Theproductivepowersoflabouraregenerallygreatestwherethereisanabundanceoffertileland。’If，inthefirstsentence，theproductivepowersoflabourmeanthesmallnessofthataliquotpartofanyproducethatgoestothosewhosemanuallabourproducedit，thesentenceisnearlyidentical，becausetheremainingaliquotpartisthefundwhencecapitalcan，iftheownerpleases，beaccumulated。Butthenthisdoesnotgenerallyhappen，wherethereismostfertileland。\"（\"ObservationsonCertainVerbalDisputes，&c。\"pp。74，75。）
[36]J。StuartMill:\"EssaysonSomeUnsettledQuestionsofPoliticalEconomy，\"
Lond。，1844，p。90。
[37]\"AnEssayonTradeandCommerce，\"Lond。，1770，P。44。TheTimesofDecember，1866，andJanuary，1867，inlikemannerpublishedcertainoutpouringsoftheheartoftheEnglishmine—owner，inwhichthehappylotoftheBelgianminerswaspictured，whoaskedandreceivednomorethanwasstrictlynecessaryforthemtolivefortheir\"masters。\"TheBelgianlabourershavetosuffermuch，buttofigureinTheTimesasmodellabourers！InthebeginningofFebruary，1867，cametheanswer:strikeoftheBelgianminersatMarchienne，putdownbypowderandlead。
[38]l。c。，pp。44，46。
[39]TheNorthamptonshiremanufacturercommitsapiousfraud，pardonableinonewhoseheartissofull。HenominallycomparesthelifeoftheEnglishandFrenchmanufacturinglabourer，butinthewordsjustquotedheispainting，ashehimselfconfessesinhisconfusedway，theFrenchagriculturallabourers。
[40]l。c。，pp。70，71。Noteinthe3rdGermanedition:To—day，thankstothecompetitionontheworld—market，establishedsincethen，wehaveadvancedmuchfurther。\"IfChina，\"saysMr。Stapleton，M。P。，tohisconstituents，\"shouldbecomeagreatmanufacturingcountry，IdonotseehowthemanufacturingpopulationofEuropecouldsustainthecontestwithoutdescendingtotheleveloftheircompetitors。\"（Times，Sept。3，1873，p。8。）Thewished—forgoalofEnglishcapitalisnolongerContinentalwagesbutChinese。
[41]BenjaminThompson:\"Essays，Political，Economical，andPhilosophical，&c。，\"
3vols。，Lond，1796—1802，vol。i。，p。294。Inhis\"TheStateofthePoor，oranHistoryofthelabouringClassesinEngland，&c。，\"SirF。M。
EdenstronglyrecommendstheRumfordianbeggar—souptoworkhouseoverseers，andreproachfullywamstheEnglishlabourersthat\"manypoorpeople，particularlyinScotland，live，andthatverycomfortably，formonthstogether，uponoat—mealandbarley—meal，mixedwithonlywaterandsalt。\"（l。c。，vol。
i，booki。，ch。2，p。503。）Thesamesortofhintsinthe19thcentury。
\"Themostwholesomemixturesofflourhavingbeenrefused（bytheEnglishagriculturallabouTer）……inScotland，whereeducationisbetter，thisprejudiceis，probably，unknown。\"（CharlesH。Parry，M。D。，\"TheQuestionoftheNecessecityoftheExistingCornLawsConsidered。\"London，1816，，p。69。）ThissameParry，however，complainsthattheEnglishlabourerisnow（1815）inamuchworseconditionthaninEden’stime（1797。）
[42]FromthereportsofthelastParliamentaryCommissiononadulterationofmeansofsubsistence，itwillbeseenthattheadulterationevenofmedicinesistherule，nottheexceptioninEngland。E。g。，theexaminationof34
specimensofopium，purchasedofasmanydifferentchemistsinLondon，showedthat31wereadulteratedwithpoppyheads，wheat—flour，gum，clay，sand，&c。Severaldidnotcontainanatomofmorphia。
[43]G。B。Newnham（barrister—at—law）:\"AReviewoftheEvidencebeforetheCommitteeofthetwoHousesofParliamentontheComLaws。\"Lond。，1815，p。20，note。
[44]l。c。，pp。19，20。
[45]C。H。Parry，l。c。，pp。77，69。Thelandlords，ontheirside，notonly\"indemnified\"themselvesfortheAnti—JacobinWar，whichtheywagedinthenameofEngland，butenrichedthemselvesenormously。Theirrentsdoubled，trebled，quadrupled，\"andinoneinstance，increasedsixfoldineighteenyears。\"（I。c。，pp。100，101。）
