchdiscoveriesbycovertlyassertinginaveiled，maliciousandskepticalfashionelementsoftheHegeliandialecticwhichhestillfindslackinginthecriticismofthatdialectic（whichhavenotyetbeencriticallyserveduptohimforhisuse）againstsuchcriticism——nothavingtriedtobringsuchelementsintotheirproperrelationorhavingbeencapableofdoingso，asserting，say，thecategoryofmediatingproofagainstthecategoryofpositive，self—originatingtruth，etc.，inawaypeculiartoHegeliandialectic.

Fortothetheologicalcriticitseemsquitenaturalthateverythinghastobedonebyphilosophy，sothathecanchatterawayaboutpurity，resoluteness，andutterlycriticalcriticism;andhefancieshimselfthetrueconquerorofphilosophywheneverhehappenstofeelsome"moment"inHegeltobelackinginFeuerbach——forhowevermuchhepracticesthespiritualidolatryof"self—consciousness"and"mind"thetheologicalcriticdoesnotgetbeyondfeelingtoconsciousness.

Oncloseinspectiontheologicalcriticism——genuinelyprogressivethoughiswasattheinceptionofthemovement——isseeninthefinalanalysistobenothingbuttheculminationandconsequenceoftheoldphilosophical，andespeciallytheHegelian，transcendentalism，twistedintoatheologicalcaricature.Thisinterestingexampleofthejusticeinhistory，whichnowassignstotheology，everphilosophy’sspotofinfection，thefurtherroleofportrayinginitselfthenegativedissolutionofphilosophy——i.e.，theprocessofitsdecay——thishistoricalnemesisIshalldemonstrateonanotheroccasion.

Howfar，ontheotherhand，Feuerbach’sdiscoveriesaboutthenatureofphilosophyrequiredstill，fortheirproofatleast，acriticalsettlingofaccountswithphilosophicaldialecticwillbeseenfrommyexpositionitself.

TheEconomicandPhilosophicalManuscripts：1stKarlMarx’sECONOMICANDPHILOSOPHICALMANUSCRIPTSFirstManuscriptWAGESOFLABORWagesaredeterminedbythefiercestrugglebetweencapitalistandworker.Thecapitalistinevitablywins.Thecapitalistcanlivelongerwithouttheworkerthantheworkercanlivewithouthim.Combinationamongcapitalistsishabitualandeffective，whilecombinationamongtheworkersisforbiddenandhaspainfulconsequencesforthem.Inadditiontothat，thelandownerandthecapitalistcanincreasetheirrevenueswiththeprofitsofindustry，whiletheworkercansupplementhisincomefromindustrywithneithergroundrentnorinterestoncapital.Thisisthereasonfortheintensityofcompetitionamongtheworkers.Itis，therefore，onlyfortheworkerthattheseparationofcapital，landedproperty，andlabor，isanecessary，essential，andperniciousseparation.Capitalandlandedpropertyneednotremainconstantinthisabstraction，asmustthelaboroftheworkers.

So，fortheworker，theseparationofcapital，groundrent，andlabor，isfatal.

Forwages，thelowestandtheonlynecessaryrateisthatrequiredforthesubsistenceoftheworkerduringworkandenoughextratosupportafamilyandpreventtheraceofworkersfromdyingout.Accordingto[economistAdam]Smith，thenormalwageisthelowestwhichiscompatiblewithcommonhumanity——i.e.，withabestialexistence.[SeeSmith，TheWealthofNations，2vols.，Everymanedition，Vol.I，p.61.]

Thedemandformennecessarilyregulatestheproductionofmen，asofeveryothercommodity.Ifthesupplygreatlyexceedsthedemand，thenonesectionoftheworkerssinksintobeggaryorstarvation.Theexistenceoftheworkeris，therefore，reducedtothesameconditionastheexistenceofeveryothercommodity.Theworkerhasbecomeacommodity，andheisluckyifhecanfindabuyer.Andthedemandonwhichtheworker’slifedependsisregulatedbythewhimsofthewealthyandthecapitalists.Ifsupplyexceedsdemand，oneoftheelementswhichgotomakeuptheprice——profit，groundrent，wages——willbepaidbelowitsprice.A

partoftheseelementsis，therefore，withdrawnfromthisapplication，withtheresultthatthemarketpricegravitatestowardsthenaturalpriceasthecentralpoint.But1.itisverydifficultfortheworkertodirecthislaborelsewherewherethereisamarkeddivisionoflabor;and2.becauseofhissubordinaterelationshiptothecapitalist，heisthefirsttosuffer.

Sotheworkerissuretoloseandtolosemostfromthegravitationofthemarketpricetowardsthenaturalprice.Anditispreciselytheabilityofthecapitalisttodirecthiscapitalelsewherewhicheitherdrivestheworker，whoisrestrictedtooneparticularbranchofemployment，intostarvationorforceshimtosubmittoallthecapitalist’sdemands.

Thesuddenchancefluctuationsinmarketpricehitgroundrentlessthanthatpartofthepricewhichconstitutesprofitandwages，buttheyhitprofitlessthanwages.Foreverywagewhichrises，thereisgenerallyonewhichremainsstationaryandanotherwhichfalls.

Theworkerdoesnotnecessarilygainwhenthecapitalistgains，buthenecessarilyloseswithhim.Forexample，theworkerdoesnotgainifthecapitalistkeepsthemarketpriceabovethenaturalpricebymeansofamanufacturingortradesecret，amonopolyorafavorablyplacedproperty.

