Susan Samara
Sociology 385
Blog #2
Karl Marx is an amazing sociologist and has a very strong opinion and knowledge behind use-value, commodities/money and exchange value. He explains it in a way that would change your mind and perception about things and objects we buy in life. I, for one, changed my perception about objects/things I buy and its value after just reading a couple of his pieces he wrote. The impression that I got from Marx is that he is trying to reach out to people and let them realize the real value behind the objects/things we buy. Objects and things have more value to them then we realize or want to realize. In his readings “Commodities and Money” and “Exchange Value”, Marx goes into deep about the real importance of commodities, its value, the labour time required for some objects and why we as humans can be selfish and vulnerable in a way when we buy thoseobjects/things.
One may ask, “What is a commodity”? I didn’t know what commodity was and the importance of it until I read what Karl Marx had to say about it. Marx definitely changed my mind and perception about things. Marx says that “A commodity is, in the first place, an object outside us, a think that by its properties satisfies human wants of some sort or another” (Marx 1). They are objects and things that humans buy on a daily basis to satisfy our needs. With every object /thing we buy, it requires labour time spent on it. The value of a product depends on its productiveness and how much labour time is spent on it. The objects and things have to require value in exchange. “We see then that which determines the magnitude of the value of any article is the amount of labour time necessary” (Marx 5).He then explains how exchange value is produced through the perception of the value and how we as humans treat that value. He explains how “exchange value, at first sight, presents itself as a quantitative relation, as the proportion in which values in use of one sort are exchanged for those of another sort, a relation constantly changing with time and place” (Marx 2). The money is a commodity and commodity will always come before the money in any equation.
There was a specific peace in Marx writings “Commodities and Money” that really caught my attention and changed my perception of things. Marx says that “A use-value of useful article, therefore, has value only because human labour in the abstract has been embodied or materialized in it” (Marx 4). Marx then explains and backs it up in a way that is so powerful and informative. I had to read it a couple times before really understanding it, but when I understood what he was trying to say, I was impressed. He backs it up by saying “Plainly by the quantity of the value-creating substance, the labor contained in the article the quantity of labour, however, is measured by is duration and labour time, its turn finds its standard in weeks, days and hours. Some people might think that if the value of a commodity is determined by the quantity of labour spent on it, the more idle and unskillful the labour, the more valuable would his commodity be, because more time would be required in its production” (Marx 5).If I had to analyze this, I would say that Marx is reaching out to humans and saying that some people may buy objects/things only if they know that there was a lot of time spent on that specific object/thing when it was produced. We as humans think that there is more value to an object/thing when the productiveness of it took more than just one day. “We see then that which determines the magnitude of the value of any article is the amount of labour socially necessary” (Marx 5).The use-value of some objects may be the same, however, whichever object was spent more time on it has the better value. The concept of that in my opinion has a lot to do with athletes and sports. One may ask “What does sports and athletes have anything to do with Commodity or Marx”? Well, for an example, let me talk about pro football which is also known as the NFL. The Use-value of an athlete in the NFL is the same because the NFL would be nothing without those athletes. Even though one athlete may have more talent than another, they both share the same use- value of having the talent of being an athlete in the sport of football in the first place. They share the same use-value of attending some college before the NFL draft. They share the same use-value of being able to play the sport of football whether it’s the quarterback, wide receiver, defensive end and so on. They have the same use-value of sharing the word “athlete”More importantly; they share the same use-value of the sport “football”.However, whether it’s a rookie, a veteran or an athlete that was playing for a while, who ever spent more time in the off season training, working out and practicing ends up having the better use-value because they spent more time on becoming a better “athlete”. It would show in preseason, training camp and practice on who had spent more time becoming a better athlete in the offseason. The NFL wants the most talented athletes to play every Sunday to attract the people and its fans. Going into training camp, who ever had spent more time getting in shape, practicing and trying to get better at the game football will end up having the better value which they will be rewarded for that. They would either be rewarded by making the team, having the starting job, making more money etc. The athletes who didn’t spend as much time getting in shape, practicing or trying to become a better athlete won’t be as rewarded as the ones that did spend more time.
When Marx talks about exchange value, he points out how exchange is produced through the perception of that value, how money is a commodity and how commodity comes before that money. “The act of exchange gives to the commodity converted into money, not its value, but its specific value-form” (Marx 70). If you buy something expensive and it has value to it, you would want to sell it for the amount of money you bought it for or you would want to sell it for the a mount of money you think it is worth. You don’t want to exchange something that has value to it and get nothing in return. When he talks about how exchange is produced through the perception of value, he is talking about human beings buying objects/things on a daily basis. People throughout the world go grocery shopping, clothes shopping, house shopping and any kind of shopping that requires buying a product, thing or object for the need of ourselves, However, we as humans don’t think about the time spent on that object/thing that we are buying, We don’t think about the hard work and time that was put into making that object/thing that we are about to buy. I am guilty of that myself. Every morning before I go to school or work, I have to have some sort of coffee drink whether it’s coffee, a latte or frappe. I spend about 20 dollars a week on either Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. Every morning I go in to get my latte or coffee, I just think about how much money I am about to spend and how the drink will satisfy my need to start the day. I never think about how the drink was made, how much time was spent on that drink to be made in labour or how it was sent to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.
Human beings need to open up their eyes and be smarter when they buy objects/things for their own need. They need to realize how much time was spent on that object/thing they are about to buy. They need to realize how that object/thing has more value to it than just being an object/thing that’s sold to them. They need to realize the importance of commodity, money and exchange value. After reading what Marx had to say about Commodities, Money and Exchange, I will never buy my coffee, latte or frappe without thinking about Marx and what he had to say about labour time.
