On Money as a Special General Commodity

I. Introduction

一、概论

Academia has debated whether money is a special commodity or a general commodity. These debates revolve around whether the definition of money is a "(fixed) special commodity that serves as the universal equivalent," a "(fixed) general commodity that serves as the universal equivalent," or a compromise between the two, i.e., a "(fixed) commodity that serves as the universal equivalent." However, on the one hand, Marx himself gave a very clear definition of money, which is completely different from the various definitions in these debates. On the other hand, Marx wrote in *Capital*, "Because all other commodities are merely particular equivalents for money, while money is their universal equivalent, they relate to money as particular commodities relate to a general commodity." [1]1 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Vol. 1, Chapter 1, Section 2. The translation follows the standard English edition. Therefore, only particular equivalents, only all other commodities, are particular commodities; money is not. On the contrary, money is only a general commodity; in particular, money is only the universal equivalent of all other commodities, not its own universal equivalent. Hence, it is inappropriate to say only that money is something that serves as the universal equivalent, without adding the qualifier "of all other commodities" before "universal equivalent."

学术界对货币是特殊商品还是一般商品进行过争论。这些争论是针对货币的定义到底是“（固定）充当一般等价物的特殊商品”还是“（固定）充当一般等价物的一般商品”亦或两者的折中即“（固定）充当一般等价物的商品”展开的。但是，一方面，马克思本人针对货币下过非常明确的定义，那个定义与这些争论中的各种定义完全不同。另一方面，马克思在《资本论》中写道，“因为其他一切商品只是货币的特殊等价物，而货币是它们的一般等价物，所以它们是作为特殊商品来同作为一般商品的货币发生关系。” 所以，只是货币的特殊等价物，只是其他一切商品，才是特殊商品，货币不是。相反地，货币只是一般商品，特别地，货币只是其他一切商品的一般等价物，而不是它自己的一般等价物。所以，只说货币是充当一般等价物的某个东西，而不在“一般等价物”前面加上“其他一切商品的”这个限定词是不合适的。

Some might, because of a sentence in *Capital* — "Through this social process, serving as the universal equivalent becomes the unique social function of the commodity that has been set apart. This commodity becomes money" [2]2 Karl Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 1. The translation follows the standard English edition. — think it permissible to omit the qualifier "of all other commodities" before "serving as the universal equivalent." However, the sentence preceding this one, from which the definition of money in the aforementioned debates is derived, reads: "The social action of all other commodities sets apart a particular commodity through which they comprehensively express their value. Hence the natural form of this commodity becomes the socially recognized equivalent form." [3]3 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. It can be seen that if these two preceding sentences in the context are set aside, when discussing money serving as the universal equivalent elsewhere in isolation, it is necessary to add the qualifier "of all other commodities" to avoid misunderstanding.

有人也许会因为《资本论》中的一句话，即“由于这种社会过程，充当一般等价物就成为被分离出来的商品的独特的社会职能。这个商品就成为货币。” 而认为可以不在“充当一般等价物”前面加上“其他一切商品的”这个限定词，但是，这句引伸出上述争论中的货币的定义的话的前面写的是：“其他一切商品的社会的行动使一种特定的商品分离出来，通过这个商品来全面表现它们的价值。于是这个商品的自然形式就成为社会公认的等价形式。” 可见，如果撇开上下文中的这两句前面的话，在其他地方单独来谈货币充当一般等价物时，是需要加上“其他一切商品的”这个限定词以避免误解的。

Furthermore, Marx also wrote in *Capital*: "Serving as the universal equivalent in the world of commodities becomes its unique social function, and thus its social monopoly." [4]4 Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 3, Section 2c. "Once it monopolizes this position in the value expression of the commodity world, it becomes the money commodity." [5]5 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. Therefore, the money commodity does not "fixedly" serve as the universal equivalent of all other commodities, but rather "monopolistically" serves as the universal equivalent of all other commodities. Consequently, regardless of what the outcome of these debates is, any one of them is inappropriate, much like the "two children arguing about the sun." [6]6 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3.

另外，马克思在《资本论》中还写道：“在商品世界起一般等价物的作用就成了它特有的社会职能，从而成了它的社会独占权。” “一旦它在商品世界的价值表现中独占了这个地位，它就成为货币商品。” 因此，货币商品也不是“固定”充当其他一切商品的一般等价物，而是“独占地”充当其他一切商品的一般等价物。从而，不管这些争论是一个什么样的结果，哪一个结果都是不合适的，就像“两小儿辩日”一样。

However, if one must rank these three outcomes, the statement that money is a special commodity serving as the universal equivalent is actually more appropriate, although this statement cannot serve as the definition of money. This is because the universal equivalent already carries the meaning of a general commodity, and there is no need to emphasize it as a general commodity, just as we would say a "Red小鬼" [7]7 The Spring and Autumn period (c. 770–476 BCE) was a period in Chinese history marked by the decline of the Zhou dynasty's central authority and the rise of competing feudal states. is a young Red Army soldier or a young-aged Red Army soldier, and would not say a "Red小鬼" is a young-aged young Red Army soldier. As for calling it a "special commodity," this term is used in another sense. Marx once wrote in *Capital*, "Earlier in this book we used the term 'necessary labor time' generally to refer to the socially necessary labor time for producing general commodities. From now on, we also use this term to refer to the necessary labor time for producing the unique commodity, labor power. Using the same term to express different meanings can easily cause misunderstanding, but this phenomenon cannot be completely avoided in any science." [8]8 Xue Muqiao (1904–2005) was a prominent Chinese Marxist economist and a key figure in the economic policy of the Chinese Communist Party, particularly during the revolutionary period and the early years of the People's Republic. Here, "general commodities" does not refer to the money commodity, nor to the universal equivalent, but to all ordinary commodities. Therefore, we can similarly use "special commodity" to refer to that commodity which has achieved a social monopoly. Of course, to avoid misunderstanding as much as possible, it is best first to define a general commodity as a (special) commodity that serves as the universal equivalent, and then say that money is a special general commodity or a general commodity with a social monopoly. This is the most correct statement, although it is also not the definition of money.