[46]FriedrichEngels，\"LagederarbeitendenKlasseinEngland，\"p。20。
[47]Classiceconomyhas，onaccountofadeficientanalysisofthelabour—process，andoftheprocessofcreatingvalue—，neverproperlygraspedthisweightyelementofreproduction，asmaybeseeninRicardo;hesays，e。g。，whateverthechangeinproductivepower，\"amillionmenalwaysproduceinmanufacturesthesamevalue。\"Thisisaccurate，iftheextensionanddegreeofIntensityoftheirlabouraregiven。Butitdoesnotprevent（thisRicardooverlooksincertainconclusionshedraws）amillionmenwithdifferentpowersofproductivityintheirlabour，turningintoproductsverydifferentmassesofthemeansofproduction，andthereforepreservingintheirproductsverydifferentmassesofvalue;inconsequenceofwhichthevaluesoftheproductsyieldedmayvaryconsiderably。Ricardohas，itmaybenotedinpassing，triedinvaintomakecleartoJ。B。Say，bythatveryexample，thedifferencebetweenuse—value（whichheherecallswealthormaterialriches）andexchange—value。Sayanswers:\"Quantà
ladifficultéqu’élèveMr。Ricardoendisantque，pardesprocédésmieuxentendusunmilliondepersonnespeuventproduiredeuxfois，troisfoisautantderichesses，sansproduireplusdevaleurs，cettedifficultén’estpasunelorsquel’onconsidére，ainsiqu’onledoit，laproductioncommeunéchangedanslequelondonnelesservicesproductifsdesontravail，desaterre，etdesescapitaux，pourobtenirdesproduits。C’estparlemoyendecesservicesproductifs，quenousacquéronstouslesproduitsquisontaumonde。
Or……noussommesd’autantplusriches，nosservicesproductifsontd’autantplusdevaleurqu’ilsobtiennentdansl’échangeappeléproductionuneplusgrandequantitédechosesutiles。\"（J。B。Say，\"LettresàM。Malthus，\"Paris，1820，pp。168，169。）The\"difficulté\"？itexistsforhim，notforRicardo？thatSaymeanstoclearupisthis:
Whydoesnottheexchange—valueoftheuse—valuesincrease，whentheirquantityincreasesinconsequenceofincreasedproductivepoweroflabour？
Answer:thedifficultyismetbycallinguse—value，exchange—value，ifyouplease。Exchange—valueisathingthatisconnectedonewayoranotherwithexchange。Ifthereforeproductioniscalledanexchangeoflabourandmeansofproductionagainsttheproduct，itisclearasdaythatyouobtainmoreexchange—valueinproportionastheproductionyieldsmoreuse—value。Inotherwords，themoreuse—values，e。g。，stockings，aworking—dayyieldstothestocking—manufacturer，thericherisheinstockings。Suddenly，however，Sayrecollectsthat\"withagreaterquantity\"ofstockingstheir\"price\"（whichofcoursehasnothingtodowiththeirexchange—value！）
falls\"parcequelaconcurrenceles（lesproducteurs）obligeadonnerlesproduitspourcequ’itsleurcontent……Butwhencedoestheprofitcome，ifthecapitalistsellsthecommoditiesatcost—price？Nevermind！Saydeclaresthat，inconsequenceofincreasedproductivity，everyonenowreceivesinreturnforagivenequivalenttwopairsofstockingsinsteadofoneasbefore。Theresulthearrivesat，ispreciselythatpropositionofRicardothatheaimedatdisproving。Afterthismightyeffortofthought，hetriumphantlyapostrophisesMalthusinthewords:\"Telleest，monsieur，ladoctrinebienliée，sateslaquelleilestimpossible，jeledéclare，d’expliquerlesplusgrandesdifficultésdel’économiepolitique，etnotamment，commentilsepeutqu’unenationsoitplusrichelorsquesesproduitsdiminuentdevaleur，quoiquelarichessesoit，delavaleur。\"
