| This question <9|26> overall <17|19> Oregon: <1033|19>. |
| Question 3: What is a commodity? Marx does not give the definition of a commodity but an analysis. How would you define the thing he analyses? (The answer can be given in one sentence.) |
| [18] Oregon: A commodity is something that is produced for sale or exchange. I feel that Marx is looking at the exchange value of each commodity. How much it is worth to someone else. |
| Hans: This is a common misinterpretation of the concept of exchange value. The exchange value is the market power of a commodity, what it can fetch on the market. This is not only dependent on how much others want it but also on how much of this commodity is supplied elsewhere. I.e., it is a social concept, not an individual concept. |
| [18] Oregon: Example raw materials. Commodities have some use and only when the use value is valued by someone else at a certain exchange price then it becomes a commodity. |
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