Rent and Profit
In Marx we distinguish two types of land rent. The first is the differential land
rent while the second is the absolute land rent. The first, in turn, is split into
differential rent I and differential rent II. We begin to see the first type of
differential rent. It depends on investing the same capital, the same amount of
money, on land with different productivity. The second type of differential rent,
on the other hand, depends on investing different capitals, different amounts
of money, on land with similar productivity. Thus, in the first case the surplus
value comes from the productivity of the best land while in the second case it
comes from the productivity of the worst. In turn, absolute ground rent can
come from two factors. On the one hand, from the monopoly on the ground.
The second, instead, depends on the organic composition of capital in the
agricultural sector which, being lower compared to the industrial, allows a
greater production of surplus value and, consequently, a greater value
(greater working time) of the products and of the agricultural production
compared to their production prices determinened by the social necessary
labour time which, implying an higher organic composition of capital
compared to agricultural production, would capture a greater share of social
working time, i.e., of suprlus value by exchanging less labour time coagulated
in industrial production.
The same process takes place within industrial production. The profit we can
thus distinguish it in absolute and relative. The relative, in turn, can be
divided into two parts. Relative profit I arises when the same amount of
capital is invested in productions with different degrees of productivity. The
relative profit II arises when different amounts of capital are invested in
production with similar degrees of development (productivity). Thus, in the
first case, the surplus profit comes from the productivity of the highest
industry while in the second case it comes from the productivity of the most
backward industry. Finally, absolute profit depends, on the one hand, on the
private ownership of the means of production (including means of transport,
communication, etc.) and, on the other, from the different organic composition
of capital in the industrial sector which, being higher than another industrial
