Theoutcomeofthefirststageofcirculation,ofthesale,providesmoney,thepointofdepartureofthesecondstage。Thefirstformofthecommodityhasnowbeenreplacedbyitsgoldenequivalent。Thisoutcomemaytobeginwithinvolveapause,sincethecommodityhasnowassumedaspecificdurableform。Thecommoditywhichwasnotause—valueinthehandsofitsownerexistsnowinaforminwhichitisalwaysusefulbecauseitcanalwaysbeexchanged,anditdependsoncircumstanceswhenandatwhichpointintheworldofcommoditiesitwillagainbethrownintocirculation。
Thegoldenchrysalisstateformsanindependentphaseinthelifeofthecommodity,inwhichitcanremainforashorterorlongerperiod。Theseparationandindependenceoftheactsofpurchaseandsaleisageneralfeatureofthelabourwhichcreatesexchange—value,whereasinbartertheexchangeofonediscreteuse—valueisdirectlytiedtotheexchangeofanotherdiscreteuse—value。
Thepurchase,M——C,isthereversemovementtoC——Mandatthesametimethesecondorfinalmetamorphosisofthecommodity。Regardedasgoldorasthegeneralequivalent,thecommoditycanbedirectlyexpressedintermsoftheuse—valuesofallothercommodities,allofwhichthroughtheirpricesseekgoldastheirhereafter,andsimultaneouslytheyindicatethekeynotewhichmustbesoundedsothattheirbodies,theuse—values,shouldchangeovertothemoneyside,whiletheirsoul,theexchange—value,isturnedintogold。Thegeneralresultofthealienationofcommoditiesistheabsolutelyalienatedcommodity。Theconversionofgoldintocommoditieshasnoqualitativelimitbutonlyaquantitativelimit,thefactthattheamountofgold,orthevalueitrepresents,islimited。Everythingcanbeobtainedwithreadymoney。Whereasthecommodityrealisesitsownpriceandtheuse—valueofsomeoneelse\'smoneythroughitsalienationasause—valueinthemovementC——M,itrealisesitsownuse—valueandthepriceoftheothercommoditythroughitsalienationasanexchange—valueinthemovementM——C。Justasbytherealisationofitsprice,thecommoditysimultaneouslyturnsgoldintorealmoney,sobyitsretransformationitconvertsgoldintoits（thecommodity\'s）ownmerelytransitorymoneyform。
Becausecommoditycirculationpresupposesanadvanceddivisionoflabourandthereforealsoadiversityofwantsonthepartoftheindividual,adiversitybearinganinverserelationtothenarrowscopeofhisownproduction,thepurchaseM——Cwillattimesconsistofanequationwithonecommodityastheequivalent,andatothertimesofaseriesofcommodityequivalentsdeterminedbythebuyer\'sneedsandtheamountofmoneyathisdisposal。Justasasalemustatthesametimebeapurchase,sothepurchasemustatthesametimebeasale;M——CissimultaneouslyC——
M,butinthiscasegoldorthepurchasertakestheinitiative。
ReturningtothecompletecircuitC——M——C,wecanseethatinitonecommoditypassesthroughtheentireseriesofitsmetamorphoses。Butatthesametimeasthiscommoditybeginsthefirstphaseofitscircuitandundergoesthefirstmetamorphosis,anothercommoditycommencesthesecondphaseofthecircuit,passesthroughitssecondmetamorphosisanddropsoutofcirculation;thefirstcommodity,ontheotherhand,entersthesecondphaseofthecircuit,passesthroughitssecondmetamorphosisanddropsoutofcirculation,whileathirdcommodityentersthesphereofcirculation,passesthroughthefirstphaseofitscycleandaccomplishesthefirstmetamorphosis。ThusthetotalcircuitC——M——Crepresentingthecompletemetamorphosisofacommodityissimultaneouslytheendofacompletemetamorphosisofasecondcommodityandthebeginningofacompletemetamorphosisofathirdcommodity;itisthereforeaserieswithoutbeginningorend。TodemonstratethisandtodistinguishthecommoditiesweshallusedifferentsymbolstodenoteCinthetwoextremes,e。g。,C\'——M——
C\"。Indeed,thefirsttermC\'——MpresupposesthatMistheoutcomeofanotherC——M,andisaccordinglyitselfonlythelasttermofthecircuitC——M——C\',whilethesecondtermM——C\'\'impliesthatitwillresultinC\"——M,andconstitutesthefirsttermofthecircuitC\"——M——C\'\",andsoon。Itismoreoverevident,that,althoughMistheoutcomeofasinglesale,thelasttermM——CmaytaketheformofM——C\'
