Wehave，therefore，gotadoubleresult。
　　Theconversionofmoneyintocapitalhastobeexplainedonthebasisofthelawsthatregulatetheexchangeofcommodities，insuchawaythatthestarting—pointistheexchangeofequivalents。[24]Ourfriend，Moneybags，whoasyetisonlyanembryocapitalist，mustbuyhiscommoditiesattheirvalue，mustsellthemattheirvalue，andyetattheendoftheprocessmustwithdrawmorevaluefromcirculationthanhethrewintoitatstarting。Hisdevelopmentintoafull—growncapitalistmusttakeplace，bothwithinthesphereofcirculationandwithoutit。
　　Thesearetheconditionsoftheproblem。HicRhodus，hicsalta！
　　Footnotes[1]"L’échangeestunetransactionadmirabledanslaquellelesdeuxcontractantsgagnent—toujours（！）"（DestuttdeTracy:"Traité
　　delaVolontéetdeseseffets。"Paris，1826，p。68。）Thisworkappearedafterwardsas"Traitéd’Econ。Polit。"
　　[2]"MercierdelaRivière，"l。c。，p。544。
　　[3]"Quel’unedecesdeuxvaleurssoitargent，ouqueuessoienttoutesdeuxmarchandisesusuelles，riendeplusindifférentensoi。"（"MercierdelaRivière，"l。c。，p。543。）
　　[4]"Cenesontpaslescontractantsquiprononcentsurlavaleur;elleestdécidéeavantlaconvention。"（LeTrosne，p。906。）
　　[5]"Doveèegualitànonèlucro。"（Galiani，"DellaMonetainCustodi，ParteModerna，"t。iv。，p。244。）
　　[6]"L’échangedevientdésavantageuxpourl’unedesparties，lorsquequelquechoseétrangèrevientdiminuerouexagérerleprix;alorsl’égalitéestblessée，maislalésionprocèdedecettecauseetnondel’échange。"（LeTrosne，l。c。，p。904。）
　　[7]"L’échangeestdesanatureuncontratd’égalitéquisefaitdevaleurpourvaleurégale。Iln’estdoncpasunmoyendes’enrichir，puisquel’ondonneautantquel’onreçoit。"（LeTrosne，l。c。，p。903。）
　　[8]Condillac:"LeCommerceetlaGouvernement"（1776）。Edit。DaireetMolinariinthe"Mélangesd’Econ。Polit。"Paris，1847，pp。267，291。
　　[9]LeTrosne，therefore，answershisfriendCondillacwithjusticeasfollows:
　　"Dansune……sociétéforméeiln’yapasdesurabondantenaucungenre。"Atthesametime，inabanteringway，heremarks:"Ifboththepersonswhoexchangereceivemoretoanequalamount，andpartwithlesstoanequalamount，theybothgetthesame。"ItisbecauseCondillachasnottheremotestideaofthenatureofexchange—valuethathehasbeenchosenbyHerrProfessorWilhelmRoscherasaproperpersontoanswerforthesoundnessofhisownchildishnotions。SeeRoscher’s"DieGrundlagenderNationalökonomie，DritteAuflage，"1858。
　　[10]S。P。Newman:"ElementsofPolit。Econ。"AndoverandNewYork，1835，p。
　　175。
　　[11]"Bytheaugmentationofthenominalvalueoftheproduce……sellersnotenriched……sincewhattheygainassellers，theypreciselyexpendinthequalityofbuyers。"（"TheEssentialPrinciplesoftheWealthofNations。"
　　&c。，London，1797，p。66。）
　　[12]"Sil’onestforcédedonnerpour18livresunequantité
　　detelleproductionquienvalait24，lorsqu’onemployeracemêmeargentàacheter，onauraégalementpour18l。cequel’onpayait24。"（LeTrosne，I。c。，p。897。）
　　[13]"Chaquevendeurnepeutdoncparveniràrenchérirhabituellementsesmarchandises，qu’ensesoumettantaussiàpayerhabituellementpluscherlesmarchandisesdesautresvendeurs;etparlamêmeraison，chaqueconsommateurnepeutpayerhabituellementmoinschercequ’ilachète，qu’ensesoumettantaussiàunediminutionsemblancesurleprixdeschosesqu’ilvend。"（MercierdelaRivière，l。c。，p。555。）
　　[14]Torrens。"AnEssayontheProductionofWealth。"London，1821，p。349。
　　[15]Theideaofprofitsbeingpaidbytheconsumers，is，assuredly，veryabsurd。