Moreover，thepricesoflaboraremuchmoreconstantthanthepricesofprovisions.Theyareoftenininverseproportion.Inadearyear，wagesdropbecauseofadropindemandandrisebecauseofanincreaseinthepriceofprovisions.They，therefore，balance.Inanycase，someworkersareleftwithoutbread.Incheapyears，wagesriseonaccountoftheriseindemand，andfallonaccountofthefallinthepriceofprovisions.

Sotheybalance.[Smith，I，pp.76—7.]

Anotherdisadvantagefortheworker：

Thepriceofthelaborofdifferentkindsofworkersvariesmuchmorethantheprofitsofthevariousbranchesinwhichcapitalisputtouse.Inthecaseoflabor，allthenatural，spiritual，andsocialvariationsinindividualactivityaremanifestedandvariouslyrewarded，wereasdeadcapitalbehavesinauniformwayandisindifferenttorealindividualactivity.

Ingeneral，weshouldnotethatwhereworkerandcapitalistbothsuffer，theworkersuffersinhisveryexistencewhilethecapitalistsuffersintheprofitonhisdeadmammon.

Theworkerhasnotonlytostruggleforhisphysicalmeansofsubsistence;hemustalsostruggleforwork——i.e.，forthepossibilityandthemeansofrealizinghisactivity.Letusconsiderthethreemainconditionswhichcanoccurinsocietyandtheireffectontheworker.

（1）Ifthewealthofsocietyisdecreasing，theworkersuffersmost，althoughtheworkingclasscannotgainasmuchasthepropertyownerswhensocietyisprospering，nonesuffersmorecruellyfromitsdeclinethantheworkingclass.[Smith，I，p.230.]

（2）Letusnowconsiderasocietyinwhichwealthisincreasing.

Thisconditionistheonlyonefavorabletotheworker.Here，competitiontakesplaceamongthecapitalists.Thedemandforworkersoutstripssupply.

But：

Inthefirstplace，theriseofwagesleadstooverworkamongtheworkers.Themoretheywanttoearnthemoretheymustsacrificetheirtimeandfreedomandworklikeslavesintheserviceofavarice.Indoingso，theyshortentheirlives.Butthisisalltothegoodoftheworkingclassasawhole，sinceitcreatesareneweddemand.Thisclassmustalwayssacrificeapartofitselfifitistoavoidtotaldestruction.

Furthermore，whenisasocietyinaconditionofincreasingprosperity？

Whenthecapitalsandrevenuesofacountryaregrowing.Butthisisonlypossible（a）asaresultoftheaccumulationofalargequantityoflabor，forcapitalisaccumulatedlabor;thatistosay，whenmoreandmoreoftheworkers’productsarebeingtakenfromhim，whenhisownlaborincreasinglyconfrontshimasalienpropertyandthemeansofhisexistenceandofhisactivityareincreasinglyconcentratedinthehandsofthecapitalist.

（b）Theaccumulationofcapitalincreasesthedivisionoflabor，andthedivisionoflaborincreasesthenumberofworkers;conversely，thegrowthinthenumberofworkersincreasesthedivisionoflabor，justasthegrowthinthedivisionoflaborincreasestheaccumulationofcapital.

Asaconsequenceofthisdivisionoflabor，ontheonehand，andtheaccumulationofcapitals，ontheother，theworkerbecomesmoreandmoreuniformlydependentonlabor，andonaparticular，veryone—sidedandmachine—liketypeoflabor.Justasheisdepressed，therefore，bothintellectuallyandphysicallytothelevelofamachine，andfrombeingamanbecomesanabstractactivityandastomach，sohealsobecomesmoreandmoredependentoneveryfluctuationinthemarketprice，intheinvestmentofcapitalandinthewhimsofthewealthy.Equally，theincreaseinthatclassofmenwhodonothingbutworkincreasesthecompetitionamongtheworkersandthereforelowerstheirprice.Inthefactorysystem，conditionssuchasthesereachtheirclimax.

（c）Inasocietywhichisbecomingincreasinglyprosperous，onlytheveryrichestcancontinuetolivefromtheinterestonmoney.

Alltherestmustrunabusinesswiththeircapital，orputitonthemarket.

Asaresult，thecompetitionamongthecapitalistsincreases，thereisagrowingconcentrationofcapital，thebigcapitalistsruinthesmallones，andasectionoftheformercapitalistssinksintotheclassoftheworkers——which，becauseofthisincreaseinnumbers，suffersafurtherdepressionofwagesandbecomesevenmoredependentonthehandfulofbigcapitalists.Becausethenumberofcapitalistshasfallen，competitionforworkershasincreased，thecompetitionamongthemhasbecomeallthemoreconsiderable，unnaturalandviolent.Hence，asectionoftheworkingclassisreducedtobeggaryorstarvationwiththesamenecessityasasectionofthemiddlecapitalistsendsupintheworkingclass.

So，eveninthestateofsocietymostfavorabletohim，theinevitableconsequencefortheworkerandearlydeath，reductiontoamachine，enslavementtocapitalwhichpilesupinthreateningoppositiontohim，freshcompetitionandstarvationorbeggaryforasectionoftheworkers.

Anincreaseinwagesarousesintheworkerthesamedesiretogetrichasinthecapitalist，buthecanonlysatisfythisdesirebysacrificinghismindandbody.Anincreaseinwagespresupposes，andbringsabout，theaccumulationofcapital，andthusopposestheproductoflabortotheworkerassomethingincreasinglyalientohim.Similarly，thedivisionoflabormakeshimmoreandmoreone—sidedanddependent，introducingcompetitionfrommachinesaswellasfrommen.Sincetheworkerhasbeenreducedtoamachine，themachinecanconfronthimasacompetitor.Finally，justastheaccumulationofcapitalincreasesthequantityofindustryand，therefore，thenumberofworkers，soitenablesthesamequantityofindustrytoproduceagreaterquantityofproducts.Thisleadstooverproductionandendsupeitherbyputtingalargenumberofworkersoutofworkorbyreducingtheirwagestoapittance.

