Buteveninsuchcase，thefallinthevalueoflabour—powerwouldcauseacorrespondingriseofsurplus—value，andthustheabyssbetweenthelabourer’spositionandthatofthecapitalistwouldkeepwidening。[3]
Ricardowasthefirstwhoaccuratelyformulatedthethreelawswehaveabovestated。Buthefallsintothefollowingerrors:（1）helooksuponthespecialconditionsunderwhichtheselawsholdgoodasthegeneralandsoleconditionsofcapitalistproduction。Heknowsnochange，eitherinthelengthoftheworking—day，orintheintensityoflabour;consequentlywithhimtherecanbeonlyonevariablefactor，viz。，theproductivenessoflabour;（2），andthiserrorvitiateshisanalysismuchmorethan（1），hehasnot，anymorethanhavetheothereconomists，investigatedsurplus—valueassuch，i。e。，independentlyofitsparticularforms，suchasprofit，rent，&c。Hethereforeconfoundstogetherthelawsoftherateofsurplus—valueandthelawsoftherateofprofit。Therateofprofitis，aswehavealreadysaid，theratioofthesurplus—valuetothetotalcapitaladvanced;therateofsurplus—valueistheratioofthesurplus—valuetothevariablepartofthatcapital。AssumethatacapitalCof£500ismadeupofrawmaterial，instrumentsoflabour，&c。（c）totheamountof£400;
andofwages（v）totheamountof£100;andfurther，thatthesurplus—value（s）=£100。Thenwehaverateofsurplus—values/v=£100/£100
=100%。Buttherateofprofits/c=£100/£500=20%。Itis，besides，obviousthattherateofprofitmaydependoncircumstancesthatinnowayaffecttherateofsurplus—value。IshallshowinBookIII。that，withagivenrateofsurplus—value，wemayhaveanynumberofratesofprofit，andthatvariousratesofsurplus—valuemay，undergivenconditions，expressthemselvesinasinglerateofprofit。
SECTION2WORKING—DAYCONSTANT。PRODUCTIVENESSOFLABOURCONSTANT。INTENSITYOFLABOUR
VARIABLE
Increasedintensityoflabourmeansincreasedexpenditureoflabourinagiventime。Henceaworking—dayofmoreintenselabourisembodiedinmoreproductsthanisoneoflessintenselabour，thelengthofeachdaybeingthesame。Increasedproductivenessoflabouralso，itistrue，willsupplymoreproductsinagivenworking—day。Butinthislattercase，thevalueofeachsingleproductfalls，foritcostslesslabourthanbefore;
intheformercase，thatvalueremainsunchanged，foreacharticlecoststhesamelabourasbefore。Herewehaveanincreaseinthenumberofproducts，unaccompaniedbyafallintheirindividualprices:astheirnumberincreases，sodoesthesumoftheirprices。Butinthecaseofincreasedproductiveness，agivenvalueisspreadoveragreatermassofproducts。Hencethelengthoftheworking—daybeingconstant，aday’slabourofincreasedintensitywillbeincorporatedinanincreasedvalue，and，thevalueofmoneyremainingunchanged，inmoremoney。Thevaluecreatedvarieswiththeextenttowhichtheintensityoflabourdeviatesfromitsnormalintensityinthesociety。
Agivenworking—day，therefore，nolongercreatesaconstant，butavariablevalue;inadayof12hoursofordinaryintensity，thevaluecreatedis，say6shillings，butwithincreasedintensity，thevaluecreatedmaybe7，8，ormoreshillings。Itisclearthat，ifthevaluecreatedbyaday’slabourincreasesfrom，say，6to8shillingsthenthetwopartsintowhichthisvalueisdivided，viz。，priceoflabour—powerandsurplus—value，maybothofthemincreasesimultaneously，andeitherequallyorunequally。
Theymaybothsimultaneouslyincreasefrom3shillingsto4。Here，theriseinthepriceoflabour—powerdoesnotnecessarilyimplythatthepricehasrisenabovethevalueoflabour—power。Onthecontrary，theriseinpricemaybeaccompaniedbyafallinvalue。Thisoccurswhenevertheriseinthepriceoflabour—powerdoesnotcompensateforitsincreasedwearandtear。