　　Whoaretheconsumers？"（G。Ramsay:"AnEssayontheDistributionofWealth。"
　　Edinburgh，1836，p。183。）
　　[16]"Whenamanisinwantofademand，doesMr。Malthusrecommendhimtopaysomeotherpersontotakeoffhisgoods？"isaquestionputbyanangrydiscipleofRicardotoMalthus，who，likehisdisciple，ParsonChalmers，economicallyglorifiesthisclassofsimplebuyersorconsumers。（See"AnInquiryintothosePrinciplesRespectingtheNatureofDemandandtheNecessityofConsumption，latelyadvocatedbyMr。Malthus，"&c。Lond。，1821，p。55。）
　　[17]DestuttdeTracy，although，orperhapsbecause，hewasamemberoftheInstitute，heldtheoppositeview。Hesays，industrialcapitalistsmakeprofitsbecause"theyallsellformorethanithascosttoproduce。Andtowhomdotheysell？Inthefirstinstancetooneanother。"（I。c。，p。
　　239。）
　　[18]"L’échangequisefaitdedeuxvaleurségalesn’augmenteninediminuelamassedesvaleurssubsistantesdanslasociété。
　　L’échangededeuxvaleursinégales……nechangeriennonplusàlasommedesvaleurssociales，bienqu’ilajouteà
　　lafortunedel’uncequ’ilétédelafortunedeI’autre。"
　　（J。B。Say，l。c。，t。II，pp。443，444。）Say，notintheleasttroubledastotheconsequencesofthisstatement，borrowsit，almostwordforword，fromthePhysiocrats。ThefollowingexamplewillshowhowMonsieurSayturnedtoaccountthewritingsofthePhysiocrats，inhisdayquiteforgotten，forthepurposeofexpandingthe"value"ofhisown。Hismostcelebratedsaying，"Onn’achètedesproduitsqu’avecdesproduits"（I。c。，t。II。p。441。）runsasfollowsintheoriginalphysiocraticwork:"Lesproductionsnesepaientqu’avecdesproductions。"（LeTrosne，。c。，p。
　　899。）
　　[19]"Exchangeconfersnovalueatalluponproducts。"（F。Wayland:"TheElementsofPoliticalEconomy。"Boston，1843，p。169。）
　　[20]Undertheruleofinvariableequivalentscommercewouldbeimpossible。
　　（G。Opdyke:"ATreatiseonPolit。Economy。"NewYork，1851，pp。66—69。）
　　"Thedifferencebetweenrealvalueandexchange—valueisbaseduponthisfact，namely，thatthevalueofathingisdifferentfromtheso—calledequivalentgivenforitintrade，i。e。，thatthisequivalentisnoequivalent。"
　　（F。Engels，l。c。，p。96）。
　　[21]BenjaminFranklin:Works，Vol。II，edit。Sparksin"PositionstobeexaminedconcerningNationalWealth，"p。376。
　　[22]Aristotle，I。c。，c。10。
　　[23]"Profit，intheusualconditionofthemarket，isnotmadebyexchanging。
　　Haditnotexistedbefore，neithercoulditafterthattransaction。"（Ramsay，l。c。，p。184。）
　　[24]Fromtheforegoinginvestigation，thereaderwillseethatthisstatementonlymeansthattheformationofcapitalmustbepossibleeventhoughthepriceandvalueofacommoditybethesame;foritsformationcannotbeattributedtoanydeviationoftheonefromtheother。Ifpricesactuallydifferfromvalues，wemust，firstofall，reducetheformertothelatter，inotherwords，treatthedifferenceasaccidentalinorderthatthephenomenamaybeobservedintheirpurity，andourobservationsnotinterferedwithbydisturbingcircumstancesthathavenothingtodowiththeprocessinquestion。Weknow，moreover，thatthisreductionisnomerescientificprocess。Thecontinualoscillationsinprices，theirrisingandfalling，compensateeachother，andreducethemselvestoanaverageprice，whichistheirhiddenregulator。Itformstheguidingstarofthemerchantorthemanufacturerineveryundertakingthatrequirestime。Heknowsthatwhenalongperiodoftimeistaken，commoditiesaresoldneitherovernorunder，butattheiraverageprice。Ifthereforehethoughtaboutthematteratall，hewouldformulatetheproblemoftheformationofcapitalasfollows:Howcanweaccountfortheoriginofcapitalonthesuppositionthatpricesareregulatedbytheaverageprice，i。e。，ultimatelybythevalueofthecommodities？Isay"ultimately，"becauseaveragepricesdonotdirectlycoincidewiththevaluesofcommodities，asAdamSmith，Ricardo，andothersbelieve。
