Henceproductionproducesconsumption:1）byprovidingthematerialofconsumption;2）bydeterminingthemodeofconsumption;3）bycreatingintheconsumeraneedfortheobjectswhichitfirstpresentsasproducts。
Itthereforeproducestheobjectofconsumption,themodeofconsumptionandtheurgetoconsume。Similarly,consumptionproducesthepredispositionoftheproducerbypositinghimasapurposiverequirement。
Theidentityofconsumptionandproductionhasthreeaspects1。Directidentity:Productionisconsumptionandconsumptionisproduction。Consumptiveproductionandproductiveconsumption。Economistscallbothproductiveconsumption,buttheystillmakeadistinction。Theformerfiguresintheirworkasreproduction,thelatterasproductiveconsumption。Allinvestigationsoftheformerareconcernedwithproductiveandunproductivelabour,thoseofthelatterwithproductiveandnon—productiveconsumption。
2。Eachappearsasameansoftheother,asbeinginducedbyit;thisiscalledtheirmutualdependence;theyarethusbroughtintomutualrelationandappeartobeindispensabletoeachother,butneverthelessremainextrinsictoeachother。Productionprovidesthematerialwhichistheexternalobjectofconsumption,consumptionprovidestheneed,i。e。,theinternalobject,thepurposeofproduction。Thereisnoconsumptionwithoutproduction,andnoproductionwithoutconsumption。Thispropositionappearsinvariousformsinpoliticaleconomy。
3。Productionisnotonlysimultaneouslyconsumption,andconsumptionsimultaneouslyproduction;norisproductiononlyameansofconsumptionandconsumptionthepurposeofproduction——i。e。,eachprovidestheotherwithitsobject,productionsupplyingtheexternalobjectofconsumption,andconsumptiontheconceptualobjectofproduction—inotherwords,eachofthemisnotonlysimultaneouslytheother,andnotmerelythecauseoftheother,buteachofthembybeingcarriedthroughcreatestheother,itcreatesitselfastheother。Itisonlyconsumptionthatconsummatestheprocessofproduction,sinceconsumptioncompletestheproductasaproductbydestroyingit,byconsumingitsindependentconcreteform。Moreoverbyitsneedforrepetitionconsumptionleadstotheperfectionofabilitiesevolvedduringthefirstprocessofproductionandconvertsthemintoskills。
Consumptionisthereforetheconcludingactwhichturnsnotonlytheproductintoaproduct,butalsotheproducerintoaproducer。Production,ontheotherhand,producesconsumptionbycreatingadefinitemodeofconsumption,andbyprovidinganincentivetoconsumptionittherebycreatesthecapabilitytoconsumeasarequirement。
Thelastkindofidentity,whichisdefinedinpoint3,hasbeenvariouslyinterpretedbyeconomistswhendiscussingtherelationofdemandandsupply,ofobjectsandneeds,ofneedscreatedbysocietyandnaturalneeds。
Afterthis,nothingissimplerforaHegelianthantoassumethatproductionandconsumptionareidentical。Andthishasbeendonenotonlybysocialistbelletristsbutalsobyprosaiceconomists,suchasSay,indeclaringthatifoneconsidersanation——ormankindinabstracto——thenitsproductionisitsconsumption。StorchhasshownthatthispropositionofSay\'siswrong,sinceanation,forinstance,doesnotconsumeitsentireproduct,butmustalsoprovidemeansofproduction,fixedcapital,etc。
Itismoreoverwrongtoconsidersocietyasasinglesubject,forthisisaspeculativeapproach。Withregardtoonesubject,productionandconsumptionappearasphasesofasingleoperation。Onlythemostessentialpointisemphasisedhere,thatproductionandconsumption,ifconsideredasactivitiesofonesubjectorofsingleindividuals,appearinanycaseasphasesofoneprocesswhoseactualpointofdepartureisproductionwhichisaccordinglythedecisivefactor。Consumption,asanecessityandasaneed,isitselfanintrinsicaspectofproductiveactivity;thelatterhoweveristhepointwheretherealisationbeginsandthusalsothedecisivephase,theactionepitomisingtheentireprocess。Anindividualproducesanobjectandbyconsumingitreturnsagaintothepointofdeparture:hereturnshoweverasaproductiveindividualandanindividualwhoreproduceshimself。Consumptionisthusaphaseofproduction。
