Narx (mahsulotning pul shaklidagi ayirboshlash qiymati) kapitalistlar "narx mexanizmi" deb ataydigan vosita orqali mahsulot va xizmatlarni ishlab chiqarish, iste'mol qilish va taqsimlash jarayonida muhim rol o'ynaydi. Bu kapitalizmning yana bir asosiy tamoyilidir. Adam Smit narx mexanizmiga birinchi bo'lib murojaat qilgan va uni "narx mexanizmining ko'rinmas qo'li" deb yozgan34. U raqobatli bozorda bozorning ko'rinmas yoki yashirin qo'li jamiyat manfaatlariga mos ravishda resurslarni taqsimlash uchun shaxsiy manfaatni ko'zlash orqali qanday ishlashini tasvirlagan. Bu erkin bozor iqtisodchilarining, ya'ni erkin bozor iqtisodiyotining afzalliklariga, davlat aralashuvi minimal bo'lishi kerakligiga ishonadiganlarning asosiy qarashi bo'lib qolmoqda. Bu kapitalizmning siyosiy iqtisodining mohiyatidir.

The price (the monetary exchange value of a product) plays an important role in the process of production, consumption, and distribution of products and services through what capitalists call “the price mechanism.” This is another fundamental principle of capitalism. Adam Smith was the first to refer to the price mechanism when he wrote of the “invisible hand of the price mechanism”34. He described how the invisible or hidden hand of the market operates in a competitive market through the pursuit of self-interest to allocate resources in society’s best interest. This remains the central view of all free-market economists, i.e., those who believe in the virtues of a free-market economy with minimal government intervention. This is the essence of the political economics of capitalism.

Narx mexanizmi qaysi ishlab chiqaruvchilar ishlab chiqarish poygasiga kirishi va qaysilari chetda qolishini hal qiladi. Xuddi shunday, u qaysi iste'molchilar o'z ehtiyojlarini qondirishi va qaysilari buni qila olmasligini belgilaydi. Tovarni ishlab chiqarish xarajati uning bozorga taklifini boshqaradigan asosiy omildir. Tovarning foydaliligi esa mahsulotga bozor talabini boshqaradigan asosiy omildir. Ikkala qiymat ham narx orqali o'lchanadi. Shunday qilib, taklif va talab tushunchasi kapitalizm iqtisodini o'rganishda asosiy poydevorga aylanadi. Taklif bozor taklifini, talab esa bozor talabini anglatadi. Ham taklif, ham talab "narx" bilan chambarchas bog'liq; shu sababli narx mexanizmi kapitalizm iqtisodiyotining asosidir. Talab narxning o'zgarishiga teskari mutanosib ravishda o'zgaradi. Narx oshsa, talab kamayadi; narx pasaysa, talab ortadi. Bu taklifga zid bo'lib, u narxga to'g'ri mutanosib ravishda o'zgaradi. Taklif darajasi narx oshishi bilan ortadi va narx pasayishi bilan kamayadi. Ikkala holatda ham narx taklif va talabga eng katta ta'sir ko'rsatadi; natijada u ishlab chiqarish va iste'molga ham eng katta ta'sir ko'rsatadi.

The price mechanism decides which of the producers will enter the production race and which will be excluded. In the same manner, it decides which of the consumers will satisfy their needs and which consumers will not be able to do so. The production cost of a commodity is the principal factor which controls its supply to the market. The benefit of the commodity is the principal factor which controls the market demand for the product. Both values are measured by the price. The supply and demand concept thus becomes a cornerstone in the study of capitalism. Supply refers to the supply of the market, and demand refers to the demand of the market. Both supply and demand are tightly coupled with “price”; hence, the price mechanism is fundamental to the economy of capitalism. Demand changes inversely proportional to the change in price. If price increases, then demand decreases; if price decreases, then demand increases. This is contrary to supply which changes directly proportional to the price. The level of supply increases as the price increases and it drops as price decreases. In both cases, price has the greatest effect on supply and demand; consequently, it has the greatest effect on production and consumption.

