var。Whentheprocessofproductionisfinished,wegetacommoditywhosevalue=(cv)s,wheresisthesurplus—value;ortakingourformerfigures,thevalueofthiscommoditymaybe(£410const。
£90var。)£90surpl。TheoriginalcapitalhasnowchangedfromCtoC’,from£500to£590。Thedifferenceissorasurplusvalueof£90,Sincethevalueoftheconstituentelementsoftheproductisequaltothevalueoftheadvancedcapital,itismeretautologytosay,thattheexcessofthevalueoftheproductoverthevalueofitsconstituentelements,isequaltotheexpansionofthecapitaladvancedortothesurplus—valueproduced。
Nevertheless,wemustexaminethistautologyalittlemoreclosely。
Thetwothingscomparedare,thevalueoftheproductandthevalueofitsconstituentsconsumedintheprocessofproduction。Nowwehaveseenhowthatportionoftheconstantcapitalwhichconsistsoftheinstrumentsoflabour,transferstotheproductiononlyafractionofitsvalue,whiletheremainderofthatvaluecontinues。toresideinthoseinstruments。
Sincethisremainderplaysnopartintheformationofvalue,wemayatpresentleaveitononeside。Tointroduceitintothecalculationwouldmakenodifference。Forinstance,takingourformerexample,c=£410:
supposethissumtoconsistof£312valueofrawmaterial,£44
valueofauxiliarymaterial,and£54valueofthemachinerywornawayintheprocess;andsupposethatthetotalvalueofthemachineryemployedis£1,054。Outofthislattersum,then,wereckonasadvancedforthepurposeofturningouttheproduct,thesumof£54alone,whichthemachinerylosesbywearandtearintheprocess;forthisisallitpartswithtotheproduct。Nowifwealsoreckontheremaining£1,000,whichstillcontinuesinthemachinery,astransferredtotheproduct,weoughtalsotoreckonitaspartofthevalueadvanced,andthusmakeitappearonbothsidesofourcalculation。[1]Weshould,inthisway,get£1,500ononesideand£1,590ontheother。Thedifferenceofthesetwosums,orthesurplus—value,wouldstillbe£90。ThroughoutthisBooktherefore,byconstantcapitaladvancedfortheproductionofvalue,wealwaysmean,unlessthecontextisrepugnantthereto,thevalueofthemeansofproductionactuallyconsumedintheprocess,andthatvaluealone。
Thisbeingso,letusreturntotheformulaC=cv,whichwesawwastransformedintoC’=(cv)s,CbecomingC’。Weknowthatthevalueoftheconstantcapitalistransferredto,andmerelyre—appearsintheproduct。Thenewvalueactuallycreatedintheprocess,thevalueproduced,orvalue—product,isthereforenotthesameasthevalueoftheproduct;itisnot,asitwouldatfirstsightappear(cv)sor£410
const。£90var。£90surpl。;butvsor£90var。
£90surpl。,not£590but£180。Ifc=0,orinotherwords,iftherewerebranchesofindustryinwhichthecapitalistcoulddispensewithallmeansofproductionmadebypreviouslabour,whethertheyberawmaterial,auxiliarymaterial,orinstrumentsoflabour,employingonlylabour—powerandmaterialssuppliedbyNature,inthatcase,therewouldbenoconstantcapitaltotransfertotheproduct。Thiscomponentofthevalueoftheproduct,i。e。,the£410inourexample,wouldbeeliminated,butthesumof£180,theamountofnewvaluecreated,orthevalueproduced,whichcontains£90ofsurplus—value,wouldremainjustasgreatasifcrepresentedthehighestvalueimaginable。
WeshouldhaveC=(0v)=vorC’theexpandedcapital=vsandthereforeC’
—C=sasbefore。Ontheotherhand,ifs=0,orinotherwords,ifthelabour—power,whosevalueisadvancedintheformofvariablecapital,weretoproduceonlyitsequivalent,weshouldhaveC=cvorC’thevalueoftheproduct?(cv)0orC=C’。Thecapitaladvancedwould,inthiscase,nothaveexpandeditsvalue。
