Thelabourofthe12hours’working—dayisrepresentedbytheremaining93/5articles。Sincethepriceofthelabour—powerisfiveshillings，6articlesrepresentthenecessarylabour—time，and33/5
articlesthesurplus—labour。Theratioofthenecessarylabourtothesurplus—labour，whichunderaveragesocialconditionswas5:1，isnowonly5:3。Thesameresultmaybearrivedatinthefollowingway。Thevalueoftheproductoftheworking—dayof12hoursistwentyshillings。Ofthissum，twelveshillingsbelongtothevalueofthemeansofproduction，avaluethatmerelyre—appears。Thereremaineightshillings，whicharetheexpressioninmoney，ofthevaluenewlycreatedduringtheworking—day。Thissumisgreaterthanthesuminwhichaveragesociallabourofthesamekindisexpressed:twelvehoursofthelatterlabourareexpressedbysixshillingsonly。Theexceptionallyproductivelabouroperatesasintensifiedlabour;
itcreatesinequalperiodsoftimegreatervaluesthanaveragesociallabourofthesamekind。（SeeCh。I。Sect2。p。44。）Butourcapitaliststillcontinuestopayasbeforeonlyfiveshillingsasthevalueofaday’slabour—power。Hence，insteadof10hours，thelabourerneednowworkonly7½hours，inordertoreproducethisvalue。Hissurplus—labouris，therefore，increasedby2½hours，andthesurplus—valueheproducesgrowsfromone，intothreeshillings。Hence，thecapitalistwhoappliestheimprovedmethodofproduction，appropriatestosurplus—labouragreaterportionoftheworking—day，thantheothercapitalistsinthesametrade。Hedoesindividually，whatthewholebodyofcapitalistsengagedinproducingrelativesurplus—value，docollectively。
Ontheotherhand，however，thisextrasurplus—valuevanishes，sosoonasthenewmethodofproductionhasbecomegeneral，andhasconsequentlycausedthedifferencebetweentheindividualvalueofthecheapenedcommodityanditssocialvaluetovanish。Thelawofthedeterminationofvaluebylabour—time，alawwhichbringsunderitsswaytheindividualcapitalistwhoappliesthenewmethodofproduction，bycompellinghimtosellhisgoodsundertheirsocialvalue，thissamelaw，actingasacoercivelawofcompetition，forceshiscompetitorstoadoptthenewmethod。[5]Thegeneralrateofsurplus—valueis，therefore，ultimatelyaffectedbythewholeprocess，onlywhentheincreaseintheproductivenessoflabour，hasseizeduponthosebranchesofproductionthatareconnectedwith，andhascheapenedthosecommoditiesthatformpartof，thenecessarymeansofsubsistence，andarethereforeelementsofthevalueoflabour—power。
Thevalueofcommoditiesisininverseratiototheproductivenessoflabour。Andso，too，isthevalueoflabour—power，becauseitdependsonthevaluesofcommodities。Relativesurplus—valueis，onthecontrary，directlyproportionaltothatproductiveness。Itriseswithrisingandfallswithfallingproductiveness。Thevalueofmoneybeingassumedtobeconstant，anaveragesocialworking—dayof12hoursalwaysproducesthesamenewvalue，sixshillings，nomatterhowthissummaybeapportionedbetweensurplus—valueandwages。Butif，inconsequenceofincreasedproductiveness，thevalueofthenecessariesoflifefall，andthevalueofaday’slabour—powerbetherebyreducedfromfiveshillingstothree，thesurplus—valueincreasesfromoneshillingtothree。Tenhourswerenecessaryforthereproductionofthevalueofthelabour—power;nowonlysixarerequired。Fourhourshavebeensetfree，andcanbeannexedtothedomainofsurplus—labour。
Hencethereisimmanentincapitalaninclinationandconstanttendency，toheightentheproductivenessoflabour，inordertocheapencommodities，andbysuchcheapeningtocheapenthelabourerhimself。[6]
Thevalueofacommodityis，initself，ofnointeresttothecapitalist。Whataloneinterestshim，isthesurplus—valuethatdwellsinit，andisrealisablebysale。Realisationofthesurplus—valuenecessarilycarrieswithittherefundingofthevaluethatwasadvanced。Now，sincerelativesurplus—valueincreasesindirectproportiontothedevelopmentoftheproductivenessoflabour，while，ontheotherhand，thevalueofcommoditiesdiminishesinthesameproportion;sinceoneandthesameprocesscheapenscommodities，andaugmentsthesurplus—valuecontainedinthem;
