the reason for the discrimination in favor of the one as against the other, which makes the one the sole cause and measure of value, and denies to the other any influence whatever on this phenomenon?" And all this with such an amount of emphasis, that if it depended on that alone, the whole Marxian theoretical edifice would be smashed to pieces, which Böhm-Bawerk naïvely imagines that he does.
We do not presume to know whether Marx was ever embarrassed by these questions. But we venture to say that if he ever were, and all the resources of logic failed him, he had only to turn to the purposes of capitalistic production to be relieved of any difficulty. Slonimski touched a sore spot of anti-Marxism when he broached the subject of purposes of production, which his more discreet colleagues usually pass in silence. We have already dwelt on the subject at some length, but it is of such paramount importance that we cannot dwell upon it too much or recur to it too often.
Before commodities are exchanged, they are produced. They are produced, however, with a view to their exchange, and to the value to be realized on such exchange, and in the exchange itself the question of how, and in what manner the commodity was produced has a good deal to do with the fixing of its value. It is not, however, the question of the usefulness of the production that is considered. We have already mentioned that a capitalist will just as soon manufacture chewing-gum as Holy Bibles. But more than that. The purposes of the production of commodities being the realization of a profit, a capitalist will just as willingly manufacture an absolutely useless article, if he will be assured of a profit. He does not manufacture absolutely useless things, because in order to get a purchaser it must be of some use to somebody, but he personally does not care a rap whether it really is useful or not. Again, when the article is of some use to somebody, that is, salable, he does not care a bit about anything that goes to make it useful. This is absolutely indifferent to him. He will manufacture any shape, color, taste or other quality, and when he comes to
