| This question <58|29> overall <17|19> Soccer: <1|70>. |
| Exam Question 63: Is labor the only source of use value? Is labor the only source of value? (“Value” is here the property which makes things exchangeable.) |
| [18] Soccer: Labor as a source of use-value and value According to Marx, labor is not the only source of use-value. He shows that all use-values are a combination of two elements. He identifies these elements to be labor and matter. Thus use-value has more than just labor as it's source. If the useful labor is taken away from the use-value there is always matter left over. This matter is that which is furnished by nature without any help from man. Use-value is created by both of these sources coming together, which involves expending useful labor by changing the forms of matter already provided by nature. For example gold is provided by nature after which man through useful labor refines, melts, and reforms the gold into jewelry. From this example we can clearly see that labor is not the only source of use-value. |
| Next we come to the question of whether labor is the only source of value. Value here means the property which makes it exchangeable. According to Marx, the only thing that can produce value is labor power. In short the substance of value is labor. He also shows that the labor that is used to produce value is “equal human labor”. Value is different than use value in that it has nothing to do with the physical properties of the commodity and thus its only source comes from labor. In fact a major key to Marx's explanation is the fact that value is simply the expression of labor. |
| Hans: It was well explained, but the review questions are the simplest questions, testing the comprehension of one just has read. It is very difficult to get an A with a review question. |
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