| This question <1324|147> overall <133|137> Dabears: <87|509>. graded A |
| Question 220: Describe the joint work of all commodities which is necessary to appropriately express the value of one commodity. |
| [135] Dabears: Joint Work of all Commodities. According to Marx, it is imperative that commodities express themselves in a common form. Hans said “clearly, this ‘joint work of the whole world of commodities’ [158:5/o] must be supervised by the state,” and I agree. In some way, this common form must be governed, such that the system cannot be cheated. This expression in terms of a “common form” is so important because not everything can be traded perfectly. Assume somebody wants to buy my car, and is willing to offer me something (of equal exchange value), but it happens to be something that I don't need. A less efficient solution could be obtained through bringing in a third party, but that requires time and effort to find a person who would “fill the gap.” |
| In [2003fa:117], Hans explains that “They have to select one use-value (e.g. gold) which they all use to express their values in.” I think it is important that this common use-value be something that has little use value. |
| Money, for instance, is a great intermediary, in that it is universally accepted, and it has little use. It is merely a medium of exchange for goods that contain a use-value that applies to our wants or needs. |
| I liked Marx's last sentence in 43:4, where he states “It was however of decisive importance to discover the inner necessary connection between form of value, substance of value, and magnitude of value, i.e., expressed ideally, to prove that the form of value springs from the concept of value.” |
| We learn here that we |
| Hans: You didn't really answer the question, but you quoted my [2003fa:117] which has the answer. At Marx's time, money was gold. About the use-values which were chosen as the money commodity Marx says in 182:1 that initially, they were either the main foreign or main domestic articles of trade. Later the noble metals were chosen. Why? because they are durable, divisible, and represent a high value in a small quantity. |
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