| This question <101|87> overall <65|67> Shaggy: <649|156>. graded A– |
| Question 205: How does the General Equivalent form of value express the labor represented in value not only negatively but also positively? |
| [66] Shaggy: General Equivalent. Marx mentions the given value of a commodity and uses the example of linen. One who is in possession of linen has the power to directly exchange with all other commodities. Therefore, it is accepted that linen holds a General Equivalent form of value creating a positive result in exchange. If I possess linen, I can use it to buy other commodities; this is of course a positive result. |
| In order to attain linen, human labor is involved. Linen is a form of value as a result of human labor. The use of private labor in a social form is a negative presentation of labor. In this situation, concrete labor (determination of use value of the commodity) and abstract labor (determination of the value of the commodity) are intertwined. |
| The positive effect is the power of actual human labor to convert a commodity into a General Equivalent form of value. |
| Hans: This is a creative answer. It is not what Marx says in the text, but it makes sense. There is only one confusion: linen gets its value from human labor, but it gets its form of value, i.e., its ability to purchase all other commodities, from the activity of the other commodities who have all selected linen as the use-value in which they express their values. This is the “joint work of all commodities” from question 203. |
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