[12。]Ricardo,op。cit。,p。421。\"Thequantityofmoneythatcanbeemployedinacountrymustdependonitsvalue:ifgoldalonewereemployedforthecirculationofcommodities,aquantitywouldberequired,onefifteenthonlyofwhatwouldbenecessary,ifsilverweremadeuseofforthesamepurpose。\"SeealsoRicardo,ProposalsforanEconomicalandSecureCurrency,London,1816,p。8,wherehewrites:\"Thequantityofmetalforwhichpapermoneyisthesubstitute,ifpapermoneybepartlyorwhollyused,mustdependonthreethings:first,onitsvalue;——secondly,ontheamountorvalueofthepaymentstobemade;——and,thirdly,onthedegreeofeconomypractisedineffectingthosepayments。\"
[13。]Ricardo,PrinciplesofPoliticalEconomy,pp。432,433
[14。]DavidRicardo,ReplytoMr。Bosanquet\'sPracticalObservations,p。49。\"Thatcommoditieswouldriseorfallinprice,inproportiontotheincreaseordiminutionofmoney,Iassumeasafactwhichisincontrovertible。\"
[15。]Ricardo,TheHighPriceofBullion。\"Moneywouldhavethesamevalueinallcountries\"（p。4）。RicardohasqualifiedthispropositioninhisPrinciplesofPoliticalEconomy,butnotsoastobeofanyimportanceinthiscontext。
[16。]Ricardo,op。cit。,pp。11,12。
[17。]\"Theexportationofthecoiniscausedbyitscheapness,andisnottheeffect,butthecauseofanunfavourablebalance\'（op。cit。,p。14）。
[18。]Ricardo,op。cit。,pp。74,75。\"England,inconsequenceofabadharvest,wouldcomeunderthecaseofacountryhavingbeendeprivedofapartofitscommodities,and,therefore,requiringadiminishedamountofcirculatingmedium。Thecurrencywhichwasbeforeequaltoherpaymentswouldnowbecomesuperabundantandrelativelycheap,inproportion……ofherdiminishedproduction;theexportationofthissum,therefore,wouldrestorethevalueofhercurrencytothevalueofthecurrenciesofothercountries。\"Hisconfusionofmoneyandcommoditiesandofmoneyandspecieappearsinaquiteridiculousforminthefollowingpassage。\"Ifwecansupposethatafteranunfavourableharvest,whenEnglandhasoccasionforanunusualimportationofcorn,anothernationispossessedofasuperabundanceofthatarticle,buthasnowantsforanycommoditywhatever,itwouldunquestionablyfollowthatsuchanationwouldnotexportitscorninexchangeforcommodities:butneitherwoulditexportcornformoney,asthatisacommoditywhichnonation—everwantsabsolutely,butrelatively\"（I。C。,p。75）。InhisepicpoemPushkinrelatesthatthefatherofhisherofailstograspthatcommoditiesaremoney。ButthattheRussianslongagograspedthatmoneyisacommodityisdemonstratednotonlybytheEnglishcornimportsfrom1838to1842,butalsobythewholehistoryoftheirtrade。
[19。]Cf。ThomasTooke,HistoryofPrices,andJamesWilson,Capital,CurrencyandBanking。（ThelatterisareprintofaseriesofarticlespublishedintheLondonEconomistin1844,1845and1847。）
[20。]JamesDeaconHume,LettersontheCornLaws,London,1834。pp。29—31
[21。]JamesMill,ElementsofPoliticalEconomy。[MarxusedtheFrenchtranslationbyParisotpublishedinParisin1823。]
[22。]JamesMill,op。cit。,Paris,1823,pp。128—36passim。（ElementsofPoliticalEconomy,London,1821,pp。95—101passim。）
[23。]InvestigationintotheoperationoftheBankActsof1844and1845wasconductedbyaCommitteeoftheHouseofCommonsafewmonthsbeforetheonsetofthegeneralcommercialcrisisof1857。InhisevidencetotheCommittee,LordOverstone,thetheoreticalfatheroftheseActs,gaveventtothefollowingpieceofboasting:\"BystrictandpromptadherencetotheprinciplesoftheActof1844,everythinghaspassedoffwithregularityandease;themonetarysystemissafeandunshaken,theprosperityofthecountryisundisputed,thepublicconfidenceinthewisdomoftheActof1844isdailygainingstrength;andiftheCommitteewishforfurtherpracticalillustrationofthesoundnessoftheprinciplesonwhichitrests,orofthebeneficialresultswhichithasassured,thetrueandsufficientanswertotheCommitteeis,lookaroundyou;lookatthepresentstateoftradeofthecountry,lookatthecontentmentofthepeople;lookatthewealthandprosperitywhichpervadeseveryclassofthecommunity;andthen,havingdoneso,theCommitteemaybefairlycalledupontodecidewhethertheywillinterferewiththecontinuanceofanActunderwhichtheseresultshavebeendeveloped。\"ThusdidOveretoneblowhisowntrumpetonJuly14,1857,andonNovember12ofthesameyearthemiraculousActof1844hadtobesuspendedbytheCabinetonitsownresponsibility。