（I。c。，p。170。）AnEnglisheconomistremarksupontheconjuringtricksofthesamenaturethatappearinSay’s\"Lettres\":\"ThoseaffectedwaysoftalkingmakeupingeneralthatwhichM。SayispleasedtocallhisdoctrineandwhichheearnestlyurgesMalthustoteachatHertford，asitisalreadytaught’dansplusieurspartiesdeI’Europe。’Hesays，’Sivoustrbuvezunephysionomiedeparadoxeàtoutescespropositions，voyezleschosesqu’ellesexpriment，etj’osecroirequeuesvousparaitrontfortsimplesetfortraisonnables。’Doubtless，andinconsequenceofthesameprocess，theywillappeareverythingelse，exceptoriginal。\"（\"AnInquiryintothosePrinciplesRespectingtheNatureofDemand，&c。，\"
pp。116，110。）
[48]MacCullochtookoutapatentfor\"wagesofpastlabour，\"longbeforeSeniordidfor\"wagesofabstinence。\"
[49]Compareamongothers，JeremyBentham:\"ThéoriedesPeinesetdesRécompenses，\"traduct。d’Et。Dumont，3èmeédit。Paris，1826，t。II，L。IV。，ch。II。
[50]BenthamisapurelyEnglishphenomenon。Notevenexceptingourphilosopher，ChristianWolff，innotimeandinnocountryhasthemosthomespuncommonplaceeverstruttedaboutinsoself—satisfiedaway。TheprincipleofutilitywasnodiscoveryofBentham。HesimplyreproducedinhisdullwaywhatHelvétiusandotherFrenchmenhadsaidwithespritinthe18thcentury。
Toknowwhatisusefulforadog，onemuststudydog—nature。Thisnatureitselfisnottobededucedfromtheprincipleofutility。Applyingthistoman，hethatwouldcriticiseallhumanacts，movements，relations，etc。，bytheprincipleofutility，mustfirstdealwithhumannatureingeneral，andthenwithhumannatureasmodifiedineachhistoricalepoch。Benthammakesshortworkofit。Withthedriestnaivetéhetakesthemodernshopkeeper，especiallytheEnglishshopkeeper，asthenormalman。Whateverisusefultothisqueernormalman，andtohisworld，isabsolutelyuseful。
Thisyard—measure，then，heappliestopast，present，andfuture。TheChristianreligion，e。g。，is\"useful，\"\"becauseitforbidsinthenameofreligionthesamefaultsthatthepenalcodecondemnsinthenameofthelaw。\"Artisticcriticismis\"harmful，\"becauseitdisturbsworthypeopleintheirenjoymentofMartinTupper，etc。Withsuchrubbishhasthebravefellow，withhismotto，\"nuiladiessineline！，\"piledupmountainsofbooks。HadIthecourageofmyfriend，HeinrichHeine，IshouldcallMr。Jeremyageniusinthewayofbourgeoisstupidity。
[51]\"Politicaleconomistsaretooapttoconsideracertainquantityofcapitalandacertainnumberoflabourersasproductiveinstrumentsofuniformpower，oroperatingwithacertainuniformintensity……Those……whomaintain……thatcommoditiesarethesoleagentsofproduction……—provethatproductioncouldneverbeenlarged，foritrequiresasanindispensableconditiontosuchanenlargementthatfood，rawmaterials，andtoolsshouldbepreviouslyaugmented;whichisinfactmaintainingthatnoincreaseofproductioncantakeplacewithoutapreviousincrease，or，inotherwords，thatanincreaseisimpossible。\"（S。Bailey:\"MoneyanditsVicissitudes，\"
pp。58and70。）Baileycriticisesthedogmamainlyfromthepointofviewoftheprocessofcirculation。
[52]JohnStuartMill，inhis\"PrinciplesofPoliticalEconomy，\"says:\"Thereallyexhaustingandthereallyrepulsivelaboursinsteadofbeingbetterpaidthanothers，arealmostinvariablypaidtheworstofall……Themorerevoltingtheoccupation，themorecertainitistoreceivetheminimumofremuneration……Thehardshipsandtheearnings，insteadofbeingdirectlyproportional，asinanyjustarrangementsofsocietytheywouldbe，aregenerallyinaninverseratiotooneanother。\"Toavoidmisunderstanding，letmesaythatalthoughmenlikeJohnStuartMillaretoblameforthecontradictionbetweentheirtraditionaleconomicdogmasandtheirmodemtendencies，itwouldbeverywrongtoclassthemwiththeherdofvulgareconomicapologists。
[53]H。Fawcett，ProfessorofPoliticalEconomyatCambridge。\"TheEconomicpositionoftheBritishlabourer。\"London，1865，p。120。
