Marx’s definition of a commodity is “something with exchange value, something that can be bought and/or sold”. The theory of commodity fetishism provides the necessary explanation on how commodities are viewed by the people that purchase them as just a price. The FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil this summer and to prepare itself for the upcoming tournament, the country of Brazil has ordered the construction of six new stadiums to provide a playing field for the national teams that will be playing at the tournament. Brazil is readying itself for the onslaught of tourists that will be visiting this summer. With all these tourists visiting the country commodity fetishism theory will be present throughout the tournament.
To define the theory of commodity fetish we can break down the two words to try and explain it. A commodity, as stated earlier, is something that has exchange value. A fetish can be defined as a strong desire for something. A commodity fetish can be described as something that has exchange value and is desired by the consumers. It can also be the condition in which commodities are endowed with their own value and status in the market. The value of the commodity is given just because of the name attached to it. For example, an iPhone has value on the market just because it is an iPhone. The consumers give it value once the exchange of commodity for cash money goes through. Marx argues that the proletariat puts in the labor power to produce the commodity and that should dictate the value of the commodity. That does not hold true in a capitalist society. The owners of production set the price to give them monetary gain in the market. The consumer and sees the price of the commodity and does not take into account the fact that a worker has been exploited. The consumer does not pay the value of the labor power used, it pays for what he thinks the commodity is worth on its own.
Commodity fetishism will obviously present when speaking about the World Cup that will take place in Brazil this year. The World Cup is held every 4 years, so to the people that are avid soccer fans it is a major deal. Fans will be ready and willing to spend their wages at during the days the tournament takes place. Not only is it just a soccer tournament, it is a soccer tournament that pits national teams from across the world against each other. The winner at the end will have the title as the best national team in the world. Since countries from around the world will be playing in one host country, there will be fans from each country that will be making their way to Brazil this summer to be able to see their national team compete against other countries. That means that there will be an influx of tourism in Brazil. To allow all the teams to play, the country of Brazil ordered six completely new stadiums to be built just for the tournament. That means there will be workers putting in their labor power to build these new stadiums. There will be equipment, there will be material, and there will be labor used to build these stadiums from the ground up.
Also, this is a process that has spanned many years to get the stadiums ready. Across the board people have been spending their time to be able to create these world-class stadiums. The owners are exploiting the workers. The workers are wasting their life activity throughout the time these stadiums are being built. The owners exploit these workers to be able to sell tickets to the fans, so the fans can enter the stadium to watch the teams play. The commodity here for the owners is the stadium, which allows them to make a surplus profit from all this exploitation. Another side to this is the fact that there will be other businesses inside the stadiums, like food stands and merchandise booths that will also be exploited by the top owners. Fans will pay the face value of the ticket to enter the stadium. The fans will make sense of the price depending on where their seat is located in the stadium. They fixate on the seat and the price. They do not take into consideration all the workers that have been exploited just so they can have a seat in the stadium and watch the game. Commodity fetishism blinds people from the truth. Labor power should dictate the price in the ideal world of Marx.
To define the theory of commodity fetish we can break down the two words to try and explain it. A commodity, as stated earlier, is something that has exchange value. A fetish can be defined as a strong desire for something. A commodity fetish can be described as something that has exchange value and is desired by the consumers. It can also be the condition in which commodities are endowed with their own value and status in the market. The value of the commodity is given just because of the name attached to it. For example, an iPhone has value on the market just because it is an iPhone. The consumers give it value once the exchange of commodity for cash money goes through. Marx argues that the proletariat puts in the labor power to produce the commodity and that should dictate the value of the commodity. That does not hold true in a capitalist society. The owners of production set the price to give them monetary gain in the market. The consumer and sees the price of the commodity and does not take into account the fact that a worker has been exploited. The consumer does not pay the value of the labor power used, it pays for what he thinks the commodity is worth on its own.
Commodity fetishism will obviously present when speaking about the World Cup that will take place in Brazil this year. The World Cup is held every 4 years, so to the people that are avid soccer fans it is a major deal. Fans will be ready and willing to spend their wages at during the days the tournament takes place. Not only is it just a soccer tournament, it is a soccer tournament that pits national teams from across the world against each other. The winner at the end will have the title as the best national team in the world. Since countries from around the world will be playing in one host country, there will be fans from each country that will be making their way to Brazil this summer to be able to see their national team compete against other countries. That means that there will be an influx of tourism in Brazil. To allow all the teams to play, the country of Brazil ordered six completely new stadiums to be built just for the tournament. That means there will be workers putting in their labor power to build these new stadiums. There will be equipment, there will be material, and there will be labor used to build these stadiums from the ground up.
Also, this is a process that has spanned many years to get the stadiums ready. Across the board people have been spending their time to be able to create these world-class stadiums. The owners are exploiting the workers. The workers are wasting their life activity throughout the time these stadiums are being built. The owners exploit these workers to be able to sell tickets to the fans, so the fans can enter the stadium to watch the teams play. The commodity here for the owners is the stadium, which allows them to make a surplus profit from all this exploitation. Another side to this is the fact that there will be other businesses inside the stadiums, like food stands and merchandise booths that will also be exploited by the top owners. Fans will pay the face value of the ticket to enter the stadium. The fans will make sense of the price depending on where their seat is located in the stadium. They fixate on the seat and the price. They do not take into consideration all the workers that have been exploited just so they can have a seat in the stadium and watch the game. Commodity fetishism blinds people from the truth. Labor power should dictate the price in the ideal world of Marx.