M——C\'\'M——C\"\',andsoforth;inotherwordsitmaybedividedintonumerouspurchases,i。e。,intonumeroussalesandhencenumerousfirsttermsofnewcompletemetamorphosesofcommodities。Whileinthiswaythecompletemetamorphosisofasinglecommodityformsnotonlyalinkofjustonesequenceofmetamorphoseswithoutbeginningorend,butofmanysuchsequences,thecirculationoftheworldofcommodities——sinceeveryindividualcommoditygoesthroughthecircuitC——M——C——constitutesaninfinitelyintricatenetworkofsuchseriesofmovements,whichconstantlyendandconstantlybeginafreshataninfinitenumberofdifferentpoints。Buteachindividualsaleorpurchasestandsasanindependentisolatedtransaction,whosecomplementarytransaction,whichconstitutesitscontinuation,doesnotneedtofollowimmediatelybutmaybeseparatedfromittemporallyandspatially。BecauseeveryparticularcycleC——MorM——Crepresentingthetransformationofonecommodityintouse—valueandofanotherintomoney,i。e。,thefirstandsecondphaseofthecircuit,formsaseparateintervalforbothsides,andsinceontheotherhandallcommoditiesbegintheirsecondmetamorphosis,thatisturnupatthestartingpointofthecircuit\'ssecondphase,intheformofgold,thegeneralequivalent,aformcommontothemall,intherealprocessofcirculationanyM——C
mayfollowanyparticularC——M,i。e。,thesecondsectionofthelifecycleofanycommoditymayfollowthefirstsectionofthelifecycleofanyothercommodity。Forexample,Asellsironfor£2,andthusC
——Morthefirstmetamorphosisofthecommodityironhastakenplace,butforthetimebeingAdoesnotbuyanythingelse。AtthesametimeB,whohadsoldtwoquartersofwheatfor£6twoweeksago,buysacoatandtrousersfromMosesandSonwiththesame5~6,andtherebycompletesM——Corthesecondmetamorphosisofthecommoditywheat。ThetwotransactionsM——CandC——Mappeartobepartsofthesamesequenceonlybecause。
asM[moneyor]gold,allcommoditieslookalikeandgolddoesnotlookanydifferentwhetheritrepresentstransformedironortransformedwheat。
IntherealprocessofcirculationC——M——C,therefore,representsanexceedinglyhaphazardcoincidenceandsuccessionofmotleyphasesofvariouscompletemetamorphoses。Theactualprocessofcirculationappears,therefore,notasacompletemetamorphosisofthecommodity,i。e。,notasitsmovementthroughoppositephases,butasamereaccumulationofnumerouspurchasesandsaleswhichchancetooccursimultaneouslyorsuccessively。
Theprocessaccordinglylosesitsdistinctform,especiallyaseachindividualtransaction,e。g。,asale,issimultaneouslyitsopposite,apurchase,andviceversa。Ontheotherhand,themetamorphosesintheworldofcommoditiesconstitutetheprocessofcirculationandtheformermustthereforebereflectedinthetotalmovementofcirculation。Thisreflectionwillbeexaminedinthenextsection。HereweshallmerelyobservethattheCateachofthetwoextremesofthecircuitC——M——ChasadifferentformalrelationtoM。ThefirstCisaparticularcommoditywhichiscomparedwithmoneyastheuniversalcommodity,whereasinthesecondphasemoneyastheuniversalcommodityiscomparedwithanindividualcommodity。
TheformulaC——M——CcanthereforebereducedtotheabstractlogicalsyllogismP——U——I,whereparticularityformsthefirstextreme,universalitycharacterisesthecommonmiddletermandindividualitysignifiesthefinalextreme。
Thecommodity—ownersenteredthesphereofcirculationmerelyasguardiansofcommodities。Withinthisspheretheyconfrontoneanotherintheantitheticalrolesofbuyerandseller,onepersonifyingasugar—loaf,theothergold。
