Karl Marx is one of the most commonly referenced writers in
sociology. He focused a lot on the economy, wages, labor, value, and the
difference between the upper class and the rest of us. The difference between
what Marx calls the bourgeois, the petty bourgeois, and the proletariats. In a more modern day
those values are very much the same, but hold slightly different names. In
modern capitalist economies this is referred to the upper class, middle class,
and working/lower class. Such in depth discussion of values really makes a
person wonder the value of their own labor, or question the value of the things
that have little or no use-value but still are desired commodities.
This makes me wonder about the value of paid labor for a minimum
wage job versus the value of these ever changing commodities culture tells us
are to be desired. As Marx points out in many of his works, there is a
difference between use-value and exchange value. Initially what seems so simple
to explain easily becomes a more complex difference to grasp.
A commodity that has exchange value does not necessarily have the most
use value, but most things with a use value can also be high in exchange value.
Taking jewelry, overly expensive jeans, and gym shoes (Name brand athletic
shoes) for instance; each commodity has some sort of use-value. These things are
all man-made, but the value of the labor it takes to produce the nicety, are
nowhere near the retail value of the product. This is considering it probably
costs a third of the end price for the manufacturer to produce it. Thus the
value of the product is much higher than the value for the person that made it.
The exchange values in each of these three commodities also vary
greatly. Jewelry is used to decorate one’s body; jeans are used as the body’s
shield from natural elements; and gym shoes protect and support one’s feet both
inside and outside. They all serve their purpose, but then why do True Religion
jeans cost so much more than Wal-Mart brand jeans? They have the same use-value,
because they do the same job. This is the same difference in price of a crystal
ring and a diamond ring, or Michael Jordan’s basketball shoes as opposed to
Payless brand Shaq shoes. Some products more than others can argue quality but
the value the economy and popular culture put on it makes these brands much more
sought after. I believe Marx would sum that up to the nature of capitalism
because the system is designed to make the most money with the lowest amount of
investment. Quoting Marx from his work in Commodities
“…it is a value in use, there is nothing mysterious about it, whether we
consider it from the point of view that by its properties it is capable of
satisfying human wants, or from the point that those properties are the product
of human labor”.The end result of these commodities cannot exist independent
their creator yet the creator cannot afford the things they make; and a
capitalist environment dictates that “as increase in quantity of use-value is an
increase of material wealth” Commodities. The big deal difference
between use-value and exchange value is packaging and in what context the
product is being put into.
sociology. He focused a lot on the economy, wages, labor, value, and the
difference between the upper class and the rest of us. The difference between
what Marx calls the bourgeois, the petty bourgeois, and the proletariats. In a more modern day
those values are very much the same, but hold slightly different names. In
modern capitalist economies this is referred to the upper class, middle class,
and working/lower class. Such in depth discussion of values really makes a
person wonder the value of their own labor, or question the value of the things
that have little or no use-value but still are desired commodities.
This makes me wonder about the value of paid labor for a minimum
wage job versus the value of these ever changing commodities culture tells us
are to be desired. As Marx points out in many of his works, there is a
difference between use-value and exchange value. Initially what seems so simple
to explain easily becomes a more complex difference to grasp.
A commodity that has exchange value does not necessarily have the most
use value, but most things with a use value can also be high in exchange value.
Taking jewelry, overly expensive jeans, and gym shoes (Name brand athletic
shoes) for instance; each commodity has some sort of use-value. These things are
all man-made, but the value of the labor it takes to produce the nicety, are
nowhere near the retail value of the product. This is considering it probably
costs a third of the end price for the manufacturer to produce it. Thus the
value of the product is much higher than the value for the person that made it.
The exchange values in each of these three commodities also vary
greatly. Jewelry is used to decorate one’s body; jeans are used as the body’s
shield from natural elements; and gym shoes protect and support one’s feet both
inside and outside. They all serve their purpose, but then why do True Religion
jeans cost so much more than Wal-Mart brand jeans? They have the same use-value,
because they do the same job. This is the same difference in price of a crystal
ring and a diamond ring, or Michael Jordan’s basketball shoes as opposed to
Payless brand Shaq shoes. Some products more than others can argue quality but
the value the economy and popular culture put on it makes these brands much more
sought after. I believe Marx would sum that up to the nature of capitalism
because the system is designed to make the most money with the lowest amount of
investment. Quoting Marx from his work in Commodities
“…it is a value in use, there is nothing mysterious about it, whether we
consider it from the point of view that by its properties it is capable of
satisfying human wants, or from the point that those properties are the product
of human labor”.The end result of these commodities cannot exist independent
their creator yet the creator cannot afford the things they make; and a
capitalist environment dictates that “as increase in quantity of use-value is an
increase of material wealth” Commodities. The big deal difference
between use-value and exchange value is packaging and in what context the
product is being put into.