Notes on James Mill (1844)

2.11 ‘Regards’ (schaut … an): it would be better to say ‘sees’ or ‘experiences’.

2.14 ‘what it mediates to me’ (das, womit er mich vermittelt): should be ‘that with which it mediates me’.

2.21 ‘Externalised’ (entäußerte). Apart from its the official meaning (see note on 2.3 above), entäußern has the literal connotations of ‘to externalise or express in a negative way’ in that the prefix ent- has a negative connotation, außer means ‘out of’, and äußern means ‘express’. Luther, Fichte, Hegel and Feuerbach all sometimes use the word so as to exploit these literal connotations. For example ‘The activity, the grace of God is the entäußerte self-activity of man, objectified free will’ (Feuerbach, Essence of Christianity p. 239). Marx is doing the same thing here. However for the sake of consistency it would be better to translate entäußerte as ‘alienated’ than ‘externalised’.

4.1 ‘In accordance with the idea of money’ (seinem Begriff nach): should be ‘in accordance with its concept’.

6.1 ‘Money system’ (Geldwesen) should be ‘money-essence’. This is probably a reference to Moses Hess’s article ‘Über das Geldwesen’ (literally ‘On the Money-essence’, published in 1845 but almost certainly read by Marx in 1843.

6.2 ‘Exchange’ (Austausch). When Marx says Austausch sometimes (for example here and at 17.1 and 29.1) he seems to mean the interchange of goods as such, whereas sometimes (for example in the rest of paragraph 6 and at 18.3 and 26.1) means the exchange of goods as private property, by bartering or buying and selling (what he also calls Tausch, hence Tauschwert, exchange-value).

6.3 ‘Evolve value’ (zum Wert fortgehen): should be ‘proceed to value’, so as to match the first part of the sentence. NB ‘value’ should be italicised.

6.3 ‘Process’ (Bewegung) here and below should be ‘movement’.

6.5 ‘Not human relationship’ (kein menschliches Verhätnis): should be ‘not a human relationship’.

6.5 ‘Αbstract’ (abstrakt) typically means ‘separated off from any particular instance’.

6.6 ‘The expression of this abstract relationship’ (dies abstrakte Verhältnis): should be just ‘this abstract relationship’.

6.7 ‘Constitutes money’ (erst das Geld ist): should be ‘is first money’ or ‘is just money’.

6.8 ‘Personal property’ (persönlichen Eigentums). For Hegel ‘property’ and ‘person’ go together closely: a person is a subject that experiences itself as having an abstractly free will, and property is a thing in which such a subject has ‘placed its will’ in the thing so as to make it into the an ‘external sphere’ of the subject’s freedom (Philosophy of Right §§34-45).

6.11 ‘The form of existence for itself’(Die für sich seiende Existenz): should be ‘the existence for itself’.

6.13 ‘Alienation of private property’ (Entäusserung des Privateigentums). Marx is clearly drawing on the literal connotations of Entäusserung here (See note on 2.21).

7.2 ‘Système monétaire’: a version of the mercantilist view that wealth consists in money or gold.

7.14 ‘Represents’ (sei): should be ‘is’

7.19 ‘Mode of existence’ (Dasein): the CW translators often use ‘mode of existence’ for Dasein, but strictly speaking this word just means ‘existence’ (e.g. das Dasein Gottes, the existence of God), so it might be better to translate it as such. However Hegel generally uses Dasein to mean ‘existence as something determinate’, ‘existence in relation to something else’, or ‘outer existence’ (in contrast with inner essence) so Marx may have one of these meanings in mind. (NB Marx also sometimes uses Existenz for existence.)

8.2 ‘Money system’ (Geldwesen) should be ‘money-essence’.

8.2 ‘Abstract universality’ (Abstraktion und Allgemeinheit): should be ‘abstraction and universality’.

8.8 ‘Particular’ (bestimmte): should be ‘determinate’.

9.2 ‘Social relationship or class relationship’ (Konversationsverhältnis oder Standesverhältnis). The Penguin Early Writings translation is better here: ‘conversational relationship or relationship of rank’.

9.12 ‘Money system’ (Geldwesen) should be ‘money-essence’.

10.12 ‘To estimate the value’ (der Schätzung): it would be better to say ‘to appraise’ or ‘to assess’.

10.21 ‘Of capital’ (eines Kapitals): should be ‘of a capital’.

