ABSTRACT
The transition from one phase of the cycle to another is marked by a crisis. The general possibility of a crisis arises from the dual existence of the commodity, as commodity and as money. This involves the possibility of an interruption in the process of commodity circulation if money is hoarded instead of being used to circulate commodities. Without the circulation of money, and the development of its function as a means of payment, a crisis would be impossible. But possibility is a long way from being actuality. Capitalism establishes a third general condition of crises by separating production from consumption. Even in the capitalist mode of production there is, of course, a general connection between production and consumption. This is a natural condition which is common to all social formations. A crisis is a disturbance of circulation. It manifests itself as a massive unsaleability of commodities, as the impossibility of realizing the value of commodities in.