Weknowthat，withtransitoryexceptions，achangeintheproductivenessoflabourdoesnotcauseanychangeinthevalueoflabour—power，norconsequentlyinthemagnitudeofsurplus—value，unlesstheproductsoftheindustriesaffectedarearticleshabituallyconsumedbythelabourers。Inthepresentcasethisconditionnolongerapplies。Forwhenthevariationiseitherinthedurationorintheintensityoflabour，thereisalwaysacorrespondingchangeinthemagnitudeofthevaluecreated，independentlyofthenatureofthearticleinwhichthatvalueisembodied。
Iftheintensityoflabourweretoincreasesimultaneouslyandequallyineverybranchofindustry，thenthenewandhigherdegreeofintensitywouldbecomethenormaldegreeforthesociety，andwouldthereforeceasetobetakenaccountof。Butstill，eventhen，theintensityoflabourwouldbedifferentindifferentcountries，andwouldmodifytheinternationalapplicationofthelawofvalue。Themoreintenseworking—dayofonenationwouldberepresentedbyagreatersumofmoneythanwouldthelessintensedayofanothernation。[4]
SECTION3PRODUCTIVENESSANDINTENSITYOFLABOURCONSTANT。LENGTHOFTHEWORKING—DAY
VARIABLE
Theworking—daymayvaryintwoways。Itmaybemadeeitherlongerorshorter。Fromourpresentdata，andwithinthelimitsoftheassumptionsmadeon[previously]weobtainthefollowinglaws:
（1。）Theworking—daycreatesagreaterorlessamountofvalueinproportiontoitslength？thus，avariableandnotaconstantquantityofvalue。
（2。）Everychangeintherelationbetweenthemagnitudesofsurplusvalueandofthevalueoflabour—powerarisesfromachangeintheabsolutemagnitudeofthesurplus—labour，andconsequentlyofthesurplus—value。
（3。）Theabsolutevalueoflabour—powercanchangeonlyinconsequenceofthereactionexercisedbytheprolongationofsurplus—labouruponthewearandtearoflabour—power。Everychangeinthisabsolutevalueisthereforetheeffect，butneverthecause，ofachangeinthemagnitudeofsurplus—value。
Webeginwiththecaseinwhichtheworking—dayisshortened。
（1。）Ashorteningoftheworking—dayundertheconditionsgivenabove，leavesthevalueoflabour—power，andwithit，thenecessarylabour—time，unaltered。Itreducesthesurplus—labourandsurplus—value。Alongwiththeabsolutemagnitudeofthelatter，itsrelativemagnitudealsofalls，i。e。，itsmagnituderelativelytothevalueoflabour—powerwhosemagnituderemainsunaltered。Onlybyloweringthepriceoflabour—powerbelowitsvaluecouldthecapitalistsavehimselfharmless。
Alltheusualargumentsagainsttheshorteningoftheworking—day，assumethatittakesplaceundertheconditionswehaveheresupposedtoexist;
butinrealitytheverycontraryisthecase:achangeintheproductivenessandintensityoflaboureitherprecedes，orimmediatelyfollows，ashorteningoftheworking—day。[5]
（2。）Lengtheningoftheworking—day。Letthenecessarylabour—timebe6hours，orthevalueoflabour—power3shillings;alsoletthesurplus—labourbe6hoursorthesurplus—value3shillings。Thewholeworking—daythenamountsto12hoursandisembodiedinavalueof6shillings。If，now，theworking—daybelengthenedby2hoursandthepriceoflabour—powerremainunaltered，thesurplus—valueincreasesbothabsolutelyandrelatively。
Althoughthereisnoabsolutechangeinthevalueoflabour—power，itsuffersarelativefall。Undertheconditionsassumedin1。therecouldnotbeachangeofrelativemagnitudeinthevalueoflabour—powerwithoutachangeinitsabsolutemagnitude。Here，onthecontrary，thechangeofrelativemagnitudeinthevalueoflabour—poweristheresultofthechangeofabsolutemagnitudeinsurplus—value。