Justasthesugar—loafbecomesgold,sothesellerbecomesabuyer。Thesedistinctivesocialcharactersare,therefore,bynomeansduetoindividualhumannatureassuch,buttotheexchangerelationsofpersonswhoproducetheirgoodsinthespecificformofcommodities。Solittledoestherelationofbuyerandsellerrepresentapurelyindividualrelationshipthattheyenterintoitonlyinsofarastheirindividuallabourisnegated,thatistosay,turnedintomoneyasnon—individuallabour。Itisthereforeasabsurdtoregardbuyerandseller,thesebourgeoiseconomictypes,aseternalsocialformsofhumanindividuality,asitispreposteroustoweepoverthemassignifyingtheabolitionofindividuality。[3]Theyareanessentialexpressionofindividualityarisingataparticularstageofthesocialprocessofproduction。Theantagonisticnatureofbourgeoisproductionis,moreover,expressedintheantithesisofbuyerandsellerinsuchasuperficialandformalmannerthatthisantithesisexistsalreadyinpre—bourgeoissocialformations,foritrequiresmerelythattherelationsofindividualstooneanothershouldbethoseofcommodity—owners。
AnexaminationoftheoutcomeofthecircuitC——M——CshowsthatitdissolvesintotheexchangeofC——C。Commodityhasbeenexchangedforcommodity,use—valueforuse—value,andthetransformationofthecommodityintomoney,orthecommodityasmoney,ismerelyanintermediarystagewhichhelpstobringaboutthismetabolism。Moneyemergesthusasameremediumofexchangeofcommodities,nothoweverasamediumofexchangeingeneral,butamediumofexchangeadaptedtotheprocessofcirculation,i。e。,amediumofcirculation。[4]
If,becausetheprocessofcirculationofcommoditiesendsinC——C
andthereforeappearsasbartermerelymediatedbymoney,orbecauseC
——M——Cingeneraldoesnotonlyfallapartintotwoisolatedcyclesbutissimultaneouslytheirdynamicunity,theconclusionweretobedrawnthatonlytheunityandnottheseparationofpurchaseandsaleexists,thiswoulddisplayamannerofthinkingthecriticismofwhichbelongstothesphereoflogicandnotofeconomics。Thedivisionofexchangeintopurchaseandsalenotonlydestroyslocallyevolvedprimitive,traditionallypiousandsentimentallyabsurdobstaclesstandinginthewayofsocialmetabolism,butitalsorepresentsthegeneralfragmentationoftheassociatedfactorsofthisprocessandtheirconstantconfrontation,inshortitcontainsthegeneralpossibilityofcommercialcrises,essentiallybecausethecontradictionofcommodityandmoneyistheabstractandgeneralformofallcontradictionsinherentinthebourgeoismodeoflabour。Althoughcirculationofmoneycanoccurthereforewithoutcrises,crisescannotoccurwithoutcirculationofmoney。Thissimplymeansthatwherelabourbasedonindividualexchangehasnotyetevolvedamonetarysystem,itisquiteunableofcoursetoproducephenomenathatpresupposeafulldevelopmentofthebourgeoismodeofproduction。Thisdisplaystheprofundityofthecriticismthatproposestoremedythe\"shortcomings\"ofthebourgeoissystemofproductionbyabolishingthe\"privileges\"ofpreciousmetalsandbyintroducingaso—calledrationalmonetarysystem。Apropositionreputedtobeexceedinglyclevermayontheotherhandserveasanexampleofeconomicapologetics。JamesMill,thefatherofthewell—knownEnglisheconomistJohnStuartMill,says:
\"Whatever……betheamountoftheannualproduce,itnevercanexceedtheamountoftheannualdemand……Oftwomenwhoperformanexchange,theonedoesnotcomewithonlyasupply,theotherwithonlyademand;eachofthemcomeswithbothademandandasupply……
Thesupplywhichhebringsistheinstrumentofhisdemandandhisdemandandsupplyareofcourseexactlyequaltooneanother。Itis,therefore,impossiblethatthereshouldeverbeinanycountryacommodityorcommoditiesinquantitygreaterthanthedemand,withouttherebeing,toanequalamount,someothercommodityorcommoditiesinquantitylessthanthedemand。\"[5]
Millestablishesequilibriumbyreducingtheprocessofcirculationtodirectbarter,butontheotherhandheinsinuatesbuyerandseller,figuresderivedfromtheprocessofcirculation,——intodirectbarter。
