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Question 225: How does the General Equivalent form of value express the labor represented in value not only negatively but also positively?

[86] Melanie: In the General Equivalent form of value, the commodity acting as the “general equivalent” will have the role of equating the labor-time value contained in every other commodity. For example, if we set “linen” as the “general equivalent” in society X, then the value of all other commodities in society X can be related to the value of “linen”. Therefore, the labor-time used to create the linen can be related to the labor-time used to create all other commodities in society X. Marx states, “The innumerable equations of which the general form of value is composed equate the labor realized in the linen with the labor contained in every other commodity. They thus convert weaving into the general form of appearance of undifferentiated human labor....It is the reduction of all kinds of actual labor to their common character of being human labor in general, of being the expenditure of human labor power” 159:2/o.

In other words, the labor represented in value is expressed positively because now commodities can be related to each other by their true labor-time value. Without this common commodity to relate all other commodities values to, one might accidentally value things unrealistically to each other. The General Equivalent form provides a better and more consistent way to relate the values of commodities to each other.

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