wehaveherethesolutionoftheriddle:whydoesthecapitalist，whosesoleconcernistheproductionofexchange—value，continuallystrivetodepresstheexchange—valueofcommodities？AriddlewithwhichQuesnay，oneofthefoundersofPoliticalEconomy，tormentedhisopponents，andtowhichtheycouldgivehimnoanswer。\"Youacknowledge，\"
hesays，\"thatthemoreexpensesandthecostoflabourcan，inthemanufactureofindustrialproducts，bereducedwithoutinjurytoproduction，themoreadvantageousissuchreduction，becauseitdiminishesthepriceofthefinishedarticle。Andyet，youbelievethattheproductionofwealth，whicharisesfromthelabouroftheworkpeople，consistsintheaugmentationoftheexchange—valueoftheirproducts。\"[7]
Theshorteningoftheworking—dayis，therefore，bynomeanswhatisaimedat，incapitalistproduction，whenlabouriseconomisedbyincreasingitsproductiveness。[8]Itisonlytheshorteningofthelabour—time，necessaryfortheproductionofadefinitequantityofcommodities，thatisaimedat。Thefactthattheworkman，whentheproductivenessofhislabourhasbeenincreased，produces，say10timesasmanycommoditiesasbefore，andthusspendsone—tenthasmuchlabour—timeoneach，bynomeanspreventshimfromcontinuingtowork12hoursasbefore，norfromproducinginthose12hours1，200articlesinsteadof120。Nay，more，hisworking—daymaybeprolongedatthesametime，soastomakehimproduce，say1，400articlesin14hours。Inthetreatises，therefore，ofeconomistsofthestampofMacCulloch，Ure，Senior，andtuttiquanti，wemayreadupononepage，thatthelabourerowesadebtofgratitudetocapitalfordevelopinghisproductiveness，becausethenecessarylabour—timeistherebyshortened，andonthenextpage，thathemustprovehisgratitudebyworkinginfuturefor15hoursinsteadof10。Theobjectofalldevelopmentoftheproductivenessoflabour，withinthelimitsofcapitalistproduction，istoshortenthatpartoftheworking—day，duringwhichtheworkmanmustlabourforhisownbenefit，andbythatveryshortening，tolengthentheotherpartoftheday，duringwhichheisatlibertytoworkgratisforthecapitalist。Howfarthisresultisalsoattainable，withoutcheapeningcommodities，willappearfromanexaminationoftheparticularmodesofproducingrelativesurplus—value，towhichexaminationwenowproceed。
Footnotes[1]Thevalueofhisaveragedailywagesisdeterminedbywhatthelabourerrequires\"soastolive，labour，andgenerate。\"（Wm。Petty:\"PoliticalAnatomyofIreland，\"1672，p。64。）\"ThepriceofLabourisalwaysconstitutedofthepriceofnecessaries……whenever……thelabouringman’swageswillnot，suitablytohislowrankandstation，asalabouringman，supportsuchafamilyasisoftenthelotofmanyofthemtohave，\"hedoesnotreceiveproperwages。（J。Vanderlint，l。c。，p。15。）\"Lesimpleouvrier，quin’aquesesbrasetsonindustries，n’arienqu’autantqu’ilparvientàvendreàd’autressapeine……Entoutgenredetravailildoitarriver，etilarriveeneffet，quelesalairedel’ouvrierseborneàcequiluiestnécessairepourluiprocurersasubsistance。\"
（Turgot，\"Réflexions，&c。，\"Oeuvres，éd。Dairet。I，p。10。）\"Thepriceofthenecessariesoflifeis，infact，thecostofproducinglabour。\"（Malthus，\"Inquiryinto，&c。，Rent，\"London，1815，p。48，note。）
[2]\"Quandosiperfezionanolearti，chenonèaltrochelascopertadinuovevie，ondesipossacompiereunamanufatturaconmenogenteo（cheèlostesso）inminortempodiprima。\"（Galiani，l。c。，p。159。）
\"L’économiesurlesfraisdeproductionnepeudoncêtreautrechosequel’économiesurlaquantitédetravailemployé
pourproduire。\"（Sismondi，\"Etudes，\"t。I。p。22。）
[3]\"Letussuppose……theproducts……ofthemanufactureraredoubledbyimprovementinmachinery……hewillbeabletoclothehisworkmenbymeansofasmallerproportionoftheentirereturn……andthushisprofitwillberaised。Butinnootherwaywillitbeinfluenced。\"（Ramsay，l。c。，pp。168，169。）
