[14。]SeethepassagefromXenophonquotedlater[15。]Jacob,op。cit。,Vol。11,ch。25and26
[16。]\"Intimesofgreatagitationandinsecurity,especiallyduringinternalcommotionsorinvasions,goldandsilverarticlesarerapidlyconvertedintornoney;whilst,duringperiodsoftranquillityandprosperity,moneyisconvertedintoplateandjewellery\"（op。cit。,Vol。II,p。357）。
[17。]InthefollowingpassageXenophondiscussesmoneyandhoard,twospecificanddistinctaspectsofmoney:\"OfalloperationswithwhichIamacquainted,thisistheonlyoneinwhichnosortofjealousyisfeltatafurtherdevelopmentoftheindustry……thelargerthequantityoforediscoveredandthegreatertheamountofsilverextracted,thegreaterthenumberofpersonsreadytoengageintheoperation……Noonewhenhehasgotsufficientfurnitureforhishousedreamsofmakingfurtherpurchasesonthishead,butofsilvernooneeveryetpossessedsomuchthathewasforcedtocry\'Enough\'。Onthecontrary,ifeveranybodydoesbecomepossessedofanimmoderateamounthefindsasmuchpleasureindiggingaholeinthegroundandhoardingitasanactualemploymentofit……Whenastateisprosperousthereisnothingwhichpeoplesomuchdesireassilver。Themenwantmoneytoexpendonbeautifularmourandfinehorses,andhousesandsumptuousparaphernaliaofallsorts。Thewomenbetakethemselvestoexpensiveapparelandornamentsofgold。Orwhenstatesaresick,eitherthroughbarrennessofcornandotherfruits,orthroughwar,thedemandforcurrentcoinisevenmoreimperative（whilstthegroundliesunproductive）,topayfornecessariesormilitaryaid。\"（XenophonDeVectigalibus,C。IV[transl。byH。G。Dakyns,London,1892,Vol。II,pp。33i—36]。）InCh。9,BookIofhisPolitics,AristotlesetsforththetwocircuitsofcirculationC——M——CandM——C——M,whichhecalls\"economics\"
and\"Chrematistics\",andtheirdifferences。ThetwoformsarecontrastedwitheachotherbytheGreektragedians,especiallyEuripides。
MeansofPaymentKarlMarx\'sACONTRIBUTIONTOTHECRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
b。MeansofPaymentUptonowtwoformsofmoneywhichdifferfromthemediumofcirculationhavebeenconsidered,namelysuspendedcoinandhoard。Thefirstform,thetemporarytransformationofcoinsintomoney,reflectsthefactthatinacertainsphereofcirculation,thesecondtermofC
——M——C,thatisM——Cthepurchase,mustbreakupintoaseriesofsuccessivepurchases。Hoarding,however,iseithersimplyduetotheseparationofthetransactionC——MwhichdoesnotproceedtoM——C,oritismerelyanindependentdevelopmentofthefirstmetamorphosisofcommodities,money,orthealienatedformofexistenceofallcommoditiesasdistinctfrommeansofcirculation,whichrepresentsthealwayssaleableformofthecommodity。Coinheldinreserveandhoardsconstitutemoneyonlyasnon—meansofcirculation,andarenon—meansofcirculationmerelybecausetheydonotcirculate。Thedistinctiveformofmoneywhichwenowconsidercirculatesorenterscirculation,butdoesnotfunctionasmeansofcirculation。Moneyasmeansofcirculationwasalwaysmeansofpurchase,butnowitdoesnotserveinthatcapacity。
Whenasaresultofhoardingmoneybecomestheembodimentofabstractsocialwealthandthematerialrepresentativeofphysicalwealth,thisaspectofmoneyacquiresspecificfunctionswithintheprocessofcirculation。