Sucharetheconsequencesofaconditionofsocietywhichismostfavorabletotheworker——i.e.，aconditionofgrowingwealth.

But，inthelongrun，thetimewillcomewhenthisstateofgrowthreachesapeak.Whatisthesituationoftheworkerthen？

（3）"Inacountrywhichhadacquiredthatfullcomplementofrichesboththewagesoflaborandtheprofitsofstockwouldprobablybeverylowthecompetitionforemploymentwouldnecessarilybesogreatastoreducethewagesoflabortowhatwasbarelysufficienttokeepupthenumberoflaborers，and，thecountrybeingalreadyfullypeopled，thatnumbercouldneverbeaugmented."[SmithI，p.84]Thesurpluspopulationwouldhavetodie.

So，inadecliningstateofsociety，wehavetheincreasingmiseryoftheworker;inanadvancingstate，complicatedmisery;andintheterminalstate，staticmisery.

Smithtellsusthatasocietyofwhichthegreaterpartsuffersisnothappy.[SmithI，p.70]But，sinceeventhemostprosperousstateofsocietyleadstosufferingforthemajority，andsincetheeconomicsystem[Nationalokonomie]，whichisasocietybasedonprivateinterests，bringsaboutsuchastateofprosperity，itfollowsthatsociety’sdistressisthegoaloftheeconomicsystem.

Weshouldfurthernoteinconnectionwiththerelationshipbetweenworkerandcapitalistthatthelatterismorethancompensatedforwagerisesbyareductionintheamountoflabortime，andthatwagerisesandincreasesintheinterestoncapitalactoncommoditypriceslikesimpleandcompoundinterestrespectively.

Letusnowlookatthingsfromthepointofviewofthepoliticaleconomistandcomparewhathehastosayaboutthetheoreticalandpracticalclaimsoftheworker.

Hetellsusthat，originally，andintheory，thewholeproduceoflaborbelongstotheworker.[SmithI，p.57]But，atthesametime，hetellsusthatwhattheworkeractuallyreceivesisthesmallestpartoftheproduct，theabsoluteminimumnecessary;justenoughforhimtoexistnotasahumanbeingbutasaworkerandforhimtopropagatenothumanitybuttheslaveclassoftheworkers.

Thepoliticaleconomisttellsusthateverythingisboughtwithlaborandthatcapitalisnothingbutaccumulatedlabor，butthengoesontosaythattheworker，farfrombeinginapositiontobuyeverything，mustsellhimselfandhishumanity.

Whilethegroundrentoftheindolentlandownergenerallyamountstoathirdoftheproductofthesoil，andtheprofitofthebusycapitalisttoasmuchastwicetherateofinterest，thesurpluswhichtheworkerearnsamountsatbesttotheequivalentofdeaththroughstarvationfortwoofhisfourchildren.[SmithI，p.60]]

Accordingtothepoliticaleconomist，laboristheonlymeanswherebymancanenhancethevalueofnaturalproducts，andlaboristheactivepropertyofman.But，accordingtothissamepoliticaleconomy，thelandownerandthecapitalist，whoassucharemerelyprivilegedandidlegods，areeverywheresuperiortotheworkeranddictatethelawtohim.

Accordingtothepoliticaleconomist，laboristheonlyconstantpriceofthings.Butnothingismoresubjecttochancethanthepriceoflabor，nothingexposedtogreaterfluctuations.

Whilethedivisionoflaborincreasestotheproductivepoweroflaborandthewealthandrefinementofsociety，itimpoverishestheworkerandreduceshimtoamachine.Whilelaborgivesrisetotheaccumulationofcapital，andsobringsaboutthegrowingprosperityofsociety，itmakestheworkerincreasinglydependentonthecapitalist，exposeshimtogreatercompetitionanddriveshimintothefrenziedworldofoverproduction，withitssubsequentslump.

Accordingtothepoliticaleconomist，theinterestoftheworkerisneveropposedtotheinterestofsociety.But，societyisinvariablyandinevitablyopposedtotheinterestoftheworker.

Accordingtothepoliticaleconomist，theinterestoftheworkerisneveropposedtothatofsociety：（1）becausetheriseinwagesismorethanmadeupforbythereductionintheamountoflabortime，withtheotherconsequencesexplainedabove，and（2）becauseinrelationtosocietytheentiregrossproductisnetproduct，andonlyinrelationtotheindividualdoesthenetproducthaveanysignificance.

Butitfollowsfromtheanalysesmadebythepoliticaleconomists，eventhoughtheythemselvesareunawareofthefact，thatlaboritself——notonlyunderpresentconditions，butingeneral，insofarasitsgoalisrestrictedtotheincreaseofwealth——isharmfulanddestructive.

*Intheory，groundrentandprofitoncapitalaredeductionsmadefromwages.But，inreality，wagesareadeductionwhichlandandcapitalgranttheworker，anallowancemadefromtheproductoflabortotheworker，tolabor.

Theworkersuffersmostwhensocietyisinastateofdecline.

Heowestheparticularseverityofhisdistresstohispositionasaworker，butthedistressassuchisaresultofthesituationofsociety.

But，whensocietyisinastateofprogress，thedeclineandimpoverishmentoftheworkeristheproductofhislaborandthewealthproducedbyhim.

Thismisery，therefore，proceedsfromtheveryessenceofpresent—daylabor.

Asocietyatthepeakofprosperity——anideal，butonewhichissubstantiallyachieved，andwhichisatleastthegoaloftheeconomicsystemandofcivilsociety——isstaticmiseryfortheworker.

