Ineverycountrythereisacertainaverageintensityoflabourbelowwhichthelabourfortheproductionofacommodityrequiresmorethanthesociallynecessarytime，andthereforedoesnotreckonaslabourofnormalquality。Onlyadegreeofintensityabovethenationalaverageaffects，inagivencountry，themeasureofvaluebythemeredurationoftheworking—time。
Thisisnotthecaseontheuniversalmarket，whoseintegralpartsaretheindividualcountries。Theaverageintensityoflabourchangesfromcountrytocountry;hereitisgreater，thereless。Thesenationalaveragesformascale，whoseunitofmeasureistheaverageunitofuniversallabour。
Themoreintensenationallabour，therefore，ascomparedwiththelessintense，producesinthesametimemorevalue，whichexpressesitselfinmoremoney。
Butthelawofvalueinitsinternationalapplicationisyetmoremodifiedbythefactthatontheworld—marketthemoreproductivenationallabourreckonsalsoasthemoreintense，solongasthemoreproductivenationisnotcompelledbycompetitiontolowerthesellingpriceofitscommoditiestotheleveloftheirvalue。
Inproportionascapitalistproductionisdevelopedinacountry，inthesameproportiondothenationalintensityandproductivityoflabourthereriseabovetheinternationallevel。[2]Thedifferentquantitiesofcommoditiesofthesamekind，producedindifferentcountriesinthesameworking—time，have，therefore，unequalinternationalvalues，whichareexpressedindifferentprices，i。e。，insumsofmoneyvaryingaccordingtointernationalvalues。Therelativevalueofmoneywill，therefore，belessinthenationwithmoredevelopedcapitalistmodeofproductionthaninthenationwithlessdeveloped。Itfollows，then，thatthenominalwages，theequivalentoflabour—powerexpressedinmoney，willalsobehigherinthefirstnationthaninthesecond;whichdoesnotatallprovethatthisholdsalsofortherealwages，i。e。，forthemeansofsubsistenceplacedatthedisposalofthelabourer。
Butevenapartfromtheserelativedifferencesofthevalueofmoneyindifferentcountries，itwillbefound，frequently，thatthedailyorweekly，&tc。，wageinthefirstnationishigherthaninthesecond，whilsttherelativepriceoflabour，i。e。，thepriceoflabourascomparedbothwithsurplus—valueandwiththevalueoftheproduct，standshigherinthesecondthaninthefirst。[3]
J。W。Cowell，memberoftheFactoryCommissionof1833，aftercarefulinvestigationofthespinningtrade，cametotheconclusionthat\"inEnglandwagesarevirtuallylowertothecapitalist，thoughhighertotheoperativethanontheContinentofEurope。\"[4]TheEnglishFactoryInspector，AlexanderRedgrave，inhisreportofOct。
31st，1866，provesbycomparativestatisticswithcontinentalstates，thatinspiteoflowerwagesandmuchlongerworking—time，continentallabouris，inproportiontotheproduct，dearerthanEnglish。AnEnglishmanagerofacottonfactoryinOldenburgdeclaresthattheworkingtimetherelastedfrom5:30a。m。to8p。m。，Saturdaysincluded，andthattheworkpeoplethere，whenunderEnglishoverlookers，didnotsupplyduringthistimequitesomuchproductastheEnglishin10hours，butunderGermanoverlookersmuchless。WagesaremuchlowerthaninEngland，inmanycases50%，butthenumberofhandsinproportiontothemachinerywasmuchgreater，incertaindepartmentsintheproportionof5:3。
Mr。RedgravegivesveryfulldetailsastotheRussiancottonfactories。
ThedataweregivenhimbyanEnglishmanageruntilrecentlyemployedthere。
OnthisRussiansoil，sofruitfulofallinfamies，theoldhorrorsoftheearlydaysofEnglishfactoriesareinfullswing。Themanagersare，ofcourse，English，asthenativeRussiancapitalistisofnouseinfactorybusiness。Despiteallover—work，continueddayandnight，despitethemostshamefulunder—paymentoftheworkpeople，Russianmanufacturemanagestovegetateonlybyprohibitionofforeigncompetition。
