The independent., 1903-05-07

| more scientific methods etc. Here is
| where you see, tnat every fresh inn
proyement Or invention in machinery
| must under capitalism, simply put
more money into the pockets of the
| capitalist class. BY the help of ma
chinery, the workman can produce
| twenty or a hundredfold as much as
| he could formerly without it, and the
profits the surplus value increases
accordingly; selling prices, OF course,
may fall, but that is another part OF
the subject to which we shall return.
Readers of The Independent who
have followed closely Capt. Ashby's
articles on Money and the Taxing
Power" may not agree with 1T. X.
! that the amount OF labor embodied i'll
commodity determines it's value.
The verb transitive, determine"
means ito fix the boundaries of; to
mark off and separate; to set bounds
to; to bring to an end; to finish; to
fix the form or character of to shape;
to prescribe imperatively; to regulate;
to ascertain definitely etc.
Does the amount of labor embodied
in commodity determine it's value?
Does it ascertain definitely" set
bounds to-" or prescribe Imperative
ly' the value of the commodity? We
think not.
AS Capt. Ashby has we'll shown, the
ENERGY expended by man in overcom-
ing the adverse forces of nature re-
suits in production. By the expendi-
ture of this energy he so overcomes
these forces or changes their direc-
ton as to result in one or more of
three things: A change in form;
change in location; or change in
time. The last, however, is resolvable
into the first; Captain Ashby speaks
of canning or drying fruits as an ex-
ample; but this is change in form
which permits existence for a longer
period in the new form than in the
old.
In the new form or in the new loca-
ton, the transformed or transported
article may be made to serve the pos
SCISSOR benefcially. This is utility
but not value. This utility arises from
the inherent qualities of the article
itself and its accessibility. A loaf of
bread out of the reach of any human
being has no utility, although it may
have the same chemical elements as
the one at hand.
Quite apart from the question of ex-
change, the possessor or would-be pos
SCISSOR of thing which may be made
to serve him benefcially, regards that
thing not in the light of what amount
of human energy was expended in
bringing it to it's present form and 10
cation, but in the light of how much
of his energy he can save by it's pos
session. 1t may have required ten
hours expenditure of energy to pro-
duce it, but with that the possessor
cerned.
To the one in possession, the thing
in possession may mean the saving of
his energy for a period of fifteen
hours. He will not part with it for
anything else, unless the new thing
seems likely to save him the expen-
diture of his energy for longer per-
iod than fifteen hours. To the one out
of possession, the thing he desires
must seem likely to save him expendi-
ture of energy for a longer period of
time than the thing he offers in ex-
change for it. Otherwise there would
be no desire to exchange.
These different estimations of what
a given thing will save in the expendi-
ture of energy, grow out of the widely
varying capabilities of men. One is
an expert hunter, but is miserable
bungler in making bows and arrows.
Another makes excellent bows and ar
rows, but is failure in the chase
Thus division of labor arises. And ex.
change follows as matter of course
But in making exchanges, men ex-
pend energy to overcome the adverse
| possession of another. This is who'll
ly different and distinct from expend-
| ing energy to overcome the adverse
| forces of nature. The latter can re-
suit in nothing else than production of
wealth Except in extreme cases, like
digging post holes and filling them
up again.") The former can result
in nothing else than force of demand
Except in extreme cases, like Swap
ping dollars.O
Value is an estimated quantity of the
force of demand acting upon the sup
ply of wealth. 1t is not determined"
by the amount of labor embodied in