Itgoeswithoutsayingthatpoliticaleconomyregardstheproletarian——i.e.，hewholiveswithoutcapitalandgroundrent，fromlaboralone，andfromone—sided，abstractlaboratthat——asnothingmorethanaworker.Itcan，therefore，advancethethesisthat，likeahorse，hemustreceiveenoughtoenablehimtowork.Itdoesnotconsiderhim，duringthetimewhenheisnotworking，asahumanbeing.Itleavesthistocriminallaw，doctors，religion，statisticaltables，politics，andthebeadle.

Letusnowriseabovethelevelofpoliticaleconomyandexaminetheideasdevelopedabove，takenalmostwordforwordfromthepoliticaleconomists，fortheanswerstothesetwoquestions：

（1）Whatisthemeaning，inthedevelopmentofmankind，ofthisreductionofthegreaterpartofmankindtoabstractlabor？

（2）Whatmistakesaremadebythepiecemealreformers，whoeitherwanttoraisewagesandtherebyimprovethesituationoftheworkingclass，or——likeProudhon——seeequalityofwagesasthegoalofsocialrevolution？

Inpoliticaleconomy，laborappearsonlyintheformofwage—earningactivity.

*"Itcanbearguedthatthoseoccupationwhichdemandspecificabilitiesorlongertraininghaveonthewholebecomemorelucrative;whilethecommensuratewageformechanicallyuniformactivity，inwhicheveryonecanbequicklyandeasilytrained，hasfallen，andinevitablyso，asaresultofgrowingcompetition.Anditispreciselythiskindoflaborwhich，underthepresentsystemoflabororganization，isbyfarthemostcommon.

"So，ifaworkerinthefirstcategorynowearnsseventimesasmuchashedid50yearsago，whileanotherinthesecondcategorycontinuestoearnthesameashedidthen，thenonaveragetheyearnfourtimesasmuch.

"Butifinagivencountrythereareonlyathousandworkersinthefirstcategoryandamillioninthesecond，then999，000arenobetteroffthan50yearsago，andtheyareworseoffifthepricesofstaplegoodshaverisen.

"Andyetpeoplearetryingtodeceivethemselvesaboutthemostnumerousclassofthepopulationwithsuperficialaveragecalculationsofthissort.

"Moreover，thesizeofwagesisonlyonefactorinevaluatingaworker’sincome：itisalsoessentialtotakeintoaccountthelengthoftimeforwhichsuchwagesareguaranteed，andthereisnoquestionofguaranteesintheanarchyofso—calledfreecompetitionwithitscontinualfluctuationsandstagnation.Finally，wemustbearinmindthehoursofworkwhichwereusualearlierandthosewhichareusualnow.AndfortheEnglishcottonworkers，theworkingdayhasbeenincreased，asaresultoftheemployers’

greed，from12to16hoursduringthepast25yearsorso——i.e.，sincelabor—savingmachineswereintroduced.Thisincreaseinonecountryandinonebranchofindustryinevitablycarriedovertoagreaterorlesserdegreeintootherareas，fortherightsofthewealthytosubjectthepoortoboundlessexploitationarestilluniversallyacknowledged."

[WilhelmSchulz，DieBewegungderProduktion，einegeschichtlichstatistisckeAbhandlung.

ZurichandWinterthur，1843，p.65]

"Buteveneventhiswereastrueasitisfalse，thattheaverageincomeofallclassesofsocietyhasgrown，thedifferencesandrelativeintervalsbetweenincomescanstillhavegrownbigger，sothatthecontrastbetweenwealthandpovertybecomessharper.Foritispreciselybecausetotalproductionrisesthatneeds，desires，andclaimsalsoincrease，andtheyincreaseinthesamemeasureasproductionrises;relativepovertycanthereforegrowwhileabsolutepovertydiminishes.TheSamoyedisnotpoorwithhisblubberandrancidfish，forinhisself—containedsociety，everyonehasthesameneeds.But，inastatewhichismakingrapidheadway，which，inthecourseofadecade，increasesitstotalproductioninrelationtothepopulationbyathird，theworkerwhoearnsthesameattheendofthe10yearsashedidatthebeginninghasnotmaintainedhisstandardofliving，hehasgrownpoorerbyathird."

[WilhelmSchulz，pp.65—6]Butpoliticaleconomyknowstheworkeronlyasabeastofburden，asananimalreducedtotheminimumbodilyneeds.

"Ifapeopleistoincreaseitsspiritualfreedom，itcannolongerremaininthralltoitsbodilyneeds，itcannolongerbetheservantoftheflesh.Aboveall，itneedstimeforintellectualexerciseandrecreation.Thistimeiswonthroughnewdevelopmentsintheorganizationoflabor.

"Nowadays，asingleworkerinthecottonmills，asaresultofnewwaysofproducingpowerandnewmachinery，canoftendoworkthatpreviouslyneeded100oreven250—300workers.Allbranchesofindustryhavewitnessedsimilarconsequences，sinceexternalnaturalforcesareincreasinglybeingbroughttobearonhumanlabor.Iftheamountoftimeandhumanenergyneededearliertosatisfyagivenquantityofmaterialneedswaslaterreducedbyhalf，then，withoutanyforfeitureofmaterialcomfort，themarginforintellectualcreationandrecreationwillhaveincreasedbyhalf.

"But，eventhesharingofthespoilswhichwewinfromoldChronosonhisveryownterritorystilldependsonblindandunjustchance.

"InFrance，ithasbeenestimatedthat，atthepresentstageofproduction，anaverageworkingdayoffivehoursfromeachpersoncapableofworkwouldbesufficienttosatisfyallsociety’smaterialneedsInspiteofthetimesavedthroughimprovementsinmachinery，thetimespentinslavelaborinthefactorieshasincreasedformanypeople."

