Capital

In studying capitalist society we encounter first of all the concept of capital . What is capital ? What do we imply by this term ? There are many concrete manifestations of capital . In any bourgeois country capital may be money , machinery , build ings , ready – made goods , etc. The first conclusion that can therefore be drawn is that capital is value . However , not every value is capital . A worker’s wages are paid in money , but this does not mean that the worker has capital . A peasant has a house and agricultural implements , but this property is not capital either . Money , like any other value , becomes capital only when it increases its value , i.e. , when it produces surplus value . We can therefore extend the first conclusion by defining capital as value which produces surplus value . intrinsic Bourgeois science asserts that profit is an property of capital . However , capital cannot of itself pro duce surplus value . Capital increases its value only when it unites with labour , i.e. , in the process of production . Capital exploits the worker who by his labour creates surplus value which in its turn increases capital . It follows that capital is value which produces surplus value by exploiting wage – workers . Whatever its concrete form , capital is not merely a thing . Capital embodies certain production relations between the capitalist class and the class of wage – workers , and these relations are expressed in exploitation of man by man . In defining capital bourgeois economists usually imply by it the means of production . This view was held by Adam Smith and David Ricardo , representatives of English classical bourgeois political economy . Ricardo , for example , regarded as capital the stone and stick , i.e. , the primitive tools of primitive man . Bourgeois science still continues to identify capital with the means of production . It strives to represent capital as the eternal and natural condition of any produc tion . The ” finding ” of capital in primitive society serves precisely this purpose . The ” theory of eternal existence ” of capital is supposed to confirm the ” theory of eternal existence ” of capitalism . Bourgeois economists misrepresent the history of the origin of capitalism and of the formation of classes in capitalist society . According to them , hard – working and thrifty people became capitalists , while the lazy people who had squan dered all their property became workers . These fabrica tions have nothing in common with historical truth . Primary accumulation of capital was marked not by thrift , but by real plunder of the colonies , forcible dispossession of peasants , and rigid laws against the poor in order to create a capitalist labour discipline .In studying capitalist society we encounter first of all the concept of capital . What is capital ? What do we imply by this term ? There are many concrete manifestations of capital . In any bourgeois country capital may be money , machinery , build ings , ready – made goods , etc. The first conclusion that can therefore be drawn is that capital is value . However , not every value is capital . A worker’s wages are paid in money , but this does not mean that the worker has capital . A peasant has a house and agricultural implements , but this property is not capital either . Money , like any other value , becomes capital only when it increases its value , i.e. , when it produces surplus value . We can therefore extend the first conclusion by defining capital as value which produces surplus value . intrinsic Bourgeois science asserts that profit is an property of capital . However , capital cannot of itself pro duce surplus value . Capital increases its value only when it unites with labour , i.e. , in the process of production . Capital exploits the worker who by his labour creates surplus value which in its turn increases capital . It follows that capital is value which produces surplus value by exploiting wage – workers . Whatever its concrete form , capital is not merely a thing . Capital embodies certain production relations between the capitalist class and the class of wage – workers , and these relations are expressed in exploitation of man by man . In defining capital bourgeois economists usually imply by it the means of production . This view was held by Adam Smith and David Ricardo , representatives of English classical bourgeois political economy . Ricardo , for example , regarded as capital the stone and stick , i.e. , the primitive tools of primitive man . Bourgeois science still continues to identify capital with the means of production . It strives to represent capital as the eternal and natural condition of any produc tion . The ” finding ” of capital in primitive society serves precisely this purpose . The ” theory of eternal existence ” of capital is supposed to confirm the ” theory of eternal existence ” of capitalism . Bourgeois economists misrepresent the history of the origin of capitalism and of the formation of classes in capitalist society . According to them , hard – working and thrifty people became capitalists , while the lazy people who had squan dered all their property became workers . These fabrica tions have nothing in common with historical truth . Primary accumulation of capital was marked not by thrift , but by real plunder of the colonies , forcible dispossession of peasants , and rigid laws against the poor in order to create a capitalist labour discipline .In studying capitalist society we encounter first of all the concept of capital . What is capital ? What do we imply by this term ? There are many concrete manifestations of capital . In any bourgeois country capital may be money , machinery , build ings , ready – made goods , etc. The first conclusion that can therefore be drawn is that capital is value . However , not every value is capital . A worker’s wages are paid in money , but this does not mean that the worker has capital . A peasant has a house and agricultural implements , but this property is not capital either . Money , like any other value , becomes capital only when it increases its value , i.e. , when it produces surplus value . We can therefore extend the first conclusion by defining capital as value which produces surplus value . intrinsic Bourgeois science asserts that profit is an property of capital . However , capital cannot of itself pro duce surplus value . Capital increases its value only when it unites with labour , i.e. , in the process of production . Capital exploits the worker who by his labour creates surplus value which in its turn increases capital . It follows that capital is value which produces surplus value by exploiting wage – workers . Whatever its concrete form , capital is not merely a thing . Capital embodies certain production relations between the capitalist class and the class of wage – workers , and these relations are expressed in exploitation of man by man . In defining capital bourgeois economists usually imply by it the means of production . This view was held by Adam Smith and David Ricardo , representatives of English classical bourgeois political economy . Ricardo , for example , regarded as capital the stone and stick , i.e. , the primitive tools of primitive man . Bourgeois science still continues to identify capital with the means of production . It strives to represent capital as the eternal and natural condition of any produc tion . The ” finding ” of capital in primitive society serves precisely this purpose . The ” theory of eternal existence ” of capital is supposed to confirm the ” theory of eternal existence ” of capitalism . Bourgeois economists misrepresent the history of the origin of capitalism and of the formation of classes in capitalist society . According to them , hard – working and thrifty people became capitalists , while the lazy people who had squan dered all their property became workers . These fabrica tions have nothing in common with historical truth . Primary accumulation of capital was marked not by thrift , but by real plunder of the colonies , forcible dispossession of peasants , and rigid laws against the poor in order to create a capitalist labour discipline .In studying capitalist society we encounter first of all the concept of capital . What is capital ? What do we imply by this term ? There are many concrete manifestations of capital . In any bourgeois country capital may be money , machinery , build ings , ready – made goods , etc. The first conclusion that can therefore be drawn is that capital is value . However , not every value is capital . A worker’s wages are paid in money , but this does not mean that the worker has capital . A peasant has a house and agricultural implements , but this property is not capital either . Money , like any other value , becomes capital only when it increases its value , i.e. , when it produces surplus value . We can therefore extend the first conclusion by defining capital as value which produces surplus value . intrinsic Bourgeois science asserts that profit is an property of capital . However , capital cannot of itself pro duce surplus value . Capital increases its value only when it unites with labour , i.e. , in the process of production . Capital exploits the worker who by his labour creates surplus value which in its turn increases capital . It follows that capital is value which produces surplus value by exploiting wage – workers . Whatever its concrete form , capital is not merely a thing . Capital embodies certain production relations between the capitalist class and the class of wage – workers , and these relations are expressed in exploitation of man by man . In defining capital bourgeois economists usually imply by it the means of production . This view was held by Adam Smith and David Ricardo , representatives of English classical bourgeois political economy . Ricardo , for example , regarded as capital the stone and stick , i.e. , the primitive tools of primitive man . Bourgeois science still continues to identify capital with the means of production . It strives to represent capital as the eternal and natural condition of any produc tion . The ” finding ” of capital in primitive society serves precisely this purpose . The ” theory of eternal existence ” of capital is supposed to confirm the ” theory of eternal existence ” of capitalism . Bourgeois economists misrepresent the history of the origin of capitalism and of the formation of classes in capitalist society . According to them , hard – working and thrifty people became capitalists , while the lazy people who had squan dered all their property became workers . These fabrica tions have nothing in common with historical truth . Primary accumulation of capital was marked not by thrift , but by real plunder of the colonies , forcible dispossession of peasants , and rigid laws against the poor in order to create a capitalist labour discipline .