不过，如果非要在这三个结果中分一个高低的话，那么，货币是充当一般等价物的特殊商品的说法反而更合适一些，尽管这个说法并不能作为货币的定义。这是因为，一般等价物已经具有了一般商品的意思，无须再强调是一般商品，就好像我们会说红小鬼是红军小战士或年纪小的红军战士，而不会说红小鬼是年纪小的红军小战士一样。至于说是“特殊商品”，则是在另一层含义上来使用这个词。马克思在《资本论》中曾经写道，“我们在本书的前面一直是用‘必要劳动时间’这个词泛指生产一般商品的社会必要劳动时间。从现在起，我们也用这个词指生产独特的商品即劳动力的必要劳动时间。用同一术语表示不同的意思是容易发生误会的，但这种现象在任何科学中都不能完全避免。” 这里的“一般商品”并不是货币商品，不是一般等价物，而是指所有的普通商品。因此，我们可以同样地用“特殊商品”来指那个取得了社会独占权的商品。当然，为了尽量避免发生误会，最好先定义一般商品是充当一般等价物的（特殊）商品，然后说，货币是特殊的一般商品或具有社会独占权的一般商品。这才是最正确的说法，尽管这也不是货币的定义。

II. The Theory of the General Commodity

二、一般商品论

Some have proposed that "money is always served by a commodity possessing a certain special use-value; therefore, it is originally also a special commodity. However, when this commodity becomes money, it acquires a new layer of clothing; it is the money commodity. As the money commodity, it can only be a general commodity, not a special commodity."

有人提出“货币总是由具有某种特殊使用价值的商品来充当的，因此它本来也是特殊商品。不过，当这种商品成为货币时，就增添了一层新的外衣，它是货币商品。作为货币商品，它只能是一般商品，而不是特殊商品。”

But the question is, why is it precisely this commodity, and not some other commodity, that becomes the money commodity? Marx points out, "Gold can be used for filling teeth, as raw material for luxury articles, etc." [9]9 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. Does gold become the money commodity because of these special use-values of its? If not, then gold's serving as money is not because it possesses some special use-value; on the contrary, after serving as money, it acquires a new "formal use-value arising from its unique social function." [10]10 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. This is a special use-value. If a commodity possessing a certain special use-value is a special commodity, then the money commodity is also a special commodity, even if the significance of this special use-value is to make the money commodity function as a general commodity.

但问题是，为什么唯独是这种商品而不是其他某种商品成为货币商品呢？马克思指出，“金可以镶牙，可以用作奢侈品的原料等等” ，那么，金成为货币商品是因为它的这些特殊的使用价值吗？如果不是，那么金来充当货币就不是因为它具有某种特殊使用价值，相反地，它充当货币后取得了新的“一种由它的独特的社会职能产生的形式上的使用价值。” 这是一种特殊的使用价值，如果具有某种特殊使用价值的商品是特殊商品，那么货币商品也是特殊商品，哪怕这种特殊使用价值的意义是使货币商品作为一般商品。

Some have pointed out, "Gold and silver, as the material of money, still possess special use-values; therefore, from the perspective of their natural attributes, they are still special commodities. But from the perspective of their social attributes, money is a general commodity serving as the universal equivalent." [11]11 Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 3, Section 2c. This view can easily lead to the misunderstanding that special commodities only have natural attributes, while money commodities have social attributes. In reality, all commodities possess social attributes; otherwise, they would be merely private products, not commodities. Moreover, if the money commodity possesses particularity in terms of its social attributes, calling it a special commodity is also valid.

有人指出，“作为货币材料的金银，依然具有特殊使用价值，因此，从其自然属性上看，依然是特殊商品。但从其社会属性看，货币是作为一般等价物的一般商品。” 这个观点容易让人误以为特殊商品只有自然属性，货币商品才有社会属性。实际上，所有的商品都具有社会属性，否则它们就只是私人的产品而不是商品。而且，如果货币商品在社会属性方面具有特殊性的话，说它是特殊商品也是成立的。

Some have proposed, "Gold and silver are general commodities because they are the universal equivalent, the representative of the commonality of all commodities — value. After a commodity producer exchanges for money, they can obtain, without restriction, any commodity they cannot produce themselves. This is the significance of the money commodity being a general commodity. Therefore, money should be defined as a general commodity that fixedly serves as the universal equivalent."

有人提出，“金银是一般商品，因为它们是一般等价物，是所有商品共性——价值——的代表。商品生产者交换到货币后，就可以不受限制的得到他所不能生产的任何商品，这就是货币商品是一般商品的意义所在。所以，货币应定义为固定充当一般等价物的一般商品。”

However, when Marx discusses the "universal equivalent" in *Capital*, he writes, "The general relative value form of the commodity world endows the equivalent commodity excluded from the commodity world, namely linen, with the property of the universal equivalent. The natural form of the linen itself is the common value form of this world; therefore, linen can be directly exchanged with all other commodities." [12]12 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. Therefore, the "universal equivalent" is the product of the general relative value form, a property that any commodity can acquire or a position any commodity can attain. If a general commodity is determined based on the universal equivalent, then linen is also a general commodity, just like gold and silver. In reality, the "natural form itself" of either linen or gold and silver is a particular form, not a general form. The word "fixed" in the so-called "fixedly serving as" already indicates particularity. As for determining a general commodity based on money's ability to purchase any commodity, this treats the means of circulation as the significance of a general commodity, thereby making money tokens, which can also purchase any commodity, equally general commodities. Moreover, Marx does not exclude the possibility that linen, like silk in ancient China, could acquire the ability to be "directly exchanged with all other commodities."

但是，马克思在《资本论》中谈到“一般等价物”时写道，“商品世界的一般的相对价值形式，使被排挤出商品世界的等价物商品即麻布，获得了一般等价物的性质。麻布自身的自然形式是这个世界的共同的价值形态，因此，麻布能够与其他一切商品直接交换。” 因此，“一般等价物”是一般的相对价值形式的产物，是任何商品都可以获得的性质或取得的地位。如果根据一般等价物来确定一般商品，那么麻布也和金银一样是一般商品。实际上，无论是麻布还是金银的“自身的自然形式”都是一种特殊的形式而不是一般的形式。所谓“固定充当”中的“固定”二字本身已经表示了特殊性。至于根据货币可以购买任何商品来确定一般商品，那么这是把流通手段作为一般商品的意义，从而同样能够购买任何商品的货币符号也就同样成了一般商品。更何况，马克思并不排斥麻布像中国古代的丝绢一样取得“与其他一切商品直接交换”的可能。

Some have proposed that “commodities on the market are diverse in form and variety, among which each commodity, when compared with others, possesses particularity, whereas money is singular, and it cannot, of itself, declare itself particular. For a commodity owner, the commodity in his own hands is particular, while the money obtained through exchange is general.” However, Marx long ago pointed out that “the value of a ton of iron is expressed in completely different price representations, depending on whether gold, silver, or copper serves as the measure of value; that is, it is expressed in completely different quantities of gold, silver, or copper.” [1]1 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Vol. 1, Chapter 1, Section 2. The translation follows the standard English edition. Therefore, money is not singular; gold, silver, or copper can all serve as money, and at times, as in ancient China, they indeed served simultaneously as money. Hence, gold, silver, or copper, when functioning as money, can each declare themselves particular. Secondly, even if money were singular, although it cannot declare itself particular, it is nonetheless particular relative to other commodities. Otherwise, the possessors of those other commodities would not seek or first seek to exchange for money, rather than first exchanging for or directly exchanging for other commodities, even if they later use the money to exchange for other commodities.

