I thought it advisable to post the flashcards that I published on Quizlet since, at one point not long ago, Quizlet was not functioning. The formatting is not the best, but it will have to do.
I have created a set of flashcards for the money circuit of capital on Quizlet for those who are interested (see https://quizlet.com/ca/925709660/capital-volume-two-chapter-1-the-money-circuit-of-capital-flash-cards/?funnelUUID=4c2e835e-28e4-4fb1-8e11-f0ea75d5d432).
They are based, in general, on some notes I took when I was working through Ed George’s commentary on chapter one of volume two of Marx’s Capital (see his https://readingmarx.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/capital-volume-2-chapter-1-the-circuit-of-money-capital/).
If there are any corrections or suggestions to improve the flashcards, please comment on this post.
Here they are:
What is the first stage of the circuit and the elements of the first stage?
Purchase: M-C(=L+MP), where M is money advanced or invested, the dash represents an exchange, C represents the commodities purchased, L represents labour power (the capacity to work–the commodity the worker sells) and MP represents means of production (buildings, computers, other machines, office supplies, raw material and so forth)
What is the second stage of the circuit and the elements of the second stage?
…P…C’, where the dots represent an interruption in the exchange or circulation process, P represents the capitalist production process and C’ represents the commodity produced (say beer), with the ‘ representing a surplus of value over the initial purchased elements.
What is the third stage of the circuit and the elements of the third stage?
C’-M’, where C’ represents the commodity capital produced, ‘ represents the surplus value produced, the dash represents an exchange, M’ represents the return of the investment to the original form (money), with a surplus of value existing now in money form (in addition to the same amount of money M orgiinally advanced or invested).
What is the complete formula for the money circuit of capital?
M-C(=L+MP)…P…C’-M’
What makes the first stage of the money circuit of capital a stage of capital: 1. its form (an exchange, or more specifically a purchase) or 2. its content (what it purchases)?
2. Its content (what it purchases)–the objective and subjective conditions of producing the social world.
What are the two elements purchased when a capitalist advances or invests money?
L (labour power) and MP (means of production)
Are the two elements purchased in the first stage bought on the same market?
No, L (labour power) is purchased on the market for workers, and MP (means of production) is purchased on the commodity market produced by workers working for other capitalists.
What is the quantitative relationship between L and MP?
The amount of MP purchased must be sufficient to absorb not only the equivalent amount of labour to produce the wage or salary of the worker but also the surplus labour.
What are the two possibilities if the quantitative relationship between L and MP is not met?
1. Too much MP is purchased relative to the amount of possible labour extorted from the workers. 2. Too little MP is purchased relative to the amount of possible labour extorted from the workers so that the capitalist or employer cannot exploit the workers as much as possible.
How are money capital and productive capital similar?
They are both forms of capital
How are money capital and productive capital different?
They differ in terms of their form, and therefore their functions differ.
Is money always capital?
No. It is only capital when used in a specific way to exploit workers.
Give an example of the use of money that is not capital.
Workers who receive a wage or salary use the money to purchase consumer goods (means of subsistence)–and this use of money does not change the money into capital for the workers.
T/F Money becomes capital in its relationship to other elements in a process.
True
Which is characteristic of capital, that MONEY can buy labour power, or that money can buy LABOUR POWER.
Money can buy labour power; it is the appearance of workers on a market on an increasingly large scale that characterizes capital and not the purchase of services on an occasional basis.
What is a necessary condition for labour power to be sold massively on a market?
The workers must be separated from the means of production (MP).
Given the separation of L and MP, what is the function of money capital in M-C(L+MP)?
The function of money in this stage is to unite the two essential elements of the production of human life and the social world since L and MP are separated socially and legally.
T/F If the money circuit of capital involves the presupposition of the separation of workers from the conditions for the production of their social life, and yet the function of money capital is to unite workers and the means of production, could the process of capitalist (re)production be described as a process of the unity of the separation and unity of workers and the means of production?
True
If the actual connection or unity of workers and means of production is a basic condition for the (re)production of their social life, is their legal separation in contradiction to the requirements of any society?
Yes.
What role do the capitalist employer and the worker play in the first stage?
The worker acts as seller, and the capitalist employer acts as buyer.
Do capitalist employers own L outside the production process?
No.
Do capitalist employers own the means of production outside the production process?
Yes.
How does C’ express a capital relation?
It is not the absolute value of the commodity output (say beer) (which involves a certain quantity of socially necessary labour time to produce it) but its relative components that constitute the commodity as commodity capital: the value of commodity capital includes a surplus of value and not just value relative to the value of elements purchased and consumed in its production.
What is the function of commodity capital?
To be sold
From the point of view of the material content of what is purchased, what are two things that labour power and means of production share in common?
1. They only become capital by being integrated into productive capital. 2. Both are not capital by nature.
Why is the quantity of commodity capital sold of importance to the capitalist employer?