Usurious Capital

As the role of money increased , not only the working . masses , but the feudal lords as well found it increasingly necessary to borrow funds . This brought about the appearance of a stratum of individuals who amassed large sums of money and loaned it out at greato interest . In this instance money also turned into money capital , but this was usurious capital . The formula of its circulation is expressed as M – M ‘ , where M ‘ is also greater than M. Merchants could not do without loans , either . This brought about the development of credit and mortgage operations and the establishment of banks . Banks first appeared in the north of Italy , where commodity – money relations were highly developed in the 13th – 14th centuries . The very word ” bank ” comes from the Italian word ” banca ” ( money – changer’s table ) . The word ” bankruptcy ” comes from the expression ” banca rota ” ( the money – changer’s overthrown table ) , for if a usurer was found to be bankrupt , his table was overturned . The banker – usurers also offered their ” aid ” to needy crafts men , thus speeding the impoverishment of many .

THE PRODUCTIVE FORCES DURING THE FORMATION OF HUMAN SOCIETY

The progressive development of mankind was determined by the further advance of the productive forces and , primarily , by the perfection of the instruments of labour . The remains of tools of fossil man were discovered in China , India , Ceylon , Burma , Algeria , Kenya , Uganda , Tanganyika and other regions of South Africa and Europe . In the U.S.S.R. the remains of fossil man and his tools were discovered in Armenia , the Crimea , along the Black Sea Coast of the Caucasus , in Central Asia and along the Dniester River .

Mythological Olympian Religion

By the 6th century B.C. more or less similar religious beliefs were held in common in all regions inhabited by the Greeks . These beliefs formed the basis of the Olympian religion , so called after Mount Olympus which was believed to be the home of the Gods , headed by Zeus . The Olympian religion was not connected with any organised religious body , dogma or ritual . The temples of the gods , though of definite significance in the religious lives of the people , did not , how ever , form a single system ; likewise , there was no special strata of religious attendants , no high priests . When necessary , persons chosen by the popular assembly carried out various religious functions . By making the gods human , the Olympian religion was able to penetrate deep into the masses and influence the working people . In time the cult of the Olympian gods became the official religion of the Greek polises , sanctifying the class suppression of the slaves and poor labourers . The masses , dissatisfied with their lack of civil rights , often coun tered the official religion by inaugurating cults of their own patron gods . Such , for instance , was the cult of Dionisius , patron of the tiller , in whose honour feasts and celebrations were held . This religious dissention can be considered the prototype of all later religious heresies .

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Essence of the Industrial Revolution

Essence of the Industrial Revolution

The bourgeois revolutions on the European continent led feudal fetters were torn off the capitalist production rela to the downfall of feudalism in a number of countries . The tions and the way for their rapid development was cleared . In the countries where the first bourgeois revolutions occurred , and under their influence in other countries , as the capitalist relations matured , capitalist industry rapidly developed . This development did not consist in a mere increase in the number of enterprises employing wage workers or in a mere increase in the volume of production . The character of this development and its results were of much greater significance to society . The bourgeois revolutions destroyed the obstacles to the development of the productive forces , and considerably accelerated the growth of these forces and brought about a revolution in technology , i.e. , the invention of the machine . The development of capitalist industry , consequently , meant the replacement of manual labour , which predominated in the capitalist manufactories , by machine labour . The change from the manufactory stage of capitalism with its manual technology to the machine industry is called the industrial revolution . In this case the term ” revolution ” is used because the replacement of manual labour with machine labour considerably influenced the development of the socio – economic relations of the time , which in a certain measure determined the fate of capitalism .

