Reproduction, Capitalist, the process of constantly reproducing material wealth, i. e., the aggregate social product, labour power and capitalist relations of production. Simple reproduction is a starting point, a part of expanded reproduction (see Reproduction). The process of reproduction is expressed in material terms in the reproduction of the aggregate social product and the movement of the aggregate social capital, which includes production, distribution, exchange and consumption. Production and consumption are the ultimate links of this chain and are mutually dependent. "There is no consumption without production, and no production without consumption.... It is only consumption that consummates the process of production, since consumption completes the product as a product by destroying it, by consuming its independent concrete form" (K. Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, p. 198). The normal process of reproduction presupposes that output corresponds to the needs of society both in quality and quantity. Under capitalism, however, the proportions of social production are not regulated consciously: all capitalist producers are concerned only with the market. In this situation, realisation of the output becomes an extremely complicated problem. As he discovered the basic proportions of reproduction of the aggregate social product, Marx demonstrated the conditions under which simple and expanded capitalist reproduction occurs. To discover the conditions under which the aggregate social product can be realised, we must know its structure in value and in natural material form. In value, the aggregate social product consists of c + v + m ( 311 constant capital + variable capital + surplus value). In its natural material form, it includes the means of production and the articles of consumption. All social production is correspondingly divided into two departments: Department I—- production of the means of production ( producer goods), and Department II—- production of articles of consumption ( consumer goods). The output of these two departments totalised every year comprises the annual social product. In simple reproduction the output of Department I is acquired by capitalists in accordance with its natural form to replace (renew) worn-out equipment, and consumed raw materials and fuel. The output of Department II can only serve, in conformity with its natural form, for personal consumption by workers and capitalists. That is to say, the output of Department I replaces the constant capital which has been expended both in Department I and Department II, while the output of Department II is acquired by workers and capitalists from both departments to ihe magnitude of (v + m), i.e., the amount of the national income. There is an exchange between the two departments: the means of production from Department I go to Department II in exchange for articles of consumption of Department II bought by the workers and capitalists of Department I. The formula I (v + m) =11 c is the condition for realising the aggregate social product. The means of production should be produced in the quantity required to replace them in both departments:
I (c+v + m) = I c + II c. Articles of consumption should be produced in the quantity that can be acquired by workers and capitalists in both departments:
II (c + v + m) = I (v + m) + II (v + m). Compliance with these conditions ensures the balanced development of all social production and the complete realisation of all output, given that the scale of social production is constant. Where capitalist expanded reproduction differs from capitalist simple reproduction is that part of the surplus value is turned into capital, i. e., it is added to the functioning capital and increases the volume of production, which brings about accumulation of capital. One part of the accumulated surplus value is used to buy more producer goods, while the other is used to buy more labour power. The proportion according to which the accumulated surplus value increases c + v (constant and variable capital) is determined by the level of the average social organic composition of capital. Realisation of the aggregate social product also continues to be a key issue in capitalist expanded reproduction. In expanded reproduction, the proportions are characterised by the following relationships: I (v + m) must exceed II c by the amount of the additional means of production required for accumulation in Department I and Department II; the output of Department I must be greater than the replacement fund, i.e., .’ (c—: -r in) ) I c r il c by the amount of c accumulated in Departments I and II, and the entire national income must be greater by the same amount than the output of Department 11: 1 <v-rm> ’ T II (v+m) ) Ii (c+v-rm), because part of the national income is accumulated, and not consumed. The maintenance of these proportions is indispensable for the normal process of expanded reproduction; under capitalism, however, the balance is constantly upset. Contradictions, and the basic contradiction of capitalism in the first instance, give rise to disproportions in the development of individual industries and cause economic crises of overproduction, under whose impact capitalist reproduction acquires a cyclic character (see Cycle, Capitalist). It is only possible to constantly maintain the balance in social reproduction if the economy develops according to plan, and that can happen under socialism alone.