To realize the full amount of surplus value (and hence profit), the whole amount must be sold.
The ______________________ of commodity capital sold is also important to the capitalist employer since it affects how fast s/he can reinvest money capital.
speed
The amount of value withdrawn in the form of money is ___________________ at the end of the circuit than at the beginning of the circuit.
greater
The amount of value thrown into exchange or circulation at the beginning of the circuit is _____________________ than the amount of value thrown into exchange or circulation at the end of the circuit.
less
The amount of value withdrawn from exchange or circulation at the end of the circuit is _________________________________ than at the beginning of the circuit because ___________________ value is thrown into exchange or circulation at the end of the circuit than withdrawn at the beginning.
greater, more
Which form of capital first contains the surplus value produced?
Commodity capital
In the act C’-M’, there are in fact two subacts. Descriibe them.
The conversion of the equivalent to the original capital value into money: C-M, and c-m–the conversion of the surplus value into money.
Describe the full money circuit without considering the production process, surplus value or the difference in the kinds of commodities purchased and sold.
M-C-M, or the purchase of commodities of an equivalent amount, and the sale of commodities for money of an equivalent amount.
T/F Is C-M the complementary process to M-C.
True
Does c-m in C’-M’ require a complementary process of m-c to complete the full exchange process?
Yes
Is there symmetry in the degree of completion of exchange processes in C-M and c-m of C’-M?
No, C-M is the concluding phase of the initial phase of M-C, but c-m is the first phase of the exchange process of surplus value and requires a complementary process of m-c to complete it.
Viewed from the point of view of the exchange process or circulation, ____________________________ is an interruption in the exchange or circulation process.
production (productive capital)
In the stage C’-M’, what two roles or functions does money have?
1. It functions as a return to the original form of money advanced at the beginning. 2. It serves as the initial phase (c-m) of surplus value circulation.
In the last stage, C’-M’, when is the surplus value ideally separable from the original capital value and when is the surplus value actually separable from the original capital value?
Surplus value is only ideally separable for C’, but actually is separable for M’ since M and m are in the form of money, in which case they can function independently of each other.
Why is the origin of surplus value not evident in the form of realized money capital, M’?
The money form does not distinguish the original form of capital value (M) qualitatively from m, the surplus value.
In repeated cyles of the money circuit of capital, how does the distinction between the original capital value and surplus value become clearer?
They become functionally distinct once the cycle is repeated in that surplus value obtains additional functions (either as further accumulation or as a consumption fund for capitalist employers, or both).
How is the original money (M) different from the end form of money (M’), apart from the quantitative difference?
The original money is not yet capital (only potential capital) but functions as MONEY (means of purchase for MP and means of payment for L (since workers receive money only after they have delivered their commodity to the employer, and the employer has used L to produce C’); the end M’ is actualized money CAPITAL.
In what way is M-C at the beginning and C’-M’ at the end quantitatively similar?
Both M-C and C’-M’ exchange equivalent values.
The money circuit of capital is a combination of ______________________ metamorphoses or changes of capital and ________________ change of capital.
formal real or actual
Explain why the three stages are not kinds of capital.
The three stages are functional aspects of any circuit of money capital and not particular or separate branches of capital.
Each stage must be ____________________ before the next stage can arise, meaning that the stages are _________________________ ________________________.
completed or finished, mutually exclusive
What is the money circuit of capital for transport, and how is it different from the regular form of the money circuit of capital?
It is M-C(L+MP)…P…M’, where the act of production is simultaneously an act of consumption, leaving the process with no separate material commodity.
What are four distinctive features of the money circuit of capital?
1. The exchange at the beginning is determinant of the capital nature by the material content of the exchange (L+MP). 2. The capital value is realized along with its surplus value. 3. Productive consumption is included within the circuit. 4. The beginning and the ending are in the form of money, the independent form of value.
The initial investment of money at the beginning of the circuit is __________________________ and not spent.
advanced
The purpose of the whole circuit is to receive more ______________, not more ___________.
value, use value.
If you neglect the elements in the exchange and the exchanges themselves, and focus just on the relationship between the initial investment, the capitalist production process, and the end result, what formula do you have?
M…P…M’
_____________________ is a means for obtaining more money.
Capitalist production
_____________________ form part of P.
Workers
What conclusion can be drawn from the fact that workers are part of P?
They are used to obtain more money.
What are some of the ways in which the money circuit of capital differs from the commodity circuit of capital and the productive circuit of capital?
1. Surplus value takes the explicit form of money. 2. The circuit implies but does not express the accumulation of capital. 3. There is no explicit recognition that m separates from M. 4. Only productive consumption is included, not the consumption of the workers. 5. Neither is the individual consumption of the capitalist included
Name some characteristics of the money circuit of capital.
1. Buying in order to sell dearer (for more value than initially). 2. Valorization, or the production of surplus value. 3. Characterizes new investments or the withdrawal of investments (winding up of a business). 4. Money capital and the money capitalist is the initial form of relation between worker and capitalist.