Butinsociety,therelationoftheproducertotheproductafteritscompletionisextrinsic,andthereturnoftheproducttothesubjectdependsonhisrelationstootherindividuals。Theproductdoesnotimmediatelycomeintohispossession。Itsimmediateappropriation,moreover,isnothisaim,ifheproduceswithinsociety。Distribution,whichonthebasisofsociallawsdeterminestheindividual\'sshareintheworldofproducts,intervenesbetweentheproducerandtheproducts,i。e。,betweenproductionandconsumption。
Isdistribution,therefore,anindependentsectoralongsideandoutsideproduction？b。[ProductionandDistribution]Whenlookingthroughtheordinaryrunofeconomicworks,one\'sattentionisattractedforthwithbythefactthateverythingismentionedtwice,e。g。,rent,wages,interestandprofitfigureundertheheadingdistribution,whileundertheheadingofproductionland,labourandcapitalappearasfactorsofproduction。Astocapital,itisevidentfromtheoutsetthatthisiscountedtwice,firstasafactorofproduction,andsecondlyasasourceofincome;i。e。,asadetermininganddeterminateformofdistribution。
Interestandprofitappearthereforeinproductionaswell,sincetheyareformsinwhichcapitalincreasesandgrows,andarethusphasesofitsproduction。Asformsofdistribution,interestandprofitpresupposecapitalasafactorofproduction。Theyareformsofdistributionwhosepre—conditionistheexistenceofcapitalasafactorofproduction。Theyarelikewisemodesofreproductionofcapital。
Wagesrepresentalsowage—labour,whichisexaminedinadifferentsection;
theparticularfunctionthatlabourperformsasafactorofproductionintheonecaseappearsasafunctionofdistributionintheother。Iflabourdidnothavethedistinctformofwage—labour,thenitsshareintheproductwouldnotappearaswages,asforinstanceinslavery。Finallyrent——ifwetakethemostadvancedformofdistributionbywhichlandedpropertyobtainsashareintheproduct—presupposeslarge—scalelandedproperty（strictlyspeaking,large—scaleagriculture）asafactorofproduction,andnotlandingeneral;justaswagesdonotpresupposelabouringeneral。
Therelationsandmodesofdistributionarethusmerelythereverseaspectofthefactorsofproduction。Anindividualwhoseparticipationinproductiontakestheformofwage—labourwillreceiveashareintheproduct,theresultofproduction,intheformofwages。Thestructureofdistributionisentirelydeterminedbythestructureofproduction。Distributionitselfisaproductofproduction,notonlywithregardtothecontent,foronlytheresultsofproductioncanbedistributed,butalsowithregardtotheform,sincetheparticularmodeofmen\'sparticipationinproductiondeterminesthespecificformofdistribution,theform,inwhichtheyshareindistribution。
Itisaltogetheranillusiontospeakoflandinthesectiononproduction,andofrentinthesectionondistribution,etc。
EconomistslikeRicardowhoaremainlyaccusedofhavingpaidexclusiveattentiontoproduction,haveaccordinglyregardeddistributionastheexclusivesubjectofpoliticaleconomy,fortheyhaveinstinctivelytreatedtheformsofdistributionasthemostpreciseexpressioninwhichfactorsofproductionmanifestthemselvesinagivensociety。
Tothesingleindividualdistributionnaturallyappearsasasociallaw,whichdetermineshispositionwithintheframeworkofproduction,withinwhichheproduces;distributionthusbeingantecedenttoproduction。
Anindividualwhohasneithercapitalnorlandedpropertyofhisownisdependentonwage—labourfromhisbirthasaconsequenceofsocialdistribution。
Butthisdependenceisitselftheresultoftheexistenceofcapitalandlandedpropertyasindependentfactorsofproduction。