[4]\"Aman’sprofitdoesnotdependuponhiscommandoftheproduceofothermen’slabour，butuponhiscommandoflabouritself。Ifhecansellhisgoodsatahigherprice，whilehisworkmen’swagesremainunaltered，heisclearlybenefited……Asmallerproportionofwhatheproducesissufficienttoputthatlabourintomotion，andalargerproportionconsequentlyremainsforhimself。\"（\"OutlinesofPol。Econ。\"London，1832，pp。49，50。）
[5]\"Ifmyneighbourbydoingmuchwithlittlelabour，cansellcheap，Imustcontrivetosellascheapashe。Sothateveryart，trade，orengine，doingworkwithlabouroffewerhands，andconsequentlycheaper，begetsinothersakindofnecessityandemulation，eitherofusingthesameart，trade，orengine，orofinventingsomethinglikeit，thateverymanmaybeuponthesquare，thatnomanmaybeabletoundersellhisneighbour。\"（\"TheAdvantagesoftheEastIndiaTradetoEngland\"，London，1720，p。67。）
[6]\"Inwhateverproportiontheexpensesofalabourerarediminished，inthesameproportionwillhiswagesbediminished，iftherestraintsuponindustryareatthesametimetakenoff。\"（\"ConsiderationsConcerningTakingofftheBountyonCornExported，\"&c。，London，1753，p。7。）\"Theinterestoftraderequires，thatcornandallprovisionsshouldbeascheapaspossible;
forwhatevermakesthemdear，mustmakelabourdearalso……inallcountries，whereindustryisnotrestrained，thepriceofprovisionsmustaffectthepriceoflabour。Thiswillalwaysbediminishedwhenthenecessariesoflifegrowcheaper。\"（I。c。，p。3。）\"Wagesaredecreasedinthesameproportionasthepowersofproductionincrease。Machinery，itistrue，cheapensthenecessariesoflife，butitalsocheapensthelabourer。\"（\"APrizeEssayontheComparativeMeritsofCompetitionandCo—operation。\"London，1834，p。27。）
[7]\"Ilsconviennentqueplusonpeut，sanspréjudice，épargnerdefraisoudetravauxdispendieuxdanslafabricationdesouvragesdesartisans，pluscetteépargneestprofitableparladiminutiondesprixdecesouvrages。Cependantilscroientquelaproductionderichessequirésultedestravauxdesartisansconsistedansl’augmentationdelavaleurvénaledeleursouvrages。\"（Quesnay:\"DialoguessurleCommerceetlesTravauxdesArtisans。\"pp。188，189。）
[8]\"Cesspéculateurssiéconomesdutravaildesouvriersqu’ilfaudraitqu’ilspayassent。\"（J。N。Bidaut:\"DuMonopolequis’établitdanslesartsindustrielsetlecommerce。\"Paris，1828，p。13。）\"Theemployerwillbealwaysonthestretchtoeconomisetimeandlabour。\"（DugaldStewart:
Worksed。bySirW。Hamilton，Edinburgh，v。，viii。，1855。\"LecturesonPolit。Econ。，\"p。318。）\"Their（thecapitalists’）interestisthattheproductivepowersofthelabourerstheyemployshouldbethegreatestpossible。
Onpromotingthatpowertheirattentionisfixedandalmostexclusivelyfixed。\"（R。Jones:l。c。，LectureIII。）
ChapterThirteenKarlMarxCapitalVolumeOnePartIV:
ProductionofRelativeSurplusValueCHAPTERTHIRTEEN:
CO—OPERATION
Capitalistproductiononlythenreallybegins，aswehavealreadyseen，wheneachindividualcapitalemployssimultaneouslyacomparativelylargenumberoflabourers;whenconsequentlythelabour—processiscarriedononanextensivescaleandyields，relatively，largequantitiesofproducts。
Agreaternumberoflabourersworkingtogether，atthesametime，inoneplace（or，ifyouwill，inthesamefieldoflabour），inordertoproducethesamesortofcommodityunderthemastershipofonecapitalist，constitutes，bothhistoricallyandlogically，thestarting—pointofcapitalistproduction。
Withregardtothemodeofproductionitself，manufacture，initsstrictmeaning，ishardlytobedistinguished，initsearlieststages，fromthehandicrafttradesoftheguilds，otherwisethanbythegreaternumberofworkmensimultaneouslyemployedbyoneandthesameindividualcapital。
Theworkshopofthemedievalmasterhandicraftsmanissimplyenlarged。