Kapitalizm sharoitida narx mexanizmi jamiyatdagi tovarlar va xizmatlarni shaxslar o'rtasida taqsimlashda ham muhim rol o'ynaydi. "Narx mexanizmi"ga ko'ra, jamiyatda tovarlar va xizmatlarni taqsimlashning ideal usuli ishlab chiqarishning eng yuqori darajasini ta'minlaydigan, shuningdek ishlab chiqarish mehnatiga eng yuqori darajadagi haqni ta'minlaydigan usuldir. Ishlab chiqarish (taklif) va iste'mol (talab) o'rtasidagi bu munosabat buzilganda, tizimda nomutanosiblik yuzaga keladi; bu kapitalistik siyosiy iqtisodning yashirin nuqsoni bo'lishi mumkin.

The price mechanism under capitalism plays a major role as well in the distribution of commodities and services amongst individuals in a society. According to the “price mechanism,” the ideal method to distribute commodities and services in a society is that which guarantees the highest possible level of production, which also guarantees the highest level of compensation for the efforts of production. When this relationship between production (supply) and consumption (demand) is violated, an imbalance occurs in the system; this could be a dormant fault of the capitalist political economy.

Kapitalizm narx mexanizmi iqtisodiy muvozanatni avtomatik ravishda vujudga keltiradi, deb da'vo qiladi. U jamiyatga tegishli resurslarni turli iqtisodiy faoliyatlar o'rtasida qanday taqsimlashni iste'molchilarning o'zlari hal qilish imkoniyatini beradi. Bu iste'molchilar ba'zi tovarlarni talab qilib, boshqalaridan yuz o'girganda amalga oshadi. Iste'molchilar o'z daromadlarini (ular o'z mollari yoki mehnatlarini almashtirish orqali olgan) ehtiyoj yoki xohishlari bo'lgan narsalarni sotib olishga sarflaydilar. Shunday qilib, sharobni yoqtirmaydigan iste'molchi uni sotib olishdan o'zini tiyadi va daromadini boshqa narsalarga sarflaydi. Agar sharobni yoqtirmaydigan iste'molchilar soni ko'paysa yoki barcha iste'molchilar uni yoqtirmay qo'ysa, talabning kamayishi tufayli sharob ishlab chiqarish foydasiz bo'lib qoladi. Shunday qilib, sharob ishlab chiqarish tabiiy yo'l bilan to'xtaydi. Xuddi shu qoida boshqa tovar va xizmatlarga ham tegishlidir. Nimani sotib olish va nimani qoldirishni tanlash orqali iste'molchilar ishlab chiqarishning darajasi va turini belgilaydilar.

Capitalism claims that the price mechanism produces economic equilibrium automatically. It gives the consumers the choice to decide for themselves the distribution of the resources owned by the society over the various economic activities. This is accomplished when the consumers demand some commodities and turn away from others. The consumers spend their income (which they obtained by means of exchanging their goods or efforts) by buying what they need or what they desire. Thus, the consumer who dislikes wine will abstain from buying it and spends his income on other things. If the number of consumers who dislike wine increases, or if all consumers come to dislike it, then the production of wine becomes unprofitable due to decrease in the demand. Thus, production of wine would stop in a natural way. The same rule applies to other commodities and services. By deciding what to buy and what to leave, the consumers define the level and kind of production.

Narx mexanizmi kapitalizmning asosiy ustunlaridan biri hisoblanadi; u ishlab chiqarish uchun rag'bat, taqsimotni tartibga soluvchi omil va ishlab chiqaruvchi bilan iste'molchi o'rtasidagi bog'lovchi halqa deb qaraladi; mohiyatan, u ishlab chiqarish va iste'mol o'rtasida muvozanatga erishish vositasidir.

The price mechanism is one of the main pillars of capitalism; it is considered to be the incentive for production, the regulator of distribution, and the link between the producer and the consumer; in essence it is the means for achieving equilibrium between production and consumption.