Sincethevalueinwhichaday’slabourisembodied，increaseswiththelengthofthatday，itisevidentthatthesurplus—valueandthepriceoflabour—powermaysimultaneouslyincrease，eitherbyequalorunequalquantities。Thissimultaneousincreaseisthereforepossibleintwocases，one，theactuallengtheningoftheworking—day，theother，anincreaseintheintensityoflabourunaccompaniedbysuchlengthening。
Whentheworking—dayisprolonged，thepriceoflabour—powermayfallbelowitsvalue，althoughthatpricebenominallyunchangedorevenrise。
Thevalueofaday’slabour—poweris，aswillberemembered，estimatedfromitsnormalaverageduration，orfromthenormaldurationoflifeamongthelabourers，andfromcorrespondingnormaltransformationsoforganisedbodilymatterintomotion，[6]inconformitywiththenatureofman。Uptoacertainpoint，theincreasedwearandtearoflabour—power，inseparablefromalengthenedworking—day，maybecompensatedbyhigherwages。Butbeyondthispointthewearandtearincreasesingeometricalprogression，andeveryconditionsuitableforthenormalreproductionandfunctioningoflabour—powerissuppressed。
Thepriceoflabour—powerandthedegreeofitsexploitationceasetobecommensurablequantities。
SECTION4SIMULTANEOUSVARIATIONSINTHEDURATION，PRODUCTIVENESS，ANDINTENSITY
OFLABOUR
Itisobviousthatalargenumberofcombinationsareherepossible。
Anytwoofthefactorsmayvaryandthethirdremainconstant，orallthreemayvaryatonce。Theymayvaryeitherinthesameorindifferentdegrees，inthesameorinoppositedirections，withtheresultthatthevariationscounteractoneanother，eitherwhollyorinpart。NeverthelesstheanalysisofeverypossiblecaseiseasyinviewoftheresultsgiveninI。，II。，andIII。Theeffectofeverypossiblecombinationmaybefoundbytreatingeachfactorinturnasvariable，andtheothertwoconstantforthetimebeing。Weshall，therefore，notice，andthatbriefly，buttwoimportantcases。
A。Diminishingproductivenessoflabourwithasimultaneouslengtheningoftheworking—day。Inspeakingofdiminishingproductivenessoflabour，wehererefertodiminutioninthoseindustrieswhoseproductsdeterminethevalueoflabour—power;
suchadiminution，forexample，asresultsfromdecreasingfertilityofthesoil，andfromthecorrespondingdearnessofitsproducts。Taketheworking—dayat12hoursandthevaluecreatedbyitat6shillings，ofwhichonehalfreplacesthevalueofthelabour—power，theotherformsthesurplus—value。Suppose，inconsequenceoftheincreaseddearnessoftheproductsofthesoil，thatthevalueoflabour—powerrisesfrom3shillingsto4，andthereforethenecessarylabour—timefrom6hoursto8。Iftherebenochangeinthelengthoftheworking—day，thesurplus—labourwouldfallfrom6hoursto4，thesurplus—valuefrom3shillingsto2。Ifthedaybelengthenedby2hours，i。e。，from12hoursto14，thesurplus—labourremainsat6hours，thesurplus—valueat6shillings，butthesurplus—valuedecreasescomparedwiththevalueoflabour—power，asmeasuredbythenecessarylabour—time。Ifthedaybelengthenedby4hours，viz。，from12hoursto16，theproportionalmagnitudesofsurplus—valueandvalueoflabour—power，ofsurplus—labourandnecessarylabour，continueunchanged，buttheabsolutemagnitudeofsurplus—valuerisesfrom3shillingsto4，thatofthesurplus—labourfrom6hoursto8，anincrementof331/3%。Therefore，withdiminishingproductivenessoflabourandasimultaneouslengtheningoftheworking—day，theabsolutemagnitudeofsurplus—valuemaycontinueunaltered，atthesametimethatitsrelativemagnitudediminishes;itsrelativemagnitudemaycontinueunchanged，atthesametimethatitsabsolutemagnitudeincreases;
and，providedthelengtheningofthedaybesufficient，bothmayincrease。
