A Study Of The Crisis In The Critique Of Political Economy(1861-1863 Manuscript)

Economic crises are the norm of the capitalist mode of production,and they are inevitable as long as the capitalist mode of production exists.In the classic Marxist work Capital,there is no specific chapter to elaborate the crisis problem,but the crisis problem runs through the whole work of Capital,and in "Critique of Political Economy(1861-1863 manuscript)",a specific part can be found to systematically elaborate the crisis problem,so this paper is based on "Critique of Political Economy(1861-1863manuscript)" to This paper is based on the systematic exposition of the crisis problem in the "Critique of Political Economy(1861-1863)".This paper argues that in the "Critique of Political Economy(1861-1863)",Marx’s study of the crisis consists of four main parts,namely,the possibility of the crisis,the reality of the crisis,the reasons for the transformation of the possibility of the crisis into reality,and the development trend and end of the crisis.The possibility of crisis is not unique to the capitalist mode of production,but also exists in previous modes of production,because the possibility of crisis arises when the exchange of human wealth develops to the stage of money as a medium,and there is no crisis in the stage of barter.In other words,when the exchange develops to the stage of money as a medium,the separation of buying and selling,there is a possibility that someone sells but does not buy,which inevitably leads to a part of goods not being exchanged.Therefore,as long as there is money as a means of circulation and payment,the possibility of a crisis exists.The possibility of crisis becomes the abstract form of crisis itself,and the first possibility of crisis is brought about by money as a means of circulation,and the second possibility of crisis is brought about by money as a means of payment,and there is no second possibility without the first possibility.The reality of the crisis is closely related to the production of capital,which is the expression of capital in the real production process.The main factors that lead to the crisis in reality are the factors of the particular mode of production of capitalism,the factors of productive forces and the factors of production relations.The particular mode of production of the reality of the crisis is due to the fact that this production is centered on value and ignores the limits of production of use-value,and aims to increase value and break the limits of production of use-value.Under the specific capitalist conditions of production of capital,the reality factor of the productivity of the crisis is manifested by its special production methods that promote the development of productivity,and this special production method includes collaboration,division of labor,and the production method of machine big industry,which plays a great role in promoting productivity and makes the development of human productivity exceed the previous level of production and creates a large amount of social wealth,which sets the stage for such wealth value could not be realized.The factor of the relations of production of the reality of the crisis is in fact this relation of ownership of the means of production,where the relation of the use of labor by capital continues from the sphere of production to the sphere of distribution,limiting the ability to pay for labor.Regarding the causes of the transformation of the possibility of the crisis into reality,in formal terms it is the intensification of the contradictions inherent in wealth,that is,the contradictions between use value and value,concrete and abstract labor,private and social labor,and in reality it is the intensification of the contradictions between the specific productive forces of capitalism and the relations of production,that is,between the socialization of production and the capitalist private appropriation of the means of production.The transformation of the possibility of crisis into reality brings two results,a relative surplus of production and a relative surplus of population,both of which are relative rather than absolute surpluses,a surplus of production relative to the purchasing power of workers who have the ability to pay,and a surplus of population relative to capital’s need for it.The trend of the crisis will develop from overproduction to capital surplus and from the production sphere to the virtual sphere.The surplus of capital is caused by the increase in the level of productivity of capital,the increase in the organic composition of capital,and the inability of the expansion of capital to compensate for the decrease in the average rate of profit,which makes it impossible for capital to multiply in the production sphere,so capital is left idle and leads to the surplus of capital.It is because capital cannot find investment in the field of production,and capital does not care what it produces as long as it can achieve value multiplication,so in the virtual economy,capital does not consider whether it is separated from the actual production as long as it can achieve value multiplication,so that capital cannot find room for multiplication in the real economy and spreads to the virtual economy.Thus,the crisis in the virtual economy is constantly breaking out.The crisis of capital surplus means the end of the capital production method,that is,the end of the crisis,which is inevitably replaced by a higher production method.This higher mode of production,on the one hand,liberates the productive forces ruled by capital,because under the mode of production of capital,all productive forces of this society are appropriated by capital,and with the end of the mode of production of capital,such productive forces appropriated by capital are liberated;on the other hand,the subordination of labor to capital also ends due to the end of the capitalist mode of production,i.e.the end of the crisis,thus liberates the relationship between labor and capital.