有人提出，“市场上的商品千姿百态，多种多样，其中，每一种商品同其它商品来比较具有特殊性，而货币只有一种，它本身不能对自己说它自己特殊。对于一个商品所有者来说，他自己手中的商品才是特殊的，而通过交换所得到的货币才是一般的。” 但是，马克思早就指出，“一吨铁的价值，根据充当价值尺度的是金、银还是铜，就具有完全不同的价格表现，或者说，在金、银或铜的完全不同的数量中表现出来。” 因此，货币并不是只有一种，金、银或铜都可以作为货币，而且它们有时如中国古代还的确同时作为货币。所以，金、银或铜在作为货币时都可以说它们自己是特殊的。其次，即便货币只有一种，它虽然不能对自己说它自己特殊，但是对于其他商品来说，货币也是特殊的。否则那些商品的占有者就不会只要或首先要换货币，而不是先换或直接换其他商品，哪怕他们后来还是会拿货币去换其他商品。

III. The Theory of the Special Commodity

三、特殊商品论

Some believe that money is a “special commodity,” on the grounds that, compared with ordinary commodities, the law of market value operates differently on money, the producers of money are different, money is highly susceptible to the influence of people’s confidence, money is more sensitive to market conditions, and the determination of money’s market price and the mode of its transaction are different. However, the money he refers to is merely a money symbol like the US dollar, which is itself not a commodity, let alone a special commodity. Nevertheless, a money commodity can be replaced by a symbol, whereas other commodities cannot, which also indicates the particularity of the money commodity.

有人认为，货币是一种“特殊商品”，其理由是，与一般商品相比，市场价值规律对货币的作用不同、货币的生产者不同、货币极易受人的信心的影响、货币对市场的敏感程度强、货币的市场价格的确定及交易方式不同。 但是，他所说的货币只是美元那样的货币符号，本身就不是商品，也谈不上是特殊商品。不过，货币商品可以由符号来代替，但其他商品不行，这也说明了货币商品的特殊性。

Some have proposed that “in the practice of commodity exchange, people discovered that gold and silver are the special commodities most suitable for serving as the fixed universal equivalent. Money is, of course, the special commodity that serves as the fixed universal equivalent.” In fact, Marx stated, “Gold and silver are not naturally money, but money is naturally gold and silver.” [2]2 Karl Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 1. The translation follows the standard English edition. However, this merely indicates that gold and silver are special commodities, not that money is also a special commodity. Moreover, “the special commodity that serves as the fixed universal equivalent” is itself a special commodity with a qualifier, thus at least a special special commodity. And this special special commodity, relative to other non-special special commodities, can be defined as a general commodity.

有人提出，“在商品交换的实践中，大家发现金银是最适合于作为固定地充当一般等价物的特殊商品。货币当然是固定地充当一般等价物的特殊商品。” 实际上，马克思说过，“金银天然不是货币，但货币天然是金银。” 但是，这只不过表明，金银是特殊商品，而不表明货币也是特殊商品。而且，“固定地充当一般等价物的特殊商品”，本身是加了限定词的特殊商品，从而至少是特殊的特殊商品。而这个特殊的特殊商品相对于其他不特殊的特殊商品是可以作为一般商品来界定的。

Some have proposed that “the material substance constituting money is still that special commodity from which it is transformed; this commodity, due to its special physical and chemical properties, is precisely the best material for expressing the magnitude of commodity value and serving as the universal equivalent. To deny that money is a special commodity is to deny that money must possess a material substance, and would thus reduce money to an intangible and abstract thing.” Since the special physical and chemical properties of the money commodity are special here precisely in their particularity in expressing the magnitude of commodity value, not in their particularity in expressing use-value, then this particularity is merely limited to its particularity in performing the functions of money, a particularity closely linked to ordinary commodities, and not a particularity of it as a commodity itself, such as linen, wheat, or steel, in satisfying some aspect of productive or personal consumption. In fact, the money commodity as a general commodity, while other commodities are not general commodities, itself indicates the particularity of the money commodity.

有人提出，“构成货币物质实体的仍然是它由以转化的那种特殊商品，这种商品由于具有特殊的物理和化学性能，正好成为表现商品价值量、充当一般等价物的最好材料。如果否认货币是特殊商品，也就否认货币必须具有一个物质实体，那么就会把货币看成是一种不可捉摸的抽象的东西了。” 既然货币商品的特殊物理和化学性能在这里之所以特殊，就在于它是在表现商品价值量方面的特殊，而不是在表现使用价值方面的特殊，那么，这个特殊就只是限于它在执行货币职能方面的特殊，是与一般商品紧密联系在一起的特殊，而不是它作为商品本身如麻布、小麦、钢铁那样在满足生产消费或生活消费的某个方面的特殊。其实，货币商品作为一般商品，而其它商品没有作为一般商品，本身就表明了货币商品的特殊性。

Some have proposed that “attention must be paid to distinguishing the two kinds of ‘particularity’ possessed by the money commodity. One must see both the special power, function, and status of the money commodity as the universal equivalent, and the correspondence between the money commodity’s own special ‘physical-natural’ attributes and the ‘economic-social’ attributes of commodity value. Genetically speaking, money is not a general commodity, but precisely a special commodity—of course referring to the latter kind of particularity, a genuine, thorough, unadulterated particularity. Hence, for understanding the essence of the money commodity, this is more important and more fundamental. In this sense, rather than saying money is a general commodity, it is better to say money is a special commodity.”

有人提出，“要注意区分货币商品所具有的两种‘特殊性’。既要看到货币商品作为一般等价物所具有的特殊的权力、职能和地位，也要看到货币商品自身特殊的‘物理—自然’属性与商品价值具有的‘经济—社会’属性的契合。从发生学上讲，货币不是一般商品，而恰恰是特殊商品——当然是指后一种特殊性，这是一种真正的、彻底的、不折不扣的特殊性．因而对理解货币商品的本质来说更为重要、更为根本。在此意义上，与其说货币是一般商品，毋宁说货币是特殊商品。”

Indeed, the physical-natural attributes of precious metals are very suitable for use as a money commodity, and Marx in *Capital* marks the emergence of the money commodity by the precious metals becoming the universal equivalent. However, this does not mean that the physical-natural attributes of precious metals are the essential attributes of the money commodity; these attributes are also possessed by the metal aluminum, yet aluminum has never become a money commodity. Nor does it mean that if gold and silver did not exist in this world, a money commodity could not have emerged. Silk fabrics in China’s Tang Dynasty once served as a money commodity; otherwise, the eunuchs in the imperial palace would not have forcibly purchased charcoal on the market with red silk and damask. [3]3 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3.