Intheperiodbetween1799and1815theincreasingpriceofprovisionsledinEnglandtoanominalriseinwages，althoughtherealwages，expressedinthenecessariesoflife，fell。FromthisfactWestandRicardodrewtheconclusion，thatthediminutionintheproductivenessofagriculturallabourhadbroughtaboutafallintherateofsurplus—value，andtheymadethisassumptionofafactthatexistedonlyintheirimaginations，thestarting—pointofimportantinvestigationsintotherelativemagnitudesofwages，profits，andrent。But，asamatteroffact，surplus—valuehadatthattime，thankstotheincreasedintensityoflabour，andtotheprolongationoftheworking—day，increasedbothinabsoluteandrelativemagnitude。
Thiswastheperiodinwhichtherighttoprolongthehoursoflabourtoanoutrageousextentwasestablished;[7]theperiodthatwasespeciallycharacterisedbyanacceleratedaccumulationofcapitalhere，bypauperismthere。[8]
B。Increasingintensityandproductivenessoflabourwithsimultaneousshorteningoftheworking—day。Increasedproductivenessandgreaterintensityoflabour，bothhavealikeeffect。Theybothaugmentthemassofarticlesproducedinagiventime。
Both，therefore，shortenthatportionoftheworking—daywhichthelabourerneedstoproducehismeansofsubsistenceortheirequivalent。Theminimumlengthoftheworking—dayisfixedbythisnecessarybutcontractileportionofit。Ifthewholeworking—dayweretoshrinktothelengthofthisportion，surplus—labourwouldvanish，aconsummationutterlyimpossibleundertherégimeofcapital。Onlybysuppressingthecapitalistformofproductioncouldthelengthoftheworking—daybereducedtothenecessarylabour—time。
But，eveninthatcase，thelatterwouldextenditslimits。Ontheonehand，becausethenotionof\"meansofsubsistence\"wouldconsiderablyexpand，andthelabourerwouldlayclaimtoanaltogetherdifferentstandardoflife。Ontheotherhand，becauseapartofwhatisnowsurplus—labour，wouldthencountasnecessarylabour;Imeanthelabourofformingafundforreserveandaccumulation。
Themoretheproductivenessoflabourincreases，themorecantheworking—daybeshortened;andthemoretheworking—dayisshortened，themorecantheintensityoflabourincrease。Fromasocialpointofview，theproductivenessincreasesinthesameratioastheeconomyoflabour，which，initsturn，includesnotonlyeconomyofthemeansofproduction，butalsotheavoidanceofalluselesslabour。Thecapitalistmodeofproduction，whileontheonehand，enforcingeconomyineachindividualbusiness，ontheotherhand，begets，byitsanarchicalsystemofcompetition，themostoutrageoussquanderingoflabour—powerandofthesocialmeansofproduction，nottomentionthecreationofavastnumberofemployments，atpresentindispensable，butinthemselvessuperfluous。
Theintensityandproductivenessoflabourbeinggiven，thetimewhichsocietyisboundtodevotetomaterialproductionisshorter，andasaconsequence，thetimeatitsdisposalforthefreedevelopment，intellectualandsocial，oftheindividualisgreater，inproportionastheworkismoreandmoreevenlydividedamongalltheable—bodiedmembersofsociety，andasaparticularclassismoreandmoredeprivedofthepowertoshiftthenaturalburdenoflabourfromitsownshoulderstothoseofanotherlayerofsociety。Inthisdirection，theshorteningoftheworking—dayfindsatlastalimitinthegeneralisationoflabour。Incapitalistsocietysparetimeisacquiredforoneclassbyconvertingthewholelife—timeofthemassesintolabour—time。
Footnotes[1]Noteinthe3rdGermanedition。？Thecaseconsideredatpages300—302
ishereofcourseomitted。？F。E。