10.23 ‘And has himself assumed a material form’ (in sich selbst zu einer materiellen Gestalt geworden ist) should be ‘and within himelf has become a material form’.

10.30 ‘The material, corporeal form’ (die Materie, der Körper)’: should be ‘the material, the body’.

11.2 ‘An extreme economic appreciation of man’ (der höchsten nationalökonomischen Anerkennung des Menschen): should be ‘the highest economic recognition of man’.

14.1 ‘Nominal’ (ideelle): should be ‘ideal’.

15.3 Areopagus: a rock near the Acropolis in Athens where the highest government council, and later the court of appeal, met.

17.1 Exchange (Austausch). See note on 6.2.

17.2 ‘Is equivalent to’ (ist = der): should be ‘is equal to’.

17.2 ‘Species-spirit’ (Gattungsgeist). Here MEGA 2 has Gattungsgenuß (‘species-enjoyment’).

17.4 ‘Human nature’ (das menschliche Wesen): better to say ‘the human essence’. Here and throughout the paragraph Marx plays on the various meanings of Wesen (see note on 2.9) to connect his ideas.

17.5 ‘by manifesting their nature’ (durch Betätigung ihres Wesens): should be ‘through the activity (or: activation) of their essence’

17.6 ‘The human community’: ‘human’ should not be italicised.

17.7 ‘Essential nature’ (Wesen): should be ‘essence’.

17.8 ‘His own spirit’ (sein eigner Geist). Here MEGA 2 has sein eigner Genuß (‘his own enjoyment’).

17.12 ‘Recognise’ (erkennt). Erkennen means ‘know’. It can be translated as ‘recognise’, but this would be in the sense of recognising a fact, not that of recognising someone as having some positive status (as free, for example in Hegel’s struggle for recognition; or as human; or as having achieved something etc.)  that sense is conveyed by anerkennen. To avoid confusion it would be better to translate erkennen here as ‘know’.

17.15 ‘A being’ (ein … Wesen): the translators seem to have avoided translating this as ‘an entity’ so that it is clear that ‘this entity’ in the next sentence refers back to ‘the social entity’ at 17.6.

17.26 ‘The lord of his creation, as the servant of this creation’ (der Herr seiner Schöpfung, als der Knecht dieser Schöpfung): it would be better to say ‘the master of his creation, as the servant of this creation’. Herr and Knecht are Hegel’s words for ‘master’ and ‘servant’ in his master-servant dialectic.

18.1 ‘Of men’ (des Menschen). The German means ‘of man’ but in the light of the rest of the sentence this must be an error in Marx’s text, which the CW translators have silently corrected.

18.1 ‘The manifestation of the nature of men’ (ihr sich betätigendes Menschenwesen): should be ‘their active (or: acting) human essence’.

18.2 ‘The result of which is’ (zum): should be ‘to’.

18.5 ‘Process’ (Bewegung): should be ‘movement’.

19.3 ‘Nature’ (Bestimmung): it would be more accurate to say ‘determination’.

20.1 ‘Process’ (Bewegung): should be ‘movement’.

20.2 ‘Property owner to property owner’ (Privateigentümers zum Privateigentümer): should be ‘Private property owner to private property owner’.

20.3 ‘Property owner’ (Privateigentümer): should be ‘private property owner’.

20.3 ‘Exclusive owner’ (exklusiver Besitzer): should be ‘exclusive possessor’. In law ‘ownership’ or ‘property’ (Eigentum) means a legal entitlement to do what you want with a thing whereas ‘possession’ (Besitz) means physical control over it.

20.5 ‘Ownership’ (Besitz): should be ‘possession’.

20.9 ‘Definition’ (Bestimmung): should be ‘determination’.

20.11 ‘I alienate my private property’ (Ich entäußere … mein Privateigentum). Given the previous sentence Marx probably wants his readers to hear the literal connotations of entäußere here (see note on 2.21).

20.14 ‘I alienate it only with regard to myself’ (ich es nur in bezug auf mich entäußere): should be ‘I alienate it only in relation to myself. Marx seems to have in mind an act of renouncing ownership over a thing without transferring that ownership to anyone else.

20.22 ‘Property owner’ (Privateigentümer): should be ‘private property owner’.

20.23 ‘Necessity’ (Bedürfnis): better to say ‘need’.