Fromwhathasgonebefore,weknowthatsurplus—valueispurelytheresultofavariationinthevalueofv,ofthatportionofthecapitalwhichistransformedintolabour—power;consequently,vs=vv,orvplusanincrementofv。Butthefactthatitisvalonethatvaries,andtheconditionsofthatvariation,areobscuredbythecircumstancethatinconsequenceoftheincreaseinthevariablecomponentofthecapital,thereisalsoanincreasein。thesumtotaloftheadvancedcapital。Itwasoriginally£500andbecomes£590。Thereforeinorderthatourinvestigationmayleadtoaccurateresults,wemustmakeabstractionfromthatportionofthevalueoftheproduct,inwhichconstantcapitalaloneappears,andconsequentlymustequatetheconstantcapitaltozeroormakec=0。Thisismerelyanapplicationofamathematicalrule,employedwheneverweoperatewithconstantandvariablemagnitudes,relatedtoeachotherbythesymbolsofadditionandsubtractiononly。
Afurtherdifficultyiscausedbytheoriginalformofthevariablecapital。Inourexample,C’=£410const。£90var。£90
surpl。;but£90isagivenandthereforeaconstantquantity;henceitappearsabsurdtotreatitasvariable。Butinfact,theterm£90
var。isheremerelyasymboltoshowthatthisvalueundergoesaprocess。
Theportionofthecapitalinvestedinthepurchaseoflabour—powerisadefinitequantityofmaterialisedlabour,aconstantvaluelikethevalueofthelabour—powerpurchased。Butintheprocessofproductiontheplaceofthe£90istakenbythelabour—powerinaction,deadlabourisreplacedbylivinglabour,somethingstagnantbysomethingflowing,aconstantbyavariable。Theresultisthereproductionofvplusanincrementofv。Fromthepointofviewthenofcapitalistproduction,thewholeprocessappearsasthespontaneousvariationoftheoriginallyconstantvalue,whichistransformedintolabour—power。Boththeprocessanditsresult,appeartobeowingtothisvalue。If,therefore,suchexpressionsas"£9O
variablecapital,"or"somuchself—expandingvalue",appearcontradictory,thisisonlybecausetheybringtothesurfaceacontradictionimmanentincapitalistproduction。
Atfirstsightitappearsastrangeproceeding,toequatetheconstantcapitaltozero。Yetitiswhatwedoeveryday。If,forexample,wewishtocalculatetheamountofEngland’sprofitsfromthecottonindustry,wefirstofalldeductthesumspaidforcottontotheUnitedStates,India,Egyptandothercountries;inotherwords,thevalueofthecapitalthatmerelyre—appearsinthevalueoftheproduct,isput=0。
Ofcoursetheratioofsurplus—valuenotonlytothatportionofthecapitalfromwhichitimmediatelysprings,andwhosechangeofvalueitrepresents,butalso—tothesumtotalofthecapitaladvancediseconomicallyofverygreatimportance。Weshall,therefore,inthethirdbook,treatofthisratioexhaustively。Inordertoenableoneportionofacapitaltoexpanditsvaluebybeingconvertedintolabour—power,itisnecessarythatanotherportionbeconvertedintomeansofproduction。