Whenmoneycirculatessimplyasameansofcirculationandhenceasameansofpurchase,thispresupposesthatcommodityandmoneyconfronteachothersimultaneously;inotherwords,thatthesamevalueisavailabletwice,asacommodityinthehandsoftheselleratonepole,andasmoneyinthehandsofthebuyerattheotherpole。Thesimultaneousexistenceofthetwoequivalentsatoppositepolesandtheirsimultaneouschangeofplace,ortheirmutualalienation,presupposesinitsturnthatsellerandbuyerenterintorelationwitheachotheronlyasownersofactuallyexistingcommodities。Butthemetamorphosisofcommodities,inthecourseofwhichthevariousdistinctformsofmoneyareevolved,transformsthecommodity—ownersaswell,andaltersthesocialroletheyplayinrelationtooneanother。Inthecourseofthemetamorphosisofcommoditiesthekeeperofcommoditieschangeshisskinasoftenasthecommodityundergoesachangeorasmoneyappearsinanewform。Commodity—ownersthusfacedeachotheroriginallysimplyascommodity—owners;thenoneofthembecameaseller,theotherabuyer;theneachbecamealternatelybuyerandseller;thentheybecamehoardersandfinallyrichmen。Commodity—ownersemergingfromtheprocessofcirculationareaccordinglydifferentfromthoseenteringtheprocess。Thedifferentformswhichmoneyassumesintheprocessofcirculationareinfactonlycrystallisationsofthetransformationofcommodities,atransformationwhichisinitsturnonlytheobjectiveexpressionofthechangingsocialrelationsinwhichcommodity—ownersconducttheirexchange。Newrelationsofintercourseariseintheprocessofcirculation,andcommodity—owners,whorepresentthesechangedrelations,acquireneweconomiccharacteristics。Inthesamewayaswithinthesphereofinternalcirculationmoneybecomesnominal,andamerepieceofpaperrepresentinggoldisabletofunctionasmoney,soabuyerorsellerwhocomesforwardasamererepresentativeofmoneyorcommodities,namelyonewhorepresentsfuturemoneyorfuturecommodities,isenabledbythesameprocesstooperateasarealbuyerorseller。
Allthedistinctformsevolvedbygoldasmoneyaremerelymanifestationsofaspectslatentinthemetamorphosisofcommodities,buttheseaspectsdidnotassumeaseparateforminthesimplecirculationofmoney,inmoneyasitappearsascoinandthecircuitC——M——Casadynamicunity,orelsetheyemergedmerelyaspotentialities,asdidforexampletheinterruptionofthemetamorphosisofcommodities。WehaveseenthatinthecourseofthetransactionC——Mthecommodityasarealuse—valueandnominalexchange—valueisbroughtintorelationwithmoneyasarealexchange—valueandonlynominaluse—value。Byalienatingthecommodityasuse—valuethesellerrealisesitsexchange—valueandtheuse—valueofmoney。Incontrast,byalienatingmoneyasexchange—value,thebuyerrealisesitsuse—valueandthepriceofthecommodity。Commodityandmoney,accordingly,changeplaces。Theactiveprocessofthisbilateralpolarantithesisisinitsturnseparatedwhileitisbeingcarriedthrough。Theselleractuallyalienatesthecommoditybutrealisesitspriceinthefirstplaceonlynominally。Hehassoldthecommodityatitsprice,butthepricewillonlyberealisedatapredeterminedlaterdate。Thebuyerbuysastherepresentativeoffuturemoney,whereasthesellersellsastheownerofacommodityavailablehereandnow。Ontheonehand,theselleractuallyhandsoverthecommodityasuse—valuewithoutactuallyrealisingitsprice;ontheotherhand,thebuyeractuallyrealiseshismoneyintheuse—valueofthecommoditywithoutactuallyhandingoverthemoneyasexchange—value。Justasformerlymoneywasrepresentedbyatokenofvalue,sonowitissymbolicallyrepresentedbythebuyerhimself。Justasformerlythevalue—tokenasauniversalsymbolentailedaStateguaranteeandalegalrate,sonowthebuyerasapersonalsymbolgivesrisetoprivate,legallyenforcible,contractsamongcommodity—owners。