[24。]Tooke\'sprincipalwork——apartfromtheHistoryofPrices,whichwaspublishedinsixvolumesbyhiscollaboratorNewmarch——isAnInquiryintotheCurrencyPrinciple,theConnectionofCurrencywithPrices……2ndEd。,London,1844。
[25。]\"Weoughtto……distinguish……betweengoldconsideredasmerchandise,i。e。,ascapital,andgoldconsideredascurrency。\"（ThomasTooke,AnInquiryintotheCurrencyPrinciple,p。10）。\"Goldandsilver……maybecountedupontorealiseontheirarrivalnearlytheexactsumrequiredtobeprovided……Goldandsilverpossessaninfiniteadvantageoverallotherdescriptionofmerchandise……fromthecircumstanceof……beinguniversallyinuseasmoney……Itisnotintea,coffee,sugar,orIndigothatdebts,whetherforeignordomestic,areusuallycontractedtobepaid,butincoin;andtheremittance,therefore,eitherintheidenticalcoindesignated,orinbullionwhichcanbepromptlyturnedintothatcointhroughtheMintormarketofthecountrytowhichitissent,mustalwaysaffordtotheremitterthemostcertain,immediate,andaccuratemeansofeffectingthisobject,withoutriskofdisappointmentfromthefailureofdemandorfluctuationofprice\"（JohnFullarton,op。cit。pp132,133）。\"Anyotherarticle\"（apartfromgoldandsilver）\"mightinquantityorkindbebeyondtheusualdemandinthecountrytowhichitissent。\"（Tooke,AnInquiry……
[p。10]）。
[26。]TheconversionofmoneyintocapitalwillbeexaminedinChapterThree,whichdealswithcapitalandconcludesthefirstsectionofthiswork。
AppendixI:Production,Consumption,Distribution,ExchangeKarlMarx\'sACONTRIBUTIONTOTHECRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
APPENDIXII。PRODUCTION,CONSUMPTION,DISTRIBUTION,EXCHANGE（CIRCULATION）1。PRODUCTION（a）Tobeginwith,thequestionunderdiscussionismaterialproduction。
Individualsproducinginasociety,andhencethesociallydeterminedproductionofindividuals,isofcoursethepointofdeparture。Thesolitaryandisolatedhunterorfisherman,whoservesAdamSmithandRicardoasastartingpoint,isoneoftheunimaginativefantasiesofeighteenth—centuryromancesalaRobinsonCrusoe;anddespitetheassertionsofsocialhistorians,thesebynomeanssignifysimplyareactionagainstover—refinementandreversiontoamisconceivednaturallife。NomoreisRousseau\'scontratsocial,whichbymeansofacontractestablishesarelationshipandconnectionbetweensubjectsthatarebynatureindependent,basedonthiskindofnaturalism。ThisisanillusionandnothingbuttheaestheticillusionofthesmallandbigRobinsonades。Itis,onthecontrary,theanticipationof\"bourgeoissociety\",whichbegantoevolveinthesixteenthcenturyandintheeighteenthcenturymadegiantstridestowardsmaturity。Theindividualinthissocietyoffreecompetitionseemstoberidofnaturalties,etc。,whichmadehimanappurtenanceofaparticular,limitedaggregationofhumanbeingsinprevioushistoricalepochs。Theprophetsoftheeighteenthcentury,onwhoseshouldersAdamSmithandRicardowerestillwhollystanding,envisagedthis18th—centuryindividual——aproductofthedissolutionoffeudalsocietyontheonehandandofthenewproductiveforcesevolvedsincethesixteenthcenturyontheother——asanidealwhoseexistencebelongedtothepast。Theysawthisindividualnotasanhistoricalresult,butasthestartingpointofhistory;notassomethingevolvinginthecourseofhistory,butpositedbynature,becauseforthemthisindividualwasinconformitywithnature,inkeepingwiththeirideaofhumannature。
