The Socialism of to-day

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 835096955

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-28834

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Laveleye, Émile de

Title:: The Socialism of to-day

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Field & Tuer

Year of publication:: 1884

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XLIV, 331 S.)

Collection:: Economics Books

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ï 28 THE SOCIALISM OF TO-DAY. it, does, in general, immediately acquire an extra value ; but in my view, what it is especially necessary to consider is the value in use, the utility, for ultimately everything comes to that. Consumption is the final aim of the production and circulation of wealth. Exchange brings everything to the place where it answers the most intense needs—“ the right ware in the right place ”—and thus it creates utilities which are real values. To return to the system of Marx, capital, according to him, comes into being in this way. The future capitalist presents himself on the market of commodities provided with money. First of all he buys machines, tools, raw materials, and then, in order to work up the materials, he purchases the workman’s “ labour-force,” arbeitskraft., the sole source of all value. He sets the labourer to work to change, by means of the tools and machines, the raw materials into manufactured articles, and sells them for more than they cost him to make. In this way he obtains a greater value, “ surplus value ” {mehrwerth). The money, temporarily transformed into wages and merchandise, reappears under its original form, but more or less increased in amount ; it has brought forth young—capital is born. This would seem to conflict with the principle laid down above, that exchange does not create new value. The manu facturer has only made exchanges, and yet he finds himself in possession of a greater value. The explanation of the mystery is as follows. The capitalist pays for labour its exchange-value and thus obtains its value in use. Labour-force has the unique characteristic of producing more than it costs to be produced. He who buys it and sets it to work for his gain, enjoys then the source of all wealth. The capitalist pays for labour its value. What is the value of labour ? Like all other merchandise, it is worth what it costs in time and trouble to be produced, that is to say, its cost of production. The cost of production of labour is the food and different commodities necessary to support the labourer and the children destined to succeed him. The value of all these commodities is measured in its turn by the time that it takes to produce them. In short, then, according to Marx, the value of labour is equivalent to the sum of hours required to create what the maintenance of the labourer demands. This

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