Conversely,inthetransactionM——C,moneyasarealmeansofpurchasemaybealienated,thusrealisingthepriceofthecommoditybeforetheuse—valueofthemoneyisrealised,orbeforethecommodityishandedover。
Thishappens,forinstance,inthewell—knownformofadvancepayment;
alsointheformofpaymentusedbytheEnglishgovernmenttobuyopiumfromIndianryots,andislargelyusedbyforeignmerchantslivinginRussiatobuygoodsproducedinthatcountry。Inthesecases,however,moneyfunctionsonlyinthefamiliarformofmeansofpurchaseandthereforerequiresnonewdefinition,[1]oranyfurtherdiscussion。WithregardtothechangedformwhichthetwotransactionsM——CandC——Massumehere,weshallonlynotethatthepurelyconceptualdistinctionofpurchaseandsaleasitappearsdirectlyincirculationbecomesnowarealdistinction,sincethereisonlymoneyinonecaseandonlycommodityintheother;ineachofthem,however,onlytheextremeisactuallyavailablefromwhichtheinitiativecomes。
Bothforms,moreover,haveincommonthefactthatineachofthemoneequivalentexistsonlybycommondecisionofbuyerandseller,adecisionwhichismutuallybindingandisgivenadistinctlegalform。
Sellerandbuyerbecomecreditoranddebtor。Whereasthecommodity—ownerastheguardianofahoardwasarathercomicalfigure,henowbecomesterrifying,becauseheregards,nothimself,buthisneighbourastheembodimentofadefinitesumofmoney,andturnshisneighbourandnothimselfintoamartyrtoexchange—value。Theformerbelieverbecomesacreditor[InGermanapunonthewords\"derGläubige\",thebeliever,and\"derGläubiger\",thecreditor。——Ed]andturnsfromreligiontoJurisprudence。
\"Istayhereonmybond！\"
InthechangedformofC——M,inwhichthecommodityisactuallyonhandandthemoneyismerelyrepresented,moneyfunctionsfirstasthemeasureofvalue。Theexchange—valueofthecommodityisassessedinmoneyasitsmeasure,buttheexchange—valueassessedbycontract,thatistheprice,existsnotmerelyinthemindoftheseller,butisalsothemeasureoftheliabilitiesofthebuyer。Secondly,moneyfunctionshereasmeansofpurchase,althoughitismerelyitsfutureexistencewhichcastsitsshadowbeforeit,foritcausesthecommoditytomovefromthehandsofthesellerintothoseofthebuyer。Onthesettlementdayofthecontract,moneyenterscirculation,foritmovesfromthehandsoftheformerbuyerintothoseoftheformerseller。Butitdoesnotcomeintothesphereofcirculationasmeansofcirculationormeansofpurchase。Itfulfilledthesefunctionsbeforeitexisted,anditappearsonthesceneafterceasingtoperformthesefunctions。Itenterscirculationastheonlyadequateequivalentofthecommodity,astheabsoluteembodimentofexchange—value,asthelastwordoftheexchangeprocess,inshortasmoney,andmoreoverasmoneyfunctioningastheuniversalmeansofpayment。Moneyfunctioningasmeansofpaymentappearstobetheabsolutecommodity,butitremainswithinthesphereofcirculation,notoutsideitaswiththehoard。Thedifferencebetweenmeansofpurchaseandmeansofpaymentbecomesveryconspicuous,andunpleasantlyso,attimesofcommercialcrises。[2]
Theconversionofproductsintomoneyinthesphereofcirculationappearsoriginallysimplyasanindividualnecessityforthecommodity—ownerwhenhisownproductdoesnotconstituteuse—valueforhimself,buthasstilltobecomeause—valuethroughalienation。Inordertomakepaymentonthecontractualsettlementday,however,hemustalreadyhavesoldcommodities。