20.24 ‘Nature’ (Wesen): should be ‘essence’.

21.1 ‘Property owners’ (Privateigentümer): should be ‘private property owners’.

21.2 ‘Kind of object’ (Natur des Gegenstandes): should be ‘nature of the object’.

21.2 ‘Constitutes the substance’ (die Materie … ist): should be ‘is the material’.

21.5 ‘Private ownership’ (Privateigentum): Marx sometimes seems to mean by Eigentum the relation of ownership, and sometimes the item owned. Accordingly the translators sometimes translate it as ‘ownership’ and sometimes as ‘property’ (see for example the last line but one of this paragraph).

21.7 ‘Products’ (Produktionen). Occasionally, as here, Marx seems to use Produktion to refer to the product rather than the activity of producing. However for consistency it would be better to say ‘productions’ rather than ‘products’.

21.9 ‘That its being is for me, that its property is the property, the peculiarity, of my essence’ (daß ihr Sein für mich, ihr Eigentum das Eigentum, die Eigentümlichkeit meines Wesens ist): should be ‘that its being for me, its property, is the property, the peculiarity, of my essence’. Marx is defining property philosophically as ‘being for me’. NB the word Eigentum does not mean ‘property’ in the sense of ‘attribute’ (that is Eigenschaft). See paragraph 55 for a parallel passage.

22.2 ‘Reciprocity in alienation’ (die Wechselseitigkeit der Entäußerung): it might be better to say ‘a reciprocity of alienation’.

22.4 ‘Simple private property’ (einfachen Privateigentum). Perhaps Marx means private property as a relation between a person and a thing, as opposed to a relation between two persons and two things. Hegel makes a similar contrast at Philosophy of Right §40 sections (a) and (b) and §72.

23.1 ‘Exchange’ (Tausch). He means the exchange of goods as private property. See note on 6.2.

23.3 ‘Alienated species-act’ (entäußerte Gattungsakt): see note on 20.11.

24.1 ‘Estrangement’ (Entfremdung): entfremden normally means ‘to estrange’, that is, ‘to cut oneself off from’ (i.e. ‘to alienate’ in the social sense - see note on 2.3), but in older German it could also mean ‘to relinquish or surrender something’ (i.e. ‘to alienate’ in the economic and legal sense). It seems that Marx has this older sense in mind here.

24.10 ‘Of a different kind’ (von andrer Natur): should be ‘of another nature’.

24.13 ‘The mode of existence’ (das Dasein). Here and in the rest of the paragraph it would be better just to say ‘the existence’.

24.17 ‘Its mode of existence as an equivalent is no longer its specific mode of existence’ (Als Äquivalent ist sein Dasein nicht mehr sein ihm eigentümliches): better to say ‘As an equivalent its existence is no longer peculiar to it’.

24.20 ‘Designation’ (Bestimmung): it would be more accurate to say ‘determination’.

24.21 ‘Specific nature’ (spezifischen Wesen): should be ‘specific essence’.

26.2 ‘Labour to earn a living’ (Erwerbsarbeit), 26.13 ‘a source of income’ (Erwerbsquelle): it would be better to say ‘labour for acquisition’ and ‘a source of acquisition’ to fit with the translation of Erwerb as ‘acquisition’ at 59.10. (NB the Early Writings translation of Erwerbsarbeit as ‘wage-labour’ looks wrong since in most of the paragraph Marx is envisaging a situation of independent producers exchanging their products.)

26.2 ‘Alienated labour’ (entfremdete Arbeit). It looks as if entfremdete is being used in the older sense here (see note on 24.1), hence the translators’ choice of ‘alienated’.

26.4 ‘His function as worker’ (seiner Arbeitsbestimmung): should be ‘the determination of his work’ or ‘the character of his work’. Marx seems to have in mind the intentions or purposes with which the work is carried out.

26.12 ‘Manifestation’ (Betätigung): should be ‘activity’ or ‘activation’.

26.13 ‘Mode of existence’: better to say ‘existence’. The contrast between ‘purpose’ and ‘existence’ seems to be the same as the one on lines 3-4 of the paragraph.