Igive，inconclusion，acomparativetableofMr。Redgrave’s，ontheaveragenumberofspindlesperfactoryandperspinnerinthedifferentcountriesofEurope。Hehimselfremarksthathehadcollectedthesefiguresafewyearsago，andthatsincethattimethesizeofthefactoriesandthenumberofspindlesperlabourerinEnglandhasincreased。Hesupposes，however，anapproximatelyequalprogressinthecontinentalcountriesmentioned，sothatthenumbersgivenwouldstillhavetheirvalueforpurposesofcomparison。
AVERAGENUMBEROF
SPINDLESPERFACTORY
England，averageofspindlesperfactory12，600
France，averageofspindlesperfactory1，500
Prussia，averageofspindlesperfactory1，500
Belgium，averageofspindlesperfactory4，000
Saxony，averageofspindlesperfactory4，500
Austria，averageofspindlesperfactory7，000
Switzerland，averageofspindlesperfactory8，000
AVERAGENUMBEROF
PERSONSEMPLOYEDTOSPINDLES
Franceonepersonto14spindlesRussiaonepersonto28spindlesPrussiaonepersonto37spindlesBavariaonepersonto46spindlesAustriaonepersonto49spindlesBelgiumonepersonto50spindlesSaxonyonepersonto50spindlesSwitzerlandonepersonto55spindlesSmallerStatesofGermanyonepersonto55spindlesGreatBritainonepersonto74spindles\"Thiscomparison，\"saysMr。Redgrave，\"isyetmoreunfavorabletoGreatBritain，inasmuchasthereissolargeanumberoffactoriesinwhichweavingbypoweriscarriedoninconjunctionwithspinning\"（whilstinthetabletheweaversarenotdeducted），\"andthefactoriesabroadarechieflyspinningfactories;ifitwerepossibletocomparelikewithlike，strictly，Icouldfindmanycottonspinningfactoriesinmydistrictinwhichmulescontaining2，200spindlesaremindedbyoneman（theminder）andtwoassistantsonly，turningoffdaily220lbs。ofyarn，measuring400milesinlength。\"[5]
ItiswellknownthatinEasternEurope，aswellasinAsia，Englishcompanieshaveundertakentheconstructionofrailways，andhave，inmakingthem，employedsidebysidewiththenativelabourers，acertainnumberofEnglishworking—men。Compelledbypracticalnecessity，theythushavehadtotakeintoaccountthenationaldifferenceintheintensityoflabour，butthishasbroughtthemnoloss。Theirexperienceshowsthateveniftheheightofwagescorrespondsmoreorlesswiththeaverageintensityoflabour，therelativepriceoflabourvariesgenerallyintheinversedirection。
Inan\"EssayontheRateofWages，\"[6]oneofhisfirsteconomicwritings，H。Careytriestoprovethatthewagesofthedifferentnationsaredirectlyproportionaltothedegreeofproductivenessofthenationalworking—days，inordertodrawfromthisinternationalrelationtheconclusionthatwageseverywhereriseandfallinproportiontotheproductivenessoflabour。Thewholeofouranalysisoftheproductionofsurplus—valueshowstheabsurdityofthisconclusion，evenifCareyhimselfhadprovedhispremisesinsteadof，afterhisusualuncriticalandsuperficialfashion，shufflingtoandfroaconfusedmassofstatisticalmaterials。Thebestofitisthathedoesnotassertthatthingsactuallyareastheyoughttobeaccordingtohistheory。ForStateinterventionhasfalsifiedthenaturaleconomicrelations。Thedifferentnationalwagesmustbereckoned，therefore，asifthatpartofeachthatgoestotheStateintheformoftaxes，cametothelabourerhimself。OughtnotMr。Careytoconsiderfurtherwhetherthose\"Stateexpenses\"arenotthe\"natural\"
fruitsofcapitalisticdevelopment？Thereasoningisquiteworthyofthemanwhofirstdeclaredtherelationsofcapitalistproductiontobeeternallawsofnatureandreason，whosefree，harmoniousworkingisonlydisturbedbytheinterventionoftheState，inorderafterwardstodiscoverthatthediabolicalinfluenceofEnglandontheworld—market（aninfluencewhich，itappears，doesnotspringfromthenaturallawsofcapitalistproduction）