[54]Imusthereremindthereaderthatthecategories，\"variableandconstantcapital，\"werefirstusedbyme。PoliticalEconomysincethetimeofAdamSmithhasconfusedlymixeduptheessentialdistinctionsinvolvedinthesecategories，withthemereformaldifferences，arisingoutoftheprocessofcirculation，offixedandcirculatingcapital。Forfurtherdetailsonthispoint，seeBookII。，PartII。
[55]Fawcett，l。c。，pp。122，123。
[56]Itmightbesaidthatnotonlycapital，butalsolabourers，intheshapeofemigrants，areannuallyexportedfromEngland。Inthetext，however，thereisnoquestionofthepeculiumoftheemigrants，whoareingreatpartnotlabourers。Thesonsoffarmersmakeupagreatpartofthem。Theadditionalcapitalannuallytransportedabroadtobeputoutatinterestisinmuchgreaterproportiontotheannualaccumulationthantheyearlyemigrationistotheyearlyincreaseofpopulation。
ChapterTwenty—FiveKarlMarxCapitalVolumeOnePartVII:
TheAccumulationofCapitalCHAPTERTWENTY—FIVE:
THEGENERALLAWOFCAPITALISTACCUMULATION
ContentsSection1—TheIncreasedDemandforLabour—PowerthatAccompaniesAccumulation，theCompositionofCapitalRemainingthesameSection2—RelativeDiminutionoftheVariablePartofCapitalSimultaneouslywiththeProgressofAccumulationandoftheConcentrationthatAccompaniesitSection3—ProgressiveProductionofaRelativeSurplus—PopulationorIndustrialReserveArmySection4—DifferentFormsoftheRelativeSurplus—Population。
TheGeneralLawofCapitalisticAccumulationSection5—IllustrationsoftheGeneralLawofCapitalistAccumulationA。Englandfrom1846—1866
B。TheBadlyPaidStrataoftheBritishIndustrialClassC。TheNomadPopulationD。EffectofCrisesontheBestPaidPartoftheWorking—ClassE。TheBritishAgriculturalProletariatF。IrelandSECTION1。THEINCREASEDDEMANDFORLABOUR—POWERTHATACCOMPANIESACCUMULATION，THE
COMPOSITIONOFCAPITALREMAININGTHESAME
Inthischapterweconsidertheinfluenceofthegrowthofcapitalonthelotofthelabouringclass。Themostimportantfactorinthisinquiryisthecompositionofcapitalandthechangesitundergoesinthecourseoftheprocessofaccumulation。
Thecompositionofcapitalistobeunderstoodinatwo—foldsense。
Onthesideofvalue，itisdeterminedbytheproportioninwhichitisdividedintoconstantcapitalorvalueofthemeansofproduction，andvariablecapitalorvalueoflabour—power，thesumtotalofwages。Onthesideofmaterial，asitfunctionsintheprocessofproduction，allcapitalisdividedintomeansofproductionandlivinglabour—power。Thislattercompositionisdeterminedbytherelationbetweenthemassofthemeansofproductionemployed，ontheonehand，andthemassoflabournecessaryfortheiremploymentontheother。Icalltheformerthevalue—composition，thelatterthetechnicalcompositionofcapital。
Betweenthetwothereisastrictcorrelation。Toexpressthis，Icallthevalue—compositionofcapital，insofarasitisdeterminedbyitstechnicalcompositionandmirrorsthechangesofthelatter，theorganiccompositionofcapital。WhereverIrefertothecompositionofcapital，withoutfurtherqualification，itsorganiccompositionisalwaysunderstood。
Themanyindividualcapitalsinvestedinaparticularbranchofproductionhave，onewithanother，moreorlessdifferentcompositions。Theaverageoftheirindividualcompositionsgivesusthecompositionofthetotalcapitalinthisbranchofproduction。Lastly，theaverageoftheseaverages，inallbranchesofproduction，givesusthecompositionofthetotalsocialcapitalofacountry，andwiththisalonearewe，inthelastresort，concernedinthefollowinginvestigation。