Whenoneconsiderswholesocieties,stillanotheraspectofdistributionappearstobeantecedenttoproductionandtodetermineit,asthoughitwereanante—economicfactor。Aconqueringnationmaydividethelandamongtheconquerorsandinthiswayimposesadistinctmodeofdistributionandformoflandedproperty,thusdeterminingproduction。Oritmayturnthepopulationintoslaves,thusmakingslave—labourthebasisofproduction。
Orinthecourseofarevolution,anationmaydividelargeestatesintoplots,thusalteringthecharacterofproductioninconsequenceofthenewdistribution。Orlegislationmayperpetuatelandownershipincertainfamilies,orallocatelabourasahereditaryprivilege,thusconsolidatingitintoacastesystem。Inallthesecases,andtheyhavealloccurredinhistory,itseemsthatdistributionisnotregulatedanddeterminedbyproductionbut,onthecontrary,productionbydistribution。
Distributionaccordingtothemostsuperficialinterpretationisdistributionofproducts;itisthusremovedfurtherfromproductionandmadequasi—independentofit。Butbeforedistributionbecomesdistributionofproducts,itis（1）distributionofthemeansofproduction,and（2）（whichisanotheraspectofthesamesituation）distributionofthemembersofsocietyamongthevarioustypesofproduction（thesubsumingoftheindividualsunderdefiniterelationsOfproduction）。Itisevidentthatthedistributionofproductsismerelyaresultofthisdistribution,whichiscomprisedintheproductionprocessanddeterminesthestructureofproduction。
Toexamineproductiondivorcedfromthisdistributionwhichisaconstituentpartofit,isobviouslyidleabstraction;whereasconverselythedistributionofproductsisautomaticallydeterminedbythatdistributionwhichisinitiallyafactorofproduction。Ricardo,theeconomistofproductionparexcellence,whoseobjectwastheunderstandingofthedistinctsocialstructureofmodernproduction,forthisveryreasondeclaresthatdistribution,notproduction,isthepropersubjectofcontemporarypoliticaleconomy。Thisisawitnesstothebanalityofthoseeconomistswhoproclaimproductionasaneternaltruth,andconfinehistorytothedomainofdistribution。
Thequestionastotherelationbetweenthatformofdistributionthatdeterminesproductionandproductionitself,belongsobviouslytothesphereofproduction。Ifitshouldbesaidthatinthiscaseatleast,sinceproductionmustproceedfromaspecificdistributionofthemeansofproduction,distributionistothisextentantecedenttoandaprerequisiteofproduction,thenthereplywouldbeasfollows。Productionhasindeeditsconditionsandprerequisiteswhichareconstituentelementsofit。Attheveryoutsetthesemayhaveseemedtobenaturallyevolved。Inthecourseofproduction,however,theyaretransformedfromnaturallyevolvedfactorsintohistoricalones,andalthoughtheymayappearasnaturalpre—conditionsforanyoneperiod,theyarethehistoricalresultofanotherperiod。Theyarecontinuouslychangedbytheprocessofproductionitself。Forexample,theemploymentofmachineryledtochangesinthedistributionofboththemeansofproductionandtheproduct。Modernlarge—scalelandedpropertyhasbeenbroughtaboutnotonlybymoderntradeandmodernindustry,butalsobytheapplicationofthelattertoagriculture。
Theabove—mentionedquestionscanbeultimatelyresolvedintothis:
whatroledogeneralhistoricalconditionsplayinproductionandhowisproductionrelatedtothehistoricaldevelopmentasawhole？Thisquestionclearlybelongstotheanalysisanddiscussionofproduction。