UsingMill\'sconfusinglanguageonemaysaythattherearetimeswhenitisimpossibletosellallcommodities,forinstanceinLondonandHamburgduringcertainstagesofthecommercialcrisisof1857/58therewereindeedmorebuyersthansellersofonecommodity,i。e。,money,andmoresellersthanbuyersasregardsallotherformsofmoney,i。e,commodities。Themetaphysicalequilibriumofpurchasesandsalesisconfinedtothefactthateverypurchaseisasaleandeverysaleapurchase,butthisgivespoorcomforttothepossessorsofcommoditieswhounabletomakeasalecannotaccordinglymakeapurchaseeither。[6]97
Theseparationofsaleandpurchasemakespossiblenotonlycommerceproper,butalsonumerousproformatransactions,beforethefinalexchangeofcommoditiesbetweenproducerandconsumertakesplace。Itthusenableslargenumbersofparasitestoinvadetheprocessofproductionandtotakeadvantageofthisseparation。Butthisagainmeansonlythatmoney,theuniversalformoflabourinbourgeoissociety,makesthedevelopmentoftheinherentcontradictionspossible。
FOOTNOTES1。\"Therearetwokindsofmoney,nominalandreal,anditcanbeusedintwodistinctways,tomeasurethevalueofthingsandtobuythem。Nominalmoneyisassuitableforvaluingthingsasisrealmoneyanditmaybeevenbetter。Moneyisalsousedforbuyingthethingswhichhavebeenvalued……Pricesandcontractsarecalculatedinnominalmoneyandareexecutedinrealmoney\"（Galiani,op。cit。,p。112etseq。]。
2。Thisdoesnot,ofcourse,preventthemarket—priceofcommoditiesfromrisingaboveorfallingbelowtheirvalue。Butthisconsiderationliesoutsidethesphereofsimplecirculationandbelongstoquiteadifferentspheretobeexaminedlater,inwhichcontextweshalldiscusstherelationofvalueandmarket—price。
3。ThefollowingextractfromM。IsaacPereire\'sLeconssurl\'industrieetlesfinances,Paris,1832,showsthatdelicatespiritscanbedeeplyhurtevenbythequitesuperficialaspectofantagonismwhichisrepresentedbypurchaseandsale。ThefactthatthesameIsaacistheinventoranddictatoroftheCréditmobilierandassuchanotoriouswolfoftheParisstockexchangepointstotherealsignificanceofsuchsentimentalcriticismofeconomics。M。Pereire,atthattimeanapostleofSt。Simon,says:\"Sinceindividualsareisolatedandseparatedfromoneanother,whetherintheirlabourortheirconsumption,theyexchangetheproductsoftheirrespectiveoccupations。Thenecessityofexchangingthingsentailsthenecessityofdeterminingtheirrelativevalue。Theideasofvalueandexchangearethereforecloselylinkedandintheirpresentformbothareexpressionsofindividualismandantagonism……Thevalueofproductsisdeterminedonlybecausethereissaleandpurchase,inotherwords,becausethereisantagonismbetweendifferentmembersofsociety。Preoccupationwithpriceandvalueexistsonlywherethereissaleandpurchase,thatistosay,whereeveryindividualiscompelledtofightinordertoobtainthethingsnecessaryforthemaintenanceofhisexistence\"（op。cit。,pp。
2,3passim）。
4。\"Moneyisonlythemediumandtheagency,whereascommoditiesthatbenefitlifearetheaimandpurpose。\"Boisguillebert,LedéteildelaFrance,1697,inEugeneDaires\'sEconomistesfinanciersduXVIIIesiècle,Vol。I,Paris,1843,p。210。
5。ApamphletbyWilliamSpenceentitledBritainIndependentofCommercewaspublishedinLondoninNovember1807,itsthesiswasfurtherelaboratedbyWilliamCobbettinhisPoliticalRegisterunderthemoremilitantheading\"PerishCommerce\"。AgainstthisJamesMillwrotehisDefenceofCommerce,whichappearedin1808;inthatworkhealreadyadvancestheargumentwhichisalsocontainedinthepassagequotedabovefromhisElementsofPoliticalEconomy。ThisingeniousinventionhasbeenappropriatedbyJ。B。Say,andusedinhispolemicagainstSismondiandMalthusonthequestionofcommercialcrises,andsinceitwasnotclearwhichnewideathiscomicalprincedelascience——whosemeritconsistsratherintheimpartialitywithwhichheconsistentlymisinterpretedhiscontemporariesMalthus,SismondiandRicardo——hascontributedtopoliticaleconomy,continentaladmirershaveproclaimedhimasthediscovereroftheinvaluablepropositionaboutametaphysicalequilibriumofpurchasesandsales。