Growthofcapitalinvolvesgrowthofitsvariableconstituentorofthepartinvestedinlabour—power。Apartofthesurplus—valueturnedintoadditionalcapitalmustalwaysbere—transformedintovariablecapital，oradditionallabour—fund。Ifwesupposethat，allothercircumstancesremainingthesame，thecompositionofcapitalalsoremainsconstant（i。e。，thatadefinitemassofmeansofproductionconstantlyneedsthesamemassoflabour—powertosetitinmotion），thenthedemandforlabourandthesubsistence—fundofthelabourersclearlyincreaseinthesameproportionasthecapital，andthemorerapidly，themorerapidlythecapitalincreases。
Sincethecapitalproducesyearlyasurplus—value，ofwhichonepartisyearlyaddedtotheoriginalcapital;sincethisincrementitselfgrowsyearlyalongwiththeaugmentationofthecapitalalreadyfunctioning;
sincelastly，underspecialstimulustoenrichment，suchastheopeningofnewmarkets，orofnewspheresfortheoutlayofcapitalinconsequenceofnewlydevelopedsocialwants，&c。，thescaleofaccumulationmaybesuddenlyextended，merelybyachangeinthedivisionofthesurplus—valueorsurplus—productintocapitalandrevenue，therequirementsofaccumulatingcapitalmayexceedtheincreaseoflabour—powerorofthenumberoflabourers;
thedemandforlabourersmayexceedthesupply，and，therefore，wagesmayrise。Thismust，indeed，ultimatelybethecaseiftheconditionssupposedabovecontinue。Forsinceineachyearmorelabourersareemployedthaninitspredecessor，soonerorlaterapointmustbereached，atwhichtherequirementsofaccumulationbegintosurpassthecustomarysupplyoflabour，and，therefore，ariseofwagestakesplace。AlamentationonthisscorewasheardinEnglandduringthewholeofthefifteenth，andthefirsthalfoftheeighteenthcenturies。Themoreorlessfavourablecircumstancesinwhichthewage—workingclasssupportsandmultipliesitself，innowayalterthefundamentalcharacterofcapitalistproduction。Assimplereproductionconstantlyreproducesthecapital—relationitself，i。e。，therelationofcapitalistsontheonehand，andwage—workersontheother，soreproductiononaprogressivescale，i。e。，accumulation，reproducesthecapital—relationonaprogressivescale，morecapitalistsorlargercapitalistsatthispole，morewage—workersatthat。Thereproductionofamassoflabour—power，whichmustincessantlyre—incorporateitselfwithcapitalforthatcapital’sself—expansion;whichcannotgetfreefromcapital，andwhoseenslavementtocapitalisonlyconcealedbythevarietyofindividualcapitaliststowhomitsellsitself，thisreproductionoflabour—powerforms，infact，anessentialofthereproductionofcapitalitself。Accumulationofcapitalis，therefore，increaseoftheproletariat。[1]
ClassicaleconomygraspedthisfactsothoroughlythatAdamSmith，Ricardo，&c。，asmentionedearlier，inaccuratelyidentifiedaccumulationwiththeconsumption，bytheproductivelabourers，ofallthecapitalised，partofthesurplus—product，orwithitstransformationintoadditionalwage—labourers。
Asearlyas1696JohnBellerssays:\"Forifonehadahundredthousandacresoflandandasmanypoundsinmoney，andasmanycattle，withoutalabourer，whatwouldtherichmanbe，butalabourer？Andasthelabourersmakemenrich，sothemorelabourerstherewillbe，themorerichmen……
thelabourofthepoorbeingtheminesoftherich。\"[2]SoalsoBernarddeMandevilleatthebeginningoftheeighteenthcentury:
\"Itwouldbeeasier，wherepropertyiswellsecured，tolivewithoutmoneythanwithoutpoor;forwhowoulddothework？……Asthey[thepoor]oughttobekeptfromstarving，sotheyshouldreceivenothingworthsaving。
