This question <61|138> overall <63|65> Hans: <63|65>.

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

[64] Hans: Marx was thinking of Woolen Coats, not Coats made of Linen   KaiserW's [61] is pure phantasy. It has nothing to do with the assigned text. The relationship between linen and coat which Marx analyzes is not based on their use values. This same mistake was also made in [59] and [62]. Therefore I will repeat something I wrote in the Annotations, which you all should have read:

I want to stress here that the form of value has no relation to the use values involved. Unfortunately, Marx chose an example in which there is a relationship between the use values, because linen can be used to make coats. This leads invariably to misunderstandings, such as, that the coat represents the value of the linen because it shows what kind of use values can be made out of linen. Or, in the reverse relationship, the linen represents the value of the coat, since it takes this many yards of linen to make a coat. A careful reading of the text will quickly reveal that this is totally wrong! The question whether one commodity is a raw material of which the other commodity can be made, or any other relationship of the use values, has no bearing on the value form. It would have been better had Marx chosen the relationship

10 bags of potatoes = 1 coat

to make it clear that the value relation is not a relationship between the use values.

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