[2]TothisthirdlawMacCullochhasmade，amongstothers，thisabsurdaddition，thatariseinsurplus—value，unaccompaniedbyafallinthevalueoflabour—power，canoccurthroughtheabolitionoftaxespayablebythecapitalist。Theabolitionofsuchtaxesmakesnochangewhateverinthequantityofsurplus—valuethatthecapitalistextortsatfirst—handfromthelabourer。Italtersonlytheproportioninwhichthatsurplus—valueisdividedbetweenhimselfandthirdpersons。Itconsequentlymakesnoalterationwhateverintherelationbetweensurplus—valueandvalueoflabour—power。MacCulloch’sexceptionthereforeprovesonlyhismisapprehensionoftherule，amisfortunethatasoftenhappenstohiminthevulgarisationofRicardo，asitdoestoJ。B。SayinthevulgarisationofAdamSmith。
[3]\"Whenanalterationtakesplaceintheproductivenessofindustry，andthateithermoreorlessisproducedbyagivenquantityoflabourandcapital，theproportionofwagesmayobviouslyvary，whilstthequantity，whichthatproportionrepresents，remainsthesame，orthequantitymayvary，whilsttheproportionremainsthesame。\"（\"OutlinesofPoliticalEconomy，&c。，\"p。67。）
[4]\"Allthingsbeingequal，theEnglishmanufacturercanturnoutaconsiderablylargeramountofworkinagiventimethanaforeignmanufacturer，somuchastocounterbalancethedifferenceoftheworking—days，between60hoursaweekhere，and72or80elsewhere。\"（Rep。ofInsp。ofFact。for31stOct。，1855，p。65。）ThemostinfalliblemeansforreducingthisqualitativedifferencebetweentheEnglishandContinentalworkinghourwouldbealawshorteningquantitativelythelengthoftheworking—dayinContinentalfactories。
[5]\"Therearecompensatingcircumstances……whichtheworkingoftheTenHours’Acthasbroughttolight。\"（Rep。ofInsp。ofFact。for31stOct。1848，\"
p。7。）
[6]\"Theamountoflabourwhichamanhadundergoneinthecourseof24hoursmightbeapproximatelyarrivedatbyanexaminationofthechemicalchangeswhichhadtakenplaceinhisbody，changedformsinmatterindicatingtheanteriorexerciseofdynamicforce。\"（Grove:\"OntheCorrelationofPhysicalForces。\"）
[7]\"Cornandlabourrarelymarchquiteabreast;butthereisanobviouslimit，beyondwhichtheycannotbeseparated。Withregardtotheunusualexertionsmadebythelabouringclassesinperiodsofdearness，whichproducethefallofwagesnoticedintheevidence\"（namely，beforetheParliamentaryCommitteeofInquiry，1814—15），\"theyaremostmeritoriousintheindividuals，andcertainlyfavourthegrowthofcapital。Butnomanofhumanitycouldwishtoseethemconstantandunremitted。Theyaremostadmirableasatemporaryrelief;butiftheywereconstantlyinaction，effectsofasimilarkindwouldresultfromthem，asfromthepopulationofacountrybeingpushedtotheveryextremelimitsofitsfood。\"（Malthus:\"InquiryintotheNatureandProgressofRent，\"Lond。，1815，p。48，note。）AllhonourtoMalthusthathelaysstressonthelengtheningofthehoursoflabour，afacttowhichheelsewhereinhispamphletdrawsattention，whileRicardoandothers，infaceofthemostnotoriousfacts，makeinvariabilityinthelengthoftheworking—daythegroundworkofalltheirinvestigations。
Buttheconservativeinterests，whichMalthusserved，preventedhimfromseeingthatanunlimitedprolongationoftheworking—day，combinedwithanextraordinarydevelopmentofmachinery，andtheexploitationofwomenandchildren，mustinevitablyhavemadeagreatportionoftheworking—class\"supernumerary，\"particularlywheneverthewarshouldhaveceased，andthemonopolyofEnglandinthemarketsoftheworldshouldhavecometoanend。Itwas，ofcourse，farmoreconvenient，andmuchmoreinconformitywiththeinterestsoftherulingclasses，whomMalthusadoredlikeatruepriest，toexplainthis\"over—population\"bytheeternallawsofNature，ratherthanbythehistoricallawsofcapitalistproduction。