Inthetrivialform,however,inwhichthesequestionshavebeenraisedabove,theycanbedealtwithquitebriefly。Conquestsmayleadtoeitherofthreeresults。Theconqueringnationmayimposeitsownmodeofproductionupontheconqueredpeople（thiswasdone,forexample,bytheEnglishinIrelandduringthiscentury,andtosomeextentinIndia）;oritmayrefrainfrominterferingintheoldmodeofproductionandbecontentwithtribute（e。g。,theTurksandRomans）;orinteractionmaytakeplacebetweenthetwo,givingrisetoanewsystemasasynthesis（thisoccurredpartlyintheGermanicconquests）。Inanycaseitisthemodeofproduction——whetherthatoftheconqueringnationoroftheconqueredorthenewsystembroughtaboutbyamergingofthetwo——thatdeterminesthenewmodeofdistributionemployed。Althoughthelatterappearstobeapre—conditionofthenewperiodofproduction,itisinitsturnaresultofproduction,aresultnotsimplyoccasionedbythehistoricalevolutionofproductioningeneral,butbyaspecifichistoricalformofproduction。
TheMongols,forexample,whocauseddevastationinRussia,actedinaccordancewiththeirmodeofproduction,cattle—breeding,forwhichlargeuninhabitedtractsareafundamentalrequirement。TheGermanicbarbarians,whosetraditionalmodeofproductionwasagriculturewiththeaidofserfsandwholivedscatteredoverthecountryside,couldthemoreeasilyadapttheRomanprovincestotheirrequirementsbecausetheconcentrationoflandedpropertycarriedouttherehadalreadyuprootedtheolderagriculturalrelations。
Itisalong—establishedviewthatovercertainepochspeoplelivedbyplunder。Butinordertobeabletoplunder,theremustbesomethingtobeplundered,andthisimpliesproduction。Moreover,themannerofplunderdependsitselfonthemannerofproduction,e。g。,astock—jobbingnationcannotberobbedinthesamewayasanationofcowherds。
Themeansofproductionmayberobbeddirectlyintheformofslaves。
Butinthatcaseitisnecessarythatthestructureofproductioninthecountrytowhichtheslaveisabductedadmitsofslave—labour,or（asinSouthAmerica,etc。）amodeofproductionappropriatetoslave—labourhastobeevolved。
Lawsmayperpetuateaparticularmeansofproduction,e。g。,land,incertainfamilies。Theselawsacquireeconomicsignificanceonlyiflarge—scalelandedpropertyisinkeepingwiththesocialmodeofproduction,asforinstanceinBritain。AgriculturewascarriedoninFranceonasmallscale,despitetheexistenceoflargeestates,whichwerethereforeparcelledoutbytheRevolution。Butisitpossible,e。g。,bylaw,toperpetuatethedivisionoflandintosmalllots？Landedpropertytendstobecomeconcentratedagaindespitetheselaws。Theinfluenceexercisedbylawsonthepreservationofexistingconditionsofdistribution,andtheeffecttheytherebyexertonproductionhastobeexaminedseparately。c。Lastly,ExchangeandCirculationCirculationismerelyaparticularphaseofexchangeorofexchangeregardedinitstotality。
SinceExchangeissimplyanintermediatephasebetweenproductionanddistribution,whichisdeterminedbyproduction,andconsumption;sinceconsumptionismoreoveritselfanaspectofproduction,thelatterobviouslycomprisesalsoexchangeasoneofitsaspects。
Firstly,itisevidentthatexchangeofactivitiesandskills,whichtakesplaceinproductionitself,isadirectandessentialpartofproduction。
Secondly,thesameappliestotheexchangeofproductsinsofarasthisexchangeisameanstomanufacturethefinishedproductintendedforimmediateconsumption。Theactionofexchangeinthisrespectiscomprisedintheconceptofproduction。Thirdly,whatisknownasexchangebetweendealeranddealer,bothwithrespecttoitsorganisationandasaproductiveactivity,isentirelydeterminedbyproduction。Exchangeappearstoexistindependentlyalongsideproductionanddetachedfromitonlyinthelaststage,whentheproductisexchangedforimmediateconsumption。But（1）noexchangeispossiblewithoutdivisionoflabour,whetherthisisnaturallyevolvedorisalreadytheresultofanhistoricalprocess;（2）privateexchangepresupposesprivateproduction;（3）theintensityofexchange,itsextentandnature,aredeterminedbythedevelopmentandstructureofproduction:
e。g。,exchangebetweentownandcountry,exchangeinthecountryside,inthetown,etc。Allaspectsofexchangetothisextentappeareithertobedirectlycomprisedinproduction,orelsedeterminedbyit。
