Publication (142 pages).

While a commodity is often described as a material
object, Marx recognized it to be much
more than that. Commodity fetishism became
the concept that described how a commodity
was not simply an object or a piece of labour
but a relation between men/women. In this
Marx emphasized the social nature of the commodity,
the way that no object could be considered
on its own without considering other
human beings that were a part of the relation.
This concept of fetishism provides insight into
how objects as commodities play a role in the
relations of humans despite appearing as separate
physical objects.
Commodity Fetishism
Needs and Wants
The onset of increased production and the
availability of luxury goods generate changes
in the needs and wants of consumers. The fine
line between ‘needs’ of sustenance and ‘wants’
that may be dictated as social norms becomes
less clear during this time. Several authors over
the span of the century have entered into a debate
on what true sustenance involves, which
‘wants’ may be confused for needs, and how
social forces play a role in that change. The obvious
initiators of the shifts between needs and
wants are corporations and the mass market,
who in the name of profit strive to sell more
products. But the system is complex in many
facets, affected by issues including morality,
desire, and satisfaction, which often results in
high levels of accumulation.
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