Inson har qanday samarali harakat yoki qurbonlikni amalga oshirishining asosiy sababi uning moddiy mukofoti ekani ta'kidlanadi. Kapitalizm insonning ma'naviy yoki axloqiy sabab bilan kuch sarflash imkoniyatini istisno qiladi. Axloqiy sabab, agar umuman mavjud bo'lsa, moddiy kompensatsiyaga bog'lab qo'yiladi (masalan, soliq imtiyozlarini eslang).

It is maintained that the principal motive for man to undertake any productive effort or sacrifice is his material reward. Capitalism excludes the possibility that man expends effort for a moral or spiritual motive. The moral motive, if it exists at all, is attributed to a materialist compensation (think of tax incentives).

Inson moddiy ehtiyojlari va istaklarini qondirish uchun faqat shu maqsadda kuch-g'ayrat sarflaydi. Bu qondirish ikki yo'l bilan amalga oshadi: yo o'zi bevosita ishlab chiqargan tovarlarni iste'mol qilish orqali, yo boshqalar ishlab chiqargan tovar va xizmatlarni olishga imkon beradigan pul mukofotini olish orqali. Inson ko'pchilik, agar hammasi bo'lmasa, ehtiyojlarini boshqalar bilan mehnati almashinuvi orqali qondirgani uchun, ehtiyojlarni qondirish mehnati uchun pul mukofotini olishga qaratiladi. Bu pul mukofoti unga tovar va xizmatlarni olish imkonini beradi va shunga ko'ra inson faqat o'zi ishlab chiqargan tovarlarga butunlay e'tibor qaratishi shart emas. Shuning uchun pul mukofoti, ya'ni narx, insonni ishlab chiqarishga undovchi motivdir. Shu tarzda "narx" ishlab chiqarish uchun rag'bat sifatida qaraladi.

Man expends his efforts to satisfy his materialistic needs and wishes only. This satisfaction is either through the consumption of commodities which he produces directly or through receiving a monetary reward that enables him to obtain the commodities and services produced by others. Since man depends in satisfying most of his needs, if not all of them, on exchanging his efforts with others, then the satisfaction of needs is focused on obtaining a monetary reward for his efforts. This monetary reward allows him to obtain commodities and services, and accordingly man does not have to focus entirely on the commodities which he produces. Therefore, the monetary reward, which is the price, is the motive for man to produce. This is how “the price” is considered the incentive for production.

Narxning rag'batlantiruvchi vazifasidan tashqari, u taqsimotni ham tartibga soladi. Odatdagi holatda inson barcha ehtiyojlarini to'liq qondirishni xohlaydi va bu ehtiyojlarni qondiruvchi tovarlar hamda xizmatlarni qo'lga kiritishga intiladi. Agar inson ehtiyojlarini qondirishda erkin qoldirilsa, u istagan har qanday tovarni egallash va iste'mol qilishdan to'xtamaydi. Insonning imkoniyatlari cheklangani va resurslarning kamligi tufayli inson ehtiyojlarini qondirishni ma'lum bir chegarada to'xtatishga majbur bo'ladi. Bu shunday chegaraki, unda u o'z mehnatini boshqalarning mehnatiga ayirboshlashga qodir bo'ladi, ya'ni mehnatiga sarflagani uchun oladigan pul kompensatsiyasi chegarasida; bu narx chegarasidir.

Besides being an incentive for production, the price also regulates distribution. In the normal case, man likes to satisfy all of his needs completely and he strives to obtain the commodities and services which satisfy these needs. If man is left free to satisfy his needs, he would not stop short of possessing and consuming whatever commodity he likes. Because of the limitation of man’s capabilities and the scarcity of resources, man has to stop satisfying his needs at a certain limit. This is the limit at which he can afford to exchange his efforts with others efforts, that is, at the limit of the monetary compensation which he receives for expending his effort; this is the limit of the price.