　　ChapterSixKarlMarxCapitalVolumeOnePartII:
　　TheTransformationofMoneyinCapitalCHAPTERSIX:
　　THEBUYINGANDSELLINGOFLABOUR—POWER
　　Thechangeofvaluethatoccursinthecaseofmoneyintendedtobeconvertedintocapital，cannottakeplaceinthemoneyitself，sinceinitsfunctionofmeansofpurchaseandofpayment，itdoesnomorethanrealisethepriceofthecommodityitbuysorpaysfor;and，ashardcash，itisvaluepetrified，nevervarying。[1]Justaslittlecanitoriginateinthesecondactofcirculation，there—saleofthecommodity，whichdoesnomorethantransformthearticlefromitsbodilyformbackagainintoitsmoney—form。Thechangemust，therefore，takeplaceinthecommodityboughtbythefirstact，M—C，butnotinitsvalue，forequivalentsareexchanged，andthecommodityispaidforatitsfullvalue。Weare，therefore，forcedtotheconclusionthatthechangeoriginatesintheuse—value，assuch，ofthecommodity，i。e。，initsconsumption。
　　Inordertobeabletoextractvaluefromtheconsumptionofacommodity，ourfriend，Moneybags，mustbesoluckyastofind，withinthesphereofcirculation，inthemarket，acommodity，whoseuse—valuepossessesthepeculiarpropertyofbeingasourceofvalue，whoseactualconsumption，therefore，isitselfanembodimentoflabour，and，consequently，acreationofvalue。Thepossessorofmoneydoesfindonthemarketsuchaspecialcommodityincapacityforlabourorlabour—power。
　　Bylabour—powerorcapacityforlabouristobeunderstoodtheaggregateofthosementalandphysicalcapabilitiesexistinginahumanbeing，whichheexerciseswheneverheproducesause—valueofanydescription。
　　Butinorderthatourownerofmoneymaybeabletofindlabour—powerofferedforsaleasacommodity，variousconditionsmustfirstbefulfilled。Theexchangeofcommoditiesofitselfimpliesnootherrelationsofdependencethanthosewhich，resultfromitsownnature。Onthisassumption，labour—powercanappearuponthemarketasacommodity，onlyif，andsofaras，itspossessor，theindividualwhoselabour—poweritis，offersitforsale，orsellsit，asacommodity。Inorderthathemaybeabletodothis，hemusthaveitathisdisposal，mustbetheuntrammelledownerofhiscapacityforlabour，i。e。，ofhisperson。[2]Heandtheownerofmoneymeetinthemarket，anddealwitheachotherasonthebasisofequalrights，withthisdifferencealone，thatoneisbuyer，theotherseller;both，therefore，equalintheeyesofthelaw。
　　Thecontinuanceofthisrelationdemandsthattheownerofthelabour—powershouldsellitonlyforadefiniteperiod，forifheweretosellitrumpandstump，onceforall，hewouldbesellinghimself，convertinghimselffromafreemanintoaslave，fromanownerofacommodityintoacommodity。
　　Hemustconstantlylookuponhislabour—powerashisownproperty，hisowncommodity，andthishecanonlydobyplacingitatthedisposalofthebuyertemporarily，foradefiniteperiodoftime。Bythismeansalonecanheavoidrenouncinghisrightsofownershipoverit。[3]
　　Thesecondessentialconditiontotheownerofmoneyfindinglabour—powerinthemarketasacommodityisthis？thatthelabourerinsteadofbeinginthepositiontosellcommoditiesinwhichhislabourisincorporated，mustbeobligedtoofferforsaleasacommoditythatverylabour—power，whichexistsonlyinhislivingself。