的确，贵金属的物理—自然属性非常适合用来做货币商品，而且马克思在《资本论》中也是以贵金属成为一般等价物来标志货币商品的出现。但是，这并不意味着贵金属的物理—自然属性是货币商品的本质属性，这些属性对于金属铝来说也是具备的，但是，铝就从来没有成为货币商品。这也不意味着如果这个世界上没有金银的存在，就不可能出现货币商品。中国唐代的丝绢就曾经是货币商品，否则皇宫里的宦官也不会拿红绡和绫去强买市面上的炭。

Furthermore, when Xue Muqiao was responsible for issuing paper currency in the liberated areas, he did not use precious metals as reserves but instead used grain, cotton cloth, and other livelihood materials as reserves, and this was also very successful. [4]4 Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 3, Section 2c. His method was even called the “commodity standard,” because this approach facilitated price stabilization: when the prices of livelihood materials rose, the reserve materials were sold to withdraw paper currency; when the prices of livelihood materials fell, more paper currency was issued to purchase and store materials. If the paper currency had been issued with gold and silver as reserves, this regulatory effect would not have been achieved. In that case, whether livelihood material prices rose or fell, neither selling nor purchasing gold and silver would affect those prices; it would only affect the proportion of gold, silver, and paper currency in the means of circulation. To regulate prices, one would have to establish an additional official commodity reserve for regulation. Xue Muqiao’s approach essentially combined commodity reserves directly with paper currency issuance. His “commodity standard” money commodity was precisely a special commodity, not a general commodity, because it was regulated by the law of supply and demand and was also used to regulate supply and demand. We will discuss this point later. Xue Muqiao’s method was not continued after our Party gained national power. This was not because our Party had acquired large quantities of gold and silver, but because the value of grain and cotton cloth was unstable, greatly influenced by the development of productive forces, and they were themselves unsuitable as universal equivalents. At that time, it was only because other paper currencies competing with it were excessively overissued that it became good money and drove out bad money. [5]5 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3.

而当年薛暮桥负责在解放区发行纸币时，没有以贵金属为储备，而是以粮食和棉布等民生物资为储备，也是十分成功的。他的做法还被称为“物资本位”，这是因为这个做法方便稳定物价，当民生物资涨价时就抛出储备的物资回收纸币，当民生物资跌价时就增发纸币收储物资。而如果发行纸币时储备的是金银就没有这个调控效果。这时遇到民生物资涨价和跌价，无论是抛出还是收储金银都影响不了物价，只不过影响金银和纸币在流通手段中的比重。要调节物价还得另外建立官方物资储备进行调控。薛暮桥的做法实际上是将物资储备与纸币发行直接结合起来。他的“物资本位”货币商品恰恰是特殊商品而不是一般商品。因为它受供求规律的调节，也被用来调节供求。关于这一点，我们后面再谈。薛暮桥的做法在我党取得全国政权后没有继续下去。这不是因为我党获得了大量的金银，而是因为粮食和棉布的价值不稳定，受生产力发展的影响很大，本身并不适合作为一般等价物。当年只是因为与它相竞争的其他纸币过于滥发，才使它成为了良币，并且驱逐了劣币。

In fact, the reason gold and silver are suitable as a money commodity lies not primarily in their physical-natural attributes, but in the relative stability of the socially necessary labor time required to produce them compared to other commodities, in the attributes of their production. “Gold and silver, compared with the average situation of other commodities, still possess a relatively stable magnitude of value.” [6]6 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. The value of the metal aluminum was once higher than that of gold, precisely because its production costs were very high when it first appeared; with technological progress, its value fell rapidly, rendering it unsuitable as a universal equivalent, unsuitable as a money commodity.

事实上，金银之所以适合作为货币商品，主要不在于其物理—自然属性，而在于生产它们的社会必要劳动时间相比其他商品稳定，在于它们生产方面的属性。“金银同其他商品的平均情况比较起来，还是具有比较稳定的价值量。” 金属铝的价值曾经比黄金还高，正是因为它刚出现时的生产费用很高，随着技术的进步，它的价值迅速下降，导致它不适合成为一般等价物，不适合成为货币商品。

The claim that “rather than saying money is a general commodity, it is better to say money is a special commodity” merely indicates that the proponent of this view has fallen into an illusion that Marx had already pointed out: “A commodity appears to become money not because all other commodities express their value through it, but, on the contrary, appears to be money because all other commodities express their value through it.” [7]7 The Spring and Autumn period (c. 770–476 BCE) was a period in Chinese history marked by the decline of the Zhou dynasty's central authority and the rise of competing feudal states. This is because the aforementioned view precisely emphasizes that it is due to the particularity of the money commodity that all other commodities express their value through it.

所谓“与其说货币是一般商品，毋宁说货币是特殊商品”，只是表明这个观点的提出者陷入了一种马克思已经指出过的假象：“一种商品成为货币，似乎不是因为其他商品都通过它来表现自己的价值，相反，似乎因为这种商品是货币，其他商品才都通过它来表现自己的价值。” 这是因为上述观点恰恰是强调，正是因为货币商品的特殊，其他商品才都通过它来表现自己的价值。

IV. The Eclectic Theory of “General Commodity” and “Special Commodity”

四、“一般商品”与“特殊商品”折中论

Some have proposed that Marx "clearly states: 'Money is not only a general commodity, but also a special commodity.' Thus, it can be seen that saying money is merely a 'special commodity' or merely a 'general commodity' is both one-sided; from the other's perspective, each statement is inexplicable. Defining money as 'money is a commodity that serves as the universal equivalent' is the most comprehensive and precise. Because using the word 'commodity' can encompass both 'special commodity' and 'general commodity,' the wording is more concise and rigorous, and no other formulation can compare." However, Marx made the statement that "money is not only a general commodity, but also a special commodity" precisely when discussing why prices generally rise during speculative periods. At this time, money, "as a special commodity, is subject to the law of supply and demand; therefore, the universal demand for the various special commodities opposed to money must necessarily cause money to depreciate." That is to say, at this time, the effect of the law of value, which makes money the universal equivalent, is weaker than the effect of the law of supply and demand. Otherwise, if money also appreciated, the prices of other commodities—that is, their exchange ratios relative to money—would not rise. Clearly, the situation of money as a special commodity is not suitable for occasions where it serves as the universal equivalent. It is precisely for this reason that we refer to Xue Muqiao's "material standard" money as a special commodity. When the value of livelihood materials fluctuates due to changes in socially necessary labor time, the practice of forcibly stabilizing their prices through the issuance and withdrawal of paper currency itself undermines or obstructs the function of money as the universal equivalent.