6。Thewayinwhicheconomistsdescribethedifferentaspectsofthecommoditymaybeseenfromthefollowingexamples:
\"Withmoneyinpossession,wehavebutoneexchangetomakeinordertosecuretheobjectofdesire,whilewithothersurplusproductswehavetwo,thefirstofwhich（securingthemoney）isinfinitelymoredifficultthanthesecond\"（G。Opdyke,ATreatiseonPoliticalEconomy,NewYork,[1851）,pp。287—88）。
\"Thesuperiorsaleablenessofmoneybeingtheexacteffectornaturalconsequenceofthelesssaleablenessofcommodities\"（ThomasCorbet,AnInquiryintotheCausesandModesoftheWealthofIndividuals,etc。,London,1841,p。117）。
\"Moneyhasthe……qualityofbeingalwaysexchangeableforwhatitmeasures\"
（Bosanquet,Metallic,Paper,andCreditCurrency\",London1842,p。100）。
\"Moneycanalwaysbuyothercommodities,whereasothercommoditiescannotalwaysbuymoney\"（ThomasTooke,AnInquiryintotheCurrencyPrinciple,SecondEd。,London,1844,p。10。）
TheCirculationofMoneyKarlMarx\'sACONTRIBUTIONTOTHECRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
b。TheCirculationofMoneyInthefirstinstancerealcirculationconsistsofamassofrandompurchasesandsalestakingplacesimultaneously。Inbothpurchaseandsalecommoditiesandmoneyconfronteachotherinthesameway;thesellerrepresentsthecommodity,thebuyerthemoney。Asameansofcirculationmoneythereforeappearsalwaysasameansofpurchase,andthisobscuresthefactthatitfulfilsdifferentfunctionsintheantitheticalphasesofthemetamorphosisofcommodities。
Moneypassesintothehandsofthesellerinthesametransactionwhichtransfersthecommodityintothehandsofthebuyer。Commodityandmoneythusmoveinoppositedirections,andthischangeofplaces——inthecourseofwhichthecommoditycrossesovertoonesideandmoneytotheother——occurssimultaneouslyatanindefinitenumberofpointsalongtheentiresurfaceofbourgeoissociety。Butthefirstmoveofthecommodityinthesphereofcirculationisalsoitslastmove。[1]Nomatterwhetherthecommoditychangesitspositionbecausegoldisattractedbyit（C——M）orbecauseitisattractedbygold（M——C）,inconsequenceofthesinglemove,thesinglechangeofplace,itfallsoutofthesphereofcirculationintothatofconsumption。Circulationisaperpetualmovementofcommodities,thoughalwaysofdifferentcommodities,andeachcommoditymakesbutonemove。Eachcommoditybeginsthesecondphaseofitscircuitnotasthesamecommodity,butasadifferentcommodity,i。e。,gold。Themovementofthemetamorphosedcommodityisthusthemovementofgold。ThesamecoinortheidenticalbitofgoldwhichinthetransactionC——MchangedplaceswithacommoditybecomesinturnthestartingpointofM——C,andthusforthesecondtimechangesplaceswithanothercommodity。
JustasitpassedfromthehandsofB,thebuyer,intothoseofA,theseller,sonowitpassesfromthehandsofA,whohasbecomeabuyer,intothoseofC。Thechangesintheformofacommodity,itstransformationintomoneyanditsretransformationfrommoney,inotherwordsthemovementofthetotalmetamorphosisofacommodity,accordinglyappearastheextrinsicmovementofasinglecoinwhichchangesplacestwice,withtwodifferentcommodities。Howeverscatteredandfortuitousthesimultaneouspurchasesandsalesmaybe,abuyerisalwaysconfrontedbyasellerinactualcirculation,andthemoneywhichtakestheplaceofthecommoditysoldmustalreadyhavechangedplacesoncewithanothercommoditybeforereachingthehandsofthebuyer。Ontheotherhand,soonerorlaterthemoneywillpassagainfromthehandsofthesellerwhohasbecomeabuyerintothoseofanewseller,anditsrepeatedchangesofplaceexpresstheinterlockingofthemetamorphosesofcommodities。Thesamecoinsthereforeproceed——alwaysintheoppositedirectiontothecommoditiesmoved——fromonepointofthecircuittoanother;somecoinsmovemorefrequently,otherslessfrequently,thusdescribingalongerorshortercurve。Thedifferentmovementsofoneandthesamecoincanfollowoneanotheronlytemporally,justasconverselythemultiplicityandfragmentationofthepurchasesandsalesarereflectedinthesimultaneousandspatiallyconcurrentchangesofplaceofcommodityandmoney。