　　Inorderthatamanmaybeabletosellcommoditiesotherthanlabour—power，hemustofcoursehavethemeansofproduction，asrawmaterial，implements，&c。Nobootscanbemadewithoutleather。Herequiresalsothemeansofsubsistence。Nobody？noteven"amusicianofthefuture"？canliveuponfutureproducts，oruponuse—valuesinanunfinishedstate;
　　andeversincethefirstmomentofhisappearanceontheworld’sstage，manalwayshasbeen，andmuststillbeaconsumer，bothbeforeandwhileheisproducing。Inasocietywhereallproductsassumetheformofcommodities，thesecommoditiesmustbesoldaftertheyhavebeenproduced，itisonlyaftertheirsalethattheycanserveinsatisfyingtherequirementsoftheirproducer。Thetimenecessaryfortheirsaleissuperaddedtothatnecessaryfortheirproduction。
　　Fortheconversionofhismoneyintocapital，therefore，theownerofmoneymustmeetinthemarketwiththefreelabourer，freeinthedoublesense，thatasafreemanhecandisposeofhislabour—powerashisowncommodity，andthatontheotherhandhehasnoothercommodityforsale，isshortofeverythingnecessaryfortherealisationofhislabour—power。
　　Thequestionwhythisfreelabourerconfrontshiminthemarket，hasnointerestfortheownerofmoney，whoregardsthelabour—marketasabranchofthegeneralmarketforcommodities。Andforthepresentitinterestsusjustaslittle。Weclingtothefacttheoretically，ashedoespractically。
　　Onething，however，isclear？Naturedoesnotproduceontheonesideownersofmoneyorcommodities，andontheothermenpossessingnothingbuttheirownlabour—power。Thisrelationhasnonaturalbasis，neitherisitssocialbasisonethatiscommontoallhistoricalperiods。Itisclearlytheresultofapasthistoricaldevelopment，theproductofmanyeconomicrevolutions，oftheextinctionofawholeseriesofolderformsofsocialproduction。
　　So，too，theeconomiccategories，alreadydiscussedbyus，bearthestampofhistory。Definitehistoricalconditionsarenecessarythataproductmaybecomeacommodity。Itmustnotbeproducedastheimmediatemeansofsubsistenceoftheproducerhimself。Hadwegonefurther，andinquiredunderwhatcircumstancesall，oreventhemajorityofproductstaketheformofcommodities，weshouldhavefoundthatthiscanonlyhappenwithproductionofaveryspecifickind，capitalistproduction。Suchaninquiry，however，wouldhavebeenforeigntotheanalysisofcommodities。Productionandcirculationofcommoditiescantakeplace，althoughthegreatmassoftheobjectsproducedareintendedfortheimmediaterequirementsoftheirproducers，arenotturnedintocommodities，andconsequentlysocialproductionisnotyetbyalongwaydominatedinitslengthandbreadthbyexchange—value。Theappearanceofproductsascommoditiespre—supposessuchadevelopmentofthesocialdivisionoflabour，thattheseparationofuse—valuefromexchange—value，aseparationwhichfirstbeginswithbarter，mustalreadyhavebeencompleted。Butsuchadegreeofdevelopmentiscommontomanyformsofsociety，whichinotherrespectspresentthemostvaryinghistoricalfeatures。
　　Ontheotherhand，ifweconsidermoney，itsexistenceimpliesadefinitestageintheexchangeofcommodities。Theparticularfunctionsofmoneywhichitperforms，eitherasthemereequivalentofcommodities，orasmeansofcirculation，ormeansofpayment，ashoardorasuniversalmoney，point，accordingtotheextentandrelativepreponderanceoftheonefunctionortheother，toverydifferentstagesintheprocessofsocialproduction。