Thisdelusionhasbeencharacteristicofeverynewepochhitherto。Steuart,whoinsomerespectwasinoppositiontotheeighteenthcenturyandasanaristocrattendedrathertoregardthingsfromanhistoricalstandpoint,avoidedthisnaiveview。
Thefurtherbackwetracethecourseofhistory,themoredoestheindividual,andaccordinglyalsotheproducingindividual,appeartobedependentandtobelongtoalargerwhole。Atfirst,theindividualinastillquitenaturalmannerispartofthefamilyandofthetribewhichevolvesfromthefamily;laterheispartofacommunity,ofoneofthedifferentformsofthecommunitywhicharisefromtheconflictandthemergingoftribes。
Itisnotuntiltheeighteenthcenturythatinbourgeoissocietythevariousformsofthesocialtextureconfronttheindividualasmerelymeanstowardshisprivateends,asexternalnecessity。Buttheepochwhichproducesthisstandpoint,namelythatofthesolitaryindividual,ispreciselytheepochofthe（asyet）mosthighlydevelopedsocial（accordingtothisstandpoint,general）relations。ManisaZoonpolitikon[politicalanimal]inthemostliteralsense:heisnotonlyasocialanimal,butananimalthatcanbeindividualisedonlywithinsociety。Productionbyasolitaryindividualoutsidesociety——arareevent,whichmightoccurwhenacivilisedpersonwhohasalreadyabsorbedthedynamicsocialforcesisaccidentallycastintothewilderness——isjustaspreposterousasthedevelopmentofspeechwithoutindividualswholivetogetherandtalktooneanother。Itisunnecessarytodwelluponthispointfurther。Itneednothavebeenmentionedatall,ifthisinanity,whichhadrhymeandreasonintheworksofeighteenth—centurywriters,werenotexpresslyintroducedoncemoreintomodernpoliticaleconomybyBastiat,Carey,Proudhon,etc。ItisofcourseverypleasantforProudhon,forinstance,tobeabletoexplaintheoriginofaneconomicrelationship——whosehistoricalevolutionhedoesnotknow——inanhistorico—philosophicalmannerbymeansofmythology;
allegingthatAdamorPrometheushitupontheready—madeidea,whichwasthenputintopractice,etc。Nothingismoretediousanddullthanthefantasiesoflocuscommunis。
Thuswhenwespeakofproduction,wealwayshaveinmindproductionatadefinitestageofsocialdevelopment,productionbyindividualsinasociety。Itmightthereforeseemthat,inordertospeakofproductionatall,wemusteithertracethevariousphasesinthehistoricalprocessofdevelopment,orelsedeclarefromtheverybeginningthatweareexaminingoneparticularhistoricalperiod,asforinstancemodernbourgeoisproduction,whichisindeedourrealsubject—matter。Allperiodsofproduction,however,havecertainfeaturesincommon:theyhavecertaincommoncategories。Productioningeneralisanabstraction,butasensibleabstractioninsofarasitactuallyemphasisesanddefinesthecommonaspectsandthusavoidsrepetition。Yetthisgeneralconcept,orthecommonaspectwhichhasbeenbroughttolightbycomparison,isitselfamultifariouscompoundcomprisingdivergentcategories。Someelementsarefoundinallepochs,othersarecommontoafewepochs。Themostmodernperiodandthemostancientperiodwillhave（certain）categoriesincommon。Productionwithoutthemisinconceivable。Butalthoughthemosthighlydevelopedlanguageshavelawsandcategoriesincommonwiththemostprimitivelanguages,itispreciselytheirdivergencefromthesegeneralandcommonfeatureswhichconstitutestheirdevelopment。Itisnecessarytodistinguishthosedefinitionswhichapplytoproductioningeneral,inordernottooverlooktheessentialdifferencesexistingdespitetheunitythatfollowsfromtheveryfactthatthesubject,mankind,andtheobject,nature,arethesame。Forinstance,onfailuretoperceivethisfactdependstheentirewisdomofmoderneconomistswhoprovetheeternityandharmonyofexistingsocialrelations。Forexample,noproductionispossiblewithoutaninstrumentofproduction,evenifthisinstrumentissimplythehand。Itisnotpossiblewithoutpast,accumulatedlabour,evenifthislabourisonlytheskillacquiredbyrepeatedpracticeandconcentratedinthehandofasavage。Capitalisamongotherthingsalsoaninstrumentofproduction,andalsopast,materialisedlabour。Consequentlycapitalisauniversalandeternalrelationgivenbynaturethatis,providedoneomitspreciselythosespecificfactorswhichturnthe\"instrumentofproduction\"
