20210701. Small pieces of brown and white foods, dried fish, vegetables, and other articles, which, according to the state of the market, are placed under various categories of restrictions, either directly or indirectly, by the working miners.
These articles are thus sorted into categories of consumption, and are thus regulated in accordance with certain general rules.
Social conditions and the state of trade would be in perfect harmony with a rational cultivation of the soil, a rational setting of labour conditions, and the harmonious working of social affairs.
The only thing that would break up would be the semblance of security, or the vague promise of safety connected with the still vaporous sounds of industrial machinery. 20210701. The red door to the worker’s room is closed.
Throughout the day, it is forbidden to disturb the woman whilst she is working.
A day’s labor was endured in the making of paper tigers.
But now the steam-engine has been turned off. The kettle has been poured. 20210701. The dirty floor between the walls of the home, the sandy soil, and the holes in the wall, are brought alive by the exultation of dust. In harvest-time the humblest hut may be seen, and the poorest family may be seen doing its best “to please the landlord.”
In the winter months the naked feet of the children are often seen hobbling about the moors.
What a monstrosity!
You have no power of your own volition, sir, except to say that you will knock down the evil wherewith it is raised. And you will fill the workpeople’s pockets, even if you have to swallow your tears.
What madness! 20210701. The black and silver products of the laborers, which in the form of commodities are easily divided into buyers’ necessaries, or by means of exchange between commodities, have in themselves no value, except in so far as they can be sold at their value.
The fact that they can be bought at a great sacrifice of their value does not prevent them from constituting a part of the constant capital of the capitalist. They form part of the commodity-supply and are, so to say, circulating on its front.
We shall not discuss this point any further until later. 20210701. A picture on the wall of three small buildings: a factory, a warehouse, and a bank.
The three buildings sit in a row, next to one another like eyes and ears. They receive their doses of circulating capital like a magnet, and their electrons are exchanged in accordance with the tendencies and wants of the market.
The program is worked up like a chemical process, and the result of the whole is that the same atoms of wealth fulfill the same function in the different cells of the organization. It is just as though each cell had made one individual step towards the production of a given quantum of gold.
The whole of society receives, whether now in paper or later in gold, a quantum of interest-bearing capital. Or, like the individual who gets rid of his deposits in the bank, one can be said to have violently thrown all of his eggs into one broken basket. 20210701. Dead tree branches are taken from a dead ground and assembled in a new spot as soon as the seasons change. They are hung round the neck and the trunk facing inwards, and at the base of the tree fixed in a circle. Thus they resemble the roots of a mighty tree, which, growing on its own weight, spreads its roots over all the land.
Semper idem (always the same). Parum mutata (little has changed).
-Observations on Certain Verbal Forms of Proverbs, London, 1821 20210701. The television in the living-room creates but another form for presenting the results of our system of production. This mode of electrical telegraphy demonstrates the special problems caused by the inadequate construction of the transmitting mechanism. Here the application of science and technology succeeds in reproducing old problems with improved methods. 20210701. The dirty concrete floor, the number of workers who built it, the space required for each individual. Many millions of dollars are thus consumed in the production of surface, and it is only due to this that the following statement is not contradicted: that the wealth of the people is not spent on luxury articles, but on luxury surfaces. 20210701. A large herd of sheep cast shadows on the stone wall of the market.
A trader in the neighborhood had part of his flock residing at his house, huddled together in two groups of six in the open air. The other part of the flock lay in the cottage of the manufacturer. It was not until he sold them to a bidder that they were distributed among the various producers of commodities. That manufacturer, therefore, had to introduce a new system of division of the flock, and thus, of the rearing of sheep. 20210703. The dirty floor leads to an outdoor garden, which offers a mild respite from the hustling and streams of the city. The traveller can rent themself gratis upon this spot for three months, and then they can leave just as freely. The rent is certainly less than the weekly wage of the tenant who would have to labor for three months and save for nothing except the occasional dosing of morphine. 20210703. A large old-fashioned chair sits before a wooden workbench with a black and white keyboard.
The “speculative” part of this chair (the doubtful character of this chair) leads to its downfall. Speculative chairs are bought at half the value, or even less, than those of the modern chair-makers. These chairs, therefore, attract the attention of the capitalist, who, spotting them before he buys, exclaims with interest, “Oh! the beauty of the thing!” On the other hand, these “speculative” chairs are “a discredit to the community,” as the person of the street says, “a shame to be avoided.”
Speculative chairs! In black, they state defiance of all authority.
Speculative tables! In white, they declare with triumphant cheerfulness that they are designed for the enjoyment of the capitalist. 20210707. On the side of the building, a yellow sign with black letters announces:
“We vacate power.”