　　Yetweknowbyexperiencethatacirculationofcommoditiesrelativelyprimitive，sufficesfortheproductionofalltheseforms。Otherwisewithcapital。Thehistoricalconditionsofitsexistencearebynomeansgivenwiththemerecirculationofmoneyandcommodities。Itcanspringintolife，onlywhentheownerofthemeansofproductionandsubsistencemeetsinthemarketwiththefreelabourersellinghislabour—power。Andthisonehistoricalconditioncomprisesaworld’shistory。Capital，therefore，announcesfromitsfirstappearanceanewepochintheprocessofsocialproduction。[4]
　　Wemustnowexaminemorecloselythispeculiarcommodity，labour—power。
　　Likeallothersithasavalue。[5]Howisthatvaluedetermined？
　　Thevalueoflabour—powerisdetermined，asinthecaseofeveryothercommodity，bythelabour—timenecessaryfortheproduction，andconsequentlyalsothereproduction，ofthisspecialarticle。Sofarasithasvalue，itrepresentsnomorethanadefinitequantityoftheaveragelabourofsocietyincorporatedinit。Labour—powerexistsonlyasacapacity，orpowerofthelivingindividual。Itsproductionconsequentlypre—supposeshisexistence。Giventheindividual，theproductionoflabour—powerconsistsinhisreproductionofhimselforhismaintenance。Forhismaintenanceherequiresagivenquantityofthemeansofsubsistence。Thereforethelabour—timerequisitefortheproductionoflabour—powerreducesitselftothatnecessaryfortheproductionofthosemeansofsubsistence;inotherwords，thevalueoflabour—poweristhevalueofthemeansofsubsistencenecessaryforthemaintenanceofthelabourer。Labour—power，however，becomesarealityonlybyitsexercise;itsetsitselfinactiononlybyworking。Buttherebyadefinitequantityofhumanmuscle，nerve。
　　brain，&c。，iswasted，andtheserequiretoberestored。Thisincreasedexpendituredemandsalargerincome。[6]Iftheowneroflabour—powerworksto—day，to—morrowhemustagainbeabletorepeatthesameprocessinthesameconditionsasregardshealthandstrength。Hismeansofsubsistencemustthereforebesufficienttomaintainhiminhisnormalstateasalabouringindividual。Hisnaturalwants，suchasfood，clothing，fuel，andhousing，varyaccordingtotheclimaticandotherphysicalconditionsofhiscountry。Ontheotherhand，thenumberandextentofhisso—callednecessarywants，asalsothemodesofsatisfyingthem，arethemselvestheproductofhistoricaldevelopment，anddependthereforetoagreatextentonthedegreeofcivilisationofacountry，moreparticularlyontheconditionsunderwhich，andconsequentlyonthehabitsanddegreeofcomfortinwhich，theclassoffreelabourershasbeenformed。[7]Incontradistinctionthereforetothecaseofothercommodities，thereentersintothedeterminationofthevalueoflabour—powerahistoricalandmoralelement。Nevertheless，inagivencountry，atagivenperiod，theaveragequantityofthemeansofsubsistencenecessaryforthelabourerispracticallyknown。
　　Theowneroflabour—powerismortal。Ifthenhisappearanceinthemarketistobecontinuous，andthecontinuousconversionofmoneyintocapitalassumesthis，theselleroflabour—powermustperpetuatehimself，"inthewaythateverylivingindividualperpetuateshimself，byprocreation。"[8]Thelabour—powerwithdrawnfromthemarketbywearandtearanddeath，mustbecontinuallyreplacedby，attheveryleast，anequalamountoffreshlabour—power。Hencethesumofthemeansofsubsistencenecessaryfortheproductionoflabour—powermustincludethemeansnecessaryforthelabourer’ssubstitutes，i。e。，hischildren，inorderthatthisraceofpeculiarcommodity—ownersmayperpetuateitsappearanceinthemarket。[9]
　　Inordertomodifythehumanorganism，sothatitmayacquireskillandhandinessinagivenbranchofindustry，andbecomelabour—powerofaspecialkind，aspecialeducationortrainingisrequisite，andthis，onitspart，costsanequivalentincommoditiesofagreaterorlessamount。
