| This question <197|30> overall <12|14> Scarlett: <12|14>. |
| Question 15: If Marx wanted to start his book with first principles, why did he pick the analysis of the commodity and not the analysis of the labor process or the analysis of value? |
| [13] Scarlett: I'm not all that familiar with Marx, but from what I know, I would guess that the reason he starts with an analysis of the commodity is because that is the basis of capitalism. Because a commodity is something that can be bought or sold, and a basic premise of a capitalist market is that anything can be bought or sold, Marx would begin with an analysis of the commodity. |
| Hans: You argued that one should start a book with the most basic premises. Question 15 was more tricky: why would one say that the commodity is the basis of capitalism, and not the concept of value or the labor process? They are both very basic too. This is a difficult question. |
| [13] Scarlett: I think that the reason a commodity would be the basis as opposed to value or the labor process would be that the commodity is the item that is focused on in a market. It may be more valid to have a market based on the concept of value or the labor process, but we see capitalism based on the commodity. Maybe that's what Marx is critiqueing. |
| Hans: Yes, the commodity is specific to capitalism, and is is something very simple and concrete, it is not a concept like value. This is pretty much the reason. |
| (Back to your original answer:) |
| [13] Scarlett: I know we haven't read that far into the Marx yet, but I think that this is a precursor to his ideas on alienation, and the idea that seeing labor, and in turn, people, can be bought and sold is bad for the majority of society. |
| Hans: Yes, excellent point. Now you are getting much closer to the answer of this difficult question. |
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