Theconclusionwhichfollowsfromthisis,notthatproduction,distribution,exchangeandconsumptionareidentical,butthattheyarelinksofasinglewhole,differentaspectsofoneunit。Productionisthedecisivephase,bothwithregardtothecontradictoryaspectsofproductionandwithregardtotheotherphases。Theprocessalwaysstartsafreshwithproduction。Thatexchangeandconsumptioncannotbethedecisiveelements,isobvious;andthesameappliestodistributioninthesenseofdistributionofproducts。Distributionofthefactorsofproduction,ontheotherhand,isitselfaphaseofproduction。Adistinctmodeofproductionthusdeterminesthespecificmodeofconsumption,distribution,exchangeandthespecificrelationsofthesedifferentphasestooneanother。Productioninthenarrowsense,however,isinitsturnalsodeterminedbytheotheraspects。Forexample,ifthemarket,orthesphereofexchange,expands,thenthevolumeofproductiongrowsandtendstobecomemoredifferentiated。
Productionalsochangesinconsequenceofchangesindistribution,e。g。,concentrationofcapital,differentdistributionofthepopulationintownandcountryside,andthelike。Productionis,finally,determinedbythedemandsofconsumption。Thereisaninteractionbetweenthevariousaspects。
Suchinteractiontakesplaceinanyorganicentity。3。THEMETHODOFPOLITICALECONOMYWhenexaminingagivencountryfromthestandpointofpoliticaleconomy,webeginwithitspopulation,thedivisionofthepopulationintoclasses,townandcountry,thesea,thedifferentbranchesofproduction,exportandimport,annualproductionandconsumption,prices,etc。
Itwouldseemtobetheproperthingtostartwiththerealandconcreteelements,withtheactualpreconditions,e。g。,tostartinthesphereofeconomywithpopulation,whichformsthebasisandthesubjectofthewholesocialprocessofproduction。Closerconsiderationshows,however,thatthisiswrong。Populationisanabstractionif,forinstance,onedisregardstheclassesofwhichitiscomposed。Theseclassesinturnremainemptytermsifonedoesnotknowthefactorsonwhichtheydepend,e。g。,wage—labour,capital,andsoon。Thesepresupposeexchange,divisionoflabour,prices,etc。Forexample,capitalisnothingwithoutwage—labour,withoutvalue,money,price,etc。Ifoneweretotakepopulationasthepointofdeparture,itwouldbeaveryvaguenotionofacomplexwholeandthroughcloserdefinitiononewouldarriveanalyticallyatincreasinglysimpleconcepts;fromimaginaryconcretetermsonewouldmovetomoreandmoretenuousabstractionsuntilonereachedthemostsimpledefinitions。Fromthereitwouldbenecessarytomakethejourneyagainintheoppositedirectionuntilonearrivedoncemoreattheconceptofpopulation,whichisthistimenotavaguenotionofawhole,butatotalitycomprisingmanydeterminationsandrelations。Thefirstcourseisthehistoricalonetakenbypoliticaleconomyatitsinception。Theseventeenth—centuryeconomists,forexample,alwaystookastheirstartingpointthelivingorganism,thepopulation,thenation,theState,severalStates,etc。,butanalysisledthemalwaysintheendtothediscoveryofafewdecisiveabstract,generalrelations,suchasdivisionofIabour,money,andvalue。Whentheseseparatefactorsweremoreorlessclearlydeducedandestablished,economicsystemswereevolvedwhichfromsimpleconcepts,suchaslabour,divisionoflabour,demand,exchange—value,advancedtocategorieslikeState,internationalexchangeandworldmarket。Thelatterisobviouslythecorrectscientificmethod。Theconcreteconceptisconcretebecauseitisasynthesisofmanydefinitions,thusrepresentingtheunityofdiverseaspects。Itappearsthereforeinreasoningasasumming—up,aresult,andnotasthestartingpoint,althoughitistherealpointoforigin,andthusalsothepointoforiginofperceptionandimagination。Thefirstprocedureattenuatesmeaningfulimagestoabstractdefinitions,thesecondleadsfromabstractdefinitionsbywayofreasoningtothereproductionoftheconcretesituation。