有人提出，马克思“明确地说：‘货币不仅是一般商品，而且也是特殊商品’。可见，只说货币是‘特殊商品’或只说是‘一般商品’都是不全面的，两个说法站在对方来看，都解释不通。把货币定义表述为‘货币是固定充当一般等价物的商品’是最全面、最确切的。因为用‘商品’二字表述，即可包括‘特殊商品’，又可包括‘一般商品’文字更加精练和严密，其它表述均比不上。” 但是，马克思是在讨论为什么投机时期的价格会普遍上涨时才说出“货币不仅是一般商品，而且也是特殊商品”这番话的。这时，货币“作为特殊商品，它受供求规律支配，因此，对于同货币相对立的种种特殊商品的普遍需求，必然使货币跌价。” 也就是说，这时使货币作为一般等价物的价值规律的作用弱于供求规律的作用。否则，如果货币也涨价的话，其他商品的价格即它们相对于货币的比值就不会上涨了。显然，货币作为特殊商品的情况并不适合它作为一般等价物的场合。也正因为如此，我们称薛暮桥的“物资本位”货币为特殊商品。当民生物资由于社会必要劳动时间发生变化而引起价值波动时，通过纸币的增发和回收来强行稳定其价格的做法，本身也破坏或妨碍了货币的一般等价物的职能。

Apart from speculative periods, in certain places such as prisons in the United States, commodity exchange exists but there is no general commodity; money there is merely a special commodity. This is because commodity exchange there is not based, or not entirely based, on the magnitude of value of the commodities, but rather on the difficulty of obtaining items. That place places greater emphasis on the use-value of the commodities themselves. Consequently, cigarettes and instant noodles, which can satisfy the needs of the majority, replace money and money tokens as the medium of exchange.

除了投机时期外，在某些地方如美国的监狱里，有商品交换但没有一般商品，货币在那里只是特殊商品。这是因为那里的商品交换不是依据或不完全依据商品的价值量，而是看搞到东西的难易程度，那个地方更看重商品的使用价值本身，所以香烟和方便面这种能够满足多数人需要的东西反而取代货币和货币符号成为了交易的媒介。

Some have proposed that "money is both a general commodity and a special commodity; it is the unity of opposites between the two. Marx said that money is 'a special commodity as a general commodity.' This statement conforms to dialectics, embodying the unity of opposites between the individual and the general." However, Marx's original words are: "In the exchange process, all commodities relate to that separated commodity which exists as commodity in general, relate to that commodity which exists as general labor time in a particular use-value. Therefore, they, as special commodities, are opposed to a special commodity which exists as a general commodity." From the context, Marx's original intention here is not that "money is a special commodity as a general commodity," but rather that some special commodity represents the general commodity or money. That is to say, Marx is merely indicating here that in commodity exchange, gold, silver, and the like are the carriers of the general commodity, not that money is both a general commodity and a special commodity. Here, due to the intervention of social relations, commodities find themselves in a situation different from that of fruits or houses. For fruits and houses, there is no such thing as a general fruit or a general house; in reality, only special fruits like apples and pears, and special houses like bungalows and multi-story buildings exist. However, among commodities, a general commodity does exist. This general commodity can only be embodied in some special commodity. Furthermore, Marx points out, "To the same degree as labor products are transformed into commodities, commodities are transformed into money." What the general commodity represents is merely the magnitude of value inherent in every commodity. Therefore, it is not the money commodity, or rather not only the money commodity, but every special commodity that embodies the unity of opposites between the individual and the general.

有人提出，“货币，它既是一般商品，又是特殊商品，是两者的对立统一。马克思说，货币是‘作为一般商品的特殊商品’。这句话是符合辩证法的，体现了个别和一般的对立统一。” 但是，马克思的原话是，“在交换过程中，一切商品都同作为商品一般的那个分离出来的商品发生关系，都同作为一般劳动时间在一种特殊使用价值中的存在的那种商品发生关系。因此，它们作为特殊商品同一个作为一般商品的特殊商品对立起来。” 从上下文来看，在这里，马克思的原意并不是“货币是作为一般商品的特殊商品”，而是某种特殊商品代表了一般商品或货币，也就是说，马克思在这里只是表明，商品交换中的金银等物是一般商品的特殊载体，而不是表明货币既是一般商品又是特殊商品。在这里，由于社会关系的介入，商品出现了与水果、房屋不同的处境。对于水果和房屋来说，是不存在一般水果和一般房屋的，现实中只存在特殊的水果如苹果、梨和特殊的房屋如平房和楼房。但是，在商品中却存在一般商品。这个一般商品只能以某个特殊商品为载体。另外，马克思指出，“随着劳动产品转化为商品，商品就在同一程度上转化为货币。” 一般商品所代表的不过是每个商品都具有的价值量，因此，不是货币商品，或者说不只是货币商品，而是每一个特殊商品都体现了个别和一般的对立统一。

Some have proposed that Marx "pointed out: 'Money, that is, the common form into which all commodities are transformed as exchange-values, the general commodity, must itself exist as a special commodity alongside other commodities.' Thus, it can be seen that in Marx's classical works, money becomes both a commodity like all other commodities and a commodity unlike all other commodities; it is both a 'general commodity' and a 'special commodity.'" First, it must be clarified that when money is a commodity like all other commodities, it is a special commodity; when money is a commodity unlike all other commodities, it is a general commodity. Second, Marx continues here by writing, "For commodities must be measured by money not only in people's minds, but also must be exchanged and converted with money in actual exchange." When commodities are measured by money, the result differs depending on whether it is gold, silver, or copper. This difference or particularity of gold, silver, and copper does not mean they are special commodities, but rather indicates they are special general commodities. And when the money commodity exchanges with other commodities, it is indeed a special commodity different from other commodities. However, the particularity of the money commodity is different from the particularity of other commodities. At this point, money is not a commodity like all other commodities, because all other commodities, after exchange, enter into different or special production or consumption due to their own particularity, whereas the money commodity is only used to exchange again with other commodities, remaining a general commodity. During exchange, the reason the money commodity is a special commodity is merely that commodity exchange is essentially the exchange of two different special commodities. If we describe exchange as buying and selling—that is, spending and obtaining a general commodity—then the money commodity is merely, or can be said to be merely, a special general commodity, and no longer a special commodity.