Atfirst，therefore，thedifferenceispurelyquantitative。Wehaveshownthatthesurplus—valueproducedbyagivencapitalisequaltothesurplus—valueproducedbyeachworkmanmultipliedbythenumberofworkmensimultaneouslyemployed。Thenumberofworkmeninitselfdoesnoraffect，eithertherateofsurplus—value，orthedegreeofexploitationoflabour—power。
Ifaworking—dayof12hoursbeembodiedinsixshillings，1，200suchdayswillbeembodiedin1，200times6shillings。Inonecase12x1，200working—hours，andintheother12suchhoursareincorporatedintheproduct。Intheproductionofvalueanumberofworkmenrankmerelyassomanyindividualworkmen;anditthereforemakesnodifferenceinthevalueproducedwhetherthe1，200menworkseparately，orunitedunderthecontrolofonecapitalist。
Nevertheless，withincertainlimits，amodificationtakesplace。Thelabourrealisedinvalue，islabourofanaveragesocialquality;isconsequentlytheexpenditureofaveragelabour—power。Anyaveragemagnitude，however，ismerelytheaverageofanumberofseparatemagnitudesallofonekind，butdifferingastoquantity。Ineveryindustry，eachindividuallabourer，behePeterorPaul，differsfromtheaveragelabourer。
Theseindividualdifferences，or\"errors\"astheyarecalledinmathematics，compensateoneanother，andvanish，wheneveracertainminimumnumberofworkmenareemployedtogether。Thecelebratedsophistandsycophant，EdmundBurke，goessofarastomakethefollowingassertion，basedonhispracticalobservationsasafarmer;viz。，that\"insosmallaplatoon\"asthatoffivefarmlabourers，allindividualdifferencesinthelabourvanish，andthatconsequentlyanygivenfiveadultfarmlabourerstakentogether，willinthesametimedoasmuchworkasanyotherfive。[1]But，howeverthatmaybe，itisclear，thatthecollectiveworking—dayofalargenumberofworkmensimultaneouslyemployed，dividedbythenumberoftheseworkmen，givesonedayofaveragesociallabour。Forexample，lettheworking—dayofeachindividualbe12hours。Thenthecollectiveworking—dayof12mensimultaneouslyemployed，consistsof144hours;andalthoughthelabourofeachofthedozenmenmaydeviatemoreorlessfromaveragesociallabour，eachofthemrequiringadifferenttimeforthesameoperation，yetsincetheworking—dayofeachisone—twelfthofthecollectiveworking—dayof144hours，itpossessesthequalitiesofanaveragesocialworking—day。Fromthepointofview，however，ofthecapitalistwhoemploysthese12men，theworking—dayisthatofthewholedozen。Eachindividualman’sdayisanaliquotpartofthecollectiveworking—day，nomatterwhetherthe12menassistoneanotherintheirwork，orwhethertheconnexionbetweentheiroperationsconsistsmerelyinthefact，thatthemenareallworkingforthesamecapitalist。Butifthe12menareemployedinsixpairs，byasmanydifferentsmallmasters，itwillbequiteamatterofchance，whethereachofthesemastersproducesthesamevalue，andconsequentlywhetherherealisesthegeneralrateofsurplus—value。
Deviationswouldoccurinindividualcases。Ifoneworkmanrequiredconsiderablymoretimefortheproductionofacommoditythanissociallynecessary，thedurationofthenecessarylabour—timewould，inhiscase，sensiblydeviatefromthelabour—timesociallynecessaryonanaverage;andconsequentlyhislabourwouldnotcountasaveragelabour，norhislabour—powerasaveragelabour—power。Itwouldeitherbenotsaleableatall，oronlyatsomethingbelowtheaveragevalueoflabour—power。Afixedminimumofefficiencyinalllabouristhereforeassumed，andweshallsee，lateron，thatcapitalistproductionprovidesthemeansoffixingthisminimum。Nevertheless，thisminimumdeviatesfromtheaverage，althoughontheotherhandthecapitalisthastopaytheaveragevalueoflabour—power。Ofthesixsmallmasters，onewouldthereforesqueezeoutmorethantheaveragerateofsurplus—value，anotherless。Theinequalitieswouldbecompensatedforthesocietyatlarge，butnotfortheindividualmasters。Thusthelawsoftheproductionofvalueareonlyfullyrealisedfortheindividualproducer，whenheproducesasacapitalist，andemploysanumberofworkmentogether，whoselabour，byitscollectivenature，isatoncestampedasaveragesociallabour。[2]