Thesimpleformofcommoditycirculation,C——M——C,takesplacewhenmoneypassesfromthehandsofthebuyerintothoseofthesellerandfromthesellerwhohasbecomeabuyerintothehandsofanewseller。Thisconcludesthemetamorphosisofthecommodityandhencethemovementofmoneyinsofarasitistheexpressionofthismetamorphosis。Butsincetherearenewuse—valuesproducedcontinuouslyintheformofcommodities,whichmustthereforebethrowncontinuouslyafreshintothesphereofcirculation,thecircuitC——M——Cisrenewedandrepeatedbythesamecommodity—owners。Themoneytheyhavespentasbuyersreturnstothemwhentheyoncemorebecomesellersofcommodities。Theperpetualrenewalofcommoditycirculationisreflectedinthefactthatovertheentiresurfaceofbourgeoissocietymoneynotonlycirculatesfromonepersontoanotherbutthatatthesametimeitdescribesanumberofdistinctsmallcircuits,startingfromaninfinitevarietyofpointsandreturningtothesamepoints,inordertorepeatthemovementafresh。
Asthechangeofformofthecommodityappearsasamerechangeinplaceofmoney,andthecontinuityofthemovementofcirculationbelongsentirelytothemonetaryside——becausethecommodityalwaysmakesonlyonestepinthedirectionoppositetothatofmoney,moneyhoweverinvariablymakingthesecondstepforthecommoditytocompletethemotionbegunbythecommodity——sotheentiremovementappearstobeinitiatedbymoney,althoughduringthesalethecommoditycausesthemoneytomove,thusbringingaboutthecirculationofthemoneyinthesamewayasduringthepurchasethemoneybringsaboutthecirculationofthecommodity。Sincemoreovermoneyalwaysconfrontscommoditiesasameansofpurchaseandassuchcausescommoditiestomovemerelybyrealisingtheirprices,theentiremovementofcirculationappearstoconsistofmoneychangingplaceswithcommoditiesbyrealisingtheirpriceseitherinseparatetransactionswhichoccursimultaneously,sidebyside,orsuccessivelywhenthesamecoinrealisesthepricesofdifferentcommoditiesoneafteranother。If,forexample,oneexaminesC——M——C\'——M——C\"——M——C\"\',etc。,anddisregardsthequalitativeaspects,whichbecomeunrecognisableinactualcirculation,thereemergesonlythesamemonotonousoperation。AfterrealisingthepriceofC,MsuccessivelyrealisesthepricesofC\',C\",etc。,andthecommoditiesC\',C\",C\'\'\',etc。,invariablytaketheplacevacatedbymoney。Itthusappearsthatmoneycausesthecirculationofcommoditiesbyrealisingtheirprices。Whileitservestorealiseprices,moneyitselfcirculatescontinuously,sometimesmovingmerelytoadifferentplace,atothertimestracingacurveordescribingasmallcycleinwhichthepointsofdepartureandofreturnareidentical。Asamediumofcirculationithasacirculationofitsown。Themovementandchangingformsofthecirculatingcommoditiesthusappearasthemovementofmoneymediatingtheexchangeofcommodities,whichareinthemselvesimmobile。Themovementofthecirculationprocessofcommoditiesisthereforerepresentedbythemovementofmoneyasthemediumofcirculation,i。e。,bythecirculationofmoney。
Justascommodity—ownerspresentedtheproductsofindividuallabourasproductsofsociallabour,bytransformingathing,i。e。,gold,intothedirectembodimentoflabour—timeingeneralandthereforeintomoney,sonowtheirownuniversalmovementbywhichtheybringabouttheexchangeofthematerialelementsoftheirlabourconfrontsthemasthespecificmovementofathing,i。e。,asthecirculationofgold。Thesocialmovementisforthecommodityownersontheonehandanexternalnecessityandontheothermerelyaformalintermediaryprocessenablingeachindividualtoobtaindifferentuse—valuesofthesametotalvalueasthatofthecommoditieswhichhehasthrownintocirculation。Thecommoditybeginstofunctionasause—valuewhenitleavesthesphereofcirculation,whereastheuse—valueofmoneyasameansofcirculationconsistsinitsverycirculation。Themovementofthecommodityinthesphereofcirculationisonlyaninsignificantfactor,whereasperpetualrotationwithinthisspherebecomesthefunctionofmoney。Thespecificfunctionwhichitfulfilswithincirculationgivesmoneyasthemediumofcirculationanewanddistinctiveaspect,whichnowhastobeanalysedinmoredetail。