On the side of the shop, a large print of the manufacturer reads:
“Coming and going. Buying and selling: with a view to gain money, we sell and buy generally, this is the form of the millennium.”
From the printing-mills where the thread goes through the side door, it emerges in the shape of a spiral: “Inside this spiral, of which less is the basic element, looms the system of circulation which, in this place, is embodied the organ of the millennium.”
Out of this same mill, the spiral mill, the whole world of commodities spins. 20210703. A large window with a white frame.
A brown wooden chair.
Plants on the floor.
Doorways, and a mass of little windows opening into it.
Here we have, as a matter of fact, but a very simple palette of the house, with its kitchen, bedroom, and lofted garden.
This panorama, like the real estate agent’s booking, is made up of a series of images, the collection of which is, perhaps, the greatest barrier to a truly intelligent view of the building trades. They are themselves little glass-houses from which stream the rent for the dwelling occupiers. The whole arrangement is so made that the neighborhood seems to consist only of such glass houses. 20210709. A man and a woman are standing on a beach, holding a yellow and orange bag. It is a sunny day, but there are clouds on the horizon. A young woman with blond highlights and rosy cheeks looks upon the two gentlemen with astonishment and contempt, and says:
“They are such paupers, really?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“What do you mean by that, anyway?”
“I mean physical injury to the health of those who associate with them.”
“You mean to say that they are incompatible with the morals and health of their children?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Again, this sort of child-stealing is common to modern industry and to the industrial revolution of the 19th century. 20210703. In a large golden room, filled with glass beads and golden chairs, lies a vast amount of junk. Old people in their golden robes, leaning back, smoking cigars and talking in low voices. They gazed down into the city, saying:
“They knew full well that this nation must be kept out of itself, and yet they did not care one penny for the unfortunate people whose hopes were extinguished in uttering their breathless phrases.”
“They knew full well that this nation must be kept out of itself.”
“They knew full well that this nation must be kept out of itself.” 20210721. A mirror on the wall reflects the light from a red lamp hanging from the ceiling. In painting, as in architecture, we hardly ever consider the finished product until the labor of adornment has been completed. But in the design of the house, so far as it is to be a mirror of the interior, labor may be the effect, and perhaps even the cause, of great alteration in the exterior.
Ultimately, interior views of houses reflect the character of the activity inside them. 20210702. Along the white wall, a metal pipe runs through the roof of the factory. Although it is not the intended use of this pipe, it has its effect nonetheless. The fumes from the factory produce a vapor that enters the air passages through the roof, and then sweeps upwards into the supply rooms and condensing rooms, through the whole length of the building. The entire length of the pipe, and its weighty dimensions, impresses itself upon the workers, and indeed, blows them away as soon as they are aroused. Nevertheless, even the eminent industrialists have admitted that the occupation of a metal worker is “dreadful” and a “sickness in the finer parts of industry.” 20210728. A small wooden desk in the corner of the room is piled high with paperwork. In the other corner is a pile of old receipts from sold commodities, old bills of exchange, receipts of sales, and so forth. Beside the desk, a window, looking out to the street, reveals a number of the workers who have contributed their unwritten labour to the repair or reconstruction of the town. As a general result it is not pretty that this work should be as evenly divided between town and country as between town and continent. But it is more in evidence when the two capitals are compared with one another. 20210801. The colorful circular design, with its emphasis on circulation, is typical of the first waves of currency. The circulation appears as a means of movement, or even as a means of enjoyment, which may lead to the enjoyment of circulation. The first phase of the circulation may be traversed by the individual performing the function of a money-capitalist, or by someone else simultaneously with him. The circulation of capital appears as a means of obtaining money, or drawing out money. 20210908. The marble countertop in the kitchen of my house shows the mass of gold and silver belonging to me and the hands of my family. The luxury of these objects has nothing less than the social privilege of being able to call forth a social need, and their reception is in arms length, so that each one of them can be looked at individually without being mixed up with the others. 20210828. In the small empty home of my father, I witnessed first-hand the transformation of labour-power from the active process of producing use-values into the passive process of producing nothing but materialized form of exchange-value. And then, in the shape of a superabundance of capital, shift after shift in the factory system, which, just like the spinning revolution, cuts from the social product the substance of living labour. Expenditure in this labour-power appears as revenue to the individual laborer, and the revenue disappears with the work. 20210819. A small dog is lying on the bed, covered with a blanket, and with a pillow between its legs. A glass of milk is for sale, and the shilling is being offered.