Inorderthatvariablecapitalmayperformitsfunction,constantcapitalmustbeadvancedinproperproportion,aproportiongivenbythespecialtechnicalconditionsofeachlabour—process。Thecircumstance,however,thatretortsandothervessels,arenecessarytoachemicalprocess,doesnotcompelthechemisttonoticethemintheresultofhisanalysis。Ifwelookatthemeansofproduction,intheirrelationtothecreationofvalue,andtothevariationinthequantityofvalue,apartfromanythingelse,theyappearsimplyasthematerialinwhichlabour—power,thevalue—creator,incorporatesitself。Neitherthenature,northevalueofthismaterialisofanyimportance。Theonlyrequisiteisthattherebeasufficientsupplytoabsorbthelabourexpendedintheprocessofproduction。Thatsupplyoncegiven,thematerialmayriseorfallinvalue,orevenbe,aslandandthesea,withoutanyvalueinitself;butthiswillhavenoinfluenceonthecreationofvalueoronthevariationinthequantityofvalue。[2]
Inthefirstplacethenweequatetheconstantcapitaltozero。Thecapitaladvancedisconsequentlyreducedfromcvtov,andinsteadofthevalueoftheproduct(cv)swehavenowthevalueproduced(vs)。Giventhenewvalueproduced=£180,whichsumconsequentlyrepresentsthewholelabourexpendedduringtheprocess,thensubtractingfromit£90thevalueofthevariablecapital,wehaveremaining£90,theamountofthesurplus—value。Thissumof£90orsexpressestheabsolutequantityofsurplus—valueproduced。Therelativequantityproduced,ortheincreasepercentofthevariablecapital,isdetermined,itisplain,bytheratioofthesurplus—valuetothevariablecapital,orisexpressedbys/v。Inourexamplethisratiois90/90,whichgivesanincreaseof100%。Thisrelativeincreaseinthevalueofthevariablecapital,ortherelativemagnitudeofthesurplus—value,Icall,"Therateofsurplus—value。"[3]
Wehaveseenthatthelabourer,duringoneportionofthelabour—process,producesonlythevalueofhislabour—power,thatis,thevalueofhismeansofsubsistence。Nowsincehisworkformspartofasystem,basedonthesocialdivisionoflabour,hedoesnotdirectlyproducetheactualnecessarieswhichhehimselfconsumes;heproducesinsteadaparticularcommodity,yarnforexample,whosevalueisequaltothevalueofthosenecessariesorofthemoneywithwhichtheycanbebought。Theportionofhisday’slabourdevotedtothispurpose,willbegreaterorless,inproportiontothevalueofthenecessariesthathedailyrequiresonanaverage,or,whatamountstothesamething,inproportiontothelabour—timerequiredonanaveragetoproducethem。Ifthevalueofthosenecessariesrepresentonanaveragetheexpenditureofsixhours’labour,theworkmanmustonanaverageworkforsixhourstoproducethatvalue。Ifinsteadofworkingforthecapitalist,heworkedindependentlyonhisownaccount,hewould,otherthingsbeingequal,stillbeobligedtolabourforthesamenumberofhours,inordertoproducethevalueofhislabour—power,andtherebytogainthemeansofsubsistencenecessaryforhisconservationorcontinuedreproduction。Butaswehaveseen,duringthatportionofhisday’slabourinwhichheproducesthevalueofhislabour—power,saythreeshillings,heproducesonlyanequivalentforthevalueofhislabour—poweralreadyadvanced[4]bythecapitalist;thenewvaluecreatedonlyreplacesthevariablecapitaladvanced。Itisowingtothisfact,thattheproductionofthenewvalueofthreeshillingstakesthesemblanceofamerereproduction。Thatportionoftheworking—day,then,duringwhichthisreproductiontakesplace,I
call"necessary"labour—time,andthelabourexpendedduringthattimeIcall"necessary"labour[5]Necessary,asregardsthelabourer,becauseindependentoftheparticular。2socialformofhislabour;necessary,asregardscapital,andtheworldofcapitalists,becauseonthecontinuedexistenceofthelabourerdependstheirexistencealso。