Ifhereandthereoneofthelowestclassbyuncommonindustry，andpinchinghisbelly，liftshimselfabovetheconditionhewasbroughtupin，nobodyoughttohinderhim;nay，itisundeniablythewisestcourseforeverypersoninthesociety，andforeveryprivatefamilytobefrugal;butitistheinterestofallrichnations，thatthegreatestpartofthepoor—shouldalmostneverbeidle，andyetcontinuallyspendwhattheyget……Thosethatgettheirlivingbytheirdailylabour……havenothingtostirthemuptobeserviceablebuttheirwantswhichitisprudencetorelieve，butfollytocure。Theonlythingthenthatcanrenderthelabouringmanindustrious，isamoderatequantityofmoney，forastoolittlewill，accordingashistemperis，eitherdispiritormakehimdesperate，sotoomuchwillmakehiminsolentandlazy……Fromwhathasbeensaid，itismanifest，that，inafreenation，whereslavesarenotallowedof，thesurestwealthconsistsinamultitudeoflaboriouspoor;forbesides，thattheyarethenever—failingnurseryoffleetsandarmies，withoutthemtherecouldbenoenjoyment，andnoproductofanycountrycouldbevaluable。\"Tomakethesociety\"[whichofcourseconsistsofnon—workers]
\"happyandpeopleeasierunderthemeanestcircumstances，itisrequisitethatgreatnumbersofthemshouldbeignorantaswellaspoor;knowledgebothenlargesandmultipliesourdesires，andthefewerthingsamanwishesfor，themoreeasilyhisnecessitiesmaybesupplied。\"[3]WhatMandeville，anhonest，clear—headedman，hadnotyetseen，isthatthemechanismoftheprocessofaccumulationitselfincreases，alongwiththecapital，themassof\"labouringpoor，\"i。e。，thewage—labourers，whoturntheirlabour—powerintoanincreasingpowerofself—expansionofthegrowingcapital，andevenbydoingsomusteternisetheirdependentrelationontheirownproduct，aspersonifiedinthecapitalists。Inreferencetothisrelationofdependence，SirF。M。Edeninhis\"TheStateofthePoor，anHistoryoftheLabouringClassesinEngland，\"says，\"thenaturalproduceofoursoiliscertainlynotfullyadequatetooursubsistence;
wecanneitherbeclothed，lodgednorfedbutinconsequenceofsomepreviouslabour。
Aportionatleastofthesocietymustbeindefatigablyemployed……Thereareotherswho，thoughthey’neithertoilnorspin，’canyetcommandtheproduceofindustry，butwhoowetheirexemptionfromlaboursolelytocivilisationandorder……Theyarepeculiarlythecreaturesofcivilinstitutions，[4]whichhaverecognisedthatindividualsmayacquirepropertybyvariousothermeansbesidestheexertionoflabour……
Personsofindependentfortune……owetheirsuperioradvantagesbynomeanstoanysuperiorabilitiesoftheirown，butalmostentirely……totheindustryofothers。Itisnotthepossessionofland，orofmoney，butthecommandoflabourwhichdistinguishestheopulentfromthelabouringpartofthecommunity……This[schemeapprovedbyEden]wouldgivethepeopleofpropertysufficient（butbynomeanstoomuch）influenceandauthorityoverthosewho……workforthem;anditwouldplacesuchlabourers，notinanabjectorservilecondition，butinsuchastateofeasyandliberaldependenceasallwhoknowhumannature，anditshistory，willallowtobenecessaryfortheirowncomfort。\"[5]SirF。M。Eden，itmayberemarkedinpassing，istheonlydiscipleofAdamSmithduringtheeighteenthcenturythatproducedanyworkofimportance。[6]
Undertheconditionsofaccumulationsupposedthusfar，whichconditionsarethosemostfavourabletothelabourers，theirrelationofdependenceuponcapitaltakesonaformendurableor，asEdensays:\"easyandliberal。\"Insteadofbecomingmoreintensivewiththegrowthofcapital，thisrelationofdependenceonlybecomesmoreextensive，i。e。，thesphereofcapital’sexploitationandrulemerelyextendswithitsowndimensionsandthenumberofitssubjects。Alargerpartoftheirownsurplus—product，alwaysincreasingandcontinuallytransformedintoadditionalcapital，comesbacktothemintheshapeofmeansofpayment，sothattheycanextendthecircleoftheirenjoyments;canmakesomeadditionstotheirconsumption—fundofclothes，furniture，&c。，andcanlaybysmallreserve—fundsofmoney。