[WilhelmSchulz，pp.67—8]

"Thetransitionfromcomplicatedhandicraftspresupposesabreakingdownofsuchworkintothesimpleoperationsofwhichitconsists.

Tobeginwith，however，onlyapartoftheuniformlyrecurringoperationsfallstothemachines，whileanotherpartfallstomen.

Permanentlyuniformactivityofthiskindisbyitsverynatureharmfultobothsoulandbody——afactwhichisalsoconfirmedbyexperience;andso，whenmachineryiscombinedinthisway，withthemeredivisionoflaboramongalargernumberofmen，alltheshortcomingsofthelatterinevitablymaketheirappearance.Theseshortcomingsincludethegreatermortalityoffactoryworkers

"Noattentionhasbeenpaidtotheessentialdistinctionbetweenhowfarmenworkthroughmachinesandhowfartheyworkasmachines."

[WilhelmSchulz，pp.69]

"Inthefuturelifeofthenations，however，themindlessforcesofnatureoperatinginmachineswillbeourslavesandservants."

[WilhelmSchulz，pp.74]

"IntheEnglishspinningmills，only158，818menareemployed，comparedwith196，818women.Forevery100menworkersintheLancashirecottonmills，thereare103womenworkers’inScotland，thefigureisashighas209.IntheEnglishflaxmillsinLeeds，thereare147womenforevery100menworkers;inDundee，andontheeastcoastofScotland，thisfigureisashighas280.IntheEnglishsilk—factories，therearemanywomenworkers;inthewoolfactories，wheregreaterstrengthisneeded，therearemoremen.

AsfortheNorthAmericancottonmills，in1833therewerenofewerthan38，927womenalongside18，593men.

"So，asaresultofchangesintheorganizationoflabor，awiderareaofemploymentopportunitieshasbeenopeneduptomembersofthefemalesexmoreeconomicindependenceforwomenbothsexesbroughtclosertogetherintheirsocialrelations."

[WilhelmSchulz，pp.71—2]

"EmployedintheEnglishspinningmillsoperatedbysteamandwaterintheyear1835were：20，558childrenbetween8and12yearsofage;35，867between12and13;and，finally，108，208between13and18

"True，theadvancesinmechanization，whichremovemoreandmoreofthemonotonoustasksfromhumanhands，aregraduallyeliminatingtheseills.But，standinginthewayofthesemorerapidadvancesisthefactthatthecapitalistsareinapositiontomakeuseoftheenergiesofthelowerclasses，rightdowntochildren，veryeasilyandverycheaply，andtousetheminsteadofmachinery."

[WilhelmSchulz，pp.70—1]

"LordBrougham’sappealtotheworkers：’Becomecapitalists！’

"Theevilthatmillionareonlyabletoekeoutalivingthroughexhausting，physicallydestructive，andmorallyandintellectuallycrippling，labor;thattheyareevenforcedtoregardthemisfortuneoffindingsuchworkasfortunate."

[WilhelmSchulz，pp.60]

"So，inordertolive，thenon—ownersareforcedtoplacethemselvesdirectlyorindirectlyattheserviceofowners——

i.e.，becomedependentuponthem."[C.Pecqueur，Theorienouvelled’economiesocialeetpolitique，ouetudessurl’organisationdessocietes，Paris，1842，p.409]"Servants——pay;workers——wages;clerks——salariesoremoluments"hireoutone’slabor"，"lendoutone’slaboratinterest"，"workinanother’splace".

"hireoutthematerialsoflabor"，"lendthematerialsoflaboratinterest"，"makeanotherworkinone’splace".[C.Pecqueur，p.409—10，411]"Thiseconomicconstitutioncondemnsmentosuchabjectemployments，suchdesolateandbitterdegradation，thatbycomparisonsavageryappearslikearoyalcondition.""Prostitutionofthenon—owningclassinallitsforms."Rag—and—bonemen.[C.Pecqueur，p.417—18，421]CharlesLoudon，inhisworkSolutionduproblemedelapopulation，givesthenumberofprostitutesinEnglandas60—70，000.Thenumberofwomenof"doubtfulvirtue"isroughlythesame.

"Theaveragelifespanoftheseunfortunatecreaturesonthestreets，aftertheyhaveembarkedontheircareerofvice，isaboutsixorsevenyears.Thismeansthat，ifthenumberof60—70，000

prostitutesistobemaintained，theremustbeinthethreekingdomsatleast8—9，000womenayearwhotakeupthisinfamoustrade——

i.e.，roughly24victimsaday，whichisanaverageofoneanhour.

So，ifthesameproportionistrueforthewholesurfaceoftheplanet，thenatalltimestheremustbeone—and—a—halfmillionoftheseunhappycreatures."

[CharlesLoudon，Solutionduproblemedelapopulationetdelasubsistence，soumiseaunmedecindansuneseriedulettres，Paris，1842，p.229]

"Thepopulationofthepoorgrowswiththeirpoverty，anditisatthemostextremelimitofneedthathumanbeingscrowdtogetherinthegreatestnumbersinordertofightamongthemselvesfortherighttosuffer"In1821，thepopulationofIrelandwas6，801，827.By1831，ithadrisento7，764，010;thatis，a14percentincreasein10years.InLeinster，themostprosperousoftheprovinces，thepopulationonlygrewby8percent，whileinConnaught，thepoorestoftheprovinces，theincreasewasashighas21percent.（ExtractfromInquiriesPublishedinEnglandonIreland，Vienna，1840.）

[EugeneBuret，DelamiseredesclasseslaborieusesenAngleterreetenFrance，2vols.，Paris，1840，Vol.I，pp.36—7]Politicaleconomyregardslaborabstractly，asathing;laborisacommodity;ifthepriceishigh，thecommodityismuchindemand;ifitislow，thenitismuchinsupply;"thepriceoflaborasacommoditymustfalllowerandlower".