Hegelaccordinglyconceivedtheillusoryideathattherealworldistheresultofthinkingwhichcausesitsownsynthesis,itsowndeepeninganditsownmovement;whereasthemethodofadvancingfromtheabstracttotheconcreteissimplythewayinwhichthinkingassimilatestheconcreteandreproducesitasaconcretementalcategory。Thisis,however,bynomeanstheprocessofevolutionoftheconcreteworlditself。Forexample,thesimplesteconomiccategory,e。g。,exchange—value,presupposespopulation,apopulationmoreoverwhichproducesunderdefiniteconditions,aswellasadistinctkindoffamily,orcommunity,orState,etc。Exchange—valuecannotexistexceptasanabstract,unilateralrelationofanalreadyexistingconcreteorganicwhole。Butexchange—valueasacategoryleadsanantediluvianexistence。Thustoconsciousness—andthiscomprisesphilosophicalconsciousness——whichregardsthecomprehendingmindastherealman,andhencethecomprehendedworldassuchastheonlyrealworld;toconsciousness,therefore,theevolutionofcategoriesappearsastheactualprocessofproduction——whichunfortunatelyisgivenanimpulsefromoutside——whoseresultistheworld;andthis（whichishoweveragainatautologicalexpression）
istrueinsofarastheconcretetotalityregardedasaconceptualtotality,asamentalfact,isindeedaproductofthinking,ofcomprehension;butitisbynomeansaproductoftheideawhichevolvesspontaneouslyandwhosethinkingproceedsoutsideandaboveperceptionandimagination,butistheresultoftheassimilationandtransformationofperceptionsandimagesintoconcepts。Thetotalityasaconceptualentityseenbytheintellectisaproductofthethinkingintellectwhichassimilatestheworldintheonlywayopentoit,awaywhichdiffersfromtheartistic,religiousandpracticallyintelligentassimilationofthisworld。Theconcretesubjectremainsoutsidetheintellectandindependentofit——thatissolongastheintellectadoptsapurelyspeculative,purelytheoreticalattitude。
Thesubject,society,mustalwaysbeenvisagedthereforeasthepre—conditionofcomprehensionevenwhenthetheoreticalmethodisemployed。
Buthavenotthesesimplecategoriesalsoanindependenthistoricalornaturalexistenceprecedingthatofthemoreconcreteones？Thisdepends。
Hegel,forexample,correctlytakesownership,thesimplestlegalrelationofthesubject,asthepointofdepartureofthephilosophyoflaw。Noownershipexists,however,beforethefamilyortherelationsofmasterandservantareevolved,andthesearemuchmoreconcreterelations。Itwould,ontheotherhand,becorrecttosaythatfamiliesandentiretribesexistwhichhaveasyetonlypossessionsandnotproperty。
Thesimplercategoryappearsthusasarelationofsimplefamilyortribalcommunitiestoproperty。Insocietieswhichhavereachedahigherstagethecategoryappearsasacomparativelysimplerelationexistinginamoreadvancedcommunity。Theconcretesubstratumunderlyingtherelationofownershipishoweveralwayspresupposed。Onecanconceiveanindividualsavagewhohaspossessions;possessioninthiscase,however,isnotalegalrelation。Itisincorrectthatinthecourseofhistoricaldevelopmentpossessiongaverisetothefamily。Onthecontrary,possessionalwayspresupposesthis\"moreconcretelegalcategory\"。Onemay,nevertheless,concludethatthesimplecategoriesrepresentrelationsorconditionswhichmayreflecttheimmatureconcretesituationwithoutasyetpositingthemorecomplexrelationorconditionwhichisconceptuallyexpressedinthemoreconcretecategory;ontheotherhand,thesamecategorymayberetainedasasubordinaterelationinmoredevelopedconcretecircumstances。Moneymayexistandhasexistedinhistoricaltimebeforecapital,banks,wage—labour,etc。cameintobeing。Inthisrespectitcanbesaid,therefore,thatthesimplercategoryexpressesrelationspredominatinginanimmatureentityorsubordinaterelationsinamoreadvancedentity;relationswhichalreadyexistedhistoricallybeforetheentityhaddevelopedtheaspectsexpressedinamoreconcretecategory。Theprocedureofabstractreasoningwhichadvancesfromthesimplesttomorecomplexconceptstothatextentconformstoactualhistoricaldevelopment。