Theevolutionofthecirculationprocessthusturnssellingintoasocialnecessityforhim,quiteirrespectiveofhisindividualneeds。Asaformerbuyerofcommoditiesheisforcedtobecomeasellerofothercommoditiessoastoobtainmoney,notasameansofpurchase,butasameansofpayment,astheabsoluteformofexchange—value。Theconversionofcommoditiesintomoneyasafinalact,orthefirstmetamorphosisofcommoditiesastheultimategoal,whichinhoardingappearedtobethewhimofthecommodity—owner,hasnowbecomeaneconomicfunction。Themotiveandthecontentofsellingforthesakeofpaymentconstitutesthecontentofthecirculationprocess,acontentarisingfromitsveryform。
Inthistypeofsale,thecommoditymovesfromonepositiontoanother,althoughitsfirstmetamorphosis,itsconversionintomoney,isdeferred。
Onthebuyer\'sside,however,thesecondmetamorphosisiscarriedthrough,i。e。,moneyisreconvertedintocommodities,beforethefirstmetamorphosishastakenplace,i。e。,beforetheconversionofthecommoditiesintomoney。
Inthiscase,therefore,thefirstmetamorphosisappearstotakeplacelaterthanthesecond。Hencemoney,theformofthecommodityinitsfirstmetamorphosis,acquiresanewdistinctiveaspect。Money,thatistheindependentdevelopmentofexchange—value,isnolongeranintermediaryphaseofcommoditycirculation,butitsfinalresult。
Noproofindetailisneededtoshowthatsuchpurchasesoncredit,inwhichthetwopolesofthetransactionareseparatedintime,evolvespontaneouslyonthebasisofsimplecirculationofcommodities。Atfirstithappensthatinthecourseofcirculationcertaincommodity—ownersconfrontoneanotherrepeatedlyasbuyersandsellers。Suchrepeatedoccurrencesdonotremainmerelyaccidental,butcommoditiesmay,forexample,beorderedforafuturedateatwhichtheyaretobedeliveredandpaidfor。Thesaleinthiscasetakesplaceonlynominally,i。e。,juridically,withouttheactualpresenceofcommoditiesandmoney。Thetwoformsofmoney,meansofcirculationandmeansofpayment,areherestillidentical,sinceontheonehandcommoditiesandmoneychangeplacessimultaneously,andontheother,moneydoesnotpurchasecommoditiesbutrealisesthepriceofcommoditiespreviouslysold。Moreover,owingtothespecificnatureofanumberofuse—valuestheyarereallyalienatednotbybeinginfacthandedoverbutonlybybeingleasedforadefiniteperiod。Forexample,whenonesellstheuseofahouseforamonth,itsuse—valueisdeliveredonlyattheexpirationofthemonth,althoughthehousechangeshandsatthebeginningofthemonth。Becauseinthiscasetheactualtransferoftheuse—valueanditsrealalienationareseparatedintime,therealisationofitspricealsotakesplacelaterthanthedateonwhichitchangeshands。
Finally,owingtodifferencesintheperiodandlengthoftimerequiredfortheproductionofdifferentcommodities,oneproducercomestothemarketasasellerbeforetheothercanactasabuyer,andifthesamecommodity—ownersrepeatedlybuyandselloneanother\'sproducts,thetwoaspectsofthetransactionareseparatedaccordingtotheconditionsofproductionoftheircommodities。Thisgivesrisetorelationsofcreditoranddebtoramongcommodity—owners。Theserelationscanbefullydevelopedevenbeforethecreditsystemcomesintobeing,althoughtheyarethenaturalbasisofthelatter。Itisevidenthoweverthattheevolutionofthecreditsystem,andthereforeofthebourgeoismodeofproductioningeneral,causesmoneytofunctionincreasinglyasameansofpaymenttothedetrimentofitsfunctionbothasameansofpurchaseandevenmoreasanelementofhoarding。ForinstanceinEngland,coinisalmostentirelyconfinedtothesphereofretailtradeandtopettytransactionsbetweenproducersandconsumers,whereasmoneyasmeansofpaymentpredominatesinthesphereoflargecommercialtransactions。[3]