Germany On The Eve Of The Revolution

Germany on the Eve of the Revolution In the 1840s there had as yet been no bourgeois revolution in Germany. The country was broken up into a number of independent states. The German Union formally unified 34 German states and four free cities. The supreme body of the Union was the Bundestag which exercised practically no power; It had no army, no legal rights and no diplomatic representatives abroad. The decisions of the Bundestag came into effect only after their approval by the heads of all the states and cities. In other words , no centralized state – basis for the development of capitalism – had as yet formed in Germany ; The country had no single internal market and the trade relations between the various German states were hampered by customs barriers. Under those conditions the development of capitalism in Germany encountered great difficulties . A customs union unifying 18 German states with a population of 23 million formed only in 1818-34 . The industry and cities developed slowly . For example , in the 1840s the 12 largest cities of Germany had a slightly larger population than Paris . In the middle of the 19th century the industrial revolution in Germany was only going through its initial stage. The German bourgeoisie was faced with the problem of carrying out a bourgeois revolution , creating a centralised state and winning power . However , the cowardly German bourgeoisie preferred not to raise the question of altering the political system , but to pursue a course of reforms . The German working class , which developed later than the working classes of England and France , began its struggle in the middle of the 19th century ; it tried to set up its own organisations and came out with its own demands . Owing to the severe police regime the German workers set up their organisations abroad , in Switzerland and England , where the political system was more democratic , and tried to guide the working – class movement from there . One of these organisations was the German People’s Union but , like the others , this organisation had weak ties with the workers of the German states and therefore could not exercise any practical guidance of the working – class movement . At the same time the workers began to struggle for their rights openly . The workers of Silesia ( the best developed area in Germany ) who lived under intolerable economic conditions rose against the capitalists in 1844 , but the government immediately dispatched troops to defend the interests of the exploiters . In the middle of the 19th century German industry advanced from the manufactory stage to machine produc tion , and its further development now depended on how rapidly feudalism was abolished in the country . Since the the necessary reforms , a government of the German Union was unwilling to carry out Germany . revolution was impending in Germany.

Influence of ” Free Trade ” on the Economy of the Colonies

The import of large quantities of goods to the oppressed countries enlivened the commodity – money relations in them . The local feudal lords and tribal chiefs began to use the market increasingly more often . The result of that was an intensified exploitation of the peasantry , its pauperisation and often ruination . Under the direct pressure of foreign capital ists , the colonial administration and the country’s own feudal lords , middlemen and usurers , peasants had to produce raw materials and foodstuffs for the capitalist market and sell them at uncommonly low prices . The slightest fluctuation in the capitalist market affected the conditions of the peasants in the colonies and semicolonies . The flooding of the colonies and semicolonies with large quantities of industrial commodities from the parent states which were , of course , unable to compete with the industries led to a decline of the local handicrafts and manufactories of the advanced countries . Thus the marketing of the articles manufactured in the parent states impeded the industrial declined together with the handicrafts . Not only the peasants development of Asia , Africa and Latin America . Local trade and handicraftsmen , but even the local bourgeoisie was becoming impoverished , except the part of the bourgeoisie which began to play the role of an intermediary in the trade between the colonialists and the subjugated peoples ( the so – called comprador bourgeoisie ) . ” Free trade ” was the main , but not the only method of exploiting the colonies . Capitalism also developed a system of plantation economy ( West – Indies , Indonesia , India , etc. ) and organised land plunder of the colonies and their settle ment by way of ” free ” colonisation ( Algeria , South Africa , etc. ) . In the countries of plantation economy the English and French colonialists had to abolish slavery which had completely outlived itself , was unproductive and was incapable of making the plantations more profitable . But even after the abolition of slavery the former slaves and the new contract workers from China and India were subjected to monstrous exploitation , continued to live under inhuman conditions and died en masse of starvation and disease . Whereas after abolition of slavery the English and French planters used a system of labour contracts , the Dutch colonialists in Indonesia , where the local population was employed as labour power , introduced a system of forced labour . Usually 5-10 villages were attached to an enterprise which processed raw material . The population was forced to supply the enterprise with raw material and labour power . During the period of pre – monopoly capital , when the main form of economic relations between the parent states and the colonies was ” free trade ” , capitalist relations did not as yet develop in the colonies . At the same time , having been drawn into world trade , the colonies were becoming an exploited part of the forming world capitalist system .

The Idealist- Trend in Philosophy [Read ⬇️

Some philosophers , absorbed in mathematics , a science which demands a great amount of abstract thought , became the protagonists of an idealist trend in philosophy . They used mathematics to construct various idealistic concepts ; thus , they evolved the ” magic ” of numbers . Pythagoras and his followers ( 6th century B.C. ) were the first idealist – philosophers . They imbued figures and mathematical concepts with mystical qualities . According to their beliefs , the number ” 1 ” stood for evil , ” 2 ” stood for good , ” 10 ” was perfection , etc. Representatives of the idealist school in the city of Eleia , a Greek coldhy in Southern Italy , attempted to prove the immobility of all matter .

