Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy by Karl Marx

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Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy by Karl Marx

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Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy by Karl Marx

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1904 edition. Excerpt: … 3. MONEY. Money as distinguished from coin, the result of the circulation process C–M–C, forms the starting point of the circulation process M–C–M, i. e. the exchange of money for commodity in order to exchange commodity for money. In the form C–M–C, commodity forms the starting and final points of the movement. And in the form M–C–M, money plays that part.

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In the former case money is the medium of exchange of commodities, in the latter the commodity helps money to become money. Money which appears merely as a means of circulation in the first form becomes an end in the second form; while commodity which appeared first as the end, now becomes but a means. Since money is itself the result of circulation C–M–C, the result of circulation appears at the same time as its starting point in the form M–C–M. While in the case of C–M–C the interchange of matter constituted the real import of the process, the form of the commodity resulting from this first process constitutes the import of the second process M–C–M.

In the form C–M–C the two extreme members are commodities of the same value, but qualitatively different use-values. Their mutual exchange C–C constitutes actual interchange of matter. In the form M–C–M the two extremes are gold and at the same time gold of equal value. To exchange gold for a commodity in order to exchange the commodity for gold, or if we consider the final result M–M, to exchange gold for gold, seems absurd. But if we translate the formula M–C–M into the expression: to buy in order to sell, which means nothing but to exchange gold for gold through an intervening movement, we recognize at once the prevailing form of capitalist production. In actual practice, however, people do not buy in order to…