Itistrue,ontheotherhand,thattherearecertainhighlydeveloped,butneverthelesshistoricallyimmature,socialformationswhichemploysomeofthemostadvancedeconomicforms,e。g。,cooperation,developeddivisionoflabour,etc。,withouthavingdevelopedanymoneyatall,forinstancePeru。InSlavoniccommunitiestoo,money——anditspre—condition,exchange——isoflittleornoimportancewithintheindividualcommunity,butisusedontheborders,wherecommercewithothercommunitiestakesplace;anditisaltogetherwrongtoassumethatexchangewithinthecommunityisanoriginalconstituentelement。Onthecontrary,inthebeginningexchangetendstoariseintheintercourseofdifferentcommunitieswithoneanother,ratherthanamongmembersofthesamecommunity。Moreover,althoughmoneybeginstoplayaconsiderableroleveryearlyandindiverseways,itisknowntohavebeenadominantfactorinantiquityonlyamongnationsdevelopedinaparticulardirection,i。e。,merchantnations。EvenamongtheGreeksandRomans,themostadvancednationsofantiquity,moneyreachesitsfulldevelopment,whichispresupposedinmodernbourgeoissociety,onlyintheperiodoftheirdisintegration。Thusthefullpotentialofthisquitesimplecategorydoesnotemergehistoricallyinthemostadvancedphasesofsociety,anditcertainlydoesnotpenetrateintoalleconomicrelations。
Forexample,taxesinkindanddeliveriesinkindremainedthebasisoftheRomanempireevenattheheightofitsdevelopment;indeedacompletelyevolvedmonetarysystemexistedinRomeonlyinthearmy,anditneverpermeatedthewholecomplexoflabour。Althoughthesimplercategory,therefore,mayhaveexistedhistoricallybeforethemoreconcretecategory,itscompleteintensiveandextensivedevelopmentcanneverthelessoccurinacomplexsocialformation,whereasthemoreconcretecategorymayhavebeenfullyevolvedinamoreprimitivesocialformation。
Labourseemstobeaverysimplecategory。Thenotionoflabourinthisuniversalform,aslabouringeneral,isalsoextremelyold。Nevertheless\"labour\"inthissimplicityiseconomicallyconsideredjustasmodernacategoryastherelationswhichgiverisetothissimpleabstraction。TheMonetarySystem,forexample,stillregardswealthquiteobjectivelyasathingexistingindependentlyintheshapeofmoney。Comparedwiththisstandpoint,itwasasubstantialadvancewhentheManufacturingorMercantileSystemtransferredthesourceofwealthfromtheobjecttothesubjectiveactivity——mercantileorindustriallabour——butitstillconsideredthatonlythiscircumscribedactivityitselfproducedmoney。Incontrasttothissystem,thePhysiocratsassumethataspecificformoflabour——
agriculture——createswealth,andtheyseetheobjectnolongerintheguiseofmoney,butasaproductingeneral,astheuniversalresultoflabour。Inaccordancewiththestillcircumscribedactivity,theproductremainsanaturallydevelopedproduct,anagriculturalproduct,aproductofthelandparexcellence。
ItwasanimmenseadvancewhenAdamSmithrejectedallrestrictionswithregardtotheactivitythatproduceswealth——forhimitwaslabourassuch,neithermanufacturing,norcommercial,noragriculturallabour,butalltypesoflabour。Theabstractuniversalitywhichcreateswealthimpliesalsotheuniversalityoftheobjectsdefinedaswealth:theyareproductsassuch,oroncemorelabourassuch,butinthiscasepast,materialisedlabour。HowdifficultandimmenseatransitionthiswasisdemonstratedbythefactthatAdamSmithhimselfoccasionallyrelapsesoncemoreintothePhysiocraticsystem。Itmightseemthatinthiswaymerelyanabstractexpressionwasfoundforthesimplestandmostancientrelationinwhichhumanbeingsactasproducers——irrespectiveofthetypeofsocietytheylivein。Thisistrueinonerespect,butnotinanother。