[ibid.，p.43]Thisisbroughtaboutpartlybythecompetitionamongtheworkersthemselves.

"theworkingpopulation，selleroflabor，isforcedtoacceptthesmallestpartoftheproductIsthetheoryoflaborasacommodityanythingotherthanadisguisedtheoryofslavery？"

"Whythenwaslaborregardedasnothingmorethananexchangevalue？"

[EugeneBuret，p.43]Thebigworkshopsprefertobuythelaborofwomenandchildren，becauseitcostslessthanthatofmen.

"Vis—a—vishisemployer，theworkerisnotatallinthepositionofafreesellerThecapitalistisalwaysfreetoemploylabor，andtheworkerisalwaysforcedtosellit.Thevalueoflaboriscompletelydestroyedifitisnotsoldateveryinstant.

Unlikegenuinecommodities，laborcanbeneitheraccumulatednorsaved.

"Laborislife，andiflifeisnotexchangedeverydayforfood，itsuffersandsoonperishes.Ifhumanlifeistoberegardedasacommodity，weareforcedtoadmitslavery."

[EugeneBuret，p.49—50]So，iflaborisacommodity，itisacommoditywiththemostunfortunatecharacteristics.But，evenaccordingtoeconomicprinciples，itisnotone，foritisnotthe"freeproductofafreemarket".[ibid.，p.50

]Thepresenteconomicregime"reducesatthesametimeboththepriceandtheremunerationoflabor;itperfectstheworkeranddegradestheman."[ibid.，p.52—3]"Industryhasbecomeawar，commerceagame."

[ibid.，p.62]

"Themachinesforspinningcotton（inEngland）alonerepresent84，000，000handworkers."

[EugeneBuret，p.193]Uptonow，industryhasbeeninthesituationofawarofconquest：

"ithassquanderedthelivesofthemenwhocomposeditsarmywithasmuchindifferenceasthegreatconquerors.Itsgoalwasthepossessionofriches，andnothumanhappiness.""Theseinterests（i.e.，economicinterests），lefttotheirownfreedevelopment，cannothelpcomingintoconflict;waristheironlyarbiter，andthedecisionsofwarassigndefeatanddeathtosomeandvictorytoothersItisintheconflictofopposingforcesthatsciencelooksfororderandequilibrium;perpetualwas，intheviewofscience，istheonlymeansofachievingpeace;thiswariscalledcompetition."

[EugeneBuret，pp.20，23]

"Theindustrialwar，ifitistobewagedsuccessfully，needslargearmieswhichitcanconcentrateatonepointanddecimateatwill.

Andneitherdevotionnordutymovesthesoldiersofthisarmytobeartheburdenplaceduponthem;whatmovesthemistheneedtoescapetheharshnessofstarvation.Theyfeelneitheraffectionnorgratitudefortheirbosses，whoarenotboundintheirsubordinatesbyanyfeelingofgoodwillandwhoregardthemnotashumanbeingsbutasinstrumentsofproductionwhichbringinasmuchandcostaslittleaspossible.Thesegroupsofworkers，whoaremoreandmorecrowdedtogether，cannotevenbesuretheytheywillalwaysbeemployed;theindustrywhichhassummonedthemtogetherallowsthemtoliveonlybecauseitneedsthem;assoonasitcangetridofthem，itabandonsthemwithouttheslightesthesitation;andtheworkersareforcedtooffertheirpersonsandtheirlaborforwhateveristhegoingprice.Thelonger，moredistressingandloathsometheworkwhichisgiventhem，thelesstheyarepaid;onecanseeworkerswhotoiltheirwaynon—stopthrougha16—hourdayandwhoscarcelymanagetobuytherightnottodie."

[EugeneBuret，pp.68—9]

"Weareconvincedasarethecommissionersappointedtolookintotheconditionsofthehandloomweavers，thatthelargeindustrialtownswouldquicklylosetheirpopulationofworkersiftheydidnotallthetimereceiveacontinualstreamofhealthypeopleandfreshbloodfromthesurroundingcountryareas."

[EugeneBuret，pp.362]

PROFITOFCAPITAL

1.Capital（1）Whatisthebasisofcapital——i.e.，ofprivatepropertyintheproductsofanother’slabor？

"Evenifcapitalcannotbereducedtosimpletheftorfraud，itstillneedstheassistanceoflegislationtosanctifyinheritance."

[Jean—BaptisteSay，Traied’economiepolitique，thirdedition，2volumes，Paris，1817，I，p.136，footnote]Howdoesonebecomeanownerofproductivestock？Howdoesonbecomeowneroftheproductscreatedbymeansofthisstock？

Throughpositivelaw.[Say，II，p.4]

Whatdoesoneacquirewithcapital，withtheinheritanceofalargefortune，forexample？

"Thepersonwhoacquires，orsucceedstoagreatfortune，doesnotnecessarilyacquireorsucceedtoanypoliticalpowerThepowerwhichthatpossessionimmediatelyanddirectlyconveystohim，isthepowerofpurchasing;acertaincommandoverallthelabor，oroveralltheproduceoflabor，whichistheninthemarket."

[Smith，WealthofNations，I，pp.26—7]Capitalis，therefore，thepowertocommandlabor，anditsproducts.Thecapitalistpossessesthispowernotonaccountofhispersonalorhumanpropertiesbutinsofarasheisanownerofcapital.Hispoweristhepurchasingpowerofhiscapital，whichnothingcanwithstand.