Butjustaslittleasbetterclothing，food，andtreatment，andalargerpeculium，doawaywiththeexploitationoftheslave，solittledotheysetasidethatofthewage—worker。Ariseinthepriceoflabour，asaconsequenceofaccumulationofcapital，onlymeans，infact，thatthelengthandweightofthegoldenchainthewage—workerhasalreadyforgedforhimself，allowofarelaxationofthetensionofit。Inthecontroversiesonthissubjectthechieffacthasgenerallybeenoverlooked，viz。，thedifferentiaspecificaofcapitalisticproduction。Labour—powerissoldto—day，notwithaviewofsatisfying，byitsserviceorbyitsproduct，thepersonalneedsofthebuyer。Hisaimisaugmentationofhiscapital，productionofcommoditiescontainingmorelabourthanhepaysfor，containingthereforeaportionofvaluethatcostshimnothing，andthatisneverthelessrealisedwhenthecommoditiesaresold。Productionofsurplus—valueistheabsolutelawofthismodeofproduction。
Labour—powerisonlysaleablesofarasitpreservesthemeansofproductionintheircapacityofcapital，reproducesitsownvalueascapital，andyieldsinunpaidlabourasourceofadditionalcapital。[7]Theconditionsofitssale，whethermoreorlessfavourabletothelabourer，includethereforethenecessityofitsconstantre—selling，andtheconstantlyextendedreproductionofallwealthintheshapeofcapital。Wages，aswehaveseen，bytheirverynature，alwaysimplytheperformanceofacertainquantityofunpaidlabouronthepartofthelabourer。Altogether，irrespectiveofthecaseofariseofwageswithafallingpriceoflabour，&c。，suchanincreaseonlymeansatbestaquantitativediminutionoftheunpaidlabourthattheworkerhastosupply。Thisdiminutioncanneverreachthepointatwhichitwouldthreatenthesystemitself。Apartfromviolentconflictsastotherateofwages（andAdamSmithhasalreadyshownthatinsuchaconflict，takenonthewhole，themasterisalwaysmaster），ariseinthepriceoflabourresultingfromaccumulationofcapitalimpliesthefollowingalternative:
Eitherthepriceoflabourkeepsonrising，becauseitsrisedoesnotinterferewiththeprogressofaccumulation。Inthisthereisnothingwonderful，for，saysAdamSmith，\"afterthese（profits）arediminished，stockmaynotonlycontinuetoincrease，buttoincreasemuchfasterthanbefore……
Agreatstock，thoughwithsmallprofits，generallyincreasesfasterthanasmallstockwithgreatprofits。\"（l。c。，ii，p。189。）Inthiscaseitisevidentthatadiminutionintheunpaidlabourinnowayinterfereswiththeextensionofthedomainofcapital。？Or，ontheotherhand，accumulationslackensinconsequenceoftheriseinthepriceoflabour，becausethestimulusofgainisblunted。Therateofaccumulationlessens;butwithitslessening，theprimarycauseofthatlesseningvanishes，i。e。，thedisproportionbetweencapitalandexploitablelabour—power。Themechanismoftheprocessofcapitalistproductionremovestheveryobstaclesthatittemporarilycreates。Thepriceoflabourfallsagaintoalevelcorrespondingwiththeneedsoftheself—expansionofcapital，whetherthelevelbebelow，thesameas，orabovetheonewhichwasnormalbeforetheriseofwagestookplace。Weseethus:Inthefirstcase，itisnotthediminishedrateeitheroftheabsolute，oroftheproportional，increaseinlabour—power，orlabouringpopulation，whichcausescapitaltobeinexcess，butconverselytheexcessofcapitalthatmakesexploitablelabour—powerinsufficient。Inthesecondcase，itisnottheincreasedrateeitheroftheabsolute，oroftheproportional，increaseinlabour—power，orlabouringpopulation，thatmakescapitalinsufficient;but，conversely，therelativediminutionofcapitalthatcausestheexploitablelabour—power，orratheritsprice，tobeinexcess。Itistheseabsolutemovementsoftheaccumulationofcapitalwhicharereflectedasrelativemovementsofthemassofexploitablelabour—power，andthereforeseemproducedbythelatter’sownindependentmovement。Toputitmathematically:therateofaccumulationistheindependent，notthedependent，variable;therateofwages，thedependent，nottheindependent，variable。