Firstofall,itisevidentthatthecirculationofmoneyisaninfinitelydividedmovement,foritreflectstheinfinitefragmentationoftheprocessofcirculationintopurchasesandsales,andthecompleteseparationofthecomplementaryphasesofthemetamorphosisofcommodities。Itistruethatarecurrentmovement,realcircularmotion,takesplaceinthesmallcircuitsofmoneyinwhichthepointofdepartureandthepointofreturnareidentical;butinthefirstplace,thereareasmanypointsofdepartureastherearecommodities,andtheirindefinitemultitudebalksanyattempttocheck,measureandcomputethesecircuits。Thetimewhichpassesbetweenthedeparturefromandthereturntothestartingpointisequallyuncertain。
Itis,moreover,quiteirrelevantwhetherornotsuchacircuitisdescribedinaparticularcase。Noeconomicfactismorewidelyknownthanthatsomebodymayspendmoneywithoutreceivingitback。Moneystartsitscircuitfromanendlessmultitudeofpointsandreturnstoanendlessmultitudeofpoints,butthecoincidenceofthepointofdepartureandthepointofreturnisfortuitous,becausethemovementC——M——Cdoesnotnecessarilyimplythatthebuyerbecomesaselleragain。Itwouldbeevenlesscorrecttodepictthecirculationofmoneyasamovementwhichradiatesfromonecentretoallpointsoftheperipheryandreturnsfromalltheperipheralpointstothesamecentre。Theso—calledcircuitofmoney,aspeopleimagineit,simplyamountstothefactthattheappearanceofmoneyanditsdisappearance,itsperpetualmovementfromoneplacetoanother,iseverywherevisible。
Whenconsideringamoreadvancedformofmoneyusedtomediatecirculation,e。g。,bank—notes,weshallfindthattheconditionsgoverningtheissueofmoneydeterminealsoitsreflux。Butasregardssimplemoneycirculationitisamatterofchancewhetheraparticularbuyerbecomesaselleronceagain。Whereactualcircularmotionsaretakingplacecontinuouslyinthesphereofsimplemoneycirculation,theymerelyreflectthemorefundamentalprocessesofproduction,forinstance,withthemoneywhichthemanufacturerreceivesfromhisbankeronFridayhepayshisworkersonSaturday,theyimmediatelyhandoverthelargerpartofittoretailers,etc。,andthelatterreturnittothebankeronMonday。
Wehaveseenthatmoneysimultaneouslyrealisesagivensumofpricescomprisingthemotleypurchasesandsaleswhichcoexistinspace,andthatitchangesplaceswitheachcommodityonlyonce。But,ontheotherhand,insofarasthemovementsofcompletemetamorphosesofcommoditiesandtheconcatenationofthesemetamorphosesarereflectedinthemovementofmoney,thesamecoinrealisesthepricesofvariouscommoditiesandthusmakesalargerorsmallernumberofcircuits。Hence,ifweconsidertheprocessofcirculationinacountryduringadefiniteperiod,forinstanceaday,thentheamountofgoldrequiredfortherealisationofpricesandaccordinglyforthecirculationofcommoditiesisdeterminedbytwofactors:
ontheonehand,thesumtotalofpricesand,ontheotherhand,theaveragenumberofcircuitswhichtheindividualgoldcoinsmake。Thenumberofcircuitsorthevelocityofmoneycirculationisinitsturndeterminedby,orsimplyreflects,theaveragevelocityofthecommoditiespassingthroughthevariousphasesoftheirmetamorphosis,thespeedwithwhichthemetamorphosesconstitutingachainfollowoneanother,andthespeedwithwhichnewcommoditiesarethrownintocirculationtoreplacethosethathavecompletedtheirmetamorphosis。