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Capitalist Production.
Value Produced Per Acre.
Seed, ......... £1 9 0 Tithes, Rates, and Taxes,.. £1 1 0
Manure, ..... 2 10 0 Rent, ................................. 1 8 0
Wages, ....... 3 10 0 Farmer's Profit and Interest, . 1 2 0
Total, .. £7 9 0 Total, .. £3 11 0

Assuming that the price of the product is the same as its value, we here find the surplus-value distributed under the various heads of profit, interest, rent, etc. We have nothing to do with these in detail; we simply add them together, and the sum is a surplus-value of £3 10s. 0d. The sum of £3 19s. 0d., paid for seed and manure, is constant capital, and we put it equal to zero. There is left the sum of £3 10s. 0d,, which is the variable capital advanced: and we see that a new value of £3 10s. 0d. + £3 11s. 0d. has been produced in its place. Therefore s/v = £3 11s. 0d./£3 10s. 0d., giving a rate of surplus-value of more than 100%. The labourer employs more than one-half of his working day in producing the surplus-value, which different persons, under different pretexts, share amongst themselves.[1]


section 2.—the representation of the components of the value of the product by corresponding proportional parts of the product itself.

Let us now return to the example by which we were shown how the capitalist converts money into capital.

The product of a working day of 12 hours is 20 lbs. of yarn, having a value of 30s. No less than 8/10ths of this value, or 24s., is due to mere re-appearance in it, of the value of the

  1. The calculations given in the test are intended merely as illustrations. We have in fact assumed that prices = values. We shall, however, see in Volume III., that even in the case of average prices the assumption cannot be made in this very simple manner.