necessitatesStateintervention，i。e。，theprotectionofthoselawsofnatureandreasonbytheState，aliastheSystemofProtection。HediscoveredfurtherthatthetheoremsofRicardoandothers，inwhichexistingsocialantagonismsandcontradictionsareformulated，arenottheidealproductoftherealeconomicmovement，butonthecontrary，thattherealantagonismsofcapitalistproductioninEnglandandelsewherearetheresultofthetheoriesofRicardoandothers！Finallyhediscoveredthatitis，inthelastresort，commercethatdestroystheinbornbeautiesandharmoniesofthecapitalistmodeofproduction。Astepfurtherandhewill，perhaps，discoverthattheoneevilincapitalistproductioniscapitalitself。
Onlyamanwithsuchatrociouswantofthecriticalfacultyandsuchspuriouseruditiondeserved，inspiteofhisProtectionistheresy，tobecomethesecretsourceoftheharmoniouswisdomofaBastiat，andofalltheotherFree—tradeoptimistsoftoday。
Footnotes[1]\"Itisnotaccuratetosaythatwages\"（hedealsherewiththeirmoneyexpression）\"areincreased，becausetheypurchasemoreofacheaperarticle。\"
（DavidBuchananinhiseditionofAdamSmith’s\"WealthofNations，\"1814，Vol。1，p。417，note。）
[2]Weshallinquire，inanotherplace，whatcircumstancesinrelationtoproductivitymaymodifythislawforindividualbranchesofindustry。
[3]JamesAndersonremarksinhispolemicagainstAdamSmith:\"Itdeserves，likewise，toberemarked，thatalthoughtheapparentpriceofLabourisusuallylowerinpoorcountries，wheretheproduceofthesoil，andgrainingeneral，ischeap;yetitisinfactforthemostpartreallyhigherthaninothercountries。Foritisnotthewagesthatisgiventothelabourerperdaythatconstitutestherealpriceoflabour，althoughitisitsapparentprice。Therealpriceisthatwhichacertainquantityofworkperformedactuallycoststheemployer;andconsideredinthislight，labourisinalmostallcasescheaperinrichcountriesthaninthosethatarepoorer，althoughthepriceofgrainandotherprovisionsisusuallymuchlowerinthelastthaninthefirst……LabourestimatedbythedayismuchlowerinScotlandthaninEngland……LabourbythepieceisgenerallycheaperinEngland。\"（JamesAnderson，\"ObservationsontheMeansofExcitingaSpiritofNationalIndustry，\"&tc。，Edin。1777，pp。350，351。）Onthecontrary，lownessofwagesproduces，initsturn，dearnessoflabour。\"LabourbeingdearerinIrelandthanitisinEngland……becausethewagesaresomuchlower。\"（N。2079in\"RoyalCommissiononRailways，Minutes，\"1867。）
[4]（Ure，op。cit。，p。314。）
[5]（\"ReportsofInsp。ofFact。，\"31stOct。，1866，pp。31—37，passim。）
[6]\"EssayontheRateofWages，withanExaminationoftheCausesoftheDifferencesintheConditionoftheLabouringPopulationthroughouttheWorld，\"Philadelphia，1835。
ChapterTwenty—ThreeKarlMarxCapitalVolumeOnePartVII:
TheAccumulationofCapitalCHAPTERTWENTY—THREE:
SIMPLEREPRODUCTION
Theconversionofasumofmoneyintomeansofproductionandlabour—power，isthefirststeptakenbythequantumofvaluethatisgoingtofunctionascapital。Thisconversiontakesplaceinthemarket，withinthesphereofcirculation。Thesecondstep，theprocessofproduction，iscompletesosoonasthemeansofproductionhavebeenconvertedintocommoditieswhosevalueexceedsthatoftheircomponentparts，and，therefore，containsthecapitaloriginallyadvanced，plusasurplus—value。Thesecommoditiesmustthenbethrownintocirculation。Theymustbesold，theirvaluerealisedinmoney，thismoneyafreshconvertedintocapital，andsooverandoveragain。Thiscircularmovement，inwhichthesamephasesarecontinuallygonethroughinsuccession，formsthecirculationofcapital。