In what way may the money circuit of capital be deceptive?
People may attribute the characteristics of what is capital to what is a function of money because the initial and end forms are the same.
How does the money circuit of capital imply the existence of the productive circuit of capital and the commodity circuit of capital?
The exchange of money for L at the beginning implies the previous production of means of consumption and their sale to workers. Furthermore, the purchase of MP also implies the previous production of MP.
When we consider the repetition of the money circuit of capital, money is seen as a _________________________ moment in the total process and not just the driving force and end of the process.
vanishing
In what way does the money circuit of capital merge into the general circulation of commodities?
Its two phases of exchange, M-C and C-M, form part of the general circulation of commodities since they form an aspect of the general buying and selling of commodities.
In the transport and communication industries, production and _______________ occur simultaneously.
consumption
Describe the money circuit of capital for the transportation and communication industries if they operate on a capitalistic basis, using the symbols already learned.
M-C(L+MP)…P…M’
The value produced in the transport and communication industries
a. disappears or b. is transferred to the commodity when another commodity is produced.
a. disappears or b. is transferred to the commodity when another commodity is produced.
b. transferred to the commodity
Neglecting the nature of what is purchased, did the first and last phases of the money circuit of capital, as far as they are purchase and sale respectively, exist in societies before capitalism?
Yes.
In societies that existed before the emergence of capitalism, what process was not a generalized capitalist process?
The production process.
The purchases and sales of individual capitalists are part of the g____________ circulation of commodities.
general
What is one aspect that differentiates or separates the money circuit of capital from the general circulation of commodities?
1. the content of the initial exchange–the purchase of labour power (L) and means of production (MP)–the conditions for the production of human life and relations;
What is another aspect that differentiates or separates the money circuit of capital from the general circulation of commodities?
The capital value (C) is realized along with the surplus value (c) (or s).
What is a third aspect that differentiates or separates the money circuit of capital from the general circulation of commodities?
Productive consumption is included in the circuit.
What is a fourth aspect that differentiates or separates the money circuit of capital from the general circulation of commodities?
The return of money to its point of departure, which indicates a cycle or circuit.
Money is a___________ and not s______ at the beginning of the circuit.
advanced, spent
What is the determining aim of the whole movement?
To obtain as much money as possible relative to the initial advanced money.
The aim of the whole movement pertains to v______ and not to u_____________.
value, use value
What is the primary motive of the capitalist in advancing money?
Profit or surplus value
Does production function as a means of life or a means of obtaining more money?
As a means of obtaining more money
What form does the surplus of value take in this circuit?
The form of money
Surplus value is necessarily e___________ or made e__________ in this specific circuit.
expressed, explicit
This circuit does not imply that ____ separates from M.
m
The individual consumption of the worker is/is not explicitly included in this circuit.
is not
The individual consumption of the employer or capitalist is/is not explicitly included in this circuit.
is not
The only kind of consumption that occurs in this circuit is _________________ consumption.
productive
How is this circuit generally deceptive?
Because the circuit begins and ends with money, it is the money form of capital which stands out, leading to the false conclusion that capital arises from the nature of money.
Although it requires elaboration, is the isolation of the money circuit of capital from its repetition deceptive? If so, how?
Repetition goes both ways–both future and past. The present circuit is a result of past accumulations of surplus value and past exploitation, but they do not appear to be so.
Provide an example of how the money circuit of capital suggests the two other circuits of capital (the productive circuit of capital and the commodity circuit of capital).
In the exchange M-L, the money vanishes into the hands of workers, making way for control over workers in the capitalist production process; it is implied that the production process is also capitalist.
Provide another example of how the money circuit of capital suggests the two other circuits of capital (the productive circuit of capital and the commodity circuit of capital).
.With the repetition of the money circuit of capital, money vanishes and gives way to productive capital;
Provide another example of how the money circuit of capital suggests the two other circuits of capital (the productive circuit of capital and the commodity circuit of capital).
The repetition of the money circuit of capital includes the complete circuits of productive capital and commodity capital; in the case of productive capital, the same value assumes a different but equivalent form.
Provide a third example of how the money circuit of capital suggests the two other circuits of capital (the productive circuit of capital and the commodity circuit of capital).
In the exchange of M-C(MP) at the beginning, the opposite process is C-M, which in fact is C’-M’ (the beginning and end of the commodity circuit of capital), which in turn presupposes that production is capitalist production–hence part of the productive circuit of capital as P…C’-M’.
The money circuit of capital shows how the sphere of p_______________ and e_______________ are integrated with one another as surplus value is p_____________, d_______________ and e___________________.
production, exchange, produced, distributed, exchanged
Capital as ________-expanding value embraces not only definite social relations of __________________ but also a c___________________ or s____________ movement going through its various s________.
self, production, circular, spiral, stages
The Abolitionary 