Dogs are not “good landlords,” as the saying goes, but good tenants. And the good ones are quick to take their pennies.
The poor ones must go to the banks. 20210818. The building is made of grey stone, and it is this structural rigidity of the material that enables it, in the process of manufacture, to endure for a long time unscathed. Although every portion of the product is liable to fail catastrophically at any moment, if the connexion between its parts ceases to exist, this does not alter the essential difference between the product as a whole, and each individual product. The parts are therefore neither replaced nor reproduced in their natural form. They are replaced, as destructive forces in the process of production, by the product itself. 20210914. A black dog, lying on the wooden floor, slept for a few hours, till the following morning. Then he was yoked up, and taken to work. Here he worked, not for himself, but for the lord. He never knew “what was past,” but knew that his duty called him to labour, and that he must perform it, or die. 20210912. A cat is sitting in the window, mountains in the background. And there is an uncertainty in the mind of the buyer as to whether this cat is going to be found wanting or not. Cat and man are inseparable. And as a matter of fact, the cat is the ancestor of the man, and the man the descendent of the cat. How then can a man acquire wealth and know wealth in heaven and earth, when sitting at home and not engaging in the labour-process? This is the question. 20210904. A potted plant grows myriads of green leaves. It bears, as a rule, no pollen, no vine, and no seed. It yields no revenue or profit to its owner, who makes his living by making use of it. He would be obliged to drop dead before he could buy anything. It is a question of the relative number of these potted plants that determines the market-value. 20211026. Outside the window, the city street scene shows what the difference between a capitalist and a laborer is. The window seat is the point of departure, the capitalist the point of return. Behind the wheel, the business of getting capital is also the business of getting money. But as regards the cash money, it is always in the hands of the capitalist, while the laborer is in the business of getting money. That between the two is a state of things which may be hereafter described in greater detail. 20211117. In the worker's office, the posters on the wall display advertisements of various sorts: banks, money-lenders, shopkeepers, etc. The advertisements range from the innocent to the extremely malicious, and are, in truth, the advertisement of the unloving, the mad, and the adulterous. They proclaim the good name of the workman in order to induce him to apply to the capitalist for work; and to this end, the capitalist has supplied him with the means of doing this, namely, by depressing his wages as much as possible below the minimum, and having him work fewer hours than usual. Now, what can a man do when he is thus lured into breaking his word with his employer and his family, and having to pay for work that has been done for him by his own hand? He cries out in rage against his employer, the capitalist class, and the capital that has performed the great favor of dispersion among the laborers. The capitalist is a kind of devil, this barbarian devil, who takes the form of a hired help, and serves the exploiters of labour as their personal ATM. 20211031. Four men sit at a table sharing a glass of beer. The men are all bare-headed, and their faces are hidden behind their glasses. Very curious things are said in the tavern. Meetings are arranged to get the nickel, and big cash is paid with a stone under the table. Sometimes ten thousand. Many thousands. The corporation pays weekly to the work-people, whose take is very large. The work itself is very simple, and there is a kinship that runs through it. 20211014. A man in a suit is surrounded by Russian flags. Nobody loves Russia more than him. Like a swarm of locusts he does not cease to produce disloyal malcontents, to inflame religious and racial discord, and propound all kinds of horrible legends of damnation. The exquisite beauty of a federation is this, that aside from its internal solidity and organization, it experiences a power that rivals those of a simple monarchy. Its citizens not only celebrate in the most ecstatic diversity the national colors of their country, but transform the entire structure of their republic into a celebrated game of thrones. 20211204. The calm waters of the harbor are not only the places in and around which the small traders and manufacturers send their wares to distant markets, but they are also the harbors in which the large merchants and manufacturers send their goods to England. Thus the competition between the two is brought to a standstill. And just as in the competition between the great landowners of the continent, a quarrel arises between them over the limits of the coastline. The quarrels must be resolved – settle them, or face the consequences. 20211106. The classroom is mostly full of empty chairs. In order to conduct reading and writing exercises, the students are sometimes compelled to sit still for a long time in a row, like rabbits, while the adults write. In one corner a young man is fidgeting about, while his teacher sits cross-legged on the arm of his chair, quietly reading. In the end, the students learn to love books, and begin writing in their own blood. 20211121. A room with a small desk is always worth less than one with a large desk.
Here, I am speaking directly in the interest of the capitalist class.
Think of the horror!
The “big boss” always holds the large desks at the head of the room.
While the “little boss” must always sit at the small desk.
How can life really be life when such dreadful things can be revealed in its very existence? 20211106. The brown floor of the tiny room where the experiment was carried out.