Thefirstconditionofaccumulationisthatthecapitalistmusthavecontrivedtosellhiscommodities，andtoreconvertintocapitalthegreaterpartofthemoneysoreceived。Inthefollowingpagesweshallassumethatcapitalcirculatesinitsnormalway。ThedetailedanalysisoftheprocesswillbefoundinBookII。
Thecapitalistwhoproducessurplus—value？i。e。，whoextractsunpaidlabourdirectlyfromthelabourers，andfixesitincommodities，is，indeed，thefirstappropriator，butbynomeanstheultimateowner，ofthissurplus—value。Hehastoshareitwithcapitalists，withlandowners，&c。，whofulfilotherfunctionsinthecomplexofsocialproduction。
Surplus—value，therefore，splitsupintovariousparts。Itsfragmentsfalltovariouscategoriesofpersons，andtakevariousforms，independenttheoneoftheother，suchasprofit，interest，merchants’profit，rent，&c。
ItisonlyinBookIII。thatwecantakeinhandthesemodifiedformsofsurplus—value。
Ontheonehand，then，weassumethatthecapitalistsellsattheirvaluethecommoditieshehasproduced，withoutconcerningourselveseitheraboutthenewformsthatcapitalassumeswhileinthesphereofcirculation，orabouttheconcreteconditionsofreproductionhiddenundertheseforms。
Ontheotherhand，wetreatthecapitalistproducerasowneroftheentiresurplus—value，or，betterperhaps，astherepresentativeofallthesharerswithhiminthebooty。We，therefore，firstofallconsideraccumulationfromanabstractpointofview？i。e。，asamerephaseintheactualprocessofproduction。
Sofarasaccumulationtakesplace，thecapitalistmusthavesucceededinsellinghiscommodities，andinreconvertingthesale—moneyintocapital。
Moreover，thebreaking—upofsurplus—valueintofragmentsneitheraltersitsnaturenortheconditionsunderwhichitbecomesanelementofaccumulation。
Whateverbetheproportionofsurplus—valuewhichtheindustrialcapitalistretainsforhimself，oryieldsuptoothers，heistheonewho，inthefirstinstance，appropriatesit。We，therefore，assumenomorethanwhatactuallytakesplace。Ontheotherhand，thesimplefundamentalformoftheprocessofaccumulationisobscuredbytheincidentofthecirculationwhichbringsitabout，andbythesplittingupofsurplus—value。Anexactanalysisoftheprocess，therefore，demandsthatweshould，foratime，disregardallphenomenathathidethepityofitsinnermechanism。
Whatevertheformoftheprocessofproductioninasociety，itmustbeacontinuousprocess，mustcontinuetogoperiodicallythroughthesamephases。AsocietycannomoreceasetoproducethanitcanceasetoconsumerWhenviewed，therefore，asaconnectedwhole，andasflowingonwithincessantrenewal，everysocialprocessofproductionis，atthesametime，aprocessofreproduction。
Theconditionsofproductionarealsothoseofreproduction。Nosocietycangoonproducing，inotherwords，nosocietycanreproduce，unlessitconstantlyreconvertsapartofitsproductsintomeansofproduction，orelementsoffreshproducts。Allothercircumstancesremainingthesame，theonlymodebywhichitcanreproduceitswealth，andmaintainitatonelevel，isbyreplacingthemeansofproduction？i。e。，theinstrumentsoflabour，therawmaterial，andtheauxiliarysubstancesconsumedinthecourseoftheyear—byanequalquantityofthesamekindofarticles;thesemustbeseparatedfromthemassoftheyearlyproducts，andthrownafreshintotheprocessofproduction。Hence，adefiniteportionofeachyear’sproductbelongstothedomainofproduction。Destinedforproductiveconsumptionfromtheveryfirst，thisportionexists，forthemostpart，intheshapeofarticlestotallyunfittedforindividualconsumption。
Ifproductionbecapitalisticinform，so，too，willbereproduction。