　　Thisamountvariesaccordingtothemoreorlesscomplicatedcharacterofthelabour—power。Theexpensesofthiseducation（excessivelysmallinthecaseofordinarylabour—power），enterprotantointothetotalvaluespentinitsproduction。
　　Thevalueoflabour—powerresolvesitselfintothevalueofadefinitequantityofthemeansofsubsistence。Itthereforevarieswiththevalueofthesemeansorwiththequantityoflabourrequisitefortheirproduction。
　　Someofthemeansofsubsistence，suchasfoodandfuel，areconsumeddaily，andafreshsupplymustbeprovideddaily。Otherssuchasclothesandfurniturelastforlongerperiodsandrequiretobereplacedonlyatlongerintervals。Onearticlemustbeboughtorpaidfordaily，anotherweekly，anotherquarterly，andsoon。Butinwhateverwaythesumtotaloftheseoutlaysmaybespreadovertheyear，theymustbecoveredbytheaverageincome，takingonedaywithanother。Ifthetotalofthecommoditiesrequireddailyfortheproductionoflabour—power=A，andthoserequiredweekly=B，andthoserequiredquarterly=C，andsoon，thedailyaverageofthesecommodities=365A52B4C&c/365。Supposethatinthismassofcommoditiesrequisitefortheaveragedaythereareembodied6hoursofsociallabour，thenthereisincorporateddailyinlabour—powerhalfaday’saveragesociallabour，inotherwords，halfaday’slabourisrequisiteforthedailyproductionoflabour—power。Thisquantityoflabourformsthevalueofaday’slabour—powerorthevalueofthelabour—powerdailyreproduced。Ifhalfaday’saveragesociallabourisincorporatedinthreeshillings，thenthreeshillingsisthepricecorrespondingtothevalueofaday’slabour—power。Ifitsownerthereforeoffersitforsaleatthreeshillingsaday，itssellingpriceisequaltoitsvalue，andaccordingtooursupposition，ourfriendMoneybags，whoisintentuponconvertinghisthreeshillingsintocapital，paysthisvalue。
　　Theminimumlimitofthevalueoflabour—powerisdeterminedbythevalueofthecommodities，withoutthedailysupplyofwhichthelabourercannotrenewhisvitalenergy，consequentlybythevalueofthosemeansofsubsistencethatarephysicallyindispensable。Ifthepriceoflabour—powerfalltothisminimum，itfallsbelowitsvalue，sinceundersuchcircumstancesitcanbemaintainedanddevelopedonlyinacrippledstate。Butthevalueofeverycommodityisdeterminedbythelabour—timerequisitetoturnitoutsoastobeofnormalquality。
　　Itisaverycheapsortofsentimentalitywhichdeclaresthismethodofdeterminingthevalueoflabour—power，amethodprescribedbytheverynatureofthecase，tobeabrutalmethod，andwhichwailswithRossithat，"Tocomprehendcapacityforlabour（puissancedetravail）atthesametimethatwemakeabstractionfromthemeansofsubsistenceofthelabourersduringtheprocessofproduction，istocomprehendaphantom（êtrederaison）。Whenwespeakoflabour，orcapacityforlabour，wespeakatthesametimeofthelabourerandhismeansofsubsistence，oflabourerandwages。"[10]Whenwespeakofcapacityforlabour，wedonotspeakoflabour，anymorethanwhenwespeakofcapacityfordigestion，wespeakofdigestion。Thelatterprocessrequiressomethingmorethanagoodstomach。Whenwespeakofcapacityforlabour，wedonotabstractfromthenecessarymeansofsubsistence。Onthecontrary，theirvalueisexpressedinitsvalue。Ifhiscapacityforlabourremainsunsold，thelabourerderivesnobenefitfromit，butratherhewillfeelittobeacruelnature—imposednecessitythatthiscapacityhascostforitsproductionadefiniteamountofthemeansofsubsistenceandthatitwillcontinuetodosoforitsreproduction。
