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

U of Utah Econ 5080 2005fa 7
[560] Bboarder: A commodity is “something produced for sale or exchange.” Marx also
states that “a commodity is everything, whether raw material or finished good, whether a
specialized brand name article or a staple, that is produced for sale.”
Hans: Both are quotes from Hans’s interpretation of Marx, not from Marx himself.
Message [560] referenced by [563] and [1425]. Next Message by Bboarder is [845].
[563] Hans: And oh, by the way, here is another answer to your question. Bboarder,
in [560], brings two different quotes from the Annotations, without indicating how they are
connected. I don’t like to have to choose between different answers. Bboarder should have
written:
A commodity is something produced for sale or exchange. It does not matter
whether it is a raw material or finished good, whether a specialized brand
name article or a staple, what matters is that it is produced for sale.
By the way, Iblindone, answering a different question, also gave two unrelated answers
in [538].
Next Message by Hans is [567].
[566] Snowy: commodity. A commodity is everything that has use-value and is produced
for sale. Once an object is exchanged or sold and has use-value to its user it is a commodity.
Message [566] referenced by [582], [626], and [2009fa:383]. Next Message by Snowy is [938].
[572] Mason: I fully agree with the other entries on this question but I believe that one
other aspect of a commodity is wealth. Marx tells us, “that all elements of wealth are commodities.”
And wealth is anything that enhances human life. And the definition of a commodity
is something produced for sale or exchange, and by doing this you are trying to
increase your wealth.
Hans: Wealth should not go into the definition of a commodity. Even if a commodity is not produced in order to
increase the producer’s wealth, it is still a commodity. (Perhaps the producer plans to donate the prodeeds to the
needy, or production has the purpose to keep the producer himself or herself from starving.)
Next Message by Mason is [915].
[582] Hans: It is a thing, it is a social relation. The definition “a commodity is something
produced for sale or exchange” is difficult to swallow. How can the purpose for which
something was produced be part of the definition of this thing? What does that have to do
with the thing itself?
Presumably that is why Snowy, in [566], added the sentence:
Once an object is exchanged or sold and has use-value to its user it is a
commodity.
This pulls the definition into the more familiar territory of a clearly verifiable condition
associated with the thing itself. Unfortunately this additional sentence is wrong. A commodity
does not become commodity through the exchange, it is a commodity ever since its
production.
The awkwardness of the definition comes from the fact that the thing which we call
“commodity” is only the tip of the iceberg. The iceberg itself is a specific social relation of
production, in which products are produced privately and have to pass through the market
before they can be used. This relation does not take the form of a direct interaction between
8 2005fa Econ 5080 U of Utah
the producers but the form of a society-induced property of the products: the products can
be sold, and even must be sold if their producers want to be rewarded for producing them.
In other words, the intention under which a commodity is produced enters the definition
of the commodity because the commodity is more than a thing, it is a social relation.
Message [582] referenced by [626], [2007SP:285], [2007fa:26], [2008fa:438], [2009fa:383], [2010fa:307], and
[2011fa:143]. Next Message by Hans is [584].
[588] Bosox: The definition of commodity in the book states: A commodity is something
produced for sale or exchange. Marx states that value is that property of a commodity which
allows it and requires it to be exchanged on the market.
Is this ok for the test or should I change it a wee bit?
Hans: The sentence about value is not from Marx himself but from my Annotations. It is not necessary for the
definition of a commodity. Apparently you selected it because it clarifies that a commodity which fails to be
exchanged is a waste for its producer. Commodities must be exchanged. You might want to add to the stock answer
“a commodity is something produced for sale or exchange” that it must be exchanged in order to be beneficial to
its producer.
Message [588] referenced by [626]. Next Message by Bosox is [808].
[589] Mjk: A commodity is anything produced for sale or exchange. In other word,
commodity is used for products which are available from many suppliers, and which are
standardized so that there is no reason apart from price, for buyers to prefer one supplier over
another. In Marx view, commodity is everything, whether raw material or finished goods,
whether a specialized brand name article or a staple, that is produced for sale. Commodity
would be the final products which are ready to be sold or exchanged in the market between
the buyers and sellers.
Hans: Your answer is very close to the text in the Annotations, but the few changes you made show that you did
not understand the text.
Next Message by Mjk is [618].
[591] Camhol: In [2004fa:15], Hans replied to the writer Toby that “Marx’s definition of
‘commodity’ is very broad. He does not care whether the thing is a finished consumer good
or a raw material or an investment good, if they are produced for sale they fall under his
definition of ‘commodity’. Marx uses such a broad definition because a capitalist firm does
not care either whether they produce one or the other, as long as can make money from it.”
I believe that is exactly what defines a commodity. It is an item, be it anything, that has
a perceived exchange value that leads to somebody placing that item up for either sale or
exchange. This can be anything. I can trap air in a bottle and if I create enough perceived
value in that air, I could exchange it to somebody else. Once that exchange value is placed,
that air has become a commodity. So in short, anything that is produced for sale or exchange
is labeled a commodity.
Hans: Some overpriced frills have become legends (pet rock, hoola hoop, cabbage patch dolls) but for an explanation
of the commodity they are irrelevant.
Next Message by Camhol is [761].
[592] Synergy: graded B A commodity is anything that is produced for the purpose of
being sold. Whether the good is raw materials or finished goods, if the capitalist firm can
make money off of it then it is considered a commodity. [2004fa:15] It could also be looked
at as the perceived exchange value. If the perception is that there will be value in a good,
then it is considered a commodity.