Later，weshallseehowthecapitalist，bymeansofcapital，exerciseshispowertocommandlabor;butweshallthengoontoseehowcapital，initsturn，isabletorulethecapitalisthimself.

Whatiscapital？

"Acertainquantityoflaborstockedandstoredup"

[Smith，p.295]Capitalisstoredup—labor.

（2）Bonds，orstock，isanyaccumulationoftheproductsofthesoilorofmanufacture.Stockisonlycalledcapitalwhenityieldsitsownerarevenueorprofit.

2.TheProfitofCapitalTheprofitorgainofcapitalisaltogetherdifferentfromthewagesoflabor.Thisdifferencemanifestsitselfintwoways：firstly，theprofitsofcapitalareregulatedaltogetherbythevalueofthestockemployed，althoughthelaborofinspectionanddirectionfordifferentcapitalsmaybethesame.Furthermore，inmanylargefactories，thewholelaborofthiskindiscommittedtosomeprincipalclerk，whosewagesneverbearanyregularproportiontothecapitalofwhichheoverseesthemanagement.Andtheownerofthiscapital，thoughheisthusdischargedofalmostalllabor，stillexpectsthathisprofitsshouldbeararegularproportiontohiscapital.[Smith，p.43]

Whydoesthecapitalistdemandthisproportionbetweenprofitandcapital？

Hecouldhavenointerestinemployingtheseworkers，unlessheexpectedfromthesaleoftheirworksomethingmorethanwassufficienttoreplacethestockadvancedbyhimaswages;andhecouldhavenointeresttoemployagreatstockratherthanasmallone，unlesshisprofitsweretobearsomeproportiontotheextentofhisstock.[Smith，p.42]

Sothecapitalistmakesaprofitfirstontheagesandsecondlyontherawmaterialsadvancedbyhim.

Whatrelation，then，doesprofithavetocapital？

Itisnoteasytoascertainwhataretheaveragewagesoflaboreveninaparticularplaceandataparticulartime，anditisevenmoredifficulttodeterminetheprofitoncapital.Variationsofpriceincommoditieswhichthecapitalistdealsin，thegoodorbadfortunebothofhisrivalsandofhiscustomers，athousandotheraccidentstowhichhisgoodsareliableintransitandinwarehouses，allproduceadaily，almosthourly，variationinprofits.[Smith，pp.78—9]Butalthoughitmaybeimpossibletodetermine，withanydegreeofprecision，theaverageprofitsofcapital，somenotionmaybeformedofthemfromtheinterestofmoney.Whereveragreatdealcanbemadebytheuseofmoney，agreatdealwillbegivenfortheuseofit;whereverlittlecanbemade，littlewillbegiven.[Smith，p.79]

"Theproportionwhichtheusualmarketrateofinterestoughttobeartotheordinaryrateofclearprofit，necessarilyvariesasprofitrisesorfalls.DoubleinterestisinGreatBritainreckonedwhatthemerchantscallagood，moderate，reasonableprofit，termswhichmeannomorethanacommonandusualprofit."

[Smith，p.87]Whatisthelowestrateofprofit？Andwhatisthehighest？

Thelowestrateofordinaryprofitoncapitalsmustalwaysbesomethingmorethanwhatissufficienttocompensatetheoccassionallossestowhicheveryemploymentofcapitalisexposed.Itisthissurplusvalueonlywhichistheneatorclearprofit.Thesameholdsforthelowestrateofinterest.[Smith，p.86]

Thehighestratetowhichordinaryprofitscanrisemaybesuchas，inthepriceofthegreaterpartofcommodities，eastsupthewholeoftherentofthelandandreducesthewagesoflaborexpendedinpreparingthecommodityandbringingittomarkettothelowestrate，thebaresubsistenceofthelaborer.Theworkmanmustalwayshavebeenfedinsomewayorotherwhilehewasaboutthework;buttherentoflandcandisappearentirely.

Examples：theservantsoftheEastIndiaCompanyinBengal.[Smith，pp.

86—7]

Besidesalltheadvantagesoflimitedcompetitionwhichthecapitalistcanexploitinsuchacase，hecankeepthemarketpriceabovethenaturalprice，byquitehonorablemeans.

Firstly，bysecretsintrade，wherethemarketisatagreatdistancefromtheresidenceofthosewhosupplyit;thatis，byconcealingachangeinprice，anincreaseabovethenaturallevel.Theeffectofthisconcealmentisthatothercapitalistsdonotinvesttheircapitalinthisbranchofindustry.

Secondly，bysecretsinmanufacture，whichenablethecapitalisttocutproductioncostsandsellhisgoodsatthesameprice，orevenatalowerpricethanhiscompetitors，whilemakingabiggerprofit.（Deceitbyconcealmentisnotimmoral？DealingsontheStockExchange.）Furthermore，whereproductionisconfinedtoaparticularlocality（asinthecaseofselectwines）andtheeffectivedemandcanneverbesatisfied.Finally，throughmonopoliesgrantedtoindividualsorcompanies.Thepriceofmonopolyisthehighestwhichcanbegot.[Smith，pp.53—4]

