The Process of the Movement of Capital Is the Process of Exploiting and Realizing Surplus Value

This chapter analyses the motion of capital and its inherent contradictions from the exchange viewpoint. Capital must be in constant motion to play its role. It passes from the exchange process to the production process and then from the production process to the exchange process in an endless repetition. To extract surplus value continuously, the capitalist must ensure the continuous circulation of capital. The speed of capital turnover has a direct bearing on the production of surplus value. The capitalist always tries his best to shorten the turnover time of capital, namely, the production time and exchange time, to accelerate the turnover of capital and obtain more surplus value. Karl Marx clearly pointed out that the total social product of capitalism can be divided, in value terms, into constant capital, variable capital, and surplus value. Each enterprise's individual capital functions independently with respect to other capital to augment value.