Narx insonning egalik qilish va iste'mol qilishini uning daromadiga mutanosib darajada cheklaydigan tabiiy to'siq vazifasini bajaradi. Narx insonning raqobatlashuvchi ehtiyojlar o'rtasidagi tanlovini tartibga soladi: u zarur deb topgan narsani qondiradi, muhimroq bo'lmaganini esa qoldiradi. Shunday qilib, narx shaxsni ba'zi ehtiyojlarini qisman qondirishga, boshqalarini esa qurbon qilishga majbur qiladi. Narx shaxslar tomonidan foydali narsalarni iste'mol qilishni aynan shunday tartibga soladi. Kapitalizm sharoitida qarzdorlik iste'molchilarning qarz pul olmasdan o'z imkoniyatlaridan ko'ra ko'proq mahsulot iste'mol qilish qobiliyatini kengaytirish uchun ishlatilgan. Kredit tizimi keng qo'llanilganidan so'ng, kapitalizm sharoitidagi qarzdorlik hukmron hodisaga aylangan.

The price provides a constraint which acts naturally to restrict man’s possession and consumption to a level which is proportional to his income. The price regulates man’s choice between competing needs; he proceeds to satisfy what he finds necessary and leaves what he finds of less importance. Thus, the price forces the individual to settle for partial satisfaction of some of his needs at the expense of others. This is how the price regulates the consumption of utilities by individuals. Indebtedness within capitalism has been used to expand the consumers’ abilities to consume more products than they could afford without borrowing money. Indebtedness within capitalism has grown to be a dominant phenomenon after the widespread use of the credit system.

Narx, shuningdek, talab qiladigan iste'molchilar o'rtasida cheklangan foydali narsalarni taqsimlashni ham tartibga soladi. Iste'molchilarning daromadlari o'rtasidagi tafovut odamlarning daromadlariga qarab iste'mol darajasining turlicha bo'lishiga olib keladi. Qimmatroq tovarlar faqat ularni sotib olishga qodir bo'lganlargina foydalanishi mumkin bo'ladi; arzonroq tovarlarni esa past narxlarni to'lashga qodir bo'lganlar iste'mol qiladi. Shunday qilib, narx ba'zi tovar va xizmatlarga yuqori, boshqalariga past narx belgilash orqali iste'molchilar o'rtasida foydali narsalarni taqsimlashda tartibga soluvchi vositaga aylanadi.

The price also regulates the distribution of limited utilities amongst the consumers who demand these utilities. The disparity between the incomes of the consumers leads to a variation in the level of consumption by people based on their incomes. More pricy commodities will be available only to those who can afford them; less pricy commodities would be consumed by people who can afford the lower prices. The price, thus, becomes the regulator in distributing utilities amongst consumers by setting a high price for some commodities and services and a low price for others.

Narx mexanizmi, shuningdek, ishlab chiqaruvchi bilan iste'molchi o'rtasida bog'liqlik o'rnatish orqali ishlab chiqarish va iste'mol o'rtasida muvozanatga erishishda ham muhim rol o'ynaydi. Ishlab chiqaruvchi iste'molchilarning ehtiyojlarini qondirish uchun mahsulot ishlab chiqaradi; buning evaziga u foyda orqali mukofotlanadi. Agar mahsulotlar iste'molchilar tomonidan qabul qilinmasa, ishlab chiqaruvchi zarar ko'radi. Ishlab chiqaruvchi iste'molchilarning istaklarini narx orqali aniqlaydi. Agar talabning oshishi natijasida tovarning narxi ko'tarilsa, ishlab chiqarish ham ortadi.

The price mechanism is also responsible for achieving equilibrium between production and consumption by establishing a link between the producer and the consumer. The producer makes products to fulfill the desires of the consumers; he is rewarded through profits. The producer would lose if the products are not accepted by the consumers. The producer detects the desires of the consumers through the price. If the price of a commodity increases as a result of increased demand, the production increases as well.

Aksincha, talab bozor talabi kamayishi tufayli narx tushsa, ishlab chiqarish kamayadi. Narxning talab o'zgarishlari natijasida ko'tarilishi va tushishiga bozorning javobi narx mexanizmini ishlab chiqarish va iste'mol o'rtasida muvozanatga erishadigan vosita hamda ishlab chiqaruvchi bilan iste'molchi o'rtasidagi bog'lovchi halqaga aylantiradi; bu jarayon tashqi aralashuvsiz, avtomatik ravishda sodir bo'ladi. Kapitalizmning siyosiy iqtisodida narx mexanizmining mohiyati shudir. U iqtisodiyotning poydevori hisoblanadi. Narx mexanizmining muvozanat, boylikning taqsimlanishi va muvozanatlashgan iqtisodiyot kabi ko'zlangan maqsadlarga erisha olmasligi kapitalizm asosiga zarar yetkazadi.

