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。