第39页 / 共88页

But does wage-labour create any property for the labourer? Not a

bit. It creates capital, i.e., that kind of property which

exploits wage-labour, and which cannot increase except upon

condition of begetting a new supply of wage-labour for fresh

exploitation. Property, in its present form, is based on the

antagonism of capital and wage-labour. Let us examine both sides

of this antagonism.

To be a capitalist, is to have not only a purely personal, but a

social status in production. Capital is a collective product, and

only by the united action of many members, nay, in the last

resort, only by the united action of all members of society, can

it be set in motion.

Capital is, therefore, not a personal, it is a social power.

When, therefore, capital is converted into common property, into

the property of all members of society, personal property is not

thereby transformed into social property. It is only the social

character of the property that is changed. It loses its

class-character.