Moneyastheuniversalmeansofpaymentbecomestheuniversalcommodityofcontracts,thoughatfirstonlywithinthesphereofcommoditycirculation。[4]Butasthisfunctionofmoneydevelops,allotherformsofpaymentaregraduallyconvertedintopaymentsinmoney。Theextenttowhichmoneyfunctionsastheexclusivemeansofpaymentindicateshowdeep—seatedandwidespreadthedominationofproductionbyexchange—valueis。[5]
Thevolumeofmoneyincirculationasmeansofpaymentisfirstofalldeterminedbytheamountofpaymentsdue,thatisbytheaggregatepricesofthecommoditieswhichhavebeensold,notofthecommoditiesthataretobesoldasisthecasewithsimplemoneycirculation。Buttheamountthusdeterminedissubjecttomodificationbytwofactors:firstbythevelocitywithwhichacoinrepeatsthesameoperation,orthenumberofpaymentswhichconstituteadynamicchainofpayments。ApaysB,thenB
paysCandsoon。Thevelocitywithwhichthesamecoincanactrepeatedlyasmeansofpaymentdepends,ontheonehand,ontheinterconnectionofthecommodity—owners\'relationsascreditorsanddebtors,inwhichthesamecommodity—ownerwhoisacreditorinrelationtoonepersonisadebtorinrelationtoanother,andsoforth;andontheotherhand,ontheperiodoftimeseparatingthevariousdatesonwhichpaymentsaredue。Theseriesofpayments,oroffirstmetamorphosescarriedoutsubsequently,isqualitativelydifferentfromtheseriesofmetamorphosesrepresentedbythemovementofmoneyasmeansofcirculation。Thesecondseriesdoesnotonlyappearintemporalsuccession,butitcomesintobeinginthisway。Acommodityisturnedintomoney,thenintoacommodityagain,thusmakingitpossibleforanothercommoditytobeturnedintomoney,andsoon:inotherwords,asellerbecomesabuyerandanothercommodity—ownertherebybecomesaseller。Thissequencearisesfortuitouslyinthecourseofcommodityexchangeitself。ButthefactthatthemoneywhichApaystoBisthenusedbyBtopayC,andthenbyCtopayD,etc。,andthatmoreoverpaymentsrapidlysucceedoneanother——thisexternalrelationisbutamanifestationofapreviouslyexistingsocialrelation。Thesamecoinpassesthroughvarioushandsnotbecauseitactsasmeansofpayment;butitispassedonasmeansofpaymentbecausethesehandshavealreadybeenjoined。
Afarmoreextensiveintegrationoftheindividualintotheprocessofcirculationisaccordinglysignifiedbythevelocityofmoneyasmeansofpayment,thanbythevelocityofmoneyascoinormeansofpurchase。
Theaggregateofpricesofsimultaneous,andthereforespatiallycoexisting,purchasesandsalesisthelimitbeyondwhichthevelocityofcurrencycannotbesubstitutedforitsvolume。Butthisbarrierdoesnotexistwhenmoneyfunctionsasmeansofpayment。Ifpaymentsfallingduesimultaneouslyareconcentratedatoneplace,whichoccursatfirstspontaneouslyatthelargefociofcommoditycirculation,thenpaymentsoffsetoneanotherlikenegativeandpositivequantities:AwhohastopayBmayreceiveapaymentfromCatthesametime,andsoon。Theamountofmoneyrequiredasmeansofpaymentthusdependsnotontheaggregateamountofpaymentswhichareduetobemadesimultaneously,butonthedegreeoftheirconcentrationandonthesizeofthebalanceleftoverafterthenegativeandpositiveamountshavebeenoffsetagainstoneanother。Specialdevicesforthistypeofbalancingariseevenifnocreditsystemhasbeenevolved,aswasthecaseinancientRome。Butconsiderationofthemisnomorerelevantherethanisconsiderationoftheusualsettlementdates,whichineverycountrybecomeestablishedamongpeopleofcertainsocialstrata。Hereweshallmerelynotethatscholarlyinvestigationsofthespecificinfluenceexertedbythesedatesontheperiodicvariationsinthequantityofmoneyincirculationhavebeenundertakenonlyinrecenttimes。