or\"accumulatedlabour\"intocapital。Thewholehistoryoftherelationsofproductionthusappears,forinstanceinCarey\'swritings,asafalsificationmalevolentlybroughtaboutbythegovernment。
Justasthereisnoproductioningeneral,soalsothereisnogeneralproduction。Productionisalwaysaparticularbranchofproduction——e。g。,agriculture,cattle—breeding,manufacture——oritisthetotalityofproduction。Politicaleconomy,however,isnottechnology。Therelationofthegeneralcategoriesofproductionatagivensocialstagetotheparticularformsofproductionistobesetforthelsewhere（later）。
Finally,notonlyisproductionparticularproduction,butitisinvariablyonlyadefinitesocialcorpus,asocialsubject,thatisengagedinawiderornarrowertotalityofproductivespheres。Therelationoftheacademicpresentationtotheactualprocessdoesnotbelonghereeither。Productioningeneral。Particularbranchesofproduction。TotalityofProduction。
Itisfashionabletoprefaceeconomicworkswithageneralpart——anditisjustthiswhichappearsundertheheading\"Production\",seeforinstanceJohnStuartMill——whichdealswiththegeneralconditionsofallproductionThisgeneralpartcomprisesorpurportstocomprise:
1。Theconditionswithoutwhichproductioncannotbecarriedon。Thismeansinfactonlythattheessentialfactorsrequiredforanykindofproductionareindicated。Butthisamountsactually,asweshallsee,toafewverysimpledefinitions,whicharefurtherexpandedintotrivialtautologies。
2。Theconditionswhichpromoteproductiontoalargerorsmallerdegree,asinthecaseofAdamSmith\'sprogressiveandstagnantstateofsociety。
Togivethis,whichinSmith\'sworkhasitsvalueasanaperçu,togiveitscientificsignificance,researchintothedegreeofproductivityatvariousperiodsinthedevelopmentofindividualnationswouldhavetobeconducted;strictlyspeaking,suchaninvestigationliesoutsidetheframeworkofthesubject,thoseaspectswhicharehoweverrelevanttoitoughttobementionedinconnectionwiththedevelopmentofcompetition,accumulation,etc。Theanswerinitsgeneralformamountstothegeneralstatementthatanindustrialnationachievesitshighestproductivitywhenitisaltogetherattheheightofitshistoricaldevelopment。（Infact,anationisattheheightofitsindustrialdevelopmentsolongas,notthegain,butgainingremainsitsprincipalaim。InthisrespecttheYankeesaresuperiortotheEnglish。）Orelsethatforexamplecertainraces,formations,climates,naturalcircumstances,suchasmaritimeposition,fertilityofthesoil,etc。,aremoreconducivetoproductionthanothers。
Thisagainamountstothetautologicalstatementthattheproductionofwealthgrowseasierinthemeasurethatitssubjectiveandobjectiveelementsbecomeavailable。
Butallthisisnotreallywhattheeconomistsareconcernedaboutinthegeneralpart。Itisrather——seeforexampleMill——thatproduction,asdistinctfromdistribution,etc。,istobepresentedasgovernedbyeternalnaturallawswhichareindependentofhistory,andatthesametimebourgeoisrelationsareclandestinelypassedoffasirrefutablenaturallawsofsocietyinabstracto。Thisisthemoreorlessconsciouspurposeofthewholeprocedure。Asregardsdistribution,however,itissaidthatmenhaveindeedindulgedinacertainamountoffreechoice。
Quiteapartfromthecrudeseparationofproductionanddistributionandtheirrealinterconnection,itshouldbeobviousfromtheoutsetthat,howeverdissimilarthemodeofdistributionatthevariousstagesofsocietymaybe,itmustbepossible,justasinthecaseofproduction,toemphasisethecommonaspects,anditmustbelikewisepossibletoconfuseandeffaceallhistoricaldifferencesinlawsthatarecommontoallmankind。
