This question <261|276> overall <264|266> Ashley: <76|266>.

Question 258: Mark Blaug writes in p. 268:2: “Commodity ‘fetishism’ refers to the tendency to reify commodities, to treat what are in fact social relations between men as if they were relations between things.” Right or wrong?

[265] Ashley: Commodity As A Living Thing.   Wrong. The fact here is that yes, we treat commodities as if they were living things, however, it is not a question subjective. It is objective. Commodities have some sort of control over society where the social relations involved is not a matter of attitude or choice. In capitalism, commodities have so much power that it's a matter of fact what will happen. Society really doesn't have a choice because certain commodities are considered more important and more powerful than others as if they were human beings. Society is so obsessed with commodities that they are giving them human characteristics. In conclusion, I am agreeing that commodity fetishism is partly social relation between things, but it is far more than that. We have social relations with commodities that gives them control over our society.

Hans: The power of these commodities does not come from it that individuals find them too important. It comes from the fact that individual relate to each other through commodities and forget over this what society really consists of.

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