有人提出，马克思曾“指出：‘货币，即一切商品作为交换价值转化成共同形式，一般商品，其本身必须作为特殊商品与其他商品并存。’可见，在马克思的经典著作中，货币成为既是和其他一切商品一样的商品，又是和其他一切商品不一样的商品，它既是‘一般商品’，又是‘特殊商品’。” 首先要明确的是，当货币是和其他一切商品一样的商品时，它是特殊商品；当货币是和其他一切商品不一样的商品时，它是一般商品。其次，马克思是这里接着写道，“因为商品不仅在人的头脑中必须用货币来计量，而且在实际交换中必须与货币相交换和相兑换。” 当商品用货币来计量时，取决于金、银、铜的不同而有不同的结果。金、银、铜的这种不同或特殊不代表它们是特殊商品，而是表明它们是特殊的一般商品。而当货币商品与其他商品相交换时，它的确是不同于其他商品的一个特殊商品。只不过，货币商品的这个特殊性与其他商品的特殊性不同。货币这时不是和其他一切商品一样的商品，因为其他一切商品在交换后会由于自身的特殊性而进入不同的或特殊的生产或生活消费，而货币商品却只会用来再与其他商品相交换，仍然是一般商品。在交换时，货币商品之所以是特殊商品，仅仅是因为商品交换本质上是两种不同的特殊商品相交换。如果我们把交换说成买卖即花费和获取一般商品时，那么货币商品就只是或者可以说只是特殊的一般商品，而不再是特殊商品。

V. Special General Commodity

五、特殊的一般商品

The first two sentences under the title of Part 3, "3. Money," in Chapter 3 of Marx's *Capital*, "Money or the Circulation of Commodities," read: "The commodity which functions as a measure of value and, therefore, either in its own person or by a representative, as the medium of circulation, is money. Gold (or silver) is therefore money." The first sentence here is the definition of money personally given by Marx himself. It is completely different from the various definitions of money that academia has been entangled with. Any political economics textbook that does not take this definition as the definition of money needs to be reworked.

马克思在《资本论》第三章货币或商品流通的第3部分标题“3.货币”下的头两句话写的是：“作为价值尺度并因而以自身或通过代表作为流通手段来执行职能的商品，是货币。因此，金（或银）是货币。” 这里的第一句话，就是马克思本人亲自给出的货币的定义，它与学术界所纠缠的上述一些货币定义是完全不同的。凡是不以这个定义作为货币定义的政治经济学教科书都需要回炉重造。

In the definition he personally gave, Marx does not explicitly state whether money is a general commodity or a special commodity. However, from the definition itself, money is a commodity with a qualifier, and thus it is a special commodity. "Money is merely a form of commodity." Yet, this qualifier does not target a specific physical-natural attribute, nor does it specifically refer to a particular special commodity; it merely limits the social function performed by that commodity. It is precisely for this reason that Xue Muqiao's "material standard" money is possible. Clearly, such a commodity can only be a general commodity. The immediately following second sentence also indicates that not only one kind of commodity can become money; at least two different special commodities, gold and silver, can both become money. Therefore, from this definition itself, combined with our analysis above, we can consider that money is a special general commodity.

在他本人给出的定义中，马克思没有明确地说货币是一般商品还是特殊商品。但是，从这个定义本身来看，货币是一种加上了限定词的商品，从而它是一个特殊的商品。“货币不过是商品的一种形式。” 然而，这个限定词并不针对某个特殊的物理—自然属性，并不特指某个特殊商品，而只是限定了该商品所执行的社会性职能，正因为如此，薛暮桥的“物资本位”货币才是可能的。显然，这样的商品只能是一般商品。后面紧跟的第二句，也表明不是只有一种商品可以成为货币，至少金和银这两种不同的特殊商品都可以成为货币。因此，从这个定义本身，加上我们在前面的分析，我们可以认为，货币是特殊的一般商品。

Below we further analyze the little-known particularity of this general commodity.

下面我们进一步分析这个一般商品的不大为人所知的特殊性。

First, because both gold and silver can be money, and thus when they coexist, money "is in each of its two forms a one-sided form, and it is only the non-existence of both that actually gives it the character of money, so that if one appears as money, the other appears as a special commodity, and vice versa." [1]1 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Vol. 1, Chapter 1, Section 2. The translation follows the standard English edition. We know that the gold standard ultimately triumphed over the silver standard, the main reason being that the socially necessary labor time of gold is more stable than that of silver, and thus the value magnitude of gold is more stable. "Both in ancient and modern times, from the East to the West, silver became relatively cheaper with the progress of precious metal production, until California and Australia reversed this situation." [2]2 Karl Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 1. The translation follows the standard English edition. Another reason the gold standard triumphed over the silver standard was that, "with the growth of trade between America and Europe and Asia, the export of silver to Asia increased greatly. Most of the silver exported from Europe was compensated for by additional gold." [3]3 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. Thus, European coinage could only rely on gold coins. Later, China's silver was plundered by European, American, and Japanese countries through wars of aggression. In these aggressor countries, because the cost of plundering this silver was low, it naturally became cheaper relative to gold, thereby strengthening the gold standard there. With the further rise in the economic strength of the Western developed countries and the control over the world economy by the imperialism that developed there, their gold standard developed into a worldwide gold standard.

第一，因为金和银都可以是货币，从而当它们同时并存时，货币在金或银的“每一种实际形式上都是片面的，如果一个表现为货币，另一个便表现为特殊商品，反过来也是一样” 。我们知道，最后金本位战胜了银本位，其主要原因是金的社会必要劳动时间比银的更加稳定，从而金的价值量更加稳定。“无论是在古代还是在现代，从东方到西方，银随着贵金属生产的进步而变得相对便宜，直到加利福尼亚和澳大利亚把这种状况扭转过来。” 金本位战胜了银本位的另一个原因是，“随着美洲和欧洲对亚洲的贸易的增长，对亚洲的银的输出大大地增加了。从欧洲输出的银，大部分是用追加的金来补偿的。” 这样，欧洲的铸币就只能依赖金币。后来，中国的银又被欧美日等国通过侵略战争进行了掠夺。这些被掠夺的银在这些侵略者国家那里由于掠夺成本较低，自然相对于金就更便宜了。从而加强了那里的金本位。随着西方发达国家经济实力的进一步上升和那里发展起来的帝国主义对世界经济的控制，那里的金本位也就发展为世界性的金本位。

Second, the value of gold was also affected by plunder. "Conquest or other political upheavals, which in the ancient world had a significant impact on the value of metals, can now only have a partial and temporary effect." [4]4 Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 3, Section 2c. "The more gold Caesar plundered from the Gauls, the lower the selling price of gold became, and the harder it was for him to shake off his own debts and those of his supporters; he could not complete the buildings already under construction, etc." [5]5 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. Compared to other commodities whose value is mainly determined by the socially necessary labor time required for their production, this characteristic of the value of gold and silver being influenced by plunder also manifests the particularity of the money commodity.