Forexample,theslave,theserf,thewage—worker,theyallreceiveanamountoffoodenablingthemtoexistasaslave,serforwage—worker。
Theconquerorwholivesontribute,ortheofficialwholivesontaxes,orthelandownerwholivesonrent,orthemonkwholivesonalms,ortheclergymanwholivesontithes,allreceiveaportionofthesocialproductwhichisdeterminedbylawsdifferentfromthosethatdeterminetheportionoftheslave,andsoon。Thetwoprincipalfactorswhichalleconomistsincludeinthissectionare:1）propertyand2）itsprotectionbythejudiciary,police,etc。Onlyaverybriefreplyisneeded:
Regarding1:productionisalwaysappropriationofnaturebyanindividualwithinandwiththehelpofadefinitesocialorganisation。Inthiscontextitistautologicaltosaythatproperty（appropriation）isaconditionofproduction。Butitisquiteridiculoustomakealeapfromthistoadistinctformofproperty,e。g。,privateproperty（thisismoreoveranantitheticalform,whichsimilarlypresupposesnonpropertyasacondition）。Historyhasshown,onthecontrary,thatcommonproperty（e。g。,amongtheIndians,Slavs,ancientCelts,etc。）istheoriginalform,andintheshapeofcommunalpropertyitplaysasignificantroleforalongtime。Thequestionwhetherwealthdevelopsfasterunderthisorunderthatformofpropertyisnotyetunderdiscussionatthispoint。Itistautologicalhowevertostatethatwherenoformofpropertyexiststherecanbenoproductionandhencenosocietyeither。Appropriationwhichappropriatesnothingisacontradictioninterms。
Regarding2:safeguardingofwhathasbeenacquired,etc。Ifthesetrivialitiesarereducedtotheirrealcontent,theysaymorethantheirauthorsrealise,namelythateachmodeofproductionproducesitsspecificlegalrelations,politicalforms,etc。Itisasignofcrudityandlackofcomprehensionthatorganicallycoherentfactorsarebroughtintohaphazardrelationwithoneanother,i。e。,intoasimplereflexconnection。Thebourgeoiseconomistshavemerelyinviewthatproductionproceedsmoresmoothlywithmodernpolicethan,e。g。,underclub—law。Theyforget,however,thatclub—lawtooislaw,andthatthelawofthestronger,onlyinadifferentform,stillsurvivesevenintheir\"constitutionalState\"。
Whilethesocialconditionsappropriatetoaparticularstageofproductionareeitherstillinthecourseofevolutionoralreadyinastateofdissolution,disturbancesnaturallyoccurintheprocessofproduction,althoughthesemaybeofvaryingdegreeandextent。
Torecapitulate:therearecategorieswhicharecommontoallstagesofproductionandareestablishedbyreasoningasgeneralcategories;theso—calledgeneralconditionsofallandanyproduction,however,arenothingbutabstractconceptionswhichdonotdefineanyoftheactualhistoricalstagesofproduction。2。THEGENERALRELATIONSOFPRODUCTIONOFDISTRIBUTION,EXCHANGEANDCONSUMPTIONBeforestartinguponafurtheranalysisofproductionitisnecessarytoconsiderthevarioussectionswhicheconomistsplacealongsideit。
Thequiteobviousconceptionisthis:——Intheprocessofproductionmembersofsocietyappropriate（produce,fashion）naturalproductsinaccordancewithhumanrequirements;distributiondeterminesthesharetheindividualreceivesoftheseproducts;exchangesupplieshimwiththeparticularproductsintowhichhewantstoconverttheportionaccordedtohimasaresultofdistribution;finally,inconsumptiontheproductsbecomeobjectsofuse,i。e。theyareappropriatedbyindividuals。Productioncreatesarticlescorrespondingtorequirements;distributionallocatesthemaccordingtosociallaws;exchangeinitsturndistributesthegoods,whichhavealreadybeenallocated,inconformitywithindividualneeds;finally,inconsumptiontheproductleavesthissocialmovement,itbecomesthedirectobjectandservantofanindividualneed,whichitsusesatisfies。Productionthusappearsasthepointofdeparture,consumptionasthegoal,distributionandexchangeasthemiddle,whichhasadualformsince,accordingtothedefinition,distributionisactuatedbysocietyandexchangeisactuatedbyindividuals。Inproductionpersonsacquireanobjectiveaspect,andinconsumption\'objectsacquireasubjectiveaspect;indistributionitissocietywhichbymeansofdominantgeneralrulesmediatesbetweenproductionandconsumption;inexchangethismediationoccursasaresultofrandomdecisionsofindividuals。
