| This question <74|209-4> overall <97|99> Digits: <655|139>. |
| Exam Question 207: The difference between the Money form and the General equivalent form is small; nevertheless it has important implications. Elaborate. |
| [98] Digits: I'd like to take a different angle than Belle [74] when thinking of the implications of the move from the general equivalent form to the money form. While I think she is on the right track, I think there is an easier explanation. Belle spends time explaining what factors help the society to accept a single commodity as the general equivalent, but it seems to me to answer the question, we must be more specific. In order to understand the move from C (general equivalent form) to D (money form), we must first understand how gold became the general equivalent. While evaluating the general form, the notations read: |
| “The General equivalent form is a form of value which can be assumed by every commodity, but this form has a very exclusive character; if one commodity is in this form, all other commodities are excluded from it. This tension between arbitrariness and uniqueness can only be resolved by a social act which fixes one commodity as General equivalent.” |
| From here we learn that this general equivalent commodity has only one role, that of being the measure of value for other commodities, and as Marx writes: “social monopoly.” Gold started out as any other commodity, but after time it finally became the socially accepted general equivalent, at which point the whole system changed from exchanging items for their particular use-value, to a system in which items were exchanged on a different level. No longer would the value of labor in each item be so obvious. One implication could be that the exchange rates would not be so equal any longer... people with a lot of gold could pay very high prices for things that didn't hold very much value, and it could go the other direction as well. |
| Hans: Very good. Due to its permanence, money is no longer a servant of commodity circulation but it becomes king. This leads to differences in wealth and income. |
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