Justasintheformerthelabour—processfiguresbutasameanstowardstheself—expansionofcapital，sointhelatteritfiguresbutasameansofreproducingascapital？i。e。，asself—expandingvalue？thevalueadvanced。Itisonlybecausehismoneyconstantlyfunctionsascapitalthattheeconomicguiseofacapitalistattachestoaman。If，forinstance，asumof£100hasthisyearbeenconvertedintocapital。andproducedasurplus—valueof£20，itmustcontinueduringnextyear，andsubsequentyears，torepeatthesameoperation。Asaperiodicincrementofthecapitaladvanced，orperiodicfruitofcapitalinprocess，surplus—valueacquirestheformofarevenueflowingoutofcapital。[1]
Ifthisrevenueservethecapitalistonlyasafundtoprovideforhisconsumption，andbespentasperiodicallyasitisgained，then，caeterisparibus，simplereproductionwilltakeplace。Andalthoughthisreproductionisamererepetitionoftheprocessofproductionontheoldscale，yetthismererepetition，orcontinuity，givesanewcharactertotheprocess，or，rather，causesthedisappearanceofsomeapparentcharacteristicswhichitpossessedasanisolateddiscontinuousprocess。
Thepurchaseoflabour—powerforafixedperiodisthepreludetotheprocessofproduction;andthispreludeisconstantlyrepeatedwhenthestipulatedtermcomestoanend，whenadefiniteperiodofproduction，suchasaweekoramonth，haselapsed。Butthelabourerisnotpaiduntilafterhehasexpendedhislabour—power，andrealisedincommoditiesnotonlyitsvalue，butsurplus—value。Hehas，therefore，producednotonlysurplus—value，whichweforthepresentregardasafundtomeettheprivateconsumptionofthecapitalist，buthehasalsoproduced，beforeitflowsbacktohimintheshapeofwages，thefundoutofwhichhehimselfispaid，thevariablecapital;andhisemploymentlastsonlysolongashecontinuestoreproducethisfund。Hence，thatformulaoftheeconomists，referredtoinChapterXVIII，，whichrepresentswagesasashareintheproductitself。[2]Whatflowsbacktothelabourerintheshapeofwagesisaportionoftheproductthatiscontinuouslyreproducedbyhim。Thecapitalist，itistrue，payshiminmoney，butthismoneyismerelythetransmutedformoftheproductofhislabour。Whileheisconvertinga—portionofthemeansofproductionintoproducts，aportionofhisformerproductisbeingturnedintomoney。
Itishislabouroflastweek，oroflastyear，thatpaysforhislabour—powerthisweekorthisyear。Theillusionbegottenbytheinterventionofmoneyvanishesimmediately，if，insteadoftakingasinglecapitalistandasinglelabourer，wetaketheclassofcapitalistsandtheclassoflabourersasawhole。Thecapitalistclassisconstantlygivingtothelabouringclassorder—notes，intheformofmoney，onaportionofthecommoditiesproducedbythelatterandappropriatedbytheformer。Thelabourersgivetheseorder—notesbackjustasconstantlytothecapitalistclass，andinthiswaygettheirshareoftheirownproduct。Thetransactionisveiledbythecommodity—formoftheproductandthemoney—formofthecommodity。
Variablecapitalisthereforeonlyaparticularhistoricalformofappearanceofthefundforprovidingthenecessariesoflife，orthelabour—fundwhichthelabourerrequiresforthemaintenanceofhimselfandfamily，andwhich，whateverbethesystemofsocialproduction，hemusthimselfproduceandreproduce。Ifthelabour—fundconstantlyflowstohimintheformofmoneythatpaysforhislabour，itisbecausetheproducthehascreatedmovesconstantlyawayfromhimintheformofcapital。Butallthisdoesnotalterthefact，thatitisthelabourer’sownlabour，realisedinaproduct，whichisadvancedtohimbythecapitalist。[3]Letustakeapeasantliabletodocompulsoryserviceforhislord。Heworksonhisownland，withhisownmeansofproduction，for，say，3daysaweek。The3otherdayshedoesforcedworkonthelord’sdomain。Heconstantlyreproduceshisownlabour—fund，whichnever，inhiscase，takestheformofamoneypaymentforhislabour，advancedbyanotherperson。Butinreturn，hisunpaidforcedlabourforthelord，onitsside，neveracquiresthecharacterofvoluntarypaidlabour。Ifonefinemorningthelordappropriatestohimselftheland，thecattle，theseed，inaword，the，meansofproductionofthispeasant，thelatterwillthenceforthbeobligedtosellhislabour—powertothelord。Hewill，ceterisparibus，labour6daysaweekasbefore，3forhimself，3forhislord，whothenceforthbecomesawages—payingcapitalist。