27.8 ‘Appears to be’ (als … erscheint): should be ‘appears as’. In Hegelian usage erscheinen means ‘to appear as’, with the implication that an underlying reality is genuinely present to the observer, although in some surface form, whereas scheinen means ‘to appear to be’ or ‘to seem’, with the implication that what presents itself to the observer is nothing but an illusion. On Marx’s use of these two terms in his later works, see sections 1.1a and 1.3a of Hans Ehrbar’s Glossary to Marx’s Capital and Other Economic Writings at http://www.econ.utah.edu/~ehrbar/glossary.pdf.

28.3 ‘Nature’ (Wesen): should be ‘essence’.

29.2 ‘Trade’ (Schacher): should be ‘haggling’ (italicised).

30.2 ‘Division of labour’ (Teilung): should be ‘division’.

30.2 ‘Social nature’ (das gesellschaftliche Wesen): should be ‘the social entity’, or just ‘society’. Marx has already used this phrase with this meaning at 17.6.

34.1 ‘The separation of work from itself – separation of the worker from the capitalist – separation of labour and capital’ (Die Trennung der Arbeit von sich selbst = Trennung des Arbeiters vom Kapitalisten = Trennung von Arbeit und Kapital): the dashes here should be ‘=‘ signs.

35.3 ‘Action and spirit’ (Tätigkeit und Geist): should probably be ‘action and enjoyment’ (Tätigkeit und Genuß). See note on 17.2.

35.5 ‘As something spiritual’ (als einem Geist): should probably be ‘as an enjoyment’ (als einem Genuß). See above note.

35.5 ‘the power of private property manifesting itself’ (die sich betätigende Macht des Privateigentums): better to say ‘the active power of private property’.

37.1 In paras. 37-49 Marx paraphrased or translated directly into German from Mill’s book, which he read in the 1823 French translation. Sometimes he just copied the French words. The MEW text reproduces what Marx wrote. The CW text does the same for the paraphrases, but where Marx translated directly it substitutes the text of the English 1821 first edition (more or less identical to the 1844 third edition text available at http://www.econlib.org/library/MillJames/mljElm.html), although it keeps Marx’s italics. It also adds, in square brackets, parts of Mill’s text which Marx left out. However in some cases what Marx wrote deviates substantially from this 1821 text. Below I have corrected the CW text to bring it into line with what Marx actually wrote.

37.8 ‘Greater than it would be, if left in freedom’ (über der nötigen Höhe): should be ‘above the necessary level’.

37.12 ‘But the prospect of punishment will prevail over the prospect of profit [, only if the profit is small]’ (Aber die Hoffnung des Gewinns siegt über die Furcht vor der Strafe): should be ‘But the hope of profit will prevail over the fear of punishment’.

41.1 ‘... the precious metals, are [... ] that commodity [which is the most generally bought and sold... ]’ (Edle Metalle sind Waren): should be ‘The precious metals are commodities’. By ‘precious metals’ Mill means the metals of which coins were made, i.e. gold and silver.

42.4 ‘Commodities’ (einem bestimmten Ort die Lebensmittel): should be ‘a given quantity of the means of life’.

44.1 ‘Are means’ (sind bloße Mittel): should be ‘are mere means’.

44.2 ‘Distribution and exchange are only the intermediate operations [for bringing the things which have been produced into the hands of those who are] to consume them’ (Es sind intermediäre, vermittelnde Operationen. Der Zweck ist die Konsumtion): should be ‘They are intermediary, mediating operations. The end is consumption.’

46.1 ‘All consumption, which does not take place to the end that something, which may be an equivalent for it, may be produced by means of it, is unproductive consumption’ (jede Konsumtion, die nicht im Behuf der Produkte geschieht, um vermittelst einer Sache eine andre äquivalente zu erhalten, ist improduktiv). Marx’s wording is slightly different but both Mill’s and his gist seem to be that in productive consumption the consumer uses up one thing but gains in return an ‘equivalent’.

46.12 ‘And becomes capital’ (und es wird Kapital durch die Konsumtion): should be ‘and it becomes capital through the consumption’.

46.13 ‘Productive powers’ (produktiven Kräfte): this German phrase in Marx is normally translated ‘productive forces’, but Mill’s original ‘productive powers’ is probably a better translation.

46.18 ‘Profits of stock’ (Gewinn des Kapitals): should be ‘profit of capital’.

48.2 ‘If the commodity which he produces is the commodity which he wishes to have’ (Ist das produzierte Objekt das, was er haben will): ‘commodity’ should be replaced by ‘object’ in the translation.