Export Of Capital

One of the main economic features of imperialism is the export of capital . Export of goods was typical of pre – monopoly capitalism when free competition had undivided sway . Under monopoly capitalism foreign trade continues to expand , but the export of capital acquires exceptional importance . During the period of monopoly capitalism the export of capital becomes the main instrument of systematic exploitation of the greater part of the world by a handful of eco nomically developed capitalist countries . Vast amounts of ” surplus capital ” arise in a number of capitalist countries . Under imperialism the domination of monopolies with their enormous concentration of capital , and the development of joint – stock companies and banks which concentrate vast amounts of the population’s free money give rise to ” sur plus capital ” in a number of capitalist countries . This ” sur plus capital ” is conditional and relative . The living standards of the masses of people under capitalism remain comparatively low , while agriculture , which greatly lags behind industry , is very much in need of money for its develop ment . But monopoly capitalism cannot use the ” surplus capi tal ” to raise the living standards of the people because that would reduce the profits of the monopolists . In pursuit of higher profits the monopolies export capital . In the beginning of the 20th century capital was exported mainly to the backward , colonial and dependent countries where the scarcity of capital , low land prices , low wages and cheap raw materials ensured fabulously high profits . Capital is still being exported to underdeveloped countries . Between 1946 and 1960 the U.S.A. withdrew from Latin American countries 8.800 million dollars of profits , whereas the new American direct private capital investments in Latin America during the same period amounted only to 4,500 million dollars . Export of capital from one highly – developed capitalist country to another has been rapidly developing in recent years be cause of intensified competition and the difference in wages . Capital is exported in two basic forms : firstly , as productive capital consisting in investments in industry , agriculture , transport , etc. , and , secondly , as loan capital , i.e. , loans to governments and private credit . Despite the different forms of export of capital its exporters pursue the same aim , namely , to obtain high monopoly profits . Both private and state capital may be exported . In the beginning of the 20th century the export of capital was almost entirely private business . Today state capital amounts to about half the total export of capital and continues to increase because private capital prefers to take no risks in connection with the increasing danger of nationalisation in the liberated countries . Imperialist states use export of capital to extend the old and seize new sources of raw materials . markets and spheres of capital investments , and to effect eco nomic , political and military strategic expansion .

Market Ties

The development of commodity – money relations was the basis on which the Russian centralised state was created . The united Russian market evolved in the 18th century , but its sources go back to the 16th century , when town crafts and local markets entered a period of rapid growth . In the early 1580s there were close to 200 various crafts in Novgorod and close to 100 in Kazan . The main feature of craft pro duction was its great diversification . The metal workers were subdivided into pin – makers , button – makers , etc .; there were bow – makers , sword – makers , dagger – makers , etc .; in the manu facture of clothing there were specialists for every garment worn . The social division of labour brought about an increase in trade . In the 16th century many Russian towns were major trading centres . In Pskov in the 1560s – 1570s there were a trading court , where most of the commercial transactions took place , and a total of 1,300 other trading premises ; in Kazan there were 644 ; in Kolomna , near Moscow , there were close to 450 . Peasants brought their produce to the market in town . Local markets began establishing ties among themselves . Thus , there were the so – called trading courts , known as the Tver and Pskov Courts , in Novgorod in the 16th century . There were fairs in some regions . Moscow , which had become a major centre of crafts and trade in the 15th century , was the binding link in inter – city trade . Foreign trade was fast developing . There were many trade routes to the Baltic regions . The Volga route connected the European markets with the Caspian area and Central Asia . The development of commodity – money relations created a more complex social structure of society and increased differentiation among the craftsmen , merchants and peasants . The leading merchants formed a separate estate , the mer chants ‘ guild , and two privileged ” hundreds of merchants and cloth – makers . Documents of the time mention ” middle ” merchants and town craftsmen , as well as ” black people ” , the poorest stratum of the population . In the villages a stra tum of wealthier peasants emerged from among the serfs , having bought their freedom from their masters ; these peas ants often became craftsmen or merchants .