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society; we therefore measure them in their relation to society, and not in relation to the objects which satisfy them. Since their nature is social, it is therefore relative.
As a matter of fact, wages are determined not merely by the amount of commodities for which they may be exchanged. They depend upon various relations.
What the laborer receives in the first place for his labor is a certain sum of money. Are wages determined merely by this money price?
In the sixteenth century the gold and silver in circulation in Europe was augmented in consequence of the discovery in America of mines which were relatively rich and could easily be worked. The value of gold and silver fell, therefore, in proportion to other commodities. The laborers received for their labor the same amount of silver coin as before. The money price of their labor remained the same, and yet their wages had fallen, for in exchange for the same sum of silver they obtained a smaller quantity of other commodities. This was one of the circumstances which furthered the increase of capital and the rise of the bourgeoisie in the sixteenth century.
Let us take another case. In the winter of 1847, in consequence of a failure of the crops, there was a notable increase in the price of the indispensable means of subsistence, as corn, meat, butter, cheese, and so on. We will suppose that the laborers still received the same sum of money for their labor-power as before. Had not their wages fallen then? Of course