第二，金的价值也曾受到掠夺的影响。“征服或其他政治事变在古代世界曾对金属价值发生过重大的影响，现在只能起局部的暂时的影响” 。“凯撒从高卢人那里掠夺的黄金越多，黄金的售价就越低，他就越难以摆脱自身的债务和他的拥护者的债务；他无法建成已经开工的建筑物等等。” 相对于其他商品的价值主要由生产它们的社会必要劳动时间决定，金银价值的这种受掠夺影响的性质也表现出货币商品的特殊性。

Third, the socially necessary labor time for gold has also undergone relatively large changes. Marx wrote: "Gold is actually the first metal discovered by man. On the one hand, nature itself gives gold a purely crystalline form, making it exist in isolation, not combining with other substances, or, as the alchemists say, in a virgin state; on the other hand, nature itself performs the technical operation in the great gold-washing places of rivers. Therefore, for man, whether panning for gold in rivers or digging for it in alluvial deposits, only the simplest labor is required; whereas the mining of silver presupposes mine labor and a relatively higher level of technical development. Hence, although silver is not absolutely rarer, its initial value was relatively greater than that of gold. Strabo asserted that in an Arab tribe, 10 pounds of gold were exchanged for 1 pound of iron, and 2 pounds of gold for 1 pound of silver. This assertion seems by no means incredible." [6]6 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. From this, it can be seen that the view held by some that the 'gold' (jin) referred to in China's Spring and Autumn period [7]7 The Spring and Autumn period (c. 770–476 BCE) was a period in Chinese history marked by the decline of the Zhou dynasty's central authority and the rise of competing feudal states. was not gold but brass is incorrect. Their reasoning is simply that gold was very expensive and scarce, and that such quantities could not have existed at that time. However, due to the low level of productive forces, the living conditions of the common people at that time were no better than those of the masses in Xue Muqiao's [8]8 Xue Muqiao (1904–2005) was a prominent Chinese Marxist economist and a key figure in the economic policy of the Chinese Communist Party, particularly during the revolutionary period and the early years of the People's Republic. liberated areas back then; they had little demand for gold. Gold was only useful for a very small number of nobles, and its uses were few. Therefore, relatively speaking, gold was not scarce. More importantly, at that time, gold was mainly picked up from riverbeds, and panning for it was not laborious, so its value was not high. It was only "with the widespread development of the earth's crust, the original sources of gold on the surface became increasingly exhausted," [9]9 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. and the production costs of mining gold increased, that gold became increasingly expensive. In modern times, although more efficient mining machinery became available with the improvement of productive forces, which could have reduced the necessary labor time for mining gold and thus lowered its value, the easily mined portions had already been largely exhausted. The gold mines being mined were buried deeper, and the difficulty of exploration and extraction increased, leading to little change in the socially necessary labor time for producing gold and in the value of gold. As for the large changes in the dollar price of gold, that has nothing to do with changes in the value of gold, but rather with the excessive issuance of the US dollar. The fact that the social productivity of producing gold does not increase correspondingly with the progress of production technology, unlike other commodities, can be considered a particularity of gold, yet this particularity makes it more convenient for gold to perform the function of the universal equivalent.

第三，金的社会必要劳动时间也曾发生过较大的变动。马克思写道：“金实际上是人所发现的第一种金属。一方面，自然界本身赋予金以纯粹结晶的形式，使它孤立存在，不与其他物质化合，或者如炼金术士所说的，处于处女状态；另一方面，自然界本身在河流的大淘金场中担任了技术操作。因此，对人说来，不论淘取河里的金或挖掘冲积层中的金，都只需要最简单的劳动；而银的开采却以矿山劳动和一般比较高度的技术发展为前提。因此，虽然银不那么绝对稀少，但是它最初的价值却相对地大于金的价值。斯特拉本曾断言，在一个阿拉伯部落里10磅金换1磅铁，2磅金换1磅银。看来这一断言决不是不可置信的。” 由此可以看出，有人以为中国古代春秋时期的金指的不是金子而是黄铜的看法是不正确的。其理由无非是黄金很昂贵、稀缺，那时不可能有那么多。但是，由于生产力水平低下，当时平民的处境并不比薛暮桥当年所在的解放区的民众好过，对黄金没什么需求，黄金只对极少数贵族有用，而且用途也不多。因此，相对来说黄金并不稀缺。更重要的是，那时黄金主要是到河沟里捡的，淘取也不费力，因而其价值并不高。只是“随着地壳到处被开发，原来的那些处于地表面的金矿来源日益枯竭” ，开采黄金的生产费用提高，黄金才日益昂贵起来。到了近代，虽然随着生产力提高有了更高效的开采器械，开采黄金的必要劳动时间本来可以减少，从而降低黄金的价值，但是，这时容易开采的部分已经开采得差不多了，开采的金矿埋藏得更深，勘探和开采的难度提高，导致生产金的社会必要劳动时间和金的价值变动不大。至于说，黄金的美元价格变化很大，那与黄金价值的变动无关，而与美元的滥发有关。生产黄金的社会生产力不像其他商品那样会随着生产技术的进步而相应提高，也算是黄金的一种特殊性，而这种特殊性却更加方便黄金履行一般等价物的职能。

Fourth, once gold and silver become money commodities, they cannot be used in other aspects. Therefore, only things that are not very useful in other respects can become money commodities. And gold and silver are precisely such things. "They are not only useless in the direct production process, but also as means of subsistence, as objects of consumption, they are equally non-essential. Therefore, no matter how much gold and silver are thrown into the social circulation process, it will not adversely affect the direct production process and the consumption process. Their own use value does not conflict with their economic function." [10]10 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. Hence, many fantasy novels that use spirit stones, which are useful in many aspects like cultivation, as the currency in the fantasy world, lack an understanding of the particularity of money. The authors of these novels think that the more useful something is, the more suitable it is as currency, thereby excluding gold and silver from money. Some scholars today are just like them. Someone once said in the author's presence that gold is useless, so there is no need to reserve gold. His premise was correct, but his conclusion was wrong. If someone had been alert enough to reserve gold starting from the 1997 Southeast Asian financial crisis, then by the time of the 2008 US financial crisis, they would have made many times the profit.