Evenwithoutanalterationinthesystemofworking，thesimultaneousemploymentofalargenumberoflabourerseffectsarevolutioninthematerialconditionsofthelabour—process。Thebuildingsinwhichtheywork，thestore—housesfortherawmaterial，theimplementsandutensilsusedsimultaneouslyorinturnsbytheworkmen;inshort，aportionofthemeansofproduction，arenowconsumedincommon。Ontheonehand，theexchange—valueofthesemeansofproductionisnotincreased;fortheexchange—valueofacommodityisnotraisedbyitsuse—valuebeingconsumedmorethoroughlyandtogreateradvantage。Ontheotherhand，theyareusedincommon，andthereforeonalargerscalethanbefore。Aroomwheretwentyweaversworkattwentyloomsmustbelargerthantheroomofasingleweaverwithtwoassistants。
Butitcostslesslabourtobuildoneworkshopfortwentypersonsthantobuildtentoaccommodatetwoweaverseach;thusthevalueofthemeansofproductionthatareconcentratedforuseincommononalargescaledoesnotincreaseindirectproportiontotheexpansionandtotheincreasedusefuleffectofthosemeans。Whenconsumedincommon，theygiveupasmallerpartoftheirvaluetoeachsingleproduct;partlybecausethetotalvaluetheypartwithisspreadoveragreaterquantityofproducts，andpartlybecausetheirvalue，thoughabsolutelygreater，is，havingregardtotheirsphereofactionintheprocess，relativelylessthanthevalueofisolatedmeansofproduction。Owingtothis，thevalueofapartoftheconstantcapitalfalls，andinproportiontothemagnitudeofthefall，thetotalvalueofthecommodityalsofalls。Theeffectisthesameasifthemeansofproductionhadcostless。Theeconomyintheirapplicationisentirelyowingtotheirbeingconsumedincommonbyalargenumberofworkmen。Moreover，thischaracterofbeingnecessaryconditionsofsociallabour，acharacterthatdistinguishesthemfromthedispersedandrelativelymorecostlymeansofproductionofisolated，independentlabourers，orsmallmasters，isacquiredevenwhenthenumerousworkmenassembledtogetherdonotassistoneanother，butmerelyworksidebyside。Aportionoftheinstrumentsoflabouracquiresthissocialcharacterbeforethelabour—processitselfdoesso。
Economyintheuseofthemeansofproductionhastobeconsideredundertwoaspects。First，ascheapeningcommodities，andtherebybringingaboutafallinthevalueoflabour—power。Secondly，asalteringtheratioofthesurplus—valuetothetotalcapitaladvanced，i。e。，tothesumofthevaluesoftheconstantandvariablecapital。Thelatteraspectwillnotbeconsidereduntilwecometothethirdbook，towhich，withtheobjectoftreatingthemintheirproperconnexion，wealsorelegatemanyotherpointsthatrelatetothepresentquestion。Themarchofouranalysiscompelsthissplittingupofthesubject—matter，asplittingupthatisquiteinkeepingwiththespiritofcapitalistproduction。Forsince，inthismodeofproduction，theworkmanfindstheinstrumentsoflabourexistingindependentlyofhimasanotherman’sproperty，economyintheiruseappears，withregardtohim，tobeadistinctoperation，onethatdoesnotconcernhim，andwhich，therefore，hasnoconnexionwiththemethodsbywhichhisownpersonalproductivenessisincreased。
Whennumerouslabourersworktogethersidebyside，whetherinoneandthesameprocess，orindifferentbutconnectedprocesses，theyaresaidtoco—operate，ortoworkinco—operation。[3]
Justastheoffensivepowerofasquadronofcavalry，orthedefensivepowerofaregimentofinfantryisessentiallydifferentfromthesumoftheoffensiveordefensivepowersoftheindividualcavalryorinfantrysoldierstakenseparately，sothesumtotalofthemechanicalforcesexertedbyisolatedworkmendiffersfromthesocialforcethatisdeveloped，whenmanyhandstakepartsimultaneouslyinoneandthesameundividedoperation，suchasraisingaheavyweight，turningawinch，orremovinganobstacle。[4]Insuchcasestheeffectofthecombinedlabourcouldeithernotbeproducedatallbyisolatedindividuallabour，oritcouldonlybeproducedbyagreatexpenditureoftime，oronaverydwarfedscale。