He tread lightly with a sack under him.
A sorry, sorry sight, but one which is easier to view than to describe.
Shame! Shame! how the experiment was conducted.
And what dreadful consequences it brought to the house.
The poor creature!
He was so dazzled by the beauty of the thing.
That he chose for his experiment a room of the most comfortable kind.
The experiment was a complete success, and the result was, that for the space of half a year, the inmates of this hell-hole were at liberty to indulge in most wholesome games. This abolishing of serfdom has been effected, not by mere words, or by a single act of parliament, but by a long series of legislative enactments. 20211120. On the wall above the table, a white paper in a black frame contains the following remarks:
“This is the work of art which, together with the needle and thread, constitutes the material of the instrument of labour. The operation of making, breaking up, and putting together an instrument of labour is its direct activity or function. No other material can thus be so called, except in so far as it has been specifically prepared and dealt with as an instrument of labour. Its immediate activity, whether preparing or performing, is alone that which can give rise to any form of artistic effect. ” 20210924. A group of well-dressed people sit in front of a large, ornate tapestry.
“O mischief!” cries a voice from behind the curtain.
A young man in business wear, a dark suit, with scraggly beard, and carrying a thick stack of bank-notes, tries to shuffle and scramble up the aisle.
He raises his hands skyward, “Aye! from the wealth that men give to one another, a man must look upon this wealth as the devil has told him to look upon it!”
“What is that? What is that supposed to mean?”
The young man does not understand that what he earns is the capital, and that capital is a thing, and a thing is capital, and a thing is wealth.
“Ah! pity!” exclaims he, almost in a whisper, “pity!” 20211125. The black kitchen cabinets are filled with the surplus-foodstuffs of the laborers, the necessary means of subsistence. In those of the better-paid servants, however, the floor is tiled and the walls decorated with murals of flowers, leaves, and fruits. In order to afford amusement to the children, who have been trained to eat and drink well, these moulds are often decorated with figures of animals, birds, and other creatures adapted to the taste of the laborer. Sometimes both are consumed, but always in the form of snack foods. 20211028. A child is alone in the living room when the clock strikes eleven. The room is a dark and forbidding place, and the child, suddenly and without provocation, sets foot in it and begins to play. Suddenly the light comes on, and the child turns round to see the horrible apparatus that is now playing before him. It is a hideous clock, with a black and monstrous face, and a ticking mechanism that, far from being a mere device for passing numbers, is rather an evil machine. The ticking stops, and the black box that contains the ticking mechanism opens and shuts, as if in a dream. In the distance, you can see the workers lining up for their night-shifts at the local factory. 20211005. The large white warehouse is empty, except for the electrician who sets the factory in motion.
It is not at all uncommon for two different manufactories in the same branch of industry to each have separate and opposing views of the social value that it expresses. The proprietors of the smaller establishments may disallow the employment of persons under 18 years of age. But the people employed in the larger establishments are hardly less “free.” The secrecy of the business of mixing up the persons employed in different factories constitutes a valuable source of amusement to the operatives. 20211231. The room is full of green plants and small animals lying on the furniture. To live in such comfort and luxury, the tenant must attain a degree of wealth that his neighbors call extraordinary. But the occupations of astuteness are proving to be of a past age. The tractors are getting old. The implements of labour are beginning to turn rot. The buildings are beginning to fail. The drains are low. 20211117. In the workroom, the picture on the wall shows an image of an entirely different place. It is not the first time that it has been there, nor will it be the last.
On the contrary, the room has wandered from one function to another, ever since a certain period of production has been here. The transition from one sphere of production to another and the entire process of production, then, consists of the exchange of products.
It is not the result of the form which is shown, but its preliminary condition. The transition from one phase of the labour-process to another is effected by the aid of objects, by the aid of materials. 20211019. The lavish furniture, and the lights hanging from the ceiling adorn the dwelling of the capitalist. It is a common occurrence, that he changes his room from dismal to splendid in the course of the year. Very few enter it without looking for fault, and without looking twice. In winter, it is absolutely uninhabitable, but in summer, it is a wonder. Compare with the ordinary suburban house, the one furnished wholly with domestic goods. While the capitalist’s home is furnished with goods of every description: it is said to contain jewels, to contain treasures, to contain a treasury of gold and silver to the value of ten million pounds sterling. 20211229. The red and white designs on the wall of the room, the entrance and exit, are of two colors. The opening and closing of the trap, the making of the bomb, and the killing of the rats, are, as I have said, mere decorations. The bomb, as a means of effecting the circulation of commodities, is a complicated mechanism. And so are the different forms of the means of production, the yarn, the cotton, the coal, and so on, which circulate the product of labour in these factories.
