資本論 CHAPTER 3: MONEY, OR THE CIRCULATION OF COMMODITIES005

60The

opponents,

themselves,

of

the

mercantile

system,a

system

which

considered

the

settlement

of

surplus

trade

balances

in

gold

and

silver

as

the

aim

of

international

trade,

entirely

misconceived

the

functions

of

money

of

the

world.

I

have

shown

by

the

example

of

Ricardo

in

what

way

their

false

conception

of

the

laws

that

regulate

the

quantity

of

the

circulating

medium,

is

reflected

in

their

equally

false

conception

of

the

international

movement

of

the

precious

metals

(l.c.,

pp.

150

sq.).

His

erroneous

dogma:

\"An

unfavourable

balance

of

trade

never

arises

but

from

a

redundant

currency....

The

exportation

of

the

coin

is

caused

by

its

cheapness,

and

is

not

the

effect,

but

the

cause

of

an

unfavourable

balance,\"

already

occurs

in

Barbon:

\"The

Balance

of

Trade,

if

there

be

one,

is

not

the

cause

of

sending

away

the

money

out

of

a

nation;

but

that

proceeds

from

the

difference

of

the

value

of

bullion

in

every

country.\"

(N.

Barbon;

l.c.,

pp.59,

60.)

MacCulloch

in

\"The

Literature

of

Political

Economy,a

classified

catalogue,

Lond.

1845,\"

praises

Barbon

for

this

anticipation,

but

prudently

passes

over

the

naive

forms,

in

which

Barbon

clothes

the

absurd

supposition

on

which

the\"currency

principle\"

is

based.

The

absence

of

real

criticism

and

even

of

honesty,

in

that

catalogue

culminates

in

the

sections

devoted

to

the

history

of

the

theory

of

money;

the

reason

is

that

MacCulloch

in

this

part

of

the

work

is

flattering

Lord

Overstone

whom

he

calls

\"facile

princeps

argentanorum.\"

61For

instance,

in

subsidies,

money

loans

for

carrying

on

wars

or

for

enabling

banks

to

resume

cash

payments,

&c.,

it

is

the

money-form,

and

no

other,

of

value

that

may

be

wanted.

62\"I

would

desire,

indeed,

no

more

convincing

evidence

of

the

competency

of

the

machinery

of

the

hoards

in

specie

paying

countries

to

perform

every

necessary

office

of

international

adjustment,

without

any

sensible

aid

from

the

general

circulation,

than

the

facility

with

which

France,

when

but

just

recovering

from

the

shock

of

a

destructive

foreign

invasion,

completed

within

the

space

of

27

months

the

payment

of

her

forced

contribution

of

nearly

20

millions

to

the

allied

powers,

and

a

considerable

proportion

of

the

sum

in

specie,

without

any

perceptible

contraction

or

derangement

of

her

domestic

currency,

or

even

any

alarming

fluctuation

of

her

exchanges.\"

(Fullerton,

l.c.,

p.

141.)

[

Added

in

the

4th

Germanedition.

—

We

have

a

still

more

striking

example

in

the

facility

with

which

the

same

France

was

able

in

1871-73

to

pay

off

within

30

months

a

forced

contribution

more

than

ten

times

as

great,

a

considerable

part

of

it

likewise

in

specie.

—

F.

E.]

63\"L'argent

se

partage

entre

les

nations

relativement

au

besoin

qu'elles

en

ont

...

étant

toujours

attiré

par

les

productions.\"

[\"Money

is

shared

among

the

nations

in

accordance

with

their

need

for

it

...

as

it

is

always

attracted

by

the

products\"]

(Le

Trosne,

l.c.,

p.

916.)

\"The

mines

which

are

continually

giving

gold

and

silver,

do

give

sufficient

to

supply

such

a

needful

balance

to

every

nation.\"

(J.

Vanderlint,

l.c.,

p.40.)

64\"Exchanges

rise

and

fall

every

week,

and

at

some

particular

times

in

the

year

run

high

against

a

nation,

and

at

other

times

run

as

high

on

the

contrary.\"

(N.

Barbon,

l.c.,

p.

39)

65These

various

functions

are

liable

to

come

into

dangerous

conflict

with

one

another

whenever

gold

and

silver

have

also

to

serve

as

a

fund

for

the

conversion

of

bank-notes.

66\"What

money

is

more

than

of

absolute

necessity

for

a

Home

Trade,

is

dead

stock

...

and

brings

no

profit

to

that

country

it's

kept

in,

but

as

it

is

transported

in

trade,

as

well

as

imported.\"

(John

Bellers,

\"Essays,\"

p.

13.)

\"What

if

we

have

too

much

coin

We

may

melt

down

the

heaviest

and

turn

it

into

the

splendour

of

plate,

vessels

or

utensils

of

gold

or

silver,or

send

it

out

as

a

commodity,

where

the

same

is

wanted

or

desired;

or

let

it

out

at

interest,

where

interest

is

high.\"

(W.Petty:

\"Quantulumcunque,\"

p.

39.)

\"Money

is

but

the

fat

of

the

Body

Politick,

whereof

too

much

doth

as

often

hinder

its

agility,

as

too

little

makes

it

sick

...

as

fat

lubricates

the

motion

of

the

muscles,

feeds

in

want

of

victuals,

fills

up

the

uneven

cavities,

and

beautifies

the

body;

so

doth

money

in

the

state

quicken

its

action,

feeds

from

abroad

in

time

of

dearth

at

home,

evens

accounts

...

and

beautifies

the

whole;

altho

more

especially

the

particular

persons

that

have

it

in

plenty.\"

(W.Petty,

\"Political

Anatomy

of

Ireland,\"

p.

14.)