Notonlyhavewehereanincreaseintheproductivepoweroftheindividual，bymeansofco—operation，butthecreationofanewpower，namely，thecollectivepowerofmasses。[5]
Apartfromthenewpowerthatarisesfromthefusionofmanyforcesintoonesingleforce，meresocialcontactbegetsinmostindustriesanemulationandastimulationoftheanimalspiritsthatheightentheefficiencyofeachindividualworkman。Henceitisthatadozenpersonsworkingtogetherwill，intheircollectiveworking—dayof144hours，producefarmorethantwelveisolatedmeneachworking12hours，orthanonemanwhoworkstwelvedaysinsuccession。[6]Thereasonofthisisthatmanis，ifnotasAristotlecontends，apolitical，[7]atalleventsasocialanimal。
Althoughanumberofmenmaybeoccupiedtogetheratthesametimeonthesame，orthesamekindofwork，yetthelabourofeach，asapartofthecollectivelabour，maycorrespondtoadistinctphaseofthelabour—process，throughallwhosephases，inconsequenceofco—operation，thesubjectoftheirlabourpasseswithgreaterspeed。Forinstance，ifadozenmasonsplacethemselvesinarow，soastopassstonesfromthefootofaladdertoitssummit，eachofthemdoesthesamething;nevertheless，theirseparateactsformconnectedpartsofonetotaloperation;theyareparticularphases，whichmustbegonethroughbyeachstone;andthestonesarethuscarriedupquickerbythe24handsoftherowofmenthantheycouldbeifeachmanwentseparatelyupanddowntheladderwithhisburden。[8]Theobjectiscarriedoverthesamedistanceinashortertime。Again，acombinationoflabouroccurswheneverabuilding，forinstance，istakeninhandondifferentsidessimultaneously;althoughherealsotheco—operatingmasonsaredoingthesame，orthesamekindofwork。The12masons，intheircollectiveworking—dayof144hours，makemuchmoreprogresswiththebuildingthanonemasoncouldmakeworkingfor12days，or144hours。Thereasonis，thatabodyofmenworkinginconcerthashandsandeyesbothbeforeandbehind，andis，toacertaindegree，omnipresent。
Thevariouspartsoftheworkprogresssimultaneously。
Intheaboveinstanceswehavelaidstressuponthepointthatthemendothesame，orthesamekindofwork，becausethis，themostsimpleformoflabourincommon，playsagreatpartinco—operation，eveninitsmostfullydevelopedstage。Iftheworkbecomplicated，thenthemerenumberofthemenwhoco—operateallowsofthevariousoperationsbeingapportionedtodifferenthands，and，consequently，ofbeingcarriedonsimultaneously。
Thetimenecessaryforthecompletionofthewholeworkistherebyshortened。[9]
Inmanyindustries，therearecriticalperiods，determinedbythenatureoftheprocess，duringwhichcertaindefiniteresultsmustbeobtained。
Forinstance，ifaflockofsheephastobeshorn，orafieldofwheattobecutandharvested，thequantityandqualityoftheproductdependsontheworkbeingbegunandendedwithinacertaintime。Inthesecases，thetimethatoughttobetakenbytheprocessisprescribed，justasitisinherringfishing。Asinglepersoncannotcarveaworking—dayofmorethan，say12hours，outofthenaturalday，but100menco—operatingextendtheworking—dayto1，200hours。Theshortnessofthetimeallowedfortheworkiscompensatedforbythelargemassoflabourthrownuponthefieldofproductionatthedecisivemoment。Thecompletionofthetaskwithinthepropertimedependsonthesimultaneousapplicationofnumerouscombinedworking—days;theamountofusefuleffectdependsonthenumberoflabourers;
thisnumber，however，isalwayssmallerthanthenumberofisolatedlabourersrequiredtodothesameamountofworkinthesameperiod。[10]Itisowingtotheabsenceofthiskindofco—operationthat，inthewesternpartoftheUnitedStates，quantitiesofcorn，andinthosepartsofEastIndiawhereEnglishrulehasdestroyedtheoldcommunities，quantitiesofcotton，areyearlywasted。[11]