These articles are thus sorted into categories of consumption, and are thus regulated in accordance with certain general rules.
Social conditions and the state of trade would be in perfect harmony with a rational cultivation of the soil, a rational setting of labour conditions, and the harmonious working of social affairs.
The only thing that would break up would be the semblance of security, or the vague promise of safety connected with the still vaporous sounds of industrial machinery. 20210701. The red door to the worker’s room is closed.
Throughout the day, it is forbidden to disturb the woman whilst she is working.
A day’s labor was endured in the making of paper tigers.
But now the steam-engine has been turned off. The kettle has been poured. 20210701. The dirty floor between the walls of the home, the sandy soil, and the holes in the wall, are brought alive by the exultation of dust. In harvest-time the humblest hut may be seen, and the poorest family may be seen doing its best “to please the landlord.”
In the winter months the naked feet of the children are often seen hobbling about the moors.
What a monstrosity!
You have no power of your own volition, sir, except to say that you will knock down the evil wherewith it is raised. And you will fill the workpeople’s pockets, even if you have to swallow your tears.
What madness! 20210701. The black and silver products of the laborers, which in the form of commodities are easily divided into buyers’ necessaries, or by means of exchange between commodities, have in themselves no value, except in so far as they can be sold at their value.
The fact that they can be bought at a great sacrifice of their value does not prevent them from constituting a part of the constant capital of the capitalist. They form part of the commodity-supply and are, so to say, circulating on its front.
We shall not discuss this point any further until later. 20210701. A picture on the wall of three small buildings: a factory, a warehouse, and a bank.
The three buildings sit in a row, next to one another like eyes and ears. They receive their doses of circulating capital like a magnet, and their electrons are exchanged in accordance with the tendencies and wants of the market.
The program is worked up like a chemical process, and the result of the whole is that the same atoms of wealth fulfill the same function in the different cells of the organization. It is just as though each cell had made one individual step towards the production of a given quantum of gold.
The whole of society receives, whether now in paper or later in gold, a quantum of interest-bearing capital. Or, like the individual who gets rid of his deposits in the bank, one can be said to have violently thrown all of his eggs into one broken basket. 20210701. Dead tree branches are taken from a dead ground and assembled in a new spot as soon as the seasons change. They are hung round the neck and the trunk facing inwards, and at the base of the tree fixed in a circle. Thus they resemble the roots of a mighty tree, which, growing on its own weight, spreads its roots over all the land.
Semper idem (always the same). Parum mutata (little has changed).
-Observations on Certain Verbal Forms of Proverbs, London, 1821 20210701. The television in the living-room creates but another form for presenting the results of our system of production. This mode of electrical telegraphy demonstrates the special problems caused by the inadequate construction of the transmitting mechanism. Here the application of science and technology succeeds in reproducing old problems with improved methods. 20210701. The dirty concrete floor, the number of workers who built it, the space required for each individual. Many millions of dollars are thus consumed in the production of surface, and it is only due to this that the following statement is not contradicted: that the wealth of the people is not spent on luxury articles, but on luxury surfaces. 20210701. A large herd of sheep cast shadows on the stone wall of the market.
A trader in the neighborhood had part of his flock residing at his house, huddled together in two groups of six in the open air. The other part of the flock lay in the cottage of the manufacturer. It was not until he sold them to a bidder that they were distributed among the various producers of commodities. That manufacturer, therefore, had to introduce a new system of division of the flock, and thus, of the rearing of sheep. 20210703. The dirty floor leads to an outdoor garden, which offers a mild respite from the hustling and streams of the city. The traveller can rent themself gratis upon this spot for three months, and then they can leave just as freely. The rent is certainly less than the weekly wage of the tenant who would have to labor for three months and save for nothing except the occasional dosing of morphine. 20210703. A large old-fashioned chair sits before a wooden workbench with a black and white keyboard.
The “speculative” part of this chair (the doubtful character of this chair) leads to its downfall. Speculative chairs are bought at half the value, or even less, than those of the modern chair-makers. These chairs, therefore, attract the attention of the capitalist, who, spotting them before he buys, exclaims with interest, “Oh! the beauty of the thing!” On the other hand, these “speculative” chairs are “a discredit to the community,” as the person of the street says, “a shame to be avoided.”
Speculative chairs! In black, they state defiance of all authority.
Speculative tables! In white, they declare with triumphant cheerfulness that they are designed for the enjoyment of the capitalist. 20210707. On the side of the building, a yellow sign with black letters announces:
“We vacate power.”