Whenpaymentscanceloneanotheraspositiveandnegativequantities,nomoneyneedactuallyappearonthescene。Heremoneyfunctionsmerelyasmeasureofvaluewithrespecttoboththepriceofthecommodityandthesizeofmutualobligations。Apartfromitsnominalexistence,exchange—valuedoesnotthereforeacquireanindependentexistenceinthiscase,evenintheshapeofatokenofvalue,inotherwordsmoneybecomespurelynominalmoneyofaccount。Moneyfunctioningasmeansofpaymentthuscontainsacontradiction:ontheonehand,whenpaymentsbalance,itactsmerelyasanominalmeasure;ontheotherhand,whenactualpaymentshavetobemade,moneyenterscirculationnotasatransientmeansofcirculation,butasthestaticaspectoftheuniversalequivalent,astheabsolutecommodity,inshort,asmoney。Wherechainsofpaymentsandanartificialsystemforadjustingthemhavebeendeveloped,anyupheavalthatforciblyinterruptstheflowofpaymentsandupsetsthemechanismforbalancingthemagainstoneanothersuddenlyturnsmoneyfromthenebulouschimericalformitassumedasmeasureofvalueintohardcashormeansofpayment。Underconditionsofadvancedbourgeoisproduction,whenthecommodity—ownerhaslongsincebecomeacapitalist,knowshisAdamSmithandsmilessuperciliouslyatthesuperstitionthatonlygoldandsilverconstitutemoneyorthatmoneyisafteralltheabsolutecommodityasdistinctfromothercommodities——moneythensuddenlyappearsnotasthemediumofcirculationbutoncemoreastheonlyadequateformofexchange—value,asauniqueformofwealthjustasitisregardedbythehoarder。Thefactthatmoneyisthesoleincarnationofwealthmanifestsitselfintheactualdevaluationandworthlessnessofallphysicalwealth,andnotinpurelyimaginarydevaluationasforinstanceintheMonetarySystem。Thisparticularphaseofworldmarketcrisesisknownasmonetarycrisis。Thesummumbonum,thesoleformofwealthforwhichpeopleclamouratsuchtimes,ismoney,hardcash,andcomparedwithitallothercommodities——justbecausetheyareuse—values——appeartobeuseless,merebaublesandtoys,orasourDoctorMartinLuthersays,mereornamentandgluttony。Thissuddentransformationofthecreditsystemintoamonetarysystemaddstheoreticaldismaytotheactuallyexistingpanic,andtheagentsofthecirculationprocessareoverawedbytheimpenetrablemysterysurroundingtheirownrelations。[6]
Paymentsintheirturnnecessitatereservefunds,accumulationsofmoneyasmeansofpayment。Theformationofreservefunds,unlikehoarding,nolongerseemsanactivityextraneoustocirculation,or,asinthecaseofcoinreserves,apurelytechnicalstagnationofcoin;onthecontrarymoneyhastobegraduallyaccumulatedsoastobeavailableatdefinitedatesinthefuturewhenpaymentsbecomedue。Althoughwiththedevelopmentofbourgeoisproduction,therefore,theabstractformofhoardingregardedasenrichmentdecreases,theformofhoardingnecessitatedbytheexchangeprocessitselfincreases;apartofthewealthwhichgenerallyaccumulatesinthesphereofcommoditycirculationbeingdrawnintoreservefundsofmeansofpayment。Themoreadvancedisbourgeoisproduction,themorethesefundsarerestrictedtotheindispensableminimum。Locke\'sworkontheloweringoftherateofinterest[7]containsinterestinginformationaboutthesizeofthesereservefundsinhistime。ItshowshowsubstantialaproportionofthemoneyincirculationinEnglandwasabsorbedbythereservesofmeansofpaymentpreciselyduringtheperiodwhenbankingbegantodevelop。