Ontheonehand，co—operationallowsoftheworkbeingcarriedonoveranextendedspace;itisconsequentlyimperativelycalledforincertainundertakings，suchasdraining，constructingdykes，irrigationworks，andthemakingofcanals，roadsandrailways。Ontheotherhand，whileextendingthescaleofproduction，itrenderspossiblearelativecontractionofthearena。Thiscontractionofarenasimultaneouswith，andarisingfrom，extensionofscale，wherebyanumberofuselessexpensesarecutdown，isowingtotheconglomerationoflabourers，totheaggregationofvariousprocesses，andtotheconcentrationofthemeansofproduction。[12]
Thecombinedworking—dayproduces，relativelytoanequalsumofisolatedworking—days，agreaterquantityofuse—values，and，consequently，diminishesthelabour—timenecessaryfortheproductionofagivenusefuleffect。
Whetherthecombinedworking—day，inagivencase，acquiresthisincreasedproductivepower，becauseitheightensthemechanicalforceoflabour，orextendsitssphereofactionoveragreaterspace，orcontractsthefieldofproductionrelativelytothescaleofproduction，oratthecriticalmomentsetslargemassesoflabourtowork，orexcitesemulationbetweenindividualsandraisestheiranimalspirits，orimpressesonthesimilaroperationscarriedonbyanumberofmenthestampofcontinuityandmany—sidedness，orperformssimultaneouslydifferentoperations，oreconomisesthemeansofproductionbyuseincommon，orlendstoindividuallabourthecharacterofaveragesociallabourwhicheverofthesebethecauseoftheincrease，thespecialproductivepowerofthecombinedworking—dayis，underallcircumstances，thesocialproductivepoweroflabour，ortheproductivepowerofsociallabour。Thispowerisduetoco—operationitself。Whenthelabourerco—operatessystematicallywithothers，hestripsoffthefettersofhisindividuality，anddevelopsthecapabilitiesofhisspecies。[13]
Asageneralrule，labourerscannotco—operatewithoutbeingbroughttogether:theirassemblageinoneplaceisanecessaryconditionoftheirco—operation。Hencewage—labourerscannotco—operate，unlesstheyareemployedsimultaneouslybythesamecapital，thesamecapitalist，andunlessthereforetheirlabour—powersareboughtsimultaneouslybyhim。Thetotalvalueoftheselabour—powers，ortheamountofthewagesoftheselabourersforaday，oraweek，asthecasemaybe，mustbereadyinthepocketofthecapitalist，beforetheworkmenareassembledfortheprocessofproduction。
Thepaymentof300workmenatonce，thoughonlyforoneday，requiresagreateroutlayofcapital，thandoesthepaymentofasmallernumberofmen，weekbyweek，duringawholeyear。Hencethenumberofthelabourersthatco—operate，orthescaleofco—operation，depends，inthefirstinstance，ontheamountofcapitalthattheindividualcapitalistcanspareforthepurchaseoflabour—power;inotherwords，ontheextenttowhichasinglecapitalisthascommandoverthemeansofsubsistenceofanumberoflabourers。
Andaswiththevariable，soitiswiththeconstantcapital。Forexample，theoutlayonrawmaterialis30timesasgreat，forthecapitalistwhoemploys300men，asitisforeachofthe30capitalistswhoemploy10
men。Thevalueandquantityoftheinstrumentsoflabourusedincommondonot，itistrue，increaseatthesamerateasthenumberofworkmen，buttheydoincreaseveryconsiderably。Hence，concentrationoflargemassesofthemeansofproductioninthehandsofindividualcapitalists，isamaterialconditionfortheco—operationofwage—labourers，andtheextentoftheco—operationorthescaleofproduction，dependsontheextentofthisconcentration。
Wesawinaformerchapter，thatacertainminimumamountofcapitalwasnecessary，inorderthatthenumberoflabourerssimultaneouslyemployed，and，consequently，theamountofsurplus—valueproduced，mightsufficetoliberatetheemployerhimselffrommanuallabour，toconverthimfromasmallmasterintoacapitalist，andthusformallytoestablishcapitalistproduction。Wenowseethatacertainminimumamountisanecessaryconditionfortheconversionofnumerousisolatedandindependentprocessesintoonecombinedsocialprocess。