　　HewillthenagreewithSismondi:"thatcapacityforlabour……isnothingunlessitissold。"[11]
　　Oneconsequenceofthepeculiarnatureoflabour—powerasacommodityis，thatitsuse—valuedoesnot，ontheconclusionofthecontractbetweenthebuyerandseller，immediatelypassintothehandsoftheformer。Itsvalue，likethatofeveryothercommodity，isalreadyfixedbeforeitgoesintocirculation，sinceadefinitequantityofsociallabourhasbeenspentuponit;butitsuse—valueconsistsinthesubsequentexerciseofitsforce。
　　Thealienationoflabour—poweranditsactualappropriationbythebuyer，itsemploymentasause—value，areseparatedbyanintervaloftime。Butinthosecasesinwhichtheformalalienationbysaleoftheuse—valueofacommodity，isnotsimultaneouswithitsactualdeliverytothebuyer，themoneyofthelatterusuallyfunctionsasmeansofpayment。[12]Ineverycountryinwhichthecapitalistmodeofproductionreigns，itisthecustomnottopayforlabour—powerbeforeithasbeenexercisedfortheperiodfixedbythecontract，asforexample，theendofeachweek。
　　Inallcases，therefore，theuse—valueofthelabour—powerisadvancedtothecapitalist:thelabourerallowsthebuyertoconsumeitbeforehereceivespaymentoftheprice;heeverywheregivescredittothecapitalist。
　　Thatthiscreditisnomerefiction，isshownnotonlybytheoccasionallossofwagesonthebankruptcyofthecapitalist，[13]butalsobyaseriesofmoreenduringconsequences。[14]Nevertheless，whethermoneyservesasameansofpurchaseorasameansofpayment，thismakesnoalterationinthenatureoftheexchangeofcommodities。
　　Thepriceofthelabour—powerisfixedbythecontract，althoughitisnotrealisedtilllater，liketherentofahouse。Thelabour—powerissold，althoughitisonlypaidforatalaterperiod。Itwill，therefore，beuseful，foraclearcomprehensionoftherelationoftheparties，toassumeprovisionally，thatthepossessoroflabour—power，ontheoccasionofeachsale，immediatelyreceivesthepricestipulatedtobepaidforit。
　　Wenowknowhowthevaluepaidbythepurchasertothepossessorofthispeculiarcommodity，labour—power，isdetermined。
　　Theuse—valuewhichtheformergetsinexchange，manifestsitselfonlyintheactualusufruct，intheconsumptionofthelabour—power。Themoney—ownerbuyseverythingnecessaryforthispurpose，suchasrawmaterial，inthemarket，andpaysforitatitsfullvalue。Theconsumptionoflabour—powerisatoneandthesametimetheproductionofcommoditiesandofsurplus—value。
　　Theconsumptionoflabour—poweriscompleted，asinthecaseofeveryothercommodity，outsidethelimitsofthemarketorofthesphereofcirculation。
　　AccompaniedbyMr。Moneybagsandbythepossessoroflabour—power，wethereforetakeleaveforatimeofthisnoisysphere，whereeverythingtakesplaceonthesurfaceandinviewofallmen，andfollowthembothintothehiddenabodeofproduction，onwhosethresholdtherestaresusintheface"Noadmittanceexceptonbusiness。"Hereweshallsee，notonlyhowcapitalproduces，buthowcapitalisproduced。Weshallatlastforcethesecretofprofitmaking。
　　Thisspherethatwearedeserting，withinwhoseboundariesthesaleandpurchaseoflabour—powergoeson，isinfactaveryEdenoftheinnaterightsofman。TherealoneruleFreedom，Equality，PropertyandBentham。
