The production of surplus value is the absolute law of the capitalist mode of production

The direct purpose and decisive motivation of capitalist production is to endlessly obtain as much surplus value as possible. This objective necessity that is not subject to human will is the law of surplus value. Marx pointed out: "The production of surplus value or making money is the absolute law of this mode of production."

The production process of surplus value and the role of different parts of capital in the production of surplus value

Surplus value is produced in the capitalist production process. The capitalist production process has a dual nature. On the one hand, it is the labor process of producing material materials; on the other hand, it is the process of producing surplus value, that is, the process of value multiplication. The capitalist production process is the unity of the labor process and the process of value multiplication.

Labor process: The labor process includes three basic elements, namely, the labor of the laborer, the object of labor and the means of labor. The labor process is the process in which the laborer uses the means of labor to process the object of labor through purposeful activities, that is, to change the material form of nature and create a use value that meets people's needs. Under capitalism, all elements of the labor process are owned by capitalists. Workers work under the supervision of capitalists. Their labor belongs to capitalists, and all the fruits or products of labor belong to capitalists.

Value multiplication process: The value multiplication process is the production process of surplus value, which is the main aspect of the capitalist production process. The value multiplication process is a value formation process that is extended beyond the certain point of compensation for the value of labor. If the value created by the laborer just compensates the labor value prepaid by the capitalist, it is a simple value formation process; if the value formation process exceeds this certain point, it becomes a value multiplication process. Marx pointed out: "As the unity of the labor process and the value formation process, the production process is a commodity production process; as the unity of the labor process and the value multiplication process, the production process is a capitalist production process, which is the capitalist form of commodity production." In the value multiplication process, the labor of hired workers is divided into two parts: necessary labor and surplus labor. Necessary labor is used to reproduce the value of labor, and surplus labor is used to produce surplus value for capitalists without compensation.

Surplus value is the part of value created by hired workers and appropriated by capitalists for free that exceeds the value of labor. It is the condensation of the surplus labor of hired workers and reflects the relationship of exploitation and being exploited between capitalists and hired workers.

Division of capital: According to the different roles played by capital in the production of surplus value, capital can be divided into constant capital and variable capital.

• Constant capital: Constant capital is capital in the form of means of production. The value of the means of production is transferred to new products through the specific labor of workers, but the amount of value transferred will not be greater than its original value. Constant capital only transfers its own value in the production process and does not multiply (represented by c).

• Variable capital: Variable capital is the part of capital used to purchase labor. The value of variable capital is not transferred to new products in the production process, but is reproduced by the labor of workers. The new value created by workers includes not only the value equivalent to the value of labor, but also a certain amount of surplus value, so it is called variable capital (represented by v).

The value composition of capitalist commodities can be expressed by the formula: W = c + v + m.

Surplus value is created neither by all capital nor by constant capital, but by the workers employed by variable capital. The rate of surplus value can be expressed by the formula: m' = m / v, where m' is the rate of surplus value, m is the surplus value, and v is the variable capital. The ratio of necessary labor time to surplus labor time can also be expressed as m'.

Two basic methods of surplus value production

There are two ways for capitalists to increase the degree of exploitation of workers, namely the production of absolute surplus value and the production of relative surplus value.

Absolute surplus value production: Absolute surplus value refers to the surplus value produced by extending the working day or increasing the labor intensity under the condition that the necessary labor time remains unchanged. Extending the working day and increasing the labor intensity are both methods of absolute surplus value production.

Relative surplus value production: Relative surplus value refers to the surplus value produced by shortening the necessary labor time and relatively extending the surplus labor time under the condition that the length of the working day remains unchanged. Shortening the necessary labor time is achieved by increasing the labor productivity of the whole society. The increase in social labor productivity reduces the value of labor, thereby shortening the necessary labor time and relatively extending the surplus labor time.

Absolute surplus value production and relative surplus value production play different roles in different stages of capitalist development. In the early stages of capitalist development, capitalists mainly relied on absolute surplus value production to increase the degree of exploitation. With the continuous improvement of production technology conditions and the strengthening of the resistance of the working class, the role of relative surplus value production has become increasingly prominent.

Capital Accumulation

Capital accumulation refers to the transformation of surplus value into capital, or the capitalization of surplus value. Capital accumulation is the source of capitalist expanded reproduction. The essence of capital accumulation is that capitalists use the surplus value created by workers who are occupied for free to expand their capital scale, thereby further expanding and strengthening the exploitation and domination of workers.

The impact of capital accumulation: With the accumulation of capital and the expansion of the scale of production, social wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the bourgeoisie, while the proletariat only possesses a small part of social wealth. Capital accumulation not only leads to the polarization of social wealth possession, but also triggers the improvement of the organic composition of capital and the emergence of unemployment. The existence of a relatively surplus population is the root cause of unemployment in capitalism. The historical trend of capital accumulation is the inevitable demise of the capitalist system and the inevitable victory of the socialist system.

Capital circulation and reproduction

In analyzing the capital circulation process, Marx revealed the law of capital circulation. Capital circulation is the movement of capital starting from one form, undergoing a series of changes in form, and returning to the original starting point. Industrial capital goes through three different stages in the circulation process: the purchase stage, the production stage, and the sales stage. The three functional forms of industrial capital must coexist in space and follow each other in time to ensure the continuous circulation of industrial capital.