Duringthesecondperiodofthelabour—process,thatinwhichhislabourisnolongernecessarylabour,theworkman,itistrue,labours,expendslabour—power;buthislabour,beingnolongernecessarylabour,hecreatesnovalueforhimself。Hecreatessurplus—valuewhich,forthecapitalist,hasallthecharmsofacreationoutofnothing。Thisportionoftheworking—day,Inamesurpluslabour—time,andtothelabourexpendedduringthattime,Igivethenameofsurplus—labour。Itiseverybitasimportant,foracorrectunderstandingofsurplus—value,toconceiveitasamerecongelationofsurpluslabour—time,asnothingbutmaterialisedsurplus—labour,asitis,forapropercomprehensionofvalue,toconceiveitasamerecongelationofsomanyhoursoflabour,asnothingbutmaterialisedlabour。Theessentialdifferencebetweenthevariouseconomicformsofsociety,between,forinstance,asocietybasedonslave—labour,andonebasedonwage—labour,liesonlyinthemodeinwhichthissurplus—labourisineachcaseextractedfromtheactualproducer,thelabourer。[6]
Since,ontheonehand,thevaluesofthevariablecapitalandofthelabour—powerpurchasedbythatcapitalareequal,andthevalueofthislabour—powerdeterminesthenecessaryportionoftheworking—day;andsince,ontheotherhand,thesurplus—valueisdeterminedbythesurplusportionoftheworking—day,itfollowsthatsurplus—valuebearsthesameratiotovariablecapital,thatsurplus—labourdoestonecessarylabour,orinotherwords,therateofsurplus—valuessurplus—labour?;;棗棗棗棗
vnecessarylabourBothratios,s/vandsurplus—labour/necessary—labour,expressthesamethingindifferentways;intheonecasebyreferencetomaterialised,incorporatedlabour,intheotherbyreferencetoliving,fluentlabour。
Therateofsurplus—valueisthereforeanexactexpressionforthedegreeofexploitationoflabour—powerbycapital,orofthelabourerbythecapitalist。[7]
Weassumedinourexample,thatthevalueoftheproduct£410const。£90var。£90surpl。,andthatthecapitaladvanced=£500。Sincethesurplus—value=£90,andtheadvancedcapital=£500,weshould,accordingtotheusualwayofreckoning,getastherateofsurplus—value(generallyconfoundedwithrateofprofits)
18%,aratesolowaspossiblytocauseapleasantsurprisetoMr。Careyandotherharmonisers。Butintruth,therateofsurplus—valueisnotequaltos/Cors/Cv:thusitisnot90/500but90/500or100%,whichismorethanfivetimestheapparentdegreeofexploitation。Although,inthecasewehavesupposed,weareignorantoftheactuallengthoftheworking—day,andofthedurationindaysorweeksofthelabour—process,asalsoofthenumberoflabourersemployed,yettherateofsurplus—values/vaccuratelydisclosestous,bymeansofitsequivalentexpression,surplus—labour/necessarylabourtherelationbetweenthetwopartsoftheworking—day。Thisrelationishereoneofequality,theratebeing100%。Hence,itisplain,thelabourer,inourexample,worksonehalfofthedayforhimself,theotherhalfforthecapitalist。
Themethodofcalculatingtherateofsurplus—valueistherefore,shortly,asfollows。Wetakethetotalvalueoftheproductandputtheconstantcapitalwhichmerelyre—appearsinit,equaltozero。Whatremains,istheonlyvaluethathas,intheprocessofproducingthecommodity,beenactuallycreated。Iftheamountofsurplus—valuebegiven,wehaveonlytodeductitfromthisremainder,tofindthevariablecapital。Andviceversâ,ifthelatterbegiven,andwerequiretofindthesurplus—value。
Ifbothbegiven,wehaveonlytoperformtheconcludingoperation,viz。,tocalculates/v,theratioofthesurplus—valuetothevvariablecapital。