Asbefore，hewilluseupthemeansofproductionasmeansofproduction，andtransfertheirvaluetotheproduct。Asbefore，adefiniteportionoftheproductwillbedevotedtoreproduction。Butfromthemomentthattheforcedlabourischangedintowage—labour。fromthatmomentthelabour—fund，whichthepeasanthimselfcontinuesasbeforetoproduceandreproduce，takestheformofacapitaladvancedintheformofwagesbythelord。Thebourgeoiseconomistwhosenarrowmindisunabletoseparatetheformofappearancefromthethingthatappears，shutshiseyestothefact，thatitisbuthereandthereonthefaceoftheearth，thatevennow—a—daysthelabour—fundcropsupintheformofcapital。[4]
Variablecapital，itistrue，onlythenlosesitscharacterofavalueadvancedoutofthecapitalist’sfunds，[5]whenweviewtheprocessofcapitalistproductionintheflowofitsconstantrenewal。Butthatprocessmusthavehadabeginningofsomekind。Fromourpresentstandpointitthereforeseemslikelythatthecapitalist，onceuponatime，becamepossessedofmoney，bysomeaccumulationthattookplaceindependentlyoftheunpaidlabourofothers，andthatthiswas，therefore，howhewasenabledtofrequentthemarketasabuyeroflabour—power。
Howeverthismaybe，themerecontinuityoftheprocess，thesimplereproduction，bringsaboutsomeotherwonderfulchanges，whichaffectnotonlythevariable，butthetotalcapital。
Ifacapitalof£1，000begetyearlyasurplus—valueof£200，andifthissurplus—valuebeconsumedeveryyear，itisclearthatattheendof5yearsthesurplus—valueconsumedwillamountto5x£200
orthe£1，000originallyadvanced。Ifonlyapart，sayonehalf，wereconsumed，thesameresultwouldfollowattheendof10years，since10x£100=£1，000。GeneralRule:Thevalueofthecapitaladvanceddividedbythesurplus—valueannuallyconsumed，givesthenumberofyears，orreproductionperiods，attheexpirationofwhichthecapitaloriginallyadvancedhasbeenconsumedbythecapitalistandhasdisappeared。Thecapitalistthinks，thatheisconsumingtheproduceoftheunpaidlabourofothers，i。e。，thesurplus—value，andiskeepingintacthisoriginalcapital;
butwhathethinkscannotalterfacts。Afterthelapseofacertainnumberofyears，thecapitalvaluehethenpossessesisequaltothesumtotalofthesurplus—valueappropriatedbyhimduringthoseyears，andthetotalvaluehehasconsumedisequaltothatofhisoriginalcapital。Itistrue，hehasinhandacapitalwhoseamounthasnotchanged，andofwhichapart，viz。，thebuildings，machinery，&c。，werealreadytherewhentheworkofhisbusinessbegan。Butwhatwehavetodowithhere，isnotthematerialelements，butthevalue，ofthatcapital。Whenapersongetsthroughallhisproperty，bytakinguponhimselfdebtsequaltothevalueofthatproperty，itisclearthathispropertyrepresentsnothingbutthesumtotalofhisdebts。Andsoitiswiththecapitalist;whenhehasconsumedtheequivalentofhisoriginalcapital，thevalueofhispresentcapitalrepresentsnothingbutthetotalamountofthesurplus—valueappropriatedbyhimwithoutpayment。Notasingleatomofthevalueofhisoldcapitalcontinuestoexist。
