| This question <82|82> overall <79|81> Luc: <57|142-8>. |
| Question 197: Which social forms do the three determinations of value take in Marx's example of a socialist society? |
| [80] Luc: communism According to Marx, the three “essential determinations of value” are (a) “the equality of all human labor insofar as it is expenditure of human labor-power” (b) “the social significance of labor time,” and (c) “the existence of interactions between the producers through which their labors integrated in the social labor process.” (Ehrbar, 76) |
| Each of these determinations of value has specific social forms. First, in form (a), “an association of free men, working with the means of production held in common, and expending their many different forms of labor-power in self awareness as one single social labor force.” In order to understand this sentence we must dissect phrase by phrase. “An association of free men” means that no individuals are in bondage, rather all experience a type of independence within the society. “With the means of production held in common” means that no capitalists are present, the means of production are a common good of society. “Expending their many different forms of labor-power in self awareness as one single labor force” means that all jobs are different, yet tied together by the concept of labor-power that combines as one single labor force. This fragment also deals with the idea of exploitation. If one is expending labor power in self-awareness, he or she is aware of the value of their labor and is compensated with equality. This determination of value is a social form because individuals are working together for the good of society; “the total product of our imagined association is a social product.” [171:2/o] |
| Second, in form (b) the “social significance of labor time” is manifested when the products that are used by the members of the society as means of subsistence are divided fairly. “The share of each individual producer in the means of subsistence is determined by his labor-time.” Marx asserts that labor-time takes on two forms: first, “its apportionment in accordance with a definite social plan” maintains equal proportions between associations of society according to the various needs; second, the labor-time also reflects the part that each individual takes in the common labor. (V172:0) |
| Third, in form (c) the “existence of interactions between the producers” is illustrated by Marx when he states “the social relations of the individual producers, both towards their labor and the product of their labor, are here transparent in their simplicity, in production as well as in distribution.” This means that there are no secrets and nobody has anything to hide. The value of products is common knowledge to all and no exploitation takes place. |
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