Question 1 What did Marx mean with his formu - University of Utah

U of Utah Econ 5080 2007fa 67
I would not say commodities are the “basis” of capitalism. The basis of capitalism is the profitmaking at the
expense of the wage laborers. This is an exploitative process which is difficult to understand because it takes the
form of an equal commodity exchange. Commodities are a surface category.
Next Message by Kalmerico is [392].
[232] Harmon: Chapter Titles. Commodities are the cornerstone of economics. In
order to build a firm foundation you must start with that cornerstone and continue building
from there. Value, on the other hand, is a broad topic. If the chapter was called “Value”,
it would be unorganized because there would be too much information in that beginning
chapter. Many commodities have different aspects to them. Therefore, commodities need
to be explored in the first chapter before values can be assigned to them. The first chapter
is called “Commodities” because it talks about the different values of commodities and not
vice versa.
Hans: Marx’s concept of value is not broad but very simple: it is congealed abstract labor. See my comments
to [697] about that. This value is not assigned to the commodities, but commodities get this value when they are
produced.
Next Message by Harmon is [236].
[237] Melissa: graded A Which comes first... The first chapter is called “Commodities”
because to build on the ideas of value and where value comes from you need a solid base.
The solid base is the commodity, the commodity is something concrete. I do believe that
commodities and values are closely related and they build on each other. Starting with the
discussion on commodities gives the readers a better understanding of the abstract ideas of
what “value” is. You start with the basic and move out from there.
Next Message by Melissa is [397].
[254] Desk: Commodity First. Commodities are the cornerstone of what Marx wants us
to understand. He does not just give a definition but an analysis of what a commodity is. In
Marx’s theory, a commodity has value, the fact that it has value implies straightaway that
people try to economise its use. A commodity also has a use value, an exchange value and a
price. It has an order and commodity is an ideal starting point.
Hans: It is good that you said Marx analyzes the commodity. Marx gets to the important underlying concepts by
this analysis. The commodity is something simple and visible; it is the entrance door to the hidden motive powers.
The metaphor “cornerstone” does not really capture this.
Next Message by Desk is [314].
[262] Walmart: The idea of value comes from commodities being produced, sold, and
traded on the market. The explanation has to start with commodity because that is the
concept Marx uses throughout the rest of his work to explain the parts of a system. The
concepts are all related because they have a central theme, which is the commodity. It is
also convenient to start with commodity because a commodity has value as its essence. The
value comes from the abstract labor which was put into the creation of that commodity.
The exchange-value comes from the interplay of social relations of the market. Important
aspects of market economy (wages, costs, profits, demand, and so on) all stem from this
basic explanation of commodity, whose analysis points to value. The title and structure of
his analysis paints a much clearer and connected picture of capitalism, as opposed to starting
from an important aspect with many premises without explanations.
Hans: “Value” is the concept capturing the essence of capitalism better, while “commodity” has more to do with
the form which this essence takes.
Next Message by Walmart is [263].
68 2007fa Econ 5080 U of Utah
Question 150 is 66 in 1995WI, 75 in 1995ut, 79 in 1996sp, 85 in 1997WI, 87 in 1997sp, 83
in 1997ut, 113 in 2002fa, 116 in 2003fa, 131 in 2005fa, and 156 in 2008SP:
Question 150 Why can commodities not express their values in their own use-values? (Note
that we are not asking here why the value of a commodity is not determined by its use-value.
The expression of value is not the same as the determination of value.)
[721] Tomb: commodities and expressing use value. Commodities cannot determine or
express their values through their own use values for a couple of reasons. First, a commodity
obtains use value because someone has a use for that commodity. But that is not how it
obtains its value on the open market. Its value is expressed as exchange value on the open
market because another person has a use value for the product. Only through exchange can
commodities express their values.
Hans: Despite the hint in the question that the expression of value should not be confused with its determination,
you are writing “commodities cannot determine or express their values” as if this was the same thing, and you talk
about a commodity “obtaining” its value.
In section 3 of chapter One, Marx discusses how value is expressed, i.e., how the invisible fact that commodities
have socially necessary labor in them makes itself felt in the interactions of the commodity traders.
First Message by Tomb is [294].
Question 162 is 69 in 1995WI, 77 in 1995ut, 80 in 1996sp, 81 in 1996ut, 87 in 1997WI, 90
in 1997sp, 86 in 1997ut, 142 in 2005fa, and 186 in 2010fa:
Question 162 What does Marx understand to be the riddle of money? And how does he
solve this riddle in section 3?
[82] Melissa: graded A Riddle this... Marx understands that the riddle of money is that
money can buy everything. Marx also understands that there is a link between money and
production. A commodity is given its value by looking at how much of society’s limited
labor hours has been exhausted. What the consumer gets out of it or what the consumer as
an individual feels the value should be, does not play a part in assigning the commodity’s
value.
I agree with Sms [1995WI:546] from the 1995WI archive that Marx solves the riddle by
looking at the “...analysis of the relative form of value and the equivalent form of value, and
their divisions between different commodities.”
Hans: In other words (making your second paragraph less abstract), money can buy every commodity because it
is the commodity’s own equivalent form of value split off into a specialized commodity (gold).
Next Message by Melissa is [149].
Question 163 is 125 in 2003fa, 142 in 2004fa, 143 in 2005fa, 160 in 2007SP, 166 in
2008fa, and 188 in 2010fa:
Question 163 Why doesn’t Marx say that the simplest value relation is that between commodity
and money?
[78] BHales: Commodities and Money. In TimJim’s assertion in [2005fa:243] he addresses
why the simplest value relation is not between money and commodity. TimJim states
that money is just a median form of exchange between two items. I agree with this assertion.
The simplest form of exchange is the direct exchange between two commodities. In societies
before currency existed, direct exchange was the simplest form of exchange between