The diagram M-C-M shows how capitalists increase and maintain wealth. Here, “M” stands for money, “C” for commodities, and “M’” for a larger amount of money than what was originally invested. This process starts with a capitalist using money (M) to buy commodities (C), like materials or labor. Then, they use those commodities to produce goods or services. When they sell these goods or services, they get more money back, which is M’ (the original money plus extra, known as surplus value).

Surplus value is created through labor power—the workers’ ability to work. Capitalists pay workers for their labor, but the workers produce more value than they receive in wages. This extra value, or surplus labor, is what capitalists keep, transforming it into profit.

In other words, money becomes capital when it is used to buy labor and materials that produce goods or services for profit. This cycle, M-C-M, is how capitalists continuously grow wealth, by investing in production, extracting surplus value from workers, and generating more money than they started with. This process keeps the capitalist class wealthy, as they constantly reinvest to make even more.

Times have changed , before the advent of capitalism artisan and peasants would have small-scale commodity production meaning C-M-C . The same value that the (C) has in the beginning is the same value it has at the end.At this time the surplus value wasn’t in the picture;it was more about exchanging money for a personal need like food or clothes and vise-versa. 

The difference between Small-scale commodity production (C-M-C) and buying in order to sell(M-C-M’) is the( M’ ) because the value grows meaning the same money that was invested or profit in the beginning has grown.In the other hand (C-M-C) the value stays the same from where it starts .

Capitalists remain wealthy because they use what is called “we need money to make money” meaning that with a percentage of their surplus value they use it for another investment as buying to sell to keep the money in circulation.(M-C-M’) is mentioned as the general formula of capital because the money that is being used for the commodity or produce is the same money you get after it’s sold but at a bigger rate meaning you get way more money of what you spent to buy the commodity.

Labor power is basically the mental and physical capability to be a human and when you get a job as a working-class you’re selling your labor power for a wage or salary.Capitalist use the first M to buy the labor power of many workers and also to buy the means of production to help the workers function. C is the result that workers give after selling their labor power in exchange for a wage or salary . M’ or M plus is the final profit that is privately owned by the capitalist .

Capitalism emphasizes workers exploitation and little to no compassion because if they were to be reasonable towards their workers capitalist wouldn’t have a surplus value or no money left over due to the fact that capitalist also need to pay means of production like materials , machines ,or as simple as paying rent for the location.

In conclusion, capitalists maintain and increase their wealth by exploiting their workers . Increasing their relative surplus value is what keeps capitalists in business.

1. As we learned thus far, the capitalist class consists of people who own wealth, as well as the means of production in American society. An important question in understanding how this class works is to ask: how does a capitalist remain wealthy? The answer to this question depends largely on understanding the diagram M-C-M’. So, let’s practice by explaining what happens in this diagram in our own words (but basing our ideas on Reading 5.1). Respond to the following question: Explain M-C-M’ to show how capitalists maintain and increase their wealth.

In the article the M-C-M’ diagram explains how capitalists build their wealth. It starts with M, which stands for money. Capitalists use this money to buy C, or commodities, like labor and materials. Then, workers put in their effort to create finished products from those materials. When these products are sold, capitalists end up with M’, which is more money than they started with. This extra money, known as surplus value, is really important because it allows capitalists to reinvest, pay their workers, and grow their businesses. So, the whole process of turning money into goods and then back into even more money shows how capitalists keep getting richer over time..

The M-C-M’ diagram outlines a key process in capitalism where capitalists maintain and grow their wealth. Starting with money (M) accumulated from investments or profits, they purchase commodities (C) like raw materials or labor to initiate production. After selling these commodities, they aim to generate more money (M’) than they initially invested, representing profit. This cycle illustrates the capitalist goal of profit maximization. By reinvesting profits, capitalists can purchase more commodities, expand production, and accumulate wealth over time. The process involves converting money into commodities, adding value through labor, and realizing profits upon sale. This highlights how capitalists exploit surplus value from workers to enhance their wealth and solidify their economic position. Overall, the M-C-M’ process emphasizes the relationship between labor, value creation, and wealth accumulation in capitalist economies.

M(money) The moment for capitalists to shine and buy workers to do their jobs and get money from them. 

C(Commodities) Is determined by the amount of social labor inherent in it, and its price is on monetary expression of the value. Exchanges cannot change the value of commodities. The building. Machines and equipment, raw materials, and labor power are purchased by the capitalist for the sum M,ect

M(Money) Capitalists buy the labor power of many works to sell the products they made for a higher value. The more labor work you do the less money you get. More time and more value and money for the capitalist. 