Distributiondeterminestheproportion（thequantity）oftheproductsaccruingtotheindividual,exchangedeterminestheproductsinwhichtheindividualclaimstomakeuptheshareassignedtohimbydistribution。
Production,distribution,exchangeandconsumptionthusformapropersyllogism;productionrepresentsthegeneral,distributionandexchangetheparticular,andconsumptiontheindividualcasewhichsumsupthewhole。
Thisisindeedasequence,butaverysuperficialone。Productionisdeterminedbygenerallawsofnature;distributionbyrandomsocialfactors,itmaythereforeexertamoreorlessbeneficialinfluenceonproduction;exchange,aformalsocialmovement,liesbetweenthesetwo;andconsumption,astheconcludingact,whichisregardednotonlyasthefinalaimbutastheultimatepurpose,fallsproperlyoutsidethesphereofeconomy,exceptinsofarasitinturnexertsareciprocalactiononthepointofdeparturethusonceagaininitiatingthewholeprocess。
Theopponentsoftheeconomistswhoaccusethelatterofcrudelyseparatinginterconnectedelements,eitherarguefromthesamestandpointorevenfromalowerone,nomatterwhethertheseopponentscomefromwithinorwithoutthedomainofpoliticaleconomy。Nothingismorecommonthanthereproachthattheeconomistsregardproductiontoomuchasagoalinitself,andthatdistributionisequallyimportant。Thisargumentisbasedontheconceptoftheeconomiststhatdistributionisaseparateandindependentspherealongsideproduction。Anotherargumentisthatthedifferentfactorsarenotconsideredasasinglewhole;asthoughthisseparationhadforceditswayfromthetextbookintoreallifeandnot,onthecontrary,fromreallifeintothetextbooks,andasthoughitwereaquestionofthedialecticalreconciliationofconceptsandnotoftheresolutionofactuallyexistingconditions。a。[ProductionandConsumption]Productionissimultaneouslyconsumptionaswell。Itisconsumptioninadualform——subjectiveandobjectiveconsumption。[Firstly]theindividual,whodevelopshisabilitiesproducingexpendsthemaswell,usingthemupintheactofproduction,justasinnaturalprocreationvitalenergyisconsumed。Secondly,itisconsumptionofthemeansofproduction,whichareusedandusedupandinpart（asforinstancefuel）arebrokendownintosimplercomponents。Itsimilarlyinvolvesconsumptionofrawmaterialwhichisabsorbedanddoesnotretainitsoriginalshapeandquality。Theactofproductionitselfisthusinallitsphasesalsoanactofconsumption。
Theeconomistsconcedethis。Theycallproductiveconsumptionbothproductionthatissimultaneouslyidenticalwithconsumption,andconsumptionwhichisdirectlyconcurrentwithproduction。TheidentityofproductionandconsumptionamountstoSpinoza\'sproposition:Determinatioestnegatio。
Butthisdefinitionofproductiveconsumptionisonlyadvancedinordertoseparateconsumptionthatisidenticalwithproductionfromconsumptioninthepropersense,whichisregardedbycontrastasthedestructiveantithesisofproduction。Letusthereforeconsiderconsumptionproper。
Consumptionissimultaneouslyalsoproduction,justasinnaturetheproductionofaplantinvolvestheconsumptionofelementalforcesandchemicalmaterials。Itisobviousthatmanproduceshisownbody,e。g。,throughfeeding,oneformofconsumption。Butthesameappliestoanyotherkindofconsumptionwhichinonewayoranothercontributestotheproductionofsomeaspectofman。Hencethisisconsumptiveproduction。Nevertheless,sayspoliticaleconomy,thistypeofproductionthatisidenticalwithconsumptionisasecondphasearisingfromthedestructionofthefirstproduct。Inthefirsttypeofproductiontheproducerassumesanobjectiveaspect,inthesecondtypetheobjectscreatedbyhimassumeapersonalaspect。Hencethisconsumingproduction——althoughitrepresentsadirectunityofproductionandconsumption——isessentiallydifferentfromproductionproper。Thedirectunity,inwhichproductionisconcurrentwithconsumptionandconsumptionwithproduction,doesnotaffecttheirsimultaneousduality。