Thelawregardingthequantityofmoneyincirculationasitemergedfromtheexaminationofsimplecirculationofmoneyissignificantlymodifiedbythecirculationofmeansofpayment。Ifthevelocityofmoney,bothasmeansofcirculationandasmeansofpayment,isgiven,thentheaggregateamountofmoneyincirculationduringaparticularperiodisdeterminedbythetotalamountofcommodity—pricestoberealised[plus]thetotalamountofpaymentsfallingdueduringthisperiodminusthepaymentsthatbalanceoneanother。Thisdoesnotaffectatallthegeneralprinciplethattheamountofmoneyincirculationdependsuponcommodity—prices,fortheaggregateamountofpaymentsisitselfdeterminedbythepriceslaiddowninthecontracts。Itishoweverquiteobviousthattheaggregatepricesofthecommoditiesincirculationduringadefiniteperiod,sayaday,arebynomeanscommensuratewiththevolumeofmoneyincirculationonthesameday,evenifthevelocityofcirculationandtheeconomicmethodsofpaymentareassumedtoremainunchanged;sinceacertainquantityofcommoditiesisincirculationwhosepriceswillonlyberealisedinmoneyatalaterdate,andacertainamountofmoneyincirculationcorrespondstocommoditieswhichhaveleftthesphereofcirculationalongtimeago。Thisamountofmoneydependsinitsturnonthevalueofthepaymentsthatfalldueonthisday,althoughtherelevantcontractswereconcludedatwidelyvaryingdates。
Wehaveseenthatchangesinthevalueofgoldandsilverdonotaffecttheirfunctionsasmeasureofvalueandmoneyofaccount。Butwithregardtohoardedmoneythesechangesareofdecisiveimportance,sincewiththeriseorfallinthevalueofgoldandsilverthevalueofthehoardofgoldorsilverwillriseorfall。Suchchangesareofevengreaterimportanceformoneyasmeansofpayment。Thepaymentiseffectedatadatesubsequenttothesaleofthecommodities;thatistosay,moneyperformstwodifferentfunctionsattwodifferentperiods,actingfirstasameasureofvalue,andthenasthemeansofpaymentappropriatetothismeasure。Ifmeanwhileachangehasoccurredinthevalueofthepreciousmetals,orinthelabour—timeneededfortheirproduction,thesamequantityofgoldorsilverwillhaveagreaterorsmallervaluewhenitfunctionsasmeansofpaymentthanatthetimeitservedasmeasureofvalue,whenthecontractwassigned。Thefunctionwhichaspecificcommodity,suchasgoldorsilver,performsasmoney,orasexchange—valuethathasassumedanindependentform,comeshereintoconflictwiththenatureofthespecificcommodity,whosevaluedependsonvariationsinitscostsofproduction。Itiswell—knownthatthefallinthevalueofpreciousmetalsinEuropegaverisetoagreatsocialrevolution,justastheancientRomanRepublicatanearlystageofitshistoryexperiencedareverserevolutioncausedbyariseinthevalueofcopper,themetalinwhichthedebtsoftheplebeianswerecontracted。
Evenwithoutfurtherexaminationoftheinfluencewhichfluctuationsinthevalueofpreciousmetalsexertonthesystemofbourgeoiseconomy,itisclearthatafallinthevalueofpreciousmetalsfavoursdebtorsattheexpenseofcreditors,whileariseintheirvaluefavourscreditorsattheexpenseofdebtors。c。WorldMoneyGoldbecomesmoney,asdistinctfromcoin,firstbybeingwithdrawnfromcirculationandhoarded,thenbyenteringcirculationasanon—meansofcirculation,finallyhoweverbybreakingthroughthebarriersofdomesticcirculationinordertofunctionasuniversalequivalentintheworldofcommodities。Itthusbecomesworldmoney。
Inthesamewayasoriginallythecommonlyusedweightsofpreciousmetalsservedasmeasuresofvalue,soontheworldmarketthemonetarydenominationsarereconvertedintocorrespondingdenominationsofweight。
