登陆注册
5186300000023

第23章 MONEY OR SIMPLE CIRCULATION(4)

Gold as measure of value and as standard of price has quite distinct specific functions,and the confusion of the one with the other has led to the most absurd theories.Gold as materialised labour-time is a measure of value,as a piece of metal of definite weight it is the standard of price.Gold becomes the measure of value because as an exchange-value it is compared with the exchange-values of other commodities;in its aspect as a standard of price a definite quantity of gold serves as a unit for other quantities of gold.Gold is the measure of value because its value is variable;it is the standard of price because it has been established as an invariable unit of weight.Here,as in all cases of measuring quantities of the same denomination,stability and exactitude of the proportions is essential.The necessity of establishing a quantity of gold as the unit of measure and its aliquot parts as subdivisions of this unit has given rise to the idea that a fixed ratio of values has been set up between a definite quantity of gold,whose value is of course variable,and the exchange-values of commodities.But such a view simply ignores the fact that the exchange-values of commodities are turned into prices,into quantities of gold,before gold becomes the standard of price.Quite irrespective of any changes in the value of gold,different quantities of gold will always represent the same ratio of values with regard to one another.lf the value of gold should fall by 1,000per cent,then the value of twelve ounces of gold would still be twelve times bigger than that of one ounce of gold,and so far as prices are concerned what matters is only the proportion of the different quantities^of gold to one another.Since,on the other hand,a rise or fall in the value of an ounce of gold does not in any way affect its weight,the weight of its aliquot parts remains likewise unaffected;gold can thus always serve as a stable standard of price,regardless of any changes in its value.[3]

As a result of an historical process,which,as we shall explain later,was determined by the nature of metallic currency,the names of particular weights were retained for constantly changing and diminishing weights of precious metals functioning as the standard of price.Thus the English pound sterling denotes less than one-third of its original weight,the pound Scots before the Union only 1/36,the French livre 1/74,the Spanish maravedi less than 1/1,000and the Portuguese rei an even smaller proportion.

Historical development thus led to a separation of the money names of certain weights of metals from the common names of these weights.[4]Because the designation of the unit of measure,its aliquot parts and their names is,on the one hand,purely conventional,and on the other hand must be accepted as universal and indispensable within the sphere of circulation,it had to be established by legal means.The purely formal enactment thus devolved upon the government.[5]Which particular metal served as the material of money depended on the given social conditions.The standard of price is of course different in different countries.In England,for example,the ounce as a weight of metal is divided into pennyweights,grains and carats troy;but the ounce of gold as the unit of money is divided into 37/8sovereigns,the sovereign into 20shillings and the shilling into 12pence,so that 100pounds of 22-carat gold (1,200ounces)equal 4,672sovereigns and 10shillings.

But in the world market,where state frontiers disappear,such national features of the standards of money disappear as well and are replaced by measures of weight generally used for metals.

The price of a commodity,or the quantity of gold into which it is nominally converted,is now expressed therefore in the monetary names of the standard of gold.Thus,instead of saying a quarter of wheat is worth an ounce of gold,one would say in England it is worth £317s.10/2d.All prices are thus expressed in the same denomination.The specific form which the exchange-value of commodities assumes is converted into denominations of money ,by which their value is expressed.Money in turn becomes money of account .[6]

The transformation of commodities into money of account in the mind,on paper or in words takes place whenever the aspect of exchange-value becomes fixed in a particular type of wealth.[7]This transformation needs the material of gold,but only in imagination.

Not a single atom of real gold is used to estimate the value of a thousand bales of cotton in terms of a certain number of ounces of gold and then to express this number of ounces in £.s.d.,the names of account of the ounce.For instance,not a single ounce of gold was in circulation in Scotland before Sir Robert Peel's Bank Act of 1845,although the ounce of gold,called £317s.10/2d.as the British standard of account,served as the legal standard of price.Similarly,silver serves as the standard of price in exchange of commodities between Siberia and China,although this trade is in fact merely barter.It makes no difference,therefore,to gold as money of account whether or not its standard unit or its subdivisions are actually coined.During the reign of William the Conqueror,one pound sterling,at that time a pound of pure silver,and the shilling,1/20of a pound,existed in England only as money of account,while the penny,1/240of a pound of silver,was the largest silver coin in existence.On the other hand,there are no shillings or pence in England today,although they are legal names of account for definite fractions of an ounce of gold.

同类推荐
  • 谷城山馆诗

    谷城山馆诗

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 东谷所见

    东谷所见

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 广群芳谱

    广群芳谱

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 戒

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 正一法文经护国醮海品

    正一法文经护国醮海品

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 你为什么要召唤我

    你为什么要召唤我

    莫名其妙被作为邪神被召唤到异世界,周平唯一的目标就是回家。“不过,这个世界的生物好像有点太弱了。”看着碎成一地的各种怪物,周平有些无奈。
  • 左耳失聪

    左耳失聪

    李东文, 70后。1999年开始学习写作,以小说及情感专栏为主,曾在《天涯》《长城》《十月》《西湖》《长江文艺》等杂志发表小说,作品多次被《小说选刊》《中篇小说选刊》《读者》等转载。
  • 摩诃僧祇律

    摩诃僧祇律

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 北云剑神

    北云剑神

    长剑弄清风剑气动北云寒门出贵子仙武出剑神!
  • 平夏錄

    平夏錄

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 华严关脉义记

    华严关脉义记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 金牌悍妃

    金牌悍妃

    世人皆知护国公府育有一女,灵力为零,属性为无,是个不折不扣的特大废柴,却偏偏狂傲自大,骄纵蛮横,不自量力追求第一美人榜之首的北冥王,各种阴险纠缠卑鄙招数用尽,终于在皇族比武场上,如愿以偿劫走了北冥王!“你过来,坐到我身边来。”床上美得祸害苍生的男人媚眼如丝,衣襟半敞,脂玉般莹润白皙的肌肤宛若滴出水来一般,而此刻站在床旁的某女却是一脸的无措……人是她劫的没错,之前死缠烂打追求美人的是她也没错,明明她才是那个调|戏良家妇男的恶霸,怎么现在有种被人反调|戏的赶脚?来来,美人,咱俩好好谈谈。
  • 做个说话有心眼 办事有心计的女人

    做个说话有心眼 办事有心计的女人

    本书本着简单实用的原则,结合女性实际情况,用通俗流畅的语言,从爱情、生活、家庭、职场等多个方面为女性揭示了造就幸福人生的全部秘密。只要女性朋友遵循书中简单有效的原则,认真领悟并不断实践,就一定可以成为会说话会做事的女人,从而处处逢源,魅力四射,大受欢迎!
  • 诗路花雨:徐志摩品诗(再读徐志摩)

    诗路花雨:徐志摩品诗(再读徐志摩)

    《诗路花雨:徐志摩品诗(再读徐志摩)》收录了坏诗,假诗,形似诗;诗人与诗;欧游途中致刘勉己;未来派的诗;诗刊牟言;《诗刊》放假;《志摩的诗》附注;谈诗论文书信选等内容。
  • 寺塔记

    寺塔记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。