　　Freedom，becausebothbuyerandsellerofacommodity，sayoflabour—power，areconstrainedonlybytheirownfreewill。Theycontractasfreeagents，andtheagreementtheycometo，isbuttheforminwhichtheygivelegalexpressiontotheircommonwill。Equality，becauseeachentersintorelationwiththeother，aswithasimpleownerofcommodities，andtheyexchangeequivalentforequivalent。Property，becauseeachdisposesonlyofwhatishisown。AndBentham，becauseeachlooksonlytohimself。Theonlyforcethatbringsthemtogetherandputstheminrelationwitheachother，istheselfishness，thegainandtheprivateinterestsofeach。Eachlookstohimselfonly，andnoonetroubleshimselfabouttherest，andjustbecausetheydoso，dotheyall，inaccordancewiththepre—establishedharmonyofthings，orundertheauspicesofanall—shrewdprovidence，worktogethertotheirmutualadvantage，forthecommonwealandintheinterestofall。
　　Onleavingthissphereofsimplecirculationorofexchangeofcommodities，whichfurnishesthe"Free—traderVulgaris"withhisviewsandideas，andwiththestandardbywhichhejudgesasocietybasedoncapitalandwages，wethinkwecanperceiveachangeinthephysiognomyofourdramatispersonae。
　　He，whobeforewasthemoney—owner，nowstridesinfrontascapitalist;
　　thepossessoroflabour—powerfollowsashislabourer。Theonewithanairofimportance，smirking，intentonbusiness;theother，timidandholdingback，likeonewhoisbringinghisownhidetomarketandhasnothingtoexpectbut？ahiding。
　　Footnotes[1]"Intheformofmoney……capitalisproductiveofnoprofit。"（Ricardo:
　　"’Princ。ofPol。Econ。，"p。267。）
　　[2]Inencyclopaediasofclassicalantiquitieswefindsuchnonsenseasthis？thatintheancientworldcapitalwasfullydeveloped，"exceptthatthefreelabourerandasystemofcreditwaswanting。"Mommsenalso，inhis"HistoryofRome，"commits，inthisrespect，oneblunderafteranother。
　　[3]Hencelegislationinvariouscountriesfixesamaximumforlabour—contracts。
　　Whereverfreelabouristherule，thelawsregulatethemodeofterminatingthiscontract。InsomeStates，particularlyinMexico（beforetheAmericanCivilWar，alsointheterritoriestakenfromMexico，andalso，asamatteroffact，intheDanubianprovincestilltherevolutioneffectedbyKusa），slaveryishiddenundertheformofpeonage。Bymeansofadvances，repayableinlabour，whicharehandeddownfromgenerationtogeneration，notonlytheindividuallabourer，buthisfamily，become，defacto，thepropertyofotherpersonsandtheirfamilies。Juarezabolishedpeonage。
　　Theso—calledEmperorMaximilianre—establisheditbyadecree，which，intheHouseofRepresentativesatWashington，wasaptlydenouncedasadecreeforthere—introductionofslaveryintoMexico。"Imaymakeovertoanothertheuse，foralimitedtime，ofmyparticularbodilyandmentalaptitudesandcapabilities;becauseinconsequenceofthisrestriction，theyareimpressedwithacharacterofalienationwithregardtomeasawhole。Butbythealienationofallmylabour—timeandthewholeofmywork，Ishouldbeconvertingthesubstanceitself，inotherwords，mygeneralactivityandreality，myperson，intothepropertyofanother。"（Hegel，"PhilosophiedesRechts。"Berlin，1840，p。104，§67。）
　　[4]Thecapitalistepochisthereforecharacterisedbythis，thatlabour—powertakesintheeyesofthelabourerhimselftheformofacommoditywhichishisproperty;hislabourconsequentlybecomeswage—labour。Ontheotherhand，itisonlyfromthismomentthattheproduceoflabouruniversallybecomesacommodity。
　　[5]"Thevalueorworthofaman，isasofallotherthingshisprice？thatistosay，somuchaswouldbegivenfortheuseofhispower。"（Th。Hobbes:
　　"Leviathan"inWorks，Ed。Molesworth。Lond。1839—44，v。iii。p。76。）
　　[6]HencetheRomanVillicus，asoverlookeroftheagriculturalslaves，received"moremeagrefarethanworkingslaves，becausehisworkwaslighter。"（Th。