48.4 ‘As he wishes to have’ (als er braucht): should be ‘as he needs’.

48.6 ‘Some other commodity’ (irgendein anderes Objekt): should be ‘some other object’. Marx’s text for this whole sentence is a lot shorter than Mill’s, but the gist is the same.

48.7 ‘If a man desires one thing, and produces another, it can only be because the thing which he desires can be obtained by means of the thing which he produces’ (Er produziert die eine Sache, aus Begierde, die andere zu besitzen. Die Produktion dieser Sache ist ihm das einzige Mittel, die andere Sache zu erhalten): should be ‘He produces one thing, out of the desire to possess another. The production of this thing is for him only the means to obtain the other thing.’

48.11 ‘Some one commodity or part of a commodity’ (eine bestimmte Sache öder nur einen Teil derselben): ‘commodity’ should be replaced by ‘thing’ here.

48.15 ‘To one commodity’ (auf die Produktion einer einzigen Sache): should be ‘to the production of a single thing’.

48.20 ‘He has the property’ (Er besitzt einen Gegenstand): should be ‘He possesses an object.’ See note on 20.3.

48.24 ‘The supply and demand of the market’ (die offre und demande der verkäuflichen Gegenstände): should be ‘the supply and demand of saleable objects’.

49.11 ‘A Wish for the commodity, and An Equivalent to give for it’ (die Begierde, eine Ware zu haben, und der Besitz eines äquivalente Objects, das man im Austausch geben kann): should be ‘the desire to have a commodity, and the possession of an equivalent object to give in exchange for it’. NB Begierde in Hegel is standardly translated as ‘desire’.

49.12 ‘The will to purchase’ (die Begierde … zu kaufen): should be ‘the desire to purchase’.

49.14 ‘An equivalent is the necessary foundation of all demand’ (Der Besitz eines äquivalenten Gegenstandes ist die notwendige Basis jeder Nachfrage): should be ‘The possession of an equivalent object is the necessary basis of any demand.’

49.15 ‘Wishes for commodities’ (wünscht … irgendwelche Gegenstände su besitzen): should be ‘wishes to possess any objects’.

49.15 ‘The equivalent which a man brings’ (das äquivalente Objekt, welches ein Mensch hinzubringt): should be ‘the equivalent object which a man brings’.

49.17 ‘By the extent of his equivalent’ (am Wert dieses Gegenstandes): should be ‘by the value of this object’.

49.17 ‘The demand and the equivalent’ (die Nachfrage und der äquivalente Gegenstand): should be ‘the demand and the equivalent object’.

49.20 ‘To the extent of all that he has produced’ (und daß die Ausdehnung dieses Strebens, dieser Begierde gemessen ist durch die Totalität seiner Produktion): should be ‘and that the extent of this wish, this desire, is measured by the totality of his production’.

49.24 ‘For other commodities’ (für andre Gegenstände): should be ‘for other objects’.

49.24 ‘His will, therefore, to purchase, and his means of purchasing – in other words, his demand, is exactly equal to the amount of what he has produced’ (Sein Wille zu kaufen und sein Mittel, es zu tun, sind also gleich, oder seine Nachfrage ist exakt = seinem Totalprodukt’: should be ‘His will to purchase and his means of doing so are therefore equal, or his demand is exactly equal to his total product.’ Marx seems to have slightly mistranslated Mill here.

51.3, 51.5 ‘Selfish’ (eigennützigen): should be ‘self-interested’.

51.4 ‘In order to possess for himself’ (um für sich zu haben): should be ‘in order to have for himself’. Here and at the first line of the paragraph Marx is quoting Mill at 48.2.

52.2 “Forms” (ist): should be ‘is’.

52.3 ‘The extent of his production’ (seine Produktion): should be ‘his production’.

53.3 ‘An indirect way’ (eine vermittelte Weise): should be ‘a mediated way’.

53.3 Selfish’ (eigennützige): should be ‘self-interested’.

53.4 ‘Not in this production’ (nicht unmittelbar in dieser Produktion): should be ‘not immediately in this production’. ‘Immediate’ means ‘not mediated’, so it is in contrast with to ‘mediated’ at 53.3.

53.5 ‘A means of gaining a living, labour to gain a living’ (Erwerbsquelle … Erwerbsarbeit): it would be better to say ‘a source of acquisition, labour for acquisition’. (See note on 26.2 above).