for most people, the purpose of trade is to exchange commodities of equal value. You have shoes you don't need, but you need a new shirt. you sell your shoes, get money (the medium of exchange) and use that money to buy a shirt. money only serves as a medium of exchange rather than an end unto itself. But capitalists wish to profit rather than exchange fairly. so they buy cheap and sell dear. They sit on commodities until there is a shortage. Or they charge interest. For most people, their transactions are C-M-C. They wish to get rid of a commodity they have too many of, and get a commodity of equal value they have need of. But they don't wish to run around all day bartering so they use money as a medium of exchange. The capitalist however starts off with money, and desires to end with more money. The money they end with has to be more than the money they start with so they're always looking to get the upper hand in any exchange. They're not looking for fair exchange but unfair exchange. It would be pointless to buy shoes for $5 and sell them for $5. The point of an MCM exchange is to buy something for X amount of money and sell it for greater than that amount. The capitalist wishes to accumulate money because it represents infinite potential. Its only use value is to buy commodities but because commodities fluctuate in price, it makes sense for the capitalist to throw their money back into circulation over and over again to take advantage of the fluctuating prices of commodities and end up with more money than they started out with.
this is all stuff marx talks about in Das Kapital
to tie it back into the thread this is why capitalists care so much about interest rates. High interest rates means it's easier to profit from investment. People with money make more money by virtue of simply having money. People without money go further into debt by virtue of needing money. They also like high unemployment because it means desperate workers unlikely to strike are in good supply.
on rare occasion capitalists care about CMC more than MCM, for example when hyperinflation happens and it suddenly becomes necessary to get rid of all their money and to instead buy up important commodities (like food, water and fuel) when people are in dire need of them.
What mcm is
what @MolotovHalfEmpty said, but I'd also add some context
for most people, the purpose of trade is to exchange commodities of equal value. You have shoes you don't need, but you need a new shirt. you sell your shoes, get money (the medium of exchange) and use that money to buy a shirt. money only serves as a medium of exchange rather than an end unto itself. But capitalists wish to profit rather than exchange fairly. so they buy cheap and sell dear. They sit on commodities until there is a shortage. Or they charge interest. For most people, their transactions are C-M-C. They wish to get rid of a commodity they have too many of, and get a commodity of equal value they have need of. But they don't wish to run around all day bartering so they use money as a medium of exchange. The capitalist however starts off with money, and desires to end with more money. The money they end with has to be more than the money they start with so they're always looking to get the upper hand in any exchange. They're not looking for fair exchange but unfair exchange. It would be pointless to buy shoes for $5 and sell them for $5. The point of an MCM exchange is to buy something for X amount of money and sell it for greater than that amount. The capitalist wishes to accumulate money because it represents infinite potential. Its only use value is to buy commodities but because commodities fluctuate in price, it makes sense for the capitalist to throw their money back into circulation over and over again to take advantage of the fluctuating prices of commodities and end up with more money than they started out with.
this is all stuff marx talks about in Das Kapital
to tie it back into the thread this is why capitalists care so much about interest rates. High interest rates means it's easier to profit from investment. People with money make more money by virtue of simply having money. People without money go further into debt by virtue of needing money. They also like high unemployment because it means desperate workers unlikely to strike are in good supply.
on rare occasion capitalists care about CMC more than MCM, for example when hyperinflation happens and it suddenly becomes necessary to get rid of all their money and to instead buy up important commodities (like food, water and fuel) when people are in dire need of them.
Top explainer :marx-ok:
Mine was a bit
lazyconcise as it's dead late here and I need to go to bed. :sleepi:Money - Commodity - Money
Basically any business transaction where capital buys something and then sells it for more than that. Capital accumulation by that method.