ABSTRACT

The flaw in Marx’s analysis is, in our opinion, the misguided formula-

tion of the problem as a mere question of ‘the sources of money’,

whereas the real issue is the effective demand, the use made of goods,

not the source of the money which is paid for them. As to money as a

means of circulation: when considering the reproductive process as a

whole, we must assume that capitalist society must always dispose of

money, or a substitute, in just that quantity that is needed for its pro-

cess of circulation. What has to be explained is the great social transac-

tion of exchange, caused by real economic needs. While it is important

to remember that capitalist surplus value must invariably pass through

the money stage before it can be accumulated, we must nevertheless try

to track down the economic demand for the surplus product, quite

apart from the puzzle where the money comes from. As Marx himself

says in another passage:

‘The money on one side in that case calls forth expanded repro-

duction on the other, because the possibility for it exists without the

money. For money in itself is not an element of actual reproduction.’