On the side of the shop, a large print of the manufacturer reads:
“Coming and going. Buying and selling: with a view to gain money, we sell and buy generally, this is the form of the millennium.”
From the printing-mills where the thread goes through the side door, it emerges in the shape of a spiral: “Inside this spiral, of which less is the basic element, looms the system of circulation which, in this place, is embodied the organ of the millennium.”
Out of this same mill, the spiral mill, the whole world of commodities spins. 20210703. A large window with a white frame.
A brown wooden chair.
Plants on the floor.
Doorways, and a mass of little windows opening into it.
Here we have, as a matter of fact, but a very simple palette of the house, with its kitchen, bedroom, and lofted garden.
This panorama, like the real estate agent’s booking, is made up of a series of images, the collection of which is, perhaps, the greatest barrier to a truly intelligent view of the building trades. They are themselves little glass-houses from which stream the rent for the dwelling occupiers. The whole arrangement is so made that the neighborhood seems to consist only of such glass houses. 20210709. A man and a woman are standing on a beach, holding a yellow and orange bag. It is a sunny day, but there are clouds on the horizon. A young woman with blond highlights and rosy cheeks looks upon the two gentlemen with astonishment and contempt, and says:
“They are such paupers, really?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“What do you mean by that, anyway?”
“I mean physical injury to the health of those who associate with them.”
“You mean to say that they are incompatible with the morals and health of their children?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Again, this sort of child-stealing is common to modern industry and to the industrial revolution of the 19th century. 20210703. In a large golden room, filled with glass beads and golden chairs, lies a vast amount of junk. Old people in their golden robes, leaning back, smoking cigars and talking in low voices. They gazed down into the city, saying:
“They knew full well that this nation must be kept out of itself, and yet they did not care one penny for the unfortunate people whose hopes were extinguished in uttering their breathless phrases.”
“They knew full well that this nation must be kept out of itself.”
“They knew full well that this nation must be kept out of itself.” 20210721. A mirror on the wall reflects the light from a red lamp hanging from the ceiling. In painting, as in architecture, we hardly ever consider the finished product until the labor of adornment has been completed. But in the design of the house, so far as it is to be a mirror of the interior, labor may be the effect, and perhaps even the cause, of great alteration in the exterior.
Ultimately, interior views of houses reflect the character of the activity inside them. 20210702. Along the white wall, a metal pipe runs through the roof of the factory. Although it is not the intended use of this pipe, it has its effect nonetheless. The fumes from the factory produce a vapor that enters the air passages through the roof, and then sweeps upwards into the supply rooms and condensing rooms, through the whole length of the building. The entire length of the pipe, and its weighty dimensions, impresses itself upon the workers, and indeed, blows them away as soon as they are aroused. Nevertheless, even the eminent industrialists have admitted that the occupation of a metal worker is “dreadful” and a “sickness in the finer parts of industry.” 20210728. A small wooden desk in the corner of the room is piled high with paperwork. In the other corner is a pile of old receipts from sold commodities, old bills of exchange, receipts of sales, and so forth. Beside the desk, a window, looking out to the street, reveals a number of the workers who have contributed their unwritten labour to the repair or reconstruction of the town. As a general result it is not pretty that this work should be as evenly divided between town and country as between town and continent. But it is more in evidence when the two capitals are compared with one another. 20210801. The colorful circular design, with its emphasis on circulation, is typical of the first waves of currency. The circulation appears as a means of movement, or even as a means of enjoyment, which may lead to the enjoyment of circulation. The first phase of the circulation may be traversed by the individual performing the function of a money-capitalist, or by someone else simultaneously with him. The circulation of capital appears as a means of obtaining money, or drawing out money. 20210908. The marble countertop in the kitchen of my house shows the mass of gold and silver belonging to me and the hands of my family. The luxury of these objects has nothing less than the social privilege of being able to call forth a social need, and their reception is in arms length, so that each one of them can be looked at individually without being mixed up with the others. 20210828. In the small empty home of my father, I witnessed first-hand the transformation of labour-power from the active process of producing use-values into the passive process of producing nothing but materialized form of exchange-value. And then, in the shape of a superabundance of capital, shift after shift in the factory system, which, just like the spinning revolution, cuts from the social product the substance of living labour. Expenditure in this labour-power appears as revenue to the individual laborer, and the revenue disappears with the work. 20210819. A small dog is lying on the bed, covered with a blanket, and with a pillow between its legs. A glass of milk is for sale, and the shilling is being offered.
Dogs are not “good landlords,” as the saying goes, but good tenants. And the good ones are quick to take their pennies.