第四，金银一旦成为货币商品，它们就不能在其它方面加以利用。因此，只有在其它方面不大用得上的东西，才能成为货币商品。而金银正是这样的东西。“它们不仅在直接生产过程中没有什么用处，而且作为生活资料，作为消费对象，它们同样不是必需的。因此，不论把多少金银投入社会流通过程，也不致对直接生产过程和消费过程发生不利的影响。它们本身的使用价值并不与它们的经济职能发生冲突。” 因此，许多玄幻小说中拿在修炼等很多方面都用得上的灵石作为玄幻世界里的货币，是缺乏对货币的特殊性的理解的。这些小说的作者以为越是用得上的东西越适合作为货币，从而把金银从货币中排除出去了。今天的一些学者也和他们一样。曾有人当着笔者的面说，黄金没有什么用，所以不要储备黄金。他的前提正确，但结论错误。如果有人在1997年东南亚金融危机时开始警醒储备黄金，那么到2008年美国金融危机时，他会盈利好多倍。

Marx points out: "Gold performs the function of money, on the one hand, in those cases where it must appear in its bodily form (or silver body), and thus as the money commodity, that is, where it is not purely ideal as in its function as a measure of value, nor can it be represented by something else as in its function as a medium of circulation; on the other hand, in those cases where its function—whether performed by itself or by its representative—fixes it as the sole form of value, the only adequate existence of exchange value, opposed to all other commodities which are merely use values." [11]11 Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 3, Section 2c. That is to say, gold performs the function of money "in person" only in special circumstances, not in general circumstances. At this time, gold is special, it is the sole rather than the general form of value. Precisely because of this, gold as the money commodity can be reserved for future use, rather than being frequently put into use.

马克思指出：“金作为货币执行职能，一方面是在这样的场合：它必须以其金体（或银体）出现，因而作为货币商品出现，就是说，它不像在充当价值尺度时那样纯粹是观念的，也不像在充当流通手段时那样可以用别的东西来代表；另一方面是在这样的场合：它的职能——不论由它亲自执行，还是由它的代表执行——使它固定成为惟一的价值形态，成为交换价值的惟一适当的存在，而与其他一切仅仅作为使用价值的商品相对立。” 这就是说，金只是在特殊情况而不是一般情况下才“亲自”作为货币执行职能。这时，金是特殊的，是唯一的而不是一般的价值形态。正因为如此，金作为货币商品才可以储备起来待用，而不是频频投入使用。

Besides the particularities mentioned above, gold also has some characteristics in expressing the generality of general commodities.

除了上述特殊性外，金在表现一般商品的一般性方面也有一些特点。

If it can be said that without papermaking there would be no paper money, then "the production of gold does not require the development of productive forces. Nature has done most of the work." "In the process of preparing it, nature replaces human labor. Its initial discovery required neither science nor developed tools of production, only crude labor." [12]12 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. Precisely because of this, gold became something that could be possessed by different peoples and regions with different levels of productive forces, allowing people from these different peoples and regions to exchange their gold for products from people of other peoples and regions with different levels of productive forces. In this sense, gold is also a general product.

如果说，没有造纸术就没有纸币的话，那么，“金的生产不需要生产力的发展。大自然已经做了其中的大部分工作。” “在准备它的过程中，自然界代替了人工，它的最初发现，既不需要科学，也不需要发达的生产工具，只需要粗笨的劳动。” 正因为如此，金才会成为具有不同生产力水平的不同民族和地区的都能拥有的东西，使得这些不同民族和地区的人都可以拿自己的金去换其他民族和地区的人的具有不同生产力水平的产品。从这个意义上说，金也是一般产品。

Another characteristic of gold and silver that has generality is that "gold and silver can always be melted down and returned to a pure metallic state, and can likewise be transformed from this state into any other state. Therefore, gold and silver, unlike other commodities, are not bound to a particular use form they have acquired. Gold and silver can be transformed from bar form into coin form, etc., and can be changed back, without losing their value as raw material, without detriment to the process of production and consumption." [13]13 Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 2, Section 3. This is incomparable to Swarovski's glass (simulated crystal). Anyone can melt down gold and silver articles without losing much value; Swarovski's glass can only be melted down and reprocessed by the company's personnel to maintain its high price.

金银的另一个具有一般性的特点是，“金银总是能通过熔化重新化为纯金属状态，并且同样能够从这种状态化为任何别的状态，因此，金银不像其他商品那样，被束缚在它们所取得的一定的使用形式上。金银能够从条块形式转变为铸币等形式，并且可以变回来，而不丧失它们作为原料的价值，无损于生产和消费的过程。” 这是施华洛世奇的玻璃（仿水晶）不可比的。任何人都可以把金银制品熔化而不会损失多少价值，施华洛世奇的玻璃只有该公司的人熔化再加工才能继续维持高价。

Marx once wrote in *Capital*: “For simplicity’s sake we shall henceforth take every kind of labour-power directly as simple labour-power; this saves us the trouble of making the reduction.” [1]1 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Vol. 1, Chapter 1, Section 2. The translation follows the standard English edition. Hence, some people have suggested that Marx’s theory applies only to simple labour and not to complex labour. In fact, simple labour is like gold in its universality; after all, gold can be produced by simple labour, and the products of even the most complex labour must be sold for money—that is, exchanged for gold. “The various products of labour are, as values, equivalents in certain proportions; the more advanced kind of labour itself is estimated by simple labour. This becomes quite clear if we consider, for example, that gold in California is the product of simple labour. Moreover, any kind of labour is paid for in gold. The qualitative distinction is thus eliminated; the product of a more advanced kind of labour is actually reduced to a definite quantity of simple labour. Hence, these calculations concerning different kinds of labour are here entirely irrelevant; they in no way impair the principle.” [2]2 Karl Marx, *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, Chapter 1. The translation follows the standard English edition. In other words, because gold is a universal commodity, other special commodities, in their exchange with gold—or even merely in their comparison with gold—reduce themselves to a definite quantity of the universal commodity.

马克思在《资本论》中曾经写道：“为了简便起见，我们以后把各种劳动力直接当作简单劳动力，这样就省去了简化的麻烦。” 于是，有人就提出马克思的理论只对简单劳动适用，对复杂劳动就不适用。其实，简单劳动就像黄金一样具有一般性，毕竟黄金是简单劳动就可以生产出来的，再复杂的劳动，其产品也是要卖钱的，也就是说要换成黄金的。“各种劳动的产品作为价值在一定比例上是等价物；较高级劳动本身是用简单劳动来估价的。只要想一想，比如说加利福尼亚的黄金便是简单劳动的产品，那么这就很清楚了。况且任何一种劳动都是用黄金支付的。质的区别这样一来就消除了，一种较高级劳动的产品实际上化为一定量的简单劳动。可见，对不同质的劳动所作的这些计算，在这里是完全无关紧要的，这丝毫也不损害原理。” 换句话说，因为黄金是一般商品，其他特殊商品在与黄金的交换中甚至只是在与黄金的比较中也把自己化为一定量的一般商品。

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