likewise seen (refer to §14. “The Struggle between large-scale and small-scale Production”) that the development of capitalism involves the decay of small-scale and medium-scale production; that the small and medium producers and traders are ruined, not to speak of the independent artisans; we have seen that the great capitalist gobbles them all up. The capital which was previously owned by the small and medium capitalists slips from their grasp, and by various routes finds its way into the maw of the big sharks. The capital owned by the great capitalists is consequently increased by the amount which they have wrested from the lesser capitalists. There is now an accumulation of capital in the hands of one individual, an accumulation of what had previously been distributed among various hands. Now, after the ruin of the lesser capitalists, their capital has become the spoil of the victors. This accumulation of capital which had previously been dispersed is spoken of as the centralisation of capital.
Table of Contents
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAPITALISTIC SOCIAL ORDER
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