Otherchancecauseswhichcanraisetheprofitoncapital：

Theacquisitionofnewterritory，orofnewbranchesoftrade，maysometimesrisetheprofitsofstockeveninawealthycountry，becausepartofthecapitaliswithdrawnfromtheoldbranchesoftrade，competitioncomestobelessthanbefore，andthemarketislessfullysupplieswithcommodities，thepricesofwhichthenrise：thosewhodealinthesecommoditiescanthenaffordtoborrowatahigherinterest.[Smith，p.83]Asanyparticularcommoditycomestobemoremanufactured，thatpartofthepricewhichresolvesitselfintowagesandprofitcomestobegreaterinproportiontothatwhichresolvesitselfintorent.Intheprogressofthemanufactureofcommodity，notonlythenumberoftheprofitsincrease，buteverysubsequentprofitisgreaterthantheprecedingone;becausethecapitalfromwhichitisderivedmustalwaysbegreater.Thecapitalwhichemploystheweavers，forexample，mustbegreaterthanthatwhichemploysthespinners;becauseitnotonlyreplacesthatcapitalwithitsprofits，butpaysbesides，thewagesoftheweavers;andtheprofitsmustalwaysbearsomeproportiontothecapital.[Smith，p.45]

So，thegrowingroleplayedbyhumanlaborinfashioningthenaturalproductincreasesnotthewagesoflaborbutpartlythenumberofprofitablecapitalsandpartlythesizeofeachcapitalinproportiontothosethatprecedeit.

Morelaterabouttheprofitwhichthecapitalistderivesfromthedivisionoflabor.

Heprofitsintwoways：firstly，fromthedivisionoflaborandsecondly，andmoregenerally，fromthegrowingroleplayedbyhumanlaborinfashioningthenaturalproduct.Thelargerthehumanshareinacommodity，thelargertheprofitofdeadcapital.

Inoneandthesamesociety，theaverageratesofprofitoncapitalaremorenearlyuponalevelthanarethewagesofdifferentkindsoflabor.

[Smith，p.45]Inthedifferentemploymentsofcapital，theordinaryrateofprofitvariesmoreorlesswiththecertaintyoruncertaintyofthereturns;

"theordinaryprofitofstock，thoughitriseswiththerisk，doesnotalwaysseemtoriseinproportiontoit."

[Smith，pp.99—100]Needlesstosay，profitsalsoriseifthemeansofcirculation（e.g.，papermoney）improveorbecomelessexpensive.

3.TheRuleofCapitaloverLaborandtheMotivesoftheCapitalist"Theconsiderationofhisownprivateprofitisthesolemotivewhichdeterminestheownerofanycapitaltoemployiteitherinagriculture，inmanufactures，orinsomeparticularbranchofthewholesaleorretailtrade.Thedifferentquantitiesofproductivelaborwhichmayputitintomotion，andthedifferentvalueswhichitmayaddtotheannualproduceofthelandandlaborofthesociety，accordingasitisemployedinoneorotherofthosedifferentways，neverenterintohisthoughts."

[Smith，p.355]

"Themostusefulemploymentofcapitalforthecapitalististhatwhich，withthesamedegreeofsecurity，yieldshimthelargestprofit;butthisemploymentisnotalwaysthemostusefulforsocietythemostusefulisthatwhichstimulatestheproductivepowerofitslandandlabor."

[Say，II，pp.130—31]

"Theplansandprojectsoftheemployersofstockregulateanddirectallthemostimportantoperationsoflabor，andprofitistheendproposedbyallthoseplansandprojects.Buttherateofprofitdoesnot，likerentandwages，risewiththeprosperityandfallwiththedeclensionofthesociety.Onthecontrary，itisnaturallylowinrichandhighinpoorcountries，anditisalwayshighestincountrieswhicharegoingfastesttoruin.Theinterestofthisthirdorder[thosewholivebyprofit]，therefore，hasnotthesameconnectionwiththegeneralinterestofthesocietyasthatoftheothertwoTheinterestofthedealer，however，inanyparticularbranchoftradeormanufactures，isalwaysinsomerespectsdifferentfrom，andevenoppositeto，thatofthepublic.

Towidenthemarketandtonarrowthecompetition，isalwaystheinterestofthedealersandorderofmenwhoseinterestisneverexactlythesameasthatofthepublic，whohavegenerallyaninteresttodecisiveandeventooppressthepublic"

[SmithI，pp.231—2]4.TheAccumulationofCapitalsandtheCompetitionamongtheCapitalistsTheincreaseofcapitals，whichraiseswages，tendstolowerprofits，asaresultofthecompetitionamongcapitalists.[Smith，p.78]

If，forexample，thecapitalwhichisnecessaryforthegrocerytradeofaparticulartown"isdividedbetweentwodifferentgrocers，theircompetitionwilltendtomakebothofthemsellcheaperthanifitwereinthehandsofoneonly;andifitweredividedamong20，theircompetitionwouldbejustsomuchthegreater，andthechanceoftheircombiningtogether，inordertoraisetheprice，justsomuchtheless."

[SmithI，p.322]Sincewealreadyknowthatmonopolypricesareashighaspossible，sincetheinterestofthecapitalists，evenfromastraight—forwardlyeconomicpointofview，isopposedtotheinterestofsociety，andsincethegrowthofprofitsactsonthepriceofthecommoditylikecompoundinterest[Smith，pp.87—8]，itfollowsthatthesoledefenseagainstthecapitalistsiscompetition，whichintheviewofpoliticaleconomyhasthebeneficialeffectbothofraisingwagesandcheapeningcommoditiestotheadvantageoftheconsumingpublic.

But，competitionispossibleonlyifcapitalsmultiplyandareheldbymanydifferentpeople.Itisonlypossibletogeneratealargenumberofcapitalsasaresultofmultilateralaccumulation，sincecapitalingeneralstemsfromaccumulation.But，multilateralaccumulationinevitablyturnsintounilateralaccumulation.Competitionamongcapitalistsincreasesaccumulationofcapitals.Accumulation——which，undertheruleofprivateproperty，meansconcentrationofcapitalinfewhands——inevitablyensuesifcapitalsareallowedtofollowtheirownnaturalcourse.Itisonlythroughcompetitionthatthisnaturalproclivityofcapitalbeginstotakeshape.