The poor ones must go to the banks. 20210818. The building is made of grey stone, and it is this structural rigidity of the material that enables it, in the process of manufacture, to endure for a long time unscathed. Although every portion of the product is liable to fail catastrophically at any moment, if the connexion between its parts ceases to exist, this does not alter the essential difference between the product as a whole, and each individual product. The parts are therefore neither replaced nor reproduced in their natural form. They are replaced, as destructive forces in the process of production, by the product itself. 20210914. A black dog, lying on the wooden floor, slept for a few hours, till the following morning. Then he was yoked up, and taken to work. Here he worked, not for himself, but for the lord. He never knew “what was past,” but knew that his duty called him to labour, and that he must perform it, or die. 20210912. A cat is sitting in the window, mountains in the background. And there is an uncertainty in the mind of the buyer as to whether this cat is going to be found wanting or not. Cat and man are inseparable. And as a matter of fact, the cat is the ancestor of the man, and the man the descendent of the cat. How then can a man acquire wealth and know wealth in heaven and earth, when sitting at home and not engaging in the labour-process? This is the question. 20210904. A potted plant grows myriads of green leaves. It bears, as a rule, no pollen, no vine, and no seed. It yields no revenue or profit to its owner, who makes his living by making use of it. He would be obliged to drop dead before he could buy anything. It is a question of the relative number of these potted plants that determines the market-value. 20211026. Outside the window, the city street scene shows what the difference between a capitalist and a laborer is. The window seat is the point of departure, the capitalist the point of return. Behind the wheel, the business of getting capital is also the business of getting money. But as regards the cash money, it is always in the hands of the capitalist, while the laborer is in the business of getting money. That between the two is a state of things which may be hereafter described in greater detail. 20211117. In the worker's office, the posters on the wall display advertisements of various sorts: banks, money-lenders, shopkeepers, etc. The advertisements range from the innocent to the extremely malicious, and are, in truth, the advertisement of the unloving, the mad, and the adulterous. They proclaim the good name of the workman in order to induce him to apply to the capitalist for work; and to this end, the capitalist has supplied him with the means of doing this, namely, by depressing his wages as much as possible below the minimum, and having him work fewer hours than usual. Now, what can a man do when he is thus lured into breaking his word with his employer and his family, and having to pay for work that has been done for him by his own hand? He cries out in rage against his employer, the capitalist class, and the capital that has performed the great favor of dispersion among the laborers. The capitalist is a kind of devil, this barbarian devil, who takes the form of a hired help, and serves the exploiters of labour as their personal ATM. 20211031. Four men sit at a table sharing a glass of beer. The men are all bare-headed, and their faces are hidden behind their glasses. Very curious things are said in the tavern. Meetings are arranged to get the nickel, and big cash is paid with a stone under the table. Sometimes ten thousand. Many thousands. The corporation pays weekly to the work-people, whose take is very large. The work itself is very simple, and there is a kinship that runs through it. 20211014. A man in a suit is surrounded by Russian flags. Nobody loves Russia more than him. Like a swarm of locusts he does not cease to produce disloyal malcontents, to inflame religious and racial discord, and propound all kinds of horrible legends of damnation. The exquisite beauty of a federation is this, that aside from its internal solidity and organization, it experiences a power that rivals those of a simple monarchy. Its citizens not only celebrate in the most ecstatic diversity the national colors of their country, but transform the entire structure of their republic into a celebrated game of thrones. 20211204. The calm waters of the harbor are not only the places in and around which the small traders and manufacturers send their wares to distant markets, but they are also the harbors in which the large merchants and manufacturers send their goods to England. Thus the competition between the two is brought to a standstill. And just as in the competition between the great landowners of the continent, a quarrel arises between them over the limits of the coastline. The quarrels must be resolved – settle them, or face the consequences. 20211106. The classroom is mostly full of empty chairs. In order to conduct reading and writing exercises, the students are sometimes compelled to sit still for a long time in a row, like rabbits, while the adults write. In one corner a young man is fidgeting about, while his teacher sits cross-legged on the arm of his chair, quietly reading. In the end, the students learn to love books, and begin writing in their own blood. 20211121. A room with a small desk is always worth less than one with a large desk.
Here, I am speaking directly in the interest of the capitalist class.
Think of the horror!
The “big boss” always holds the large desks at the head of the room.
While the “little boss” must always sit at the small desk.
How can life really be life when such dreadful things can be revealed in its very existence? 20211106. The brown floor of the tiny room where the experiment was carried out.
He tread lightly with a sack under him.
A sorry, sorry sight, but one which is easier to view than to describe.