Apartthenfromallaccumulation，themerecontinuityoftheprocessofproduction，inotherwordssimplereproduction，soonerorlater，andofnecessity，convertseverycapitalintoaccumulatedcapital，orcapitalisedsurplus—value。Evenifthatcapitalwasoriginallyacquiredbythepersonallabourofitsemployer，itsoonerorlaterbecomesvalueappropriatedwithoutanequivalent，theunpaidlabourofothersmaterialisedeitherinmoneyorinsomeotherobject。WesawinChapt。IV。—VI。thatinordertoconvertmoneyintocapitalsomethingmoreisrequiredthantheproductionandcirculationofcommodities。Wesawthatontheonesidethepossessorofvalueormoney，ontheother，thepossessorofthevalue—creatingsubstance;ontheoneside，thepossessorofthemeansofproductionandsubsistence，ontheother，thepossessorofnothingbutlabour—power，mustconfrontoneanotherasbuyerandseller。Theseparationoflabourfromitsproduct，ofsubjectivelabour—powerfromtheobjectiveconditionsoflabour，wasthereforetherealfoundationinfact，andthestarting—pointofcapitalistproduction。
Butthatwhichatfirstwasbutastarting—point，becomes，bythemerecontinuityoftheprocess，bysimplereproduction，thepeculiarresult，constantlyrenewedandperpetuated，ofcapitalistproduction。Ontheonehand，theprocessofproductionincessantlyconvertsmaterialwealthintocapital，intomeansofcreatingmorewealthandmeansofenjoymentforthecapitalist。Ontheotherhand，thelabourer，onquittingtheprocess，iswhathewasonenteringit，asourceofwealth，butdevoidofallmeansofmakingthatwealthhisown。Since，beforeenteringontheprocess，hisownlabourhasalreadybeenalienatedfromhimselfbythesaleofhislabour—power，hasbeenappropriatedbythecapitalistandincorporatedwithcapital，itmust，duringtheprocess，berealisedinaproductthatdoesnotbelongtohim。Sincetheprocessofproductionisalsotheprocessbywhichthecapitalistconsumeslabour—power，theproductofthelabourerisincessantlyconverted，notonlyintocommodities，butintocapital，intovaluethatsucksupthevalue—creatingpower，intomeansofsubsistencethatbuythepersonofthelabourer，intomeansofproductionthatcommandtheproducers。[6]Thelabourerthereforeconstantlyproducesmaterial，objectivewealth，butintheformofcapital，ofanalienpowerthatdominatesandexploitshim:andthecapitalistasconstantlyproduceslabour—power，butintheformofasubjectivesourceofwealth，separatedfromtheobjectsinandbywhichitcanaloneberealised;inshortheproducesthelabourer，butasawage—labourer。[7]Thisincessantreproduction，thisperpetuationofthelabourer，isthesinequânonofcapitalistproduction。
Thelabourerconsumesinatwo—toldway。Whileproducingheconsumesbyhislabourthemeansofproduction，andconvertsthemintoproductswithahighervaluethanthatofthecapitaladvancedThisishisproductiveconsumption。Itisatthesametimeconsumptionofhislabour—powerbythecapitalistwhoboughtit。Ontheotherhand，thelabourerturnsthemoneypaidtohimforhislabour—power，intomeansofsubsistence:thisishisindividualconsumption。Thelabourer’sproductiveconsumption，andhisindividualconsumption，arethereforetotallydistinct。Intheformer，heactsasthemotivepowerofcapital，andbelongstothecapitalist。
Inthelatter，hebelongstohimself，andperformshisnecessaryvitalfunctionsoutsidetheprocessofproduction。Theresultoftheoneis，thatthecapitalistlives;oftheother，thatthelabourerlives。
Whentreatingoftheworking—day，wesawthatthelabourerisoftencompelledtomakehisindividualconsumptionamereincidentofproduction。
Insuchacase，hesupplieshimselfwithnecessariesinordertomaintainhislabour—power，justascoalandwateraresuppliedtothesteam—engineandoiltothewheel。Hismeansofconsumption，inthatcase，arethemeremeansofconsumptionrequiredbyameansofproduction;hisindividualconsumptionisdirectlyproductiveconsumption。This，however，appearstobeanabusenotessentiallyappertainingtocapitalistproduction。[8]
