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Exam Question 117: Explain the different parts played by coat and linen in the equation “20 yards of linen = 1 coat.”

[48] Grumpy: different parts of 20 yards of linen = 1 coat   Marx explains the different parts played by coat and linen in 139:6 “Obviously the two different commodities A and B (here linen and coat) play two different roles. The linen expresses its value in the coat: the coat serves as the material in which that value is expressed.” Marx continues his argument that the linen is the first commodity that plays an active role, and the coat is the second, which plays the passive role. From Marx we learn that the two commodities are not interchangeable. So when we are saying that the 20 yards of linen are worth 1 coat, we are saying one coat is the value of 20 yards of linen. This does not mean that the value of the 20 yards of linen is equal to the value of one coat. This means, as we learn in the annotations that the form of value has no relation to the use values involved in the example Marx gives us of the linens and the coat.

With the two roles of commodity, what gives the linen the active role is the need of the linen weaver's labor to be accepted socially, or in other words the labor of the linen weaver is accepted by the economy and this gives the linen the active role of a commodity. The need of the labor of a raw material to be accepted socially is what defines the active role of a commodity. Active role has restrictions and a passive role is accepted without restrictions.

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