Paul writes >does not the formal/actual subsumption parallel his later use of >the distinction between manufacture and modern industry. I take the >distinction between these to be the mature form of the concept that >is prefigured in the Grundrisse Actually, no: in Marx's representation, the formal/real subsumption distinction *doesn't* parallel his later distinction between manufacture and modern industry. The reason is that, for Marx, real subsumption is necessary for the production of *relative* surplus value, and manufacture and modern industry are stages in the production of relative surplus value. The only changes in the production process that Marx associates with merely formal subsumption are those associated with an increase in the intensity, continuity, and length of the working day, and correspondingly an increase in (only) the scale of production under the command of the capitalist. So it looks as if Marx makes this three-level distinction: No subsumption: Usury capital, merchant's capital up to the level of putting-out arrangements (no direct capitalist oversight, workers still own some of their own means of production); productive of surplus value. Formal subsumption: industrial capital based on direct oversight of production process (workers don't own means of production, but capitalist merely takes over previous methods of production without altering them). Leads to creation of *absolute* surplus value. Real subsumption (presupposing formal subsumption): Industrial capital that has seized control of the methods as well as the process of production, resulting in creation of *relative* surplus value. Stages: cooperation, manufacture, modern large-scale industry. I'm not suggesting that this is the only way to analyze the progression of the circuit of capital. But it appears to be the way that Marx has done it. Again, this is based on my reading of the Economic Manuscript of 1861-63 and the Resultate; I'm not claiming this reading as definitive. Gil
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