| This question <83|113> overall <87|89> MsMarx: <65|164>. |
| Question 79: Why can commodities not express their values in their own use values? |
| [88] MsMarx: Expression of commodity's value Marx says that commodities come into the world in the form of use values or material goods. Those objects which are a result of the production process are only one form of the commodity, its natural form. Marx states that a commodity is a product whose production process has the double character of being the congelation of abstract labor in addition to being the application of concrete labor. |
| Commodities have a twofold character, so they need a twofold form. One of their forms is their natural form, or use value (the product of useful labor). To express their values, commodities need the other aspect of their character, value form or money form (the congelation of abstract labor). Therefore, the commodity cannot express its value in its own use value in and of itself. |
| Commodities must take the form of a commodity by becoming a social product. This social form is manifested in that products must be sold on the market and in this way they pass the test whether the labor time spent on them was socially necessary. Since commodities need this double form, even if a commodity had the highest quality use value, that doesn't mean the commodity is socially accepted as a social product. The social form of the commodity is an expression of the value of the commodity. |
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