| This question <78|82> overall <78|81> Mitchel: <648|131>. |
| Question 198: Which characteristics of value are expressed better in the Expanded form of value than in the Simple form, and what are the defects of the Expanded form? |
| [79] Mitchel: Characteristics of Value. Diesel says this of Simple form, “The value of a commodity is contained in its value in relation to another commodity of another kind.” This sounds to me like he is trying to make it too simplified. The value of a commodity is not only based on the value of another commodity of that kind. |
| The Expanded form goes deeper into the different elements of value and how it can differ depending on what someone is willing to exchange for that commodity. In the case of linen and by virtue of its form of value, no longer stands in a social relation with merely one other kind of commodity, but with the whole world of commodities. |
| “It becomes plain that it is not the exchange of commodities with regulates the magnitude of their values, but rather the reverse, it is the magnitude of the value of commodities which regulate the proportion in which they are exchanged.” I take this to mean that just existing does not make that commodity valuable, but it is what someone is willing to pay or exchange for that commodity that makes it worth something. |
| Unfortunatally there are some defects of the Expanded form. Marx said that the Expanded form is not unique, simple, or uniform. Its lack of uniqueness is “because new commodities are constantly entering the market.” For me the lack of simplicity makes the Expanded form more desirable, but it does lead to nonuniformity. The relative form of value of a commodity is different from that of every other commodity. |
| The Expanded form allows for more movement within the system. It is not just one commodity for one similar commodity, the possibilities are numerous. |
| Hans: Your notion that the value of a commodity is what someone is willing to pay for that commodity is just the opposite of what Marx says. Section 3 explores the connection, in Marx's theory, between the choices people make on the market and the labor content of the commodities. |
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