Justasamorphouscrudemetal（aesrude）wastheoriginalformofmeansofcirculation,andoriginallythecoinedformwassimplytheofofficialindicationofmetallicweight,sopreciousmetalservingasuniversalcoindiscardsitsspecificshapeandimprintandrevertstoneutralbullionform;thatiswhennationalcoins,suchasRussianimperials,MexicanthalersandEnglishsovereigns,circulateabroadtheirtitlesbecomeunimportantandwhatcountsisonlytheirsubstance。Finally,asinternationalmoneythepreciousmetalsonceagainfulfiltheiroriginalfunctionofmeansofexchange:afunctionwhich,likecommodityexchangeitself,originatedatpointsofcontactbetweendifferentprimitivecommunitiesandnotintheinteriorofthecommunities。Moneyfunctioningasworldmoneyrevertstoitsoriginalnaturalform。Whenitleavesdomesticcirculation,moneyshedstheparticularformsoccasionedbythedevelopmentofexchangewithinparticularareas,orthelocalformsassumedbymoneyasmeasureofprice——specie,smallchange,andtokenofvalue。
Wehaveseenthatonlyonecommodityservesasameasureofvalueintheinternalcirculationofanycountry。Butsinceinonecountrygoldperformsthisfunction,inanothersilver,adoublestandardofvalueisrecognisedontheworldmarket,andallfunctionsofmoneyareduplicated。
Thetranslationofthevaluesofcommoditiesfromgoldpricesintosilverpricesandviceversaalwaysdependsontherelativevalueofthetwometals;
thisrelativevaluevaryingcontinuouslyanditsdeterminationappearingaccordinglyasacontinuousprocess。Commodity—ownersineverycountryarecompelledtousegoldandsilveralternatelyforforeigncommercethusexchangingthemetalcurrentasmoneywithinthecountryforthemetalwhichtheyhappentorequireasmoneyinaforeigncountry。
Everynationthusemploysbothgoldandsilverasworldmoney。
Goldandsilverinthesphereofinternationalcommoditycirculationappearnotasmeansofcirculationbutasuniversalmeansofexchange。
Theuniversalmeansofexchangeacthowevermerelyasmeansofpurchaseandmeansofpayment,twoformswhichwehavealreadydescribed,buttheirrelationsarereversedontheworldmarket。Wheninthesphereofinternalcirculationmoneywasusedascoin,i。e。,astheintermediarylinkinthedynamicunityC——M——Corasthemerelytransitoryformofexchange—valueduringtheperpetualmotionofcommodities——itfunctionedexclusivelyasmeansofpurchase。Thereverseisthecaseontheworldmarket。Heregoldandsilveractasmeansofpurchaseiftheinterchangeisonlyunilateralandthereforepurchaseandsaleareseparated。Forexample,thebordertradeatKyakhtaisinfactandaccordingtotreatystipulationsbarter,inwhichsilverisonlyusedasameasureofvalue。Thewarof1857—5823inducedtheChinesetosellwithoutbuying。Thereuponsilversuddenlyappearedasmeansofpurchase。Indeferencetotheletterofthetreaty,theRussiansturnedFrenchfive—franccoinsintocrudesilverarticleswhichwereusedasmeansofexchange。SilverhasalwaysservedasmeansofpurchaseforEuropeandAmerica,ontheoneside,andAsia,whereitcongealsintohoards,ontheother。Preciousmetals,moreover,serveasinternationalmeansofpurchasewhentheusualequilibriumintheinterchangeofproductsbetweentwonationsissuddenlydisturbed,e。g。,whenabadharvestcompelsoneofthemtobuyonanextraordinaryscale。Preciousmetals,finally,areusedasinternationalmeansofpurchasebythegoldandsilverproducingcountries,wheretheyaredirectproductsandalsocommodities,andnotaconvertedformofcommodities。Withthedevelopmentofcommodityexchangebetweendifferentnationalspheresofcirculation,thefunctionwhichworldmoneyfulfilsasmeansofpaymentforsettlinginternationalbalancesdevelopsalso。