Thus，whentheindustrialcycleisinthephaseofcrisis，ageneralfallinthepriceofcommoditiesisexpressedasariseinthevalueofmoney，and，inthephaseofprosperity，ageneralriseinthepriceofcommodities，asafallinthevalueofmoney。Theso—calledcurrencyschoolconcludesfromthisthatwithhighpricestoomuch，withlowpricestoolittle[8]moneyisincirculation。Theirignoranceandcompletemisunderstandingoffacts[9]areworthilyparalleledbytheeconomists，whointerprettheabovephenomenaofaccumulationbysayingthattherearenowtoofew，nowtoomanywage—labourers。
Thelawofcapitalistproduction，thatisatthebottomofthepretended\"naturallawofpopulation，\"reducesitselfsimplytothis:Thecorrelationbetweenaccumulationofcapitalandrateofwagesisnothingelsethanthecorrelationbetweentheunpaidlabourtransformedintocapital，andtheadditionalpaidlabournecessaryforthesettinginmotionofthisadditionalcapital。Itisthereforeinnowayarelationbetweentwomagnitudes，independentoneoftheother:ontheonehand，themagnitudeofthecapital;
ontheother，thenumberofthelabouringpopulation;itisrather，atbottom，onlytherelationbetweentheunpaidandthepaidlabourofthesamelabouringpopulation。Ifthequantityofunpaidlaboursuppliedbytheworking—class，andaccumulatedbythecapitalistclass，increasessorapidlythatitsconversionintocapitalrequiresanextraordinaryadditionofpaidlabour，thenwagesrise，and，allothercircumstancesremainingequal，theunpaidlabourdiminishesinproportion。
But。assoonasthisdiminutiontouchesthepointatwhichthesurplus—labourthatnourishescapitalisnolongersuppliedinnormalquantity，areactionsetsin:asmallerpartofrevenueiscapitalisedaccumulationlags，andthemovementofriseinwagesreceivesacheck。Theriseofwagesthereforeisconfinedwithinlimitsthatnotonlyleaveintactthefoundationsofthecapitalisticsystem，butalsosecureitsreproductiononaprogressivescale。Thelawofcapitalisticaccumulation，metamorphosedbyeconomistsintopretendedlawofNature，inrealitymerelystatesthattheverynatureofaccumulationexcludeseverydiminutioninthedegreeofexploitationoflabour，andeveryriseinthepriceoflabour，whichcouldseriouslyimperilthecontinualreproduction，onanever—enlargingscale，ofthecapitalisticrelation。Itcannotbeotherwiseinamodeofproductioninwhichthelabourerexiststosatisfytheneedsofself—expansionofexistingvalues，insteadof，onthecontrary，materialwealthexistingtosatisfytheneedsofdevelopmentonthepartofthelabourer。As，inreligion，manisgovernedbytheproductsofhisownbrain，soincapitalisticproduction，heisgovernedbytheproductsofhisownhand。[10]
SECTION2。RELATIVEDIMINUTIONOFTHEVARIABLEPARTOFCAPITALSIMULTANEOUSLYWITH
THEPROGRESSOFACCUMULATIONANDOFTHECONCENTRATIONTHATACCOMPANIES
IT
Accordingtotheeconomiststhemselves，itisneithertheactualextentofsocialwealth，northemagnitudeofthecapitalalreadyfunctioning，thatleadtoariseofwages，butonlytheconstantgrowthofaccumulationandthedegreeofrapidityofthatgrowth。（AdamSmith，BookI。，chapter8。）Sofar，wehaveonlyconsideredonespecialphaseofthisprocess，thatinwhichtheincreaseofcapitaloccursalongwithaconstanttechnicalcompositionofcapital。Buttheprocessgoesbeyondthisphase。
Oncegiventhegeneralbasisofthecapitalisticsystem，then，inthecourseofaccumulation，apointisreachedatwhichthedevelopmentoftheproductivityofsociallabourbecomesthemostpowerfulleverofaccumulation。\"Thesamecause，\"saysAdamSmith，\"whichraisesthewagesoflabour，theincreaseofstock，tendstoincreaseitsproductivepowers，andtomakeasmallerquantityoflabourproduceagreaterquantityofwork。\"