[8]\"Aprincipalcauseoftheincreaseofcapital，duringthewar，proceededfromthegreaterexertions，andperhapsthegreaterprivationsofthelabouringclasses，themostnumerousineverysociety。Morewomenandchildrenwerecompelledbynecessitouscircumstances，toenteruponlaboriousoccupations，andformerworkmenwere，fromthesamecause，obligedtodevoteagreaterportionoftheirtimetoincreaseproduction。\"（EssaysonPol。Econ。，inwhichareillustratedtheprincipalcausesofthepresentnationaldistress。
Lond。，1830，p。248。）
ChapterEighteenKarlMarxCapitalVolumeOnePartV:
TheProductionofAbsoluteandofRelativeSurplus—ValueCHAPTEREIGHTEEN:
VARIOUSFORMULAFORTHERATEOFSURPLUS—VALUEWehaveseenthattherateofsurplus—valueisrepresentedbythefollowingformulae:Surplus—value（s）Surplus—valueSurplus—laborI。棗棗棗棗棗==棗棗棗棗棗==棗棗棗？;VariableCapital（v;Valueoflabor—powe;NecessarylaborThetwofirstoftheseformulaerepresent，asaratioofvalues，thatwhich，inthethird，isrepresentedasaratioofthetimesduringwhichthosevaluesareproduced。Theseformulae，supplementarytheonetotheother，arerigorouslydefiniteandcorrect。Wethereforefindthemsubstantially，butnotconsciously，workedoutinclassicalPoliticalEconomy。Therewemeetwiththefollowingderivativeformulae。Surplus—laborSurplus—valueSurplus—productII。棗棗棗？==棗棗棗棗棗==棗棗棗棗—;Working—da;ValueoftheProduc;TotalProductOneandthesameratioishereexpressedasaratiooflabor—times，ofthevaluesinwhichthoselabor—timesareembodied，andoftheproductsinwhichthosevaluesexist。Itisofcourseunderstoodthat，by\"ValueoftheProduct\"，ismeantonlythevaluenewlycreatedinaworking—day，theconstantpartofthevalueoftheproductbeingexcluded。
Inalloftheseformulae（II。），theactualdegreeofexploitationoflabor，ortherateofsurplus—value，isfalselyexpressed。Lettheworking—daybe12hours。Then，makingthesameassumptionsasinformerinstances，therealdegreeofexploitationoflaborwillberepresentedinthefollowingproportions。6hourssurplus—laborSurplus—valueof3sh。
棗棗棗棗棗？==棗棗棗棗棗棗？==100%。
6hoursnecessarylabp;VariableCapitalof3sh。FromformulaeII。wegetverydifferently，6hourssurplus—laborSurplus—valueof3sh。
棗棗棗棗棗？==棗棗棗棗棗棗？==50%。
Working—dayof12houp;Valuecreatedof6sh。
Thesederivativeformulaeexpress，inreality，onlytheproportioninwhichtheworking—day，orthevalueproducedbyit，isdividedbetweencapitalistandlaborer。Iftheyaretobetreatedasdirectexpressionsofthedegreeofself—expansionofcapital，thefollowingerroneouslawwouldholdgood:Surplus—labororsurplus—valuecanneverreach100%。[1]Sincethesurplus—laborisonlyanaliquotpartoftheworking—day，orsincesurplus—valueisonlyanaliquotpartofthevaluecreated，thesurplus—labormustnecessarilybealwayslessthantheworking—day，orthesurplus—valuealwayslessthanthetotalvaluecreated。Inorder，however，toattaintheratioof100:100theymustbeequal。Inorderthatthesurplus—labormayabsorbthewholeday（i。e。，anaveragedyofanyweekoryear），thenecessarylabormustsinktozero。Butifthenecessarylaborvanish，sotoodoesthesurplus—labor，sinceitisonlyafunctionoftheformer。
TheratioSurplus—laborSurplus—value棗棗棗？;o;棗棗棗？p;Working—dp;Valuecreatedcanthereforeneverreachthelimit100/100，stilllessriseto100x/100。
Butnotsotherateofsurplus—value，therealdegreeofexploitationoflabor。Take，e。g。，theestimateofL。deLavergne，accordingtowhichtheEnglishagriculturallaborergetsonly1/4，thecapitalist（farmer）ontheotherhand3/4oftheproduct[2]oritsvalue，apartfromthequestionofhowthebootyissubsequentlydividedbetweenthecapitalist，thelandlord，andothers。Accordingtothis，thissurplus—laboroftheEnglishagriculturallaboreristohisnecessarylaboras3:1，whichgivesarateofexploitationof300%。