Themattertakesquiteanotheraspect，whenwecontemplate，notthesinglecapitalist，andthesinglelabourer，butthecapitalistclassandthelabouringclass，notanisolatedprocessofproduction，butcapitalistproductioninfullswing，andonitsactualsocialscale。Byconvertingpartofhiscapitalintolabour—power，thecapitalistaugmentsthevalueofhisentirecapital。Hekillstwobirdswithonestone。Heprofits，notonlybywhathereceivesfrombutbywhatbegivesto，thelabourer。Thecapitalgiveninexchangeforlabour—powerisconvertedintonecessaries，bytheconsumptionofwhichthemuscles，nerves，bones，andbrainsofexistinglabourersarereproduced，andnewlabourersarebegotten。Withinthelimitsofwhatisstrictlynecessary，theindividualconsumptionoftheworking—classis，therefore，thereconversionofthemeansofsubsistencegivenbycapitalinexchangeforlabour—power，intofreshlabour—poweratthedisposalofcapitalforexploitation。Itistheproductionandreproductionofthatmeansofproductionsoindispensabletothecapitalist:thelabourerhimself。
Theindividualconsumptionofthelabourer，whetheritproceedwithintheworkshoporoutsideit，whetheritbepartoftheprocessofproductionornot，formsthereforeafactoroftheproductionandreproductionofcapital;justascleaningmachinerydoes，whetheritbedonewhilethemachineryisworkingorwhileitisstanding。Thefactthatthelabourerconsumeshismeansofsubsistenceforhisownpurposes，andnottopleasethecapitalist，hasnobearingonthematter。Theconsumptionoffoodbyabeastofburdenisnonethelessanecessaryfactorintheprocessofproduction，becausethebeastenjoyswhatiteats。
Themaintenanceandreproductionoftheworking—classis，andmusteverbe，anecessaryconditiontothereproductionofcapital。Butthecapitalistmaysafelyleaveitsfulfilmenttothelabourer’sinstinctsofself—preservationandofpropagation。Allthecapitalistcaresfor，istoreducethelabourer’sindividualconsumptionasfaraspossibletowhatisstrictlynecessary，andheisfarawayfromimitatingthosebrutalSouthAmericans，whoforcetheirlabourerstotakethemoresubstantial，ratherthanthelesssubstantial，kindoffood。[9]
Henceboththecapitalistandhisideologicalrepresentative，thepoliticaleconomist，considerthatpartaloneofthelabourer’sindividualconsumptiontobeproductive，whichisrequisitefortheperpetuationoftheclass，andwhichthereforemusttakeplaceinorderthatthecapitalistmayhavelabour—powertoconsume;whatthelabourerconsumesforhisownpleasurebeyondthatpart，isunproductiveconsumption。[10]Iftheaccumulationofcapitalweretocauseariseofwagesandanincreaseinthelabourer’sconsumption，unaccompaniedbyincreaseintheconsumptionoflabour—powerbycapital，theadditionalcapitalwouldbeconsumedunproductively。[11]Inreality，theindividualconsumptionofthelabourerisunproductiveasregardshimself，foritreproducesnothingbuttheneedyindividual;
itisproductivetothecapitalistandtotheState，sinceitistheproductionofthepowerthatcreatestheirwealth。[12]
Fromasocialpointofview，therefore，theworking—class，evenwhennotdirectlyengagedinthelabour—process，isjustasmuchanappendageofcapitalastheordinaryinstrumentsoflabour。Evenitsindividualconsumptionis，withincertainlimits，amerefactorintheprocessofproduction。
Thatprocess，however，takesgoodcaretopreventtheseself—consciousinstrumentsfromleavingitinthelurch，foritremovestheirproduct，asfastasitismade，fromtheirpoletotheoppositepoleofcapital。
Individualconsumptionprovides，ontheonehand，themeansfortheirmaintenanceandreproduction:ontheotherhand，itsecuresbytheannihilationofthenecessariesoflife，thecontinuedre—appearanceoftheworkmaninthelabour—market。TheRomanslavewasheldbyfetters:thewage—labourerisboundtohisownerbyinvisiblethreads。Theappearanceofindependenceiskeptupbymeansofaconstantchangeofemployers，andbythefictiojurisofacontract。