Thoughthemethodissosimple,yetitmaynotbeamiss,bymeansofafewexamples,toexercisethereaderintheapplicationofthenovelprinciplesunderlyingit。
Firstwewilltakethecaseofaspinningmillcontaining10,000mulespindles,spinningNo。32yarnfromAmericancotton,andproducing1lb。
ofyarnweeklyperspindle。Weassumethewastetobe6%:underthesecircumstances10,600lbs。ofcottonareconsumedweekly,ofwhich600lbs。gotowaste。
ThepriceofthecottoninApril,1871,was73/4d。perlb。;therawmaterialthereforecostsinroundnumbers£342。The10,000spindles,includingpreparation—machinery,andmotivepower,cost,wewillassume,£1perspindle,amountingtoatotalof£10,000。
Thewearandtearweputat10%,or£1,000yearly=£20weekly。
Therentofthebuildingwesupposetobe£300ayear,or£6
aweek。Coalconsumed(for100horse—powerindicated,at4lbs。ofcoalperhorse—powerperhourduring60hours,andinclusiveofthatconsumedinheatingthemill),11tonsaweekat8s。6d。aton,amountstoabout£41/2aweek:gas,£1aweek,oil,&c。,£41/2aweek。Totalcostoftheaboveauxiliarymaterials,£10
weekly。Thereforetheconstantportionofthevalueoftheweek’sproductis£378。Wagesamountto£52aweek。Thepriceoftheyarnis121/4d。per。lb。whichgivesforthevalueof10,000lbs。thesumof£510。Thesurplus—valueisthereforeinthiscase£510—£430
=£80。Weputtheconstantpartofthevalueoftheproduct=0,asitplaysnopartinthecreationofvalue。Thereremains£132
astheweeklyvaluecreated,which=£52var。£80surpl。
Therateofsurplus—valueistherefore80/52=15311/13%。Inaworking—dayof10hourswithaveragelabourtheresultis:necessarylabour=331/33
hours,andsurplus—labour=62/33。[8]
Onemoreexample。Jacobgivesthefollowingcalculationfortheyear1815。Owingtothepreviousadjustmentofseveralitemsitisveryimperfect;
neverthelessforourpurposeitissufficient。Initheassumesthepriceofwheattobe8s。aquarter,andtheaverageyieldperacretobe22bushels。
VALUEPRODUCEDPERACRE
Seed£19s。0d。Tithes,Rates,andtaxes,£11s。0d。
Manure£210s。0d。Rent£18s。0d。
Wages£310s。0d。Farmer’sProfitandInterest£12s。0d。
TOTAL£79s。0d。TOTAL£311s0d。
Assumingthatthepriceoftheproductisthesameasitsvalue,weherefindthesurplus—valuedistributedunderthevariousheadsofprofit,interest,rent,&c。Wehave。nothingtodowiththeseindetail;wesimplyaddthemtogether,andthesumisasurplus—valueof£311s。
0d。Thesumof£319s。0d。,paidforseedandmanure,isconstantcapital,andweputitequaltozero。Thereisleftthesumof£310s。0d。,whichisthevariablecapitaladvanced:andweseethatanewvalueof£310s。0d£311s。0d。hasbeenproducedinitsplace。Therefore’s/v=£311s。0d。/£310s。
0d。,givingarateofsurplus—valueofmorethan100%。Thelaboureremploysmorethanonehalfofhisworking—dayinproducingthesurplus—value,whichdifferentpersons,underdifferentpretexts,shareamongstthemselves。[9]
SECTION2。THEREPRESENTATIONOFTHECOMPONENTSOFTHEVALUEOFTHEPRODUCTBYCORRESPONDING
PROPORTIONALPARTSOFTHEPRODUCTITSELF
Letusnowreturntotheexamplebywhichwewereshownhowthecapitalistconvertsmoneyintocapital。
Theproductofaworking—dayof12hoursis20lbs。ofyarn,havingavalueof30s。Nolessthan8/10thsofthisvalue,or24s。,isduetomerere—appearanceinit,ofthevalueofthemeansofproduction(20lbs。
ofcotton,value20s。,andspindlewornaway,4s。):itisthereforeconstantcapital。Theremaining2/10thsor6s。isthenewvaluecreatedduringthespinningprocess:ofthisonehalfreplacesthevalueoftheday’slabour—power,orthevariablecapital,theremaininghalfconstitutesasurplus—valueof3s。Thetotalvaluethenofthe20lbs。ofyarnismadeupasfollows:
30s。valueofyarn=24s。const。3s。var。3s。surpl。
Sincethewholeofthisvalueiscontainedinthe20lbs。ofyarnproduced,itfollowsthatthevariouscomponentpartsofthisvalue,canberepresentedasbeingcontainedrespectivelyincorrespondingpartsoftheproduct。
Ifthevalueof30s。iscontainedin20lbs。ofyarn,then8/10thsofthisvalue,orthe24s。thatformitsconstantpart,iscontainedin8/10thsoftheproductorin16lbs。ofyarn。Ofthelatter131/3lbs。representthevalueoftherawmaterial,the20s。worthofcottonspun,and22/3
lbs。representthe4s。worthofspindle,&c。,wornawayintheprocess。
Hencethewholeofthecottonusedupinspinningthe20lbs。ofyarn,isrepresentedby131/3lbs。ofyarn。Thislatterweightofyarncontains,itistrue,byweight,nomorethan131/3lbs。ofcotton,worth131/3
shillings;butthe62/3shillingsadditionalvaluecontainedinit,aretheequivalentforthecottonconsumedinspinningtheremaining62/3
lbs。ofyarn。Theeffectisthesameasifthese62/3lbs。ofyarncontainednocottonatall,andthewhole20lbs。ofcottonwereconcentratedinthe131/3lbs。ofyarn。Thelatterweight,ontheotherhand,doesnotcontainanatomeitherofthevalueoftheauxiliarymaterialsandimplements,orofthevaluenewlycreatedintheprocess。
Inthesameway,the22/3lbs。ofyarn,inwhichthe4s。,theremainderoftheconstantcapital,isembodied,representsnothingbutthevalueoftheauxiliarymaterialsandinstrumentsoflabourconsumedinproducingthe20lbs。ofyarn。
Wehave,therefore,arrivedatthisresult:althougheight—tenthsoftheproduct,or16lbs。ofyarn,is,initscharacterofanarticleofutility,justasmuchthefabricofthespinner’slabour,astheremainderofthesameproduct,yetwhenviewedinthisconnexion,itdoesnotcontain,andhasnotabsorbedanylabourexpendedduringtheprocessofspinning。
Itisjustasifthecottonhadconverteditselfintoyarn,withouthelp;
asiftheshapeithadassumedwasmeretrickeryanddeceit:forsosoonasourcapitalistsellsitfor24s。,andwiththemoneyreplaceshismeansofproduction,itbecomesevidentthatthis16lbs。ofyarnisnothingmorethansomuchcottonandspindle—wasteindisguise。
Ontheotherhand,theremaining2/10thsoftheproduct,or4lbs。
ofyarn,representnothingbutthenewvalueof6s。,createdduringthe12hours’spinningprocess。Allthevaluetransferredtothose4lbs。,fromtherawmaterialandinstrumentsoflabourconsumed,was,sotosay,interceptedinordertobeincorporatedinthe16lbs。firstspun。Inthiscase,itisasifthespinnerhadspun4lbs。ofyarnoutofair,or,asifhehadspunthemwiththeaidofcottonandspindles,that,beingthespontaneousgiftofNature,transferrednovaluetotheproduct。
Ofthis4lbs。ofyarn,inwhichthewholeofthevaluenewlycreatedduringtheprocess,iscondensed,onehalfrepresentstheequivalentforthevalueofthelabourconsumed,orthe3s。variablecapital,theotherhalfrepresentsthe3s。surplus—value。
Since12working—hoursofthespinnerareembodiedin6s。,itfollowsthatinyarnofthevalueof30s。,theremustbeembodied60working—hours。
Andthisquantityoflabour—timedoesinfactexistinthe20lbs。ofyarn;
forin8/10thsor16lbs。therearematerialisedthe48hoursof10labourexpended,beforethecommencementofthespinningprocess,onthemeansofproduction;andintheremaining2thsor4lbs。there10arematerialisedthe12hours’workdoneduringtheprocessitself。
