| This question <59|119-2> overall <61|63> Hans: <61|64>. |
| Question 144: Describe the joint work of all commodities which is necessary to appropriately express the value of one commodity. |
| [62] Hans: Cooperation Cannot be Passive Yikes [59] almost got it right. He emphasizes that the Expanded form of value represents value in a much broader and therefore more accurate manner than the Simple form of value. But Yikes overlooks that this Expanded form still is the work of one commodity, the linen, alone. The linen is in the relative form, i.e., it is the active part in the relation. It expresses its value one after another in various equivalents. These equivalents do not have to cooperate with each other because of this. They just sit there, they are passive. |
| The story looks different after the transition to the General or Universal form of value. This transition simply consists in a reversal of the sides. But this has important consequences. Now the linen is on the right, and all the other commodities on the left. Now the linen is passive, and the other commodities must wake up and begin to act. Each of them has to express its value in one commodity, namely linen. This is where the cooperation enters. There must be now a social agreement among all the commodities to use linen as the measuring stick for value. |
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