Conversely, production decreases if the price drops due to a decrease in the market demand. The response of the market to the price increase and decrease due to variations in the demand makes the price mechanism a tool which achieves equilibrium between production and consumption and a link between the producer and the consumer; this process occurs automatically without the need of external intervention. This is the essence of the price mechanism in the political economy of capitalism. It constitutes a cornerstone of the economy. The failure of the price mechanism to achieve the desired objectives of equilibrium, wealth distribution, and balanced economy is detrimental to the foundation of capitalism.

Price mechanism nazariyasiga asoslanib, kapitalist iqtisodchilar jamiyat a'zolari o'rtasida boylikni taqsimlashning eng ideal usuli — ishlab chiqarishning eng yuqori darajasini kafolatlaydigan usul ekanligini xulosa qiladilar; mahsulotlar tabiiy ravishda mahsulotlar narxi orqali taqsimlanadi. Ishlab chiqaruvchi sarflagan mehnati uchun olinadigan mukofot oshganda, ishlab chiqarish ham ortadi. Bu yerda asosiy taxmin shuki, mahsulotlarning foydasi faqat insonning mehnati natijasidir. Ammo bu har doim ham to'g'ri emas. Foyda dastlab mahsulotlarda, Alloh tomonidan yaratilgan eng oddiy va xom shaklida mavjud bo'ladi. Insonning mehnati va sa'y-harakati xom ashyoni ma'lum turdagi qayta ishlashdan so'ng iste'molchi uchun foydali yoki kerakli shaklga keltirishga yordam beradi. Mahsulotning foydasi butunlay inson tomonidan yaratiladi, deyish to'g'ri emas. Aslida, inson tomonidan eng kam sa'y-harakat qilinmasdan ham foyda beradigan ba'zi xom ashyolar mavjud. Buning eng yaxshi va eng sodda misollari — havo, suv, o'tloqlar, o'rmonlar va boshqa ko'plab narsalardir. Shunday ekan, foydani faqat insonning sa'y-harakatlari natijasi deb hisoblash noto'g'ri bo'lib, u xom ashyoni va boshqa tayyor mavjud resurslarni e'tibordan chetda qoldiradi. Demak, narxni (ya'ni insonning mehnati uchun to'lovni) ishlab chiqarish darajasini boshqaruvchi mezon, deb da'vo qilish ham to'g'ri emas.

Based on the price mechanism theory, the capitalist economists conclude that the ideal method to distribute the wealth among the members of society is that which guarantees the highest possible level of production; the products will naturally be distributed through the price of products. The production increases when the reward for the efforts exerted by the producer increases. The underlying assumption here is that the benefit of products is the result of man’s efforts only. But this is not always true. Benefits initially are found in products in their most basic and raw form as created by God. The effort and labor of man help transfer the raw materials after certain types of processing to a form and shape usable or desirable by the consumer. It is not accurate to say that the benefit of a product is entirely created by man. In fact, there are certain raw materials which carry benefit without the least amount of efforts from man. The best and simplest examples are the air, water, meadows, forests, and many others. So, considering the benefit as a result of human efforts only is inaccurate; it neglects the raw material and other readily available resources. Then, it is not accurate to claim that the price (which is the compensation for man’s efforts) is the parameter which controls the level of production.

Xuddi shunga o‘xshash, ishlab chiqarish darajasining pasayishi faqat mehnat mukofotining kamayishidan kelib chiqmaydi. Ishlab chiqarish tabiiy resurslarning tugashi, mamlakat boyligining kamayishi, urushlar, tabiiy ofatlar yoki boshqa sabablar natijasida ham pasayishi mumkin.