CMNS 223W Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Commodity Fetishism