Productionisthusatthesametimeconsumption,andconsumptionisatthesametimeproduction。Eachissimultaneouslyitsopposite。Butanintermediarymovementtakesplacebetweenthetwoatthesametime。Productionleadstoconsumption,forwhichitprovidesthematerial;consumptionwithoutproductionwouldhavenoobject。Butconsumptionalsoleadstoproductionbyprovidingforitsproductsthesubjectforwhomtheyareproducts。Theproductonlyattainsitsfinalconsummationinconsumption。Arailwayonwhichnoonetravels,whichisthereforenotusedup,notconsumed,ispotentiallybutnotactuallyarailway。Withoutproductionthereisnoconsumption,butwithoutconsumptionthereisnoproductioneither,sinceinthatcaseproductionwouldbeuseless。Consumptionproducesproductionintwoways。
1。Becauseaproductbecomesarealproductonlythroughconsumption。
Forexample,adressbecomesreallyadressonlybybeingworn,ahousewhichisuninhabitedisindeednotreallyahouse;inotherwordsaproductasdistinctfromasimplenaturalobjectmanifestsitselfasaproduct,becomesaproduct,onlyinconsumption。Itisonlyconsumptionwhich,bydestroyingtheproduct,givesitthefinishingtouch,fortheproductisaproduct,notbecauseitismaterialisedactivity,butonlyinsofarasitisanobjectfortheactivesubject。
2。Becauseconsumptioncreatestheneedfornewproduction,andthereforeprovidestheconceptual,intrinsicallyactuatingreasonforproduction,whichisthepre—conditionforproduction。Consumptionfurnishestheimpulsetoproduce,andalsoprovidestheobjectwhichactsasthedeterminingpurposeofproduction。Ifitisevidentthatexternallyproductionsuppliestheobjectofconsumption,itisequallyevidentthatconsumptionpositstheobjectofproductionasaconcept,aninternalimage,aneed,amotive,apurpose。Consumptionfurnishestheobjectofproductioninaformthatisstillsubjective。Thereisnoproductionwithoutaneed,butconsumptionre—createstheneed。
Thisismatchedonthesideofproduction,1。Bythefactthatproductionsuppliesthematerial,theobjectofconsumption。Consumptionwithoutanobjectisnoconsumption,inthisrespect,therefore,productioncreates,producesconsumption。
2。Butproductionprovidesnotonlytheobjectofconsumption,italsogivesconsumptionadistinctform,acharacter,afinish。Justasconsumptionputsthefinishingtouchontheproductasaproduct,soproductionputsthefinishingtouchtoconsumption。Foronething,theobjectisnotsimplyanobjectingeneral,butaparticularobjectwhichmustbeconsumedinaparticularway,awaydeterminedbyproduction。Hungerishunger;butthehungerthatissatisfiedbycookedmeateatenwithknifeandforkdiffersfromhungerthatdevoursrawmeatwiththehelpofbands,nailsandteeth。Productionthusproducesnotonlytheobjectofconsumptionbutalsothemodeofconsumption,notonlyobjectivelybutalsosubjectively。
Productionthereforecreatestheconsumer。
3。Productionnotonlyprovidesthematerialtosatisfyaneed,butitalsoprovidestheneedforthematerial。Whenconsumptionemergesfromitsoriginalprimitivecrudenessandimmediacy——anditsremaininginthatstatewouldbeduetothefactthatproductionwasstillprimitivelycrude——thenitisitselfasadesirebroughtaboutbytheobject。Theneedfeltfortheobjectisinducedbytheperceptionoftheobject。Anobjetd\'artcreatesapublicthathasartistictasteandisabletoenjoybeauty——andthesamecanbesaidofanyotherproduct。Productionaccordinglyproducesnotonlyanobjectforthesubject,butalsoasubjectfortheobject。