Thefavoritemethodoftreatingtheworking—dayasconstantinmagnitudebecame，throughtheuseofformulaeII。，afixedusage，becauseinthemsurplus—laborisalwayscomparedwithaworking—dayofgivenlength。Thesameholdsgoodwhentherepartitionofthevalueproducedisexclusivelykeptinsight。Theworking—daythathasalreadybeenrealizedingivenvalue，mustnecessarilybeadayofgivenlength。
Thehabitofrepresentingsurplus—valueandvalueoflabor—powerasfractionsofthevaluecreated？ahabitthatoriginatesinthecapitalistmodeofproductionitself，andwhoseimportwillhereafterbedisclosed？concealstheverytransactionthatcharacterizescapital，namelytheexchangeofvariablecapitalforlivinglabor—power，andtheconsequentexclusionofthelaborerfromtheproduct。Insteadoftherealfact，wehavefalsesemblanceofanassociation，inwhichlaborerandcapitalistdividetheproductinproportiontothedifferentelementswhichtheyrespectivelycontributetowardsitsformatiop;[3]Moreover，theformulaeII。canatanytimebereconvertedintoformulaeI。If，forinstance，wehaveSurplus—laborof6hours棗棗棗棗棗棗？;Working—dayof12hoursthenthenecessarylabor—timebeing12hourslessthesurplus—laborof6hours，wegetthefollowingresult，Surplus—laborof6hours100棗棗棗棗棗棗棗==？。;Necessarylaborof6hour;100ThereisathirdformulawhichIhaveoccassionallyalreadyanticipated;itisSurplus—valueSurplus—laborUnpaidlaborIII。棗棗棗棗棗==棗棗棗棗—==棗棗棗？;Valueoflabor—powe;Necessarylabo;PaidlaborAftertheinvestigationswehavegivenabove，itisnolongerpossibletobemisled，bytheformulaUnpaidlabor棗棗棗？;Paidlaborintoconcluding，thatthecapitalistpaysforlaborandnotforlabor—power。
ThisformulaisonlyapopularexpressionforSurplus—labor棗棗棗棗—。
NecessarylaborThecapitalistpaysthevalue，sofaraspricecoincideswithvalue，ofthelabor—power，andreceivesinexchangethedisposalofthelivinglabor—poweritself。Hisusufructisspreadovertwoperiods。Duringonethelaborerproducesavaluethatisonlyequaltothevalueofhislabor—power;
heproducesitsequivalent。Thisthecapitalistreceivesinreturnforhisadvanceofthepriceofthelabor—power，aproductreadymadeinthemarket。Duringtheotherperiod，theperiodofsurplus—labor，theusufructofthelabor—powercreatesavalueforthecapitalist，thatcostshimnoequivalent。[4]Thisexpenditureoflabor—powercomestohimgratis。Inthissenseitisthatsurplus—laborcanbecalledunpaidlabor。
Capital，therefore，itnotonly，asAdamSmithsays，thecommandoverlabor。Itisessentiallythecommandoverunpaidlabor。Allsurplus—value，whateverparticularform（profit，interest，orrent），itmaysubsequentlycrystallizeinto，isinsubstancethematerializationofunpaidlabor。
Thesecretoftheself—expansionofcapitalresolvesitselfintohavingthedisposalofadefinitequantityofotherpeople’sunpaidlabor。
Footnotes[1]Thus，e。g。，in\"DritterBriefanv。KirchmannvonRodbertus。WiderlegungderRicardo’schenLehrevonderGrundrenteundBegrundungeinerneuenRententheorie\"。
Berlin，1851。Ishallreturntothisletterlateron;inspiteofitserroneoustheoryofrent，itseesthroughthenatureofcapitalistproduction。
NOTEADDEDINTHE3RDGERMANEDITION:ItmaybeseenfromthishowfavorablyMarxjudgedhispredecessors，wheneverhefoundinthemrealprogress，ornewandsoundideas。ThesubsequentpublicationsofRobertus’letterstoRud。MeyerhasshownthattheaboveacknowledgementbyMarxwantsrestrictingtosomeextent。Inthoselettersthispassageoccurs:
\"Capitalmustberescuednotonlyfromlabor，butfromitself，andthatwillbebesteffected，bytreatingtheactsoftheindustrialcapitalistaseconomicandpoliticalfunctions，thathavebeendelegatedtohimwithhiscapital，andbytreatinghisprofitasaformofsalary，becausewestillknownoothersocialorganization。Butsalariesmayberegulated，andmayalsobereducediftheytaketoomuchfromwages。TheirruptionofMarxintoSociety，asImaycallhisbook，mustbewardedoff……Altogether，Marx’sbookisnotsomuchaninvestigationintocapital，asapolemicagainstthepresentformofcapital，aformwhichheconfoundswiththeconceptitselfofcapital。\"
（\"Briefe，&c。，vonDr。Robertus—Jagetzow，herausgg。vonDr。Rud。
Meyer\"，Berlin，1881，I，Bd。P。111，46。BreifvonRodbertus。）TosuchideologicalcommonplacesdidtheboldattackbyRobertusinhis\"socialletters\"finallydwindledown。？F。E。
[2]Thatpartoftheproductwhichmerelyreplacestheconstantcapitaladvancedisofcourseleftoutinthiscalculation。Mr。L。deLavergne，ablindadmirerofEngland，isinclinedtoestimatetheshareofthecapitalisttoolow，ratherthantoohigh。
[3]Allwell—developedformsofcapitalistproductionbeingformsofcooperation，nothingis，ofcourse，easier，thantomakeabstractionfromtheirantagonisticcharacter，andtotransformthembyawordintosomeformoffreeassociation，asisdonebyA。deLabordein\"Del’Espiritd’Associationdanstoutlesinteretsdelacommunaute\"。Paris1818。H。Carey，theYankee，occassionallyperformsthisconjuringtrickwithlikesuccess，evenwiththerelationsresultingfromslavery。
[4]AlthoughthePhysiocratscouldnotpenetratethemysteryofsurplus—value，yetthismuchwascleartothem，viz。，thatitis\"unerichesseindependanteetdisponiblequ’il（thepossessor）n’apointacheteeetqu’ilvend。\"（Turgot:
\"ReflexionssurlaFormationetlaDistributiondesRichesses\"，p。11。）
ChapterNineteenKarlMarxCapitalVolumeOnePartVI:
WagesCHAPTERNINETEEN:
THETRANSFORMATIONOFTHEVALUE（ANDRESPECTIVEPRICE）OFLABOUR—POWER
INTOWAGES
Onthesurfaceofbourgeoissocietythewageofthelabourerappearsasthepriceoflabour，acertainquantityofmoneythatispaidforacertainquantityoflabour。Thuspeoplespeakofthevalueoflabourandcallitsexpressioninmoneyitsnecessaryornaturalprice。Ontheotherhandtheyspeakofthemarket—pricesoflabour，i。e。，pricesoscillatingaboveorbelowitsnaturalprice。
Butwhatisthevalueofacommodity？Theobjectiveformofthesociallabourexpendedinitsproduction。Andhowdowemeasurethequantityofthisvalue？Bythequantityofthelabourcontainedinit。Howthenisthevalue，e。g。，ofa12hourworking—daytobedetermined？。Bythe12
working—hourscontainedinaworking—dayof12hours，whichisanabsurdtautology。[1]
Inordertobesoldasacommodityinthemarket，labourmustatalleventsexistbeforeitissold。But，couldthelabourergiveitanindependentobjectiveexistence，hewouldsellacommodityandnotlabour。[2]
Apartfromthesecontradictions，adirectexchangeofmoney，i。e。，ofrealizedlabour，withlivinglabourwouldeitherdoawaywiththelawofvaluewhichonlybeginstodevelopitselffreelyonthebasisofcapitalistproduction，ordoawaywithcapitalistproductionitself，whichrestsdirectlyonwage—labour。Theworking—dayof12hoursembodiesitself，e。g。，inamoney—valueof6s。Eitherequivalentsareexchanged，andthenthelabourerreceives6s，for12hours’labour;thepriceofhislabourwouldbeequaltothepriceofhisproduct。Inthiscaseheproducesnosurplus—valueforthebuyerofhislabour，the6s。arenottransformedintocapital，thebasisofcapitalistproductionvanishes。Butitisonthisverybasisthathesellshislabourandthathislabouriswage—labour。Orelsehereceivesfor12hours’labourlessthan6s。，i。e。，lessthan12hours’