Wealsosawthatatfirst，thesubjectionoflabourtocapitalwasonlyaformalresultofthefact，thatthelabourer，insteadofworkingforhimself，worksforandconsequentlyunderthecapitalist。Bytheco—operationofnumerouswage—labourers，theswayofcapitaldevelopsintoarequisiteforcarryingonthelabour—processitself，intoarealrequisiteofproduction。
Thatacapitalistshouldcommandonthefieldofproduction，isnowasindispensableasthatageneralshouldcommandonthefieldofbattle。
Allcombinedlabouronalargescalerequires，moreorless，adirectingauthority，inordertosecuretheharmoniousworkingoftheindividualactivities，andtoperformthegeneralfunctionsthathavetheiroriginintheactionofthecombinedorganism，asdistinguishedfromtheactionofitsseparateorgans。Asingleviolinplayerishisownconductor;anorchestrarequiresaseparateone。Theworkofdirecting，superintending，andadjusting，becomesoneofthefunctionsofcapital，fromthemomentthatthelabourunderthecontrolofcapital，becomesco—operative。Onceafunctionofcapital，itacquiresspecialcharacteristics。
Thedirectingmotive，theendandaimofcapitalistproduction，istoextractthegreatestpossibleamountofsurplus—value，[14]andconsequentlytoexploitlabour—powertothegreatestpossibleextent。
Asthenumberoftheco—operatinglabourersincreases，sotoodoestheirresistancetothedominationofcapital，andwithit，thenecessityforcapitaltoovercomethisresistancebycounterpressure。Thecontrolexercisedbythecapitalistisnotonlyaspecialfunction，duetothenatureofthesociallabour—process，andpeculiartothatprocess，butitis，atthesametime，afunctionoftheexploitationofasociallabour—process，andisconsequentlyrootedintheunavoidableantagonismbetweentheexploiterandthelivingandlabouringrawmaterialheexploits。
Again，inproportiontotheincreasingmassofthemeansofproduction，nownolongerthepropertyofthelabourer，butofthecapitalist，thenecessityincreasesforsomeeffectivecontrolovertheproperapplicationofthosemeans。[15]Moreover，theco—operationofwage—labourersisentirelybroughtaboutbythecapitalthatemploysthem。Theirunionintoonesingleproductivebodyandtheestablishmentofaconnexionbetweentheirindividualfunctions，aremattersforeignandexternaltothem，arenottheirownact，buttheactofthecapitalthatbringsandkeepsthemtogether。Hencetheconnexionexistingbetweentheirvariouslaboursappearstothem，ideally，intheshapeofapreconceivedplanofthecapitalist，andpracticallyintheshapeoftheauthorityofthesamecapitalist，intheshapeofthepowerfulwillofanother，whosubjectstheiractivitytohisaims。If，then，thecontrolofthecapitalistisinsubstancetwo—foldbyreasonofthetwo—foldnatureoftheprocessofproductionitself，which，ontheonehand，isasocialprocessforproducinguse—values，ontheother，aprocessforcreatingsurplus—valueinformthatcontrolisdespotic。Asco—operationextendsitsscale，thisdespotismtakesformspeculiartoitself。Justasatfirstthecapitalistisrelievedfromactuallaboursosoonashiscapitalhasreachedthatminimumamountwithwhichcapitalistproduction，assuch，begins，sonow，hehandsovertheworkofdirectandconstantsupervisionoftheindividualworkmen，andgroupsofworkmen，toaspecialkindofwage—labourer。Anindustrialarmyofworkmen，underthecommandofacapitalist，requires，likearealarmy，officers（managers），andsergeants（foremen，overlookers），who，whiletheworkisbeingdone，commandinthenameofthecapitalist。Theworkofsupervisionbecomestheirestablishedandexclusivefunction。Whencomparingthemodeofproductionofisolatedpeasantsandartisanswithproductionbyslave—labour，thepoliticaleconomistcountsthislabourofsuperintendenceamongthefauxfraisofproduction。[16]But，whenconsideringthecapitalistmodeofproduction，he，onthecontrary，treatstheworkofcontrolmadenecessarybytheco—operativecharacterofthelabour—processasidenticalwiththedifferentworkofcontrol，necessitatedbythecapitalistcharacterofthatprocessandtheantagonismofinterestsbetweencapitalistandlabourer。[17]Itisnotbecauseheisaleaderofindustrythatamanisacapitalist;