Onaformerpagewesawthatthevalueoftheyarnisequaltothesumofthenewvaluecreatedduringtheproductionofthatyarnplusthevaluepreviouslyexistinginthemeansofproduction。
Ithasnowbeenshownhowthevariouscomponentpartsofthevalueoftheproduct,partsthatdifferfunctionallyfromeachother,mayberepresentedbycorrespondingproportionalpartsoftheproductitself。
Tosplitupinthismannertheproductintodifferentparts,ofwhichonerepresentsonlythelabourpreviouslyspentonthemeansofproduction,ortheconstantcapital,another,onlythenecessarylabourspentduringtheprocessofproduction,orthevariablecapital,andanotherandlastpart,onlythesurplus—labourexpendedduringthesameprocess,orthesurplus—value;todothis,is,aswillbeseenlateronfromitsapplicationtocomplicatedandhithertounsolvedproblems,nolessimportantthanitissimple。
Intheprecedinginvestigationwehavetreatedthetotalproductasthefinalresult,readyforuse,ofaworking—dayof12hours。Wecanhoweverfollowthistotalproductthroughallthestagesofitsproduction;andinthiswayweshallarriveatthesameresultasbefore,ifwerepresentthepartialproducts,givenoffatthedifferentstages,asfunctionallydifferentpartsofthefinalortotalproduct。
Thespinnerproducesin12hours20lbs。ofyarn,orinIhour12/3
lbs;consequentlyheproducesin8hours132/3lbs。,orapartialproductequalinvaluetoallthecottonthatisspuninawholeday。Inlikemannerthepartialproductofthenextperiodof1hourand36minutes,is22/3
lbs。ofyarn:thisrepresentsthevalueoftheinstrumentsoflabourthatareconsumedin12hours。Inthefollowinghourand12minutes,thespinnerproduces2lbs。ofyarnworth3shillings,avalueequaltothewholevaluehecreatesinhis6hours’necessarylabour。Finally,inthelasthourand12minutesheproducesanother2lbs。ofyarn,whosevalueisequaltothesurplus—value,createdbyhissurplus—labourduringhalfaday。
ThismethodofcalculationservestheEnglishmanufacturerforevery—dayuse;itshows,hewillsay,thatinthefirst8hours,or2/3oftheworking—day,hegetsbackthevalueofhiscotton;andsoonfortheremaininghours。
Itisalsoaperfectlycorrectmethod:beinginfactthefirstmethodgivenabovewiththisdifference,thatinsteadofbeingappliedtospace,inwhichthedifferentpartsofthecompletedproductliesidebyside,itdealswithtime,inwhichthosepartsaresuccessivelyproduced。Butitcanalsobeaccompaniedbyverybarbariannotions,moreespeciallyintheheadsofthosewhoareasmuchinterested,practically,intheprocessofmakingvaluebegetvalue,astheyareinmisunderstandingthatprocesstheoretically。Suchpeoplemaygetthenotionintotheirheads,thatourspinner,forexample,producesorreplacesinthefirst8hoursofhisworking—daythevalueofthecotton;inthefollowinghourand36minutesthevalueoftheinstrumentsoflabourwornaway;
inthenexthourand12minutesthevalueofthewages;andthathedevotestotheproductionofsurplus—valueforthemanufacturer,onlythatwellknown"lasthour。"Inthiswaythepoorspinnerismadetoperformthetwo—foldmiraclenotonlyofproducingcotton,spindles,steam—engine,coal,oil,&c。,atthesametimethathespinswiththem,butalsoofturningoneworking—dayintofive;for,intheexampleweareconsidering,theproductionoftherawmaterialandinstrumentsoflabourdemandsfourworking—daysoftwelvehourseach,andtheirconversionintoyarnrequiresanothersuchday。Thattheloveoflucreinducesaneasybeliefinsuchmiracles,andthatsycophantdoctrinairesareneverwantingtoprovethem,isvouchedforbythefollowingincidentofhistoricalcelebrity。