Sociology 385
Blog #2
Karl Marx is an amazing sociologist and has a very strong opinion and knowledge behind use-value, commodities/money and exchange value. He explains it in a way that would change your mind and perception about things and objects we buy in life. I, for one, changed my perception about objects/things I buy and its value after just reading a couple of his pieces he wrote. The impression that I got from Marx is that he is trying to reach out to people and let them realize the real value behind the objects/things we buy. Objects and things have more value to them then we realize or want to realize. In his readings “Commodities and Money” and “Exchange Value”, Marx goes into deep about the real importance of commodities, its value, the labour time required for some objects and why we as humans can be selfish and vulnerable in a way when we buy thoseobjects/things.
One may ask, “What is a commodity”? I didn’t know what commodity was and the importance of it until I read what Karl Marx had to say about it. Marx definitely changed my mind and perception about things. Marx says that “A commodity is, in the first place, an object outside us, a think that by its properties satisfies human wants of some sort or another” (Marx 1). They are objects and things that humans buy on a daily basis to satisfy our needs. With every object /thing we buy, it requires labour time spent on it. The value of a product depends on its productiveness and how much labour time is spent on it. The objects and things have to require value in exchange. “We see then that which determines the magnitude of the value of any article is the amount of labour time necessary” (Marx 5).He then explains how exchange value is produced through the perception of the value and how we as humans treat that value. He explains how “exchange value, at first sight, presents itself as a quantitative relation, as the proportion in which values in use of one sort are exchanged for those of another sort, a relation constantly changing with time and place” (Marx 2). The money is a commodity and commodity will always come before the money in any equation.
There was a specific peace in Marx writings “Commodities and Money” that really caught my attention and changed my perception of things. Marx says that “A use-value of useful article, therefore, has value only because human labour in the abstract has been embodied or materialized in it” (Marx 4). Marx then explains and backs it up in a way that is so powerful and informative. I had to read it a couple times before really understanding it, but when I understood what he was trying to say, I was impressed. He backs it up by saying “Plainly by the quantity of the value-creating substance, the labor contained in the article the quantity of labour, however, is measured by is duration and labour time, its turn finds its standard in weeks, days and hours. Some people might think that if the value of a commodity is determined by the quantity of labour spent on it, the more idle and unskillful the labour, the more valuable would his commodity be, because more time would be required in its production” (Marx 5).If I had to analyze this, I would say that Marx is reaching out to humans and saying that some people may buy objects/things only if they know that there was a lot of time spent on that specific object/thing when it was produced. We as humans think that there is more value to an object/thing when the productiveness of it took more than just one day. “We see then that which determines the magnitude of the value of any article is the amount of labour socially necessary” (Marx 5).The use-value of some objects may be the same, however, whichever object was spent more time on it has the better value. The concept of that in my opinion has a lot to do with athletes and sports. One may ask “What does sports and athletes have anything to do with Commodity or Marx”? Well, for an example, let me talk about pro football which is also known as the NFL. The Use-value of an athlete in the NFL is the same because the NFL would be nothing without those athletes. Even though one athlete may have more talent than another, they both share the same use- value of having the talent of being an athlete in the sport of football in the first place. They share the same use-value of attending some college before the NFL draft. They share the same use-value of being able to play the sport of football whether it’s the quarterback, wide receiver, defensive end and so on. They have the same use-value of sharing the word “athlete”More importantly; they share the same use-value of the sport “football”.However, whether it’s a rookie, a veteran or an athlete that was playing for a while, who ever spent more time in the off season training, working out and practicing ends up having the better use-value because they spent more time on becoming a better “athlete”. It would show in preseason, training camp and practice on who had spent more time becoming a better athlete in the offseason. The NFL wants the most talented athletes to play every Sunday to attract the people and its fans. Going into training camp, who ever had spent more time getting in shape, practicing and trying to get better at the game football will end up having the better value which they will be rewarded for that. They would either be rewarded by making the team, having the starting job, making more money etc. The athletes who didn’t spend as much time getting in shape, practicing or trying to become a better athlete won’t be as rewarded as the ones that did spend more time.
When Marx talks about exchange value, he points out how exchange is produced through the perception of that value, how money is a commodity and how commodity comes before that money. “The act of exchange gives to the commodity converted into money, not its value, but its specific value-form” (Marx 70). If you buy something expensive and it has value to it, you would want to sell it for the amount of money you bought it for or you would want to sell it for the a mount of money you think it is worth. You don’t want to exchange something that has value to it and get nothing in return. When he talks about how exchange is produced through the perception of value, he is talking about human beings buying objects/things on a daily basis. People throughout the world go grocery shopping, clothes shopping, house shopping and any kind of shopping that requires buying a product, thing or object for the need of ourselves, However, we as humans don’t think about the time spent on that object/thing that we are buying, We don’t think about the hard work and time that was put into making that object/thing that we are about to buy. I am guilty of that myself. Every morning before I go to school or work, I have to have some sort of coffee drink whether it’s coffee, a latte or frappe. I spend about 20 dollars a week on either Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. Every morning I go in to get my latte or coffee, I just think about how much money I am about to spend and how the drink will satisfy my need to start the day. I never think about how the drink was made, how much time was spent on that drink to be made in labour or how it was sent to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.
Human beings need to open up their eyes and be smarter when they buy objects/things for their own need. They need to realize how much time was spent on that object/thing they are about to buy. They need to realize how that object/thing has more value to it than just being an object/thing that’s sold to them. They need to realize the importance of commodity, money and exchange value. After reading what Marx had to say about Commodities, Money and Exchange, I will never buy my coffee, latte or frappe without thinking about Marx and what he had to say about labour time.