The M-C-M’ diagram represents the wealthy class of the society compared to the working class people who fall under the C-M-C diagram. Understanding both of these diagrams is essential to have better knowledge about the wealth disparity and how certain people are able to maintain and grow their wealth. As mentioned, the C-M-C diagram represents the working class. According to this, people go to work to produce commodities (C) in exchange for money (M) and, later on, use that money to buy commodities (C) for their consumption. Here, the value of both (C) is the same. On the other hand, the M-C-M’ diagram says that a capitalist (wealthy class) invests an initial amount of money (M) into producing commodities (C). However, these commodities are not for personal consumption but to be used in a production process to create new commodities that can later be sold for more money (M’). The production process includes some critical transformations where the workers utilize the initial commodities and their labor power to create the final new commodity. According to Marx, this labor power from the worker is very important as it is the only commodity that, when applied, increases the value of what we already have. Once the production process is completed, the capitalist sells the final commodity in the market. By doing so, they receive a sum of money (M’) greater than their initial investment (M). Here, the difference between M’ and M is called the “surplus value,” which is the most critical thing to increase wealth. As the cycle continues, the capitalist tries to maximize their growth by increasing production. However, it is also important to keep in mind that the number of hours of necessary labor is invariable at any given time. So, they try to increase labor intensity by requiring the workers to speed up and oversee more machinery. This way, by spending the same amount on the labor force, the capitalist can increase productivity from the workers. This continuous reinvestment and expansion allow a capitalist to not only maintain his wealth but also increase it over time.

In the M-C-M cycle of capital accumulation, a capitalist has money M, buys commodities, which include means of production and labor power to produce other commodities, and then sells them for money M’, which is more than the initial amount of money they started with. This cycle shows how Money became capitalists and constantly recycled profits back into production to extract even more surplus from labor. The materials from Parenti and Jalee attached below emphasize that this cycle is the heart of the capitalist wealth creation process.

1. As we learned thus far, the capitalist class consists of people who own wealth, as well as the means of production in American society. An important question in understanding how this class works is to ask: how does a capitalist remain wealthy? The answer to this question depends largely on understanding the diagram M-C-M’. So, let’s practice by explaining what happens in this diagram in our own words (but basing our ideas on Reading 5.1). Respond to the following question: Explain M-C-M’ to show how capitalists maintain and increase their wealth. (hint: your answer should weave a summary that includes what you reviewed in the self-assessment exercise question 1-7). M-C-M’ stands for Money-Commodity-Money (The third money, which is denoted by M’, specifically refers to the money at the end of this transaction). What this means is that capitalists end up using the money that they have accumulated in order to buy commodities that they will then resell at a higher price in order to gain a profit. This explains how capitalists end up making and maintaining their wealth, since they end up using their money in order buy both the labor power of workers and the means of production to enable their labor power to function (which in turn transforms their money into productive capital since they ended up starting a business for-profit) and through this they end up making new commodities which they can sell back at a higher value than the materials that they used to make that commodity. On top of this, since they ended up only buying the labor power of their workers, anything that is earned through selling the commodities all goes to the capitalist. Further more, capitalists typically end up earning a surplus value from the labor power that they have to maintain, since there’s more money earned from amount of commodities that are being created from the labor of their workers than there is money being lost from having to maintain the worker’s labor power (through paying their wages). 

Discussion 5.2

M-C-M explains how capitalist keep and increase their wealth, M is for money because they start with an amount of money. C is for commodity because they use the money they have to purchase materials, farms, factories and labor workers in order to produce goods and services. M is for more money because once the goods and services are selling the capitalist receives more money than the money they started with. The M-C-M shows how capitalist increase money such as investing, production and selling their goods and services to receive more money.

The diagram M-C-M’ is essential in understanding how the capitalist class remains wealthy. M-
C-M’ stands for Money-Commodity-More Money, representing the process capitalists use to
maintain and increase their wealth. To break it down:

1. M (Money): This is the starting point, where the capitalist invests money to generate
   more wealth. The initial money is used to purchase commodities, including
   raw materials and labor power.
2. C (Commodity): The capitalist uses the money to buy commodities—
   materials to produce goods or labor to perform tasks. The key here is that the
   commodities are bought to turn them into something more valuable, such as finished
   products.
3. M’ (More Money): Once the commodities are produced or transformed into goods, the
   capitalist sells them for a higher price than the initial investment. This creates surplus
   value, the extra profit that exceeds production costs (including labor
   wages). The process ends with M’, representing an increase in wealth for the
   capitalist.

Capitalists maintain their wealth by repeating this cycle, ensuring that the value of
what they sell is always higher than what they pay for the commodities and labor. Creating surplus value is central to this process, allowing capitalists to generate profit and expand
their wealth over time. The more efficiently this cycle is repeated, the more wealth the capitalist
class accumulate