SECTION3。SENIOR’S"LASTHOUR"
Onefinemorning,intheyear1836,NassauW。Senior,whomaybecalledthebel—espritofEnglisheconomists,wellknown,alikeforhiseconomic"science,"andforhisbeautifulstyle,wassummonedfromOxfordtoManchester,tolearninthelatterplace,thePoliticalEconomythathetaughtintheformer。Themanufacturerselectedhimastheirchampion,notonlyagainstthenewlypassedFactoryAct,butagainstthestillmoremenacingTen—hours’
agitation。Withtheirusualpracticalacuteness,theyhadfoundout—thatthelearnedProfessor"wantedagooddealoffinishing;"itwasthisdiscoverythatcausedthemtowriteforhim。OnhissidetheProfessorhasembodiedthelecturehereceivedfromtheManchestermanufacturers,inapamphlet,entitled:"LettersontheFactoryAct,asitaffectsthecottonmanufacture。"
London,1837。Herewefind,amongstothers,thefollowingedifyingpassage:
"Underthepresentlaw,nomillinwhichpersonsunder18yearsofageareemployed,……canbeworkedmorethan111/2hoursaday,thatis12
hoursfor5daysintheweek,andnineonSaturday。
"Nowthefollowinganalysis(!)willshowthatinamillsoworked,thewholenetprofitisderivedfromthelasthour。Iwillsupposeamanufacturertoinvest£100,000:?£80,000inhismillandmachinery,and£20,000inrawmaterialandwages。Theannualreturnofthatmill;supposingthecapitaltobeturnedonceayear,andgrossprofitstobe15percent。,oughttobegoodsworth£15,000……Ofthis£115,000,eachofthetwenty—threehalf—hoursofworkproduces5—115thsoronetwenty—third。Ofthese23—23rds(constitutingthewhole£115,000)twenty,thatistosay£100,000
outofthe£115,000,simplyreplacethecapital;?onetwenty—third(or£5,000outofthe£115,000)makesupforthedeteriorationofthemillandmachinery。Theremaining2—23rds,thatis,thelasttwoofthetwenty—threehalf—hoursofeveryday,producethenetprofitof10percent。If,therefore(pricesremainingthesame),thefactorycouldbekeptatworkthirteenhoursinsteadofelevenandahalf,withanadditionofabout£2,600tothecirculatingcapital,thenetprofitwouldbemorethandoubled。Ontheotherhand,ifthehoursofworkingwerereducedbyonehourperday(pricesremainingthesame),thenetprofitwouldbedestroyed?iftheywerereducedbyonehourandahalf,eventhegrossprofitwouldbedestroyed。"[10]
AndtheProfessorcallsthisan"analysis!"If,givingcredencetotheout—criesofthemanufacturers,hebelievedthattheworkmenspendthebestpartofthedayintheproduction,i。e。,thereproductionorreplacementofthevalueofthebuildings,machinery,cotton,coal,&c。,thenhisanalysiswassuperfluous。Hisanswerwouldsimplyhavebeen:?Gentlemen!
ifyouworkyourmillsfor10hoursinsteadof111/2;then,otherthingsbeingequal,thedailyconsumptionofcotton,machinery,&c。,willdecreaseinproportion。Yougainjustasmuchasyoulose。Yourwork—peoplewillinfuturespendonehourandahalflesstimeinreproducingorreplacingthecapitalthathasbeenadvanced。?If,ontheotherhand,hedidnotbelievethemwithoutfurtherinquiry,but,asbeinganexpertinsuchmatters,deemedananalysisnecessary,thenheought,inaquestionthatisconcernedexclusivelywiththerelationsofnetprofittothelengthoftheworking—day,beforeallthingstohaveaskedthemanufacturers,tobecarefulnottolumptogethermachinery,workshops,rawmaterial,andlabour,buttobegoodenoughtoplacetheconstantcapital,investedinbuildings,machinery,rawmaterial,&c。,ononesideoftheaccount,andthecapitaladvancedinwagesontheotherside。
第18章