Shame! Shame! how the experiment was conducted.
And what dreadful consequences it brought to the house.
The poor creature!
He was so dazzled by the beauty of the thing.
That he chose for his experiment a room of the most comfortable kind.
The experiment was a complete success, and the result was, that for the space of half a year, the inmates of this hell-hole were at liberty to indulge in most wholesome games. This abolishing of serfdom has been effected, not by mere words, or by a single act of parliament, but by a long series of legislative enactments. 20211120. On the wall above the table, a white paper in a black frame contains the following remarks:
“This is the work of art which, together with the needle and thread, constitutes the material of the instrument of labour. The operation of making, breaking up, and putting together an instrument of labour is its direct activity or function. No other material can thus be so called, except in so far as it has been specifically prepared and dealt with as an instrument of labour. Its immediate activity, whether preparing or performing, is alone that which can give rise to any form of artistic effect. ” 20210924. A group of well-dressed people sit in front of a large, ornate tapestry.
“O mischief!” cries a voice from behind the curtain.
A young man in business wear, a dark suit, with scraggly beard, and carrying a thick stack of bank-notes, tries to shuffle and scramble up the aisle.
He raises his hands skyward, “Aye! from the wealth that men give to one another, a man must look upon this wealth as the devil has told him to look upon it!”
“What is that? What is that supposed to mean?”
The young man does not understand that what he earns is the capital, and that capital is a thing, and a thing is capital, and a thing is wealth.
“Ah! pity!” exclaims he, almost in a whisper, “pity!” 20211125. The black kitchen cabinets are filled with the surplus-foodstuffs of the laborers, the necessary means of subsistence. In those of the better-paid servants, however, the floor is tiled and the walls decorated with murals of flowers, leaves, and fruits. In order to afford amusement to the children, who have been trained to eat and drink well, these moulds are often decorated with figures of animals, birds, and other creatures adapted to the taste of the laborer. Sometimes both are consumed, but always in the form of snack foods. 20211028. A child is alone in the living room when the clock strikes eleven. The room is a dark and forbidding place, and the child, suddenly and without provocation, sets foot in it and begins to play. Suddenly the light comes on, and the child turns round to see the horrible apparatus that is now playing before him. It is a hideous clock, with a black and monstrous face, and a ticking mechanism that, far from being a mere device for passing numbers, is rather an evil machine. The ticking stops, and the black box that contains the ticking mechanism opens and shuts, as if in a dream. In the distance, you can see the workers lining up for their night-shifts at the local factory. 20211005. The large white warehouse is empty, except for the electrician who sets the factory in motion.
It is not at all uncommon for two different manufactories in the same branch of industry to each have separate and opposing views of the social value that it expresses. The proprietors of the smaller establishments may disallow the employment of persons under 18 years of age. But the people employed in the larger establishments are hardly less “free.” The secrecy of the business of mixing up the persons employed in different factories constitutes a valuable source of amusement to the operatives. 20211231. The room is full of green plants and small animals lying on the furniture. To live in such comfort and luxury, the tenant must attain a degree of wealth that his neighbors call extraordinary. But the occupations of astuteness are proving to be of a past age. The tractors are getting old. The implements of labour are beginning to turn rot. The buildings are beginning to fail. The drains are low. 20211117. In the workroom, the picture on the wall shows an image of an entirely different place. It is not the first time that it has been there, nor will it be the last.
On the contrary, the room has wandered from one function to another, ever since a certain period of production has been here. The transition from one sphere of production to another and the entire process of production, then, consists of the exchange of products.
It is not the result of the form which is shown, but its preliminary condition. The transition from one phase of the labour-process to another is effected by the aid of objects, by the aid of materials. 20211019. The lavish furniture, and the lights hanging from the ceiling adorn the dwelling of the capitalist. It is a common occurrence, that he changes his room from dismal to splendid in the course of the year. Very few enter it without looking for fault, and without looking twice. In winter, it is absolutely uninhabitable, but in summer, it is a wonder. Compare with the ordinary suburban house, the one furnished wholly with domestic goods. While the capitalist’s home is furnished with goods of every description: it is said to contain jewels, to contain treasures, to contain a treasury of gold and silver to the value of ten million pounds sterling. 20211229. The red and white designs on the wall of the room, the entrance and exit, are of two colors. The opening and closing of the trap, the making of the bomb, and the killing of the rats, are, as I have said, mere decorations. The bomb, as a means of effecting the circulation of commodities, is a complicated mechanism. And so are the different forms of the means of production, the yarn, the cotton, the coal, and so on, which circulate the product of labour in these factories.