Notes on James Mill (1844)

53.8 ‘Ownership of the product’ (Besitz des Produktes): should be ‘possession of the product’. (See note on 20.3)

54.3 ‘Has directly with me’ (eine unmittelbare Beziehung auf mich hat): should be ‘has an immediate connection with me’. (See note on 53.4)

54.6 ‘Stands in a relation of enjoyment’ (hat … eine Beziehung des Genusses): should be ‘has a connection of enjoyment’.

54.7 ‘Our respective products’ (unsere wechselseitigen Produktionen): should be ‘our mutual productions’. (But see note on 21.7)

54.8 ‘The mediating process’ (die vermittelnde Bewegung): should be ‘the mediating movement’.

54.9 ‘Of your own nature’ (deines eignen Wesens): should be ‘of your own essence’.

54.10 ‘For it is not man’s nature that forms the link between the products we make for one another’ (Denn nicht das menschliche Wesen ist das Band unserer Produktionen füreinander): should be ‘For it is not the human essence that is the bond between our productions for each other.’

54.12 ‘The character of the relation’ (den Charakter). The words ‘of the relation’ have been added by the CW translators; however Marx may have missed the corresponding German words out by mistake in the first place.

54.13 ‘And therefore to the product of the other’ (also zu der Produktion des andern): should be ‘and therefore to the production of the other’. (But see note on 21.7)

54.14, 54.15 ‘Selfish need’ (Eigennutz): should be ‘self-interest’.

55.1 ‘A human relation’ (eine menschliche Beziehung): should be ‘a human connection’, so as to preserve the translations of Beziehung above.

55.4 ‘Your human nature’ (dein menschliches … Wesen): should be ‘your human essence’.

55.4 ‘Is bound to stand in intimate relation’ (notwendig in innerlicher Beziehung stehendes): should be ‘necessarily stands in an inner connection’.

55.6 ‘Your possession of it’ (dein Eigentum an dieser Produktion): should be ‘your property in this production’

55.6 ‘Specific character’ (Eigentümlichkeit): should be ‘peculiarity’. See paragraph 21 for a parallel passage.

56.10 ‘Selfish’ (eigennützige): should be ‘self-interested’.

56.12 ‘The power’ (Das Maß der Macht): should be ‘the amount of power’.

57.3 ‘The respective objects’ (den wechselseitigen Gegenständen): should be ‘the mutual objects’.

57.5 ‘Of our respective products’ (der wechselseitigen Produktion): should be ‘of mutual production’.

57.7 ‘Our respective products, therefore, are the means, the mediator, the instrument, the acknowledged power of our mutual needs’ (Unser wechselseitiges Produkt ist also das Mittel, die Vermittelung, das Instrument, die anerkannte Macht unsrer wechselseitigen Bedürfnisse auf­einander): should be ‘Our mutual product, therefore, is the means, the mediation, the instrument, the recognised power of our mutual needs towards each other.’

57.17 ‘We mutually regard’ (schauen wir wechselseitig … an): better to say ‘we mutually see’ or ‘we mutually experience’. (See note on 2.11 above).

57.21 ‘Excludes other men’ (den andren Menschen ausschließt): should be ‘excludes the other man’.

58.4 ‘Recognised and felt’ (gewußt, empfunden): should be ‘known and felt’.

58.7 ‘Estranged from man’s essential nature’ (wechselseitig dem menschlichen Wesen entfremdet): should be ‘mutually estranged from the human essence’.

58.9 ‘The estranged language of material values seems to be the well-justified assertion of human dignity that is self-confident and conscious of itself’ (die entfremdete Sprache der sachlichen Werte als die gerechtfertigte, selbstvertrauende und sichselbstanerkennende menschliche Würde erscheint): it would be better to say ‘The estranged language of thinglike values appears as the well-justified, self-confident and self-recognising [language of] human dignity’. (See note on 27.8)

59.4 ‘Stand in’ (in … giltst): should be ‘count as in’.

59.5 ‘Each of us actually behaves in the way he is regarded by the other’ (jeder von uns tut wirklich das, als was der andre ihn anschaut): better to say ‘each of us actually does, as the other sees him’.

59.12 ‘Menial services’ (Knechtsdienste): better to say ‘a servant’s services’. (See note on 17.26)

59.13 ‘Our mutual thraldom’ (diese wechselseitige Knechtschaft): should be ‘this mutual servitude’.

59.14 ‘Is now seen to be in reality’ (nun auch wirklich als … erscheint): better to say ‘now appears also in actuality as’.

61.3 ‘Specific character’ (Eigentümlichkeit): should be ‘peculiarity’.

61.4 ‘An individual manifestation of my life’ (eine individuelle Lebensäußerung): better to say ‘an individual life-expression’.

61.6 ‘To be objective’ (als gegenständliche): should be ‘as objective’.

61.7 ‘A power’ (erhabene Macht): should be ‘having a power’.

61.7 ‘I would have the direct enjoyment’ (hatte ich unmittelbar den Genuß): should be ‘I would immediately have the enjoyment’. (See note on 53.4)

61.9 ‘Having objectified man’s essential nature’ (das menschliche Wesen vergegenständlicht): should be ‘having objectified the human essence’.

61.11 ‘Of another man’s essential nature’ (eines andren menschlichen Wesens): should probably be ‘of another human essence’ or ‘of another human being’.

61.12 ‘Recognised’ (gewußt): should be ‘known’.

61.13 ‘Your own essential nature’ (deines eignen Wesens): should be ‘your own essence’.

61.16 ‘Directly’ (unmittelbar): should be ‘immediately’. (See note on 53.4)

61.17 ‘My true nature, my human nature, my communal nature’ (mein wahres Wesen, mein menschliches, mein Gemeinwesen): should be ‘my true essence, my human essence, my community’.

62.1 ‘Our essential nature’ (unser Wesen): should be ‘our essence’.

65.1 ‘A free manifestation of life’ (freie Lebensäußerung): better to say ‘a free expression of life ‘. However this still fails to capture the contrast between Lebensäußerung and Lebensentäußerung on the next line.

65.3 ‘My work is not my life’ (Mein Arbeiten ist nicht Leben): should be ‘My work is not life’.

66.1 ‘The specific nature’ (die Eigentümlichkeit): should be ‘the peculiarity’.

66.2 ‘Since the latter would be an affirmation of my individual life’ (weil mein individuelles Leben): better to say ‘since my individual life would be’.

66.7 ‘Fortuitous need’ (zufällige Not): better to say ‘contingent necessity’.

67.4 ‘Obvious’ (angeschaute): be better to say ‘experienced’.

With thanks to Bob Cannon, Meade McCloughan and especially Guido Schulz.

Andrew Chitty
21 July 2011