Capital V1 Chapter 1

Marxist commodity

Firstly, an external object that by its properties satisfies human wants and is produced use but also exchange in a market

Use-value

Utility of a thing: its capacity to satisfy a human want. It depends on the thing’s physical properties and is realized in use or consumption

Exchange-value

Exchange-value is the quantitative relation in which use values of one kind exchange for use values of another kind (e.g., 20 yards of linen = 1 coat)

Value

“Common substance” behind exchange values: the amount of abstract human labour socially necessary to produce a commodity.

Abstract human labour

Labour stripped of its particular concrete forms (weaving, tailoring, etc.) and considered simply as expenditure of human labour power in general, measured by time

Concrete labour

Labour in its specific, useful form (e.g., tailoring, weaving, mining), which is what creates use-values

Socially necessary labour time (SNLT)

Labour time required to produce a commodity under normal conditions of production, with the average degree of skill and intensity at a given time.

Productiveness (productivity) of labour

Refers to the amount of use-values produced in a given time. If productivity rises, more goods are produced per hour; if it falls, fewer

How does productivity affect value?

Value varies directly with the quantity of labour and inversely with productivity. Higher productivity results in less labour time per unit results in lower value per unit (and vice versa)

Useful labour

Labour considered only as creating a specific use value'; productive activity of a definite kind that satisfies a particular want

Social division of labour

Complex system of different kinds of useful labour (weaving, tailoring, farming, etc.) carried out independently by individuals or groups, which together form the total labour of society

Relative form of value

Form a commodity takes when it expresses its value in another commodity (e.g., “20 yards of linen are worth 1 coat”)

Equivalent form of value

The form a commodity takes when it serves as the material in which another commodity’s value is expressed (e.g., in “20 yards of linen = 1 coat,” the coat is the equivalent)

Elementary (accidental) form of value

The simplest expression of value: an equation of one commodity to one other commodity (x of A = y of B)

Expanded form of value

A form in which the value of a single commodity is expressed in many other commodities (e.g., linen = coat = tea = coffee = iron, etc.)

General form of value

A form where all commodities express their value in one and the same commodity (e.g., all goods = x yards of linen)

Money-form of value

The developed general form where one specific commodity (historically gold) is socially fixed as the universal equivalent: all commodities express their value in money

Price-form

The expression of a commodity’s value in money (e.g., 20 yards of linen = 2 ounces of gold = £2) – value expressed as price

Commodity fetishism

The phenomenon whereby social relations between producers appear as relations between things, so that commodities seem to have mysterious, social powers in themselves

“Socially necessary” in socially necessary labour time (SNLT)

the amount of labour time society on average must expend to produce a commodity, considering prevailing techniques and average skill and intensity

Value-form

A specific way in which value appears or is expressed in social relations (elementary form, expanded form, general form, money form)

Simple average labour

The labour power that exists in every ordinary individual, taken as a basic unit; more skilled labour counts as intensified or multiplied simple labour.

Labour embodied in a commodity

The labour expended in producing that commodity is “congealed” or fixed in it as value.

When can a thing be a use-value without having value?

When it is useful but not the product of human labour (e.g., air, virgin soil, natural meadows)

When is a product of labour not a commodity?

When it is produced for direct use by its producer (e.g., a peasant who directly consumes all his own produce), rather than exchange

Relationship between use value and exchange value in a commodity

A commodity is a unity of use value and value; its use value is its utility, while its exchange value is the form in which its value (labour) appears in relations with other commodities

A product of labour’s relation to a commodity

Every commodity is a product of labour, but not every product of labour is a commodity; it becomes a commodity only when produced for exchange

Exchange value’s relation to value

Exchange value is the “phenomenal form” or mode of appearance of value: the way value manifests itself in quantitative relations of exchange between commodities

Concrete labour’s relation to value

Concrete labour, in its specific forms (weaving, tailoring, etc.), creates the use value (the useful properties and particular utility) of the product

Abstract labour’s relation to value

Abstract labour, as undifferentiated human labour time, is the substance of value; the quantity of abstract labour determines the magnitude of value

Individual labour time’s relation to socially necessary labour time

Only labour time that does not exceed the socially necessary amount counts in determining value; if an individual takes longer than the social average, the extra time does not increase value

Productivity of labour’s relation to value per unit

As productivity rises (more output per hour), the labour time per unit falls, so value per unit falls. As productivity falls, labour time per unit rises and so does value per unit

Value’s relation to wealth (as material abundance)

Material wealth is the mass of use values; it can increase while total value decreases if productivity rises (more goods with less total labour time)

Money’s relation to the universal equivalent

Money is a commodity that has been socially fixed as the universal equivalent: the one commodity in which all others express their value

Money’s relation to the general form of value

Money is the general form of value embodied in a specific commodity (e.g., gold), due to social custom; it is the stable universal equivalent of all commodities

Commodity fetishism’s relation to social relations of labour

In commodity fetishism, the social relations between labouring individuals appear as relations between things (commodities), which hides the underlying social character of labour

Labour time’s relation to the magnitude of value

The magnitude of value is measured by the amount of value-creating substance, labour, measured by time (hours, days. etc.,) that is socially necessary

Private labour’s relation to social labour

abour is performed privately and independently, but only becomes social labour through exchange, when products are recognized as values

Exchange’s relation to the social validation of labour

Labour becomes socially validated as part of society’s total labour only when its product exchanges successfully as a value with other commodities

Labour’s twofold character and its relation to the twofold character of the commodity

Because labour is both concrete (producing use values) and abstract (producing value), the commodity is both a use value and a value

Marx’s movement of products of labour to commodities to money as a system

Products of labour become commodities when produced for exchange; as exchange becomes generalized, commodities must express value in a general equivalent; one commodity monopolizes this role, becoming money

How the expanded form of value leads to the general form

When one commodity expresses its value in a long series of others, the inverse relation also holds: many owners express the value of their different commodities in that one. This reversal turns the expanded relative form into the general form

How commodities relate to the universal equivalent in the general form of value

All commodities express their values in the same commodity (the universal equivalent) and thereby relate to each other as values via their equality with that one commodity

How the twofold character of labour generates the twofold character of the commodity

Concrete, useful labour creates the commodity as use value; the same labour counted abstractly as human labour creates the commodity as value. So commodity = use value + value

How commodity fetishism arises from the system of private production plus exchange

Because producers work privately and only relate through exchanging products, the social character of their labour appears not as direct relations among people, but as value-relations between things, giving commodities a “fetish” character

How labour time functions in a community of associated producers compared to a commodity-producing society

In an associated community, labour time is consciously planned and directly regulates production and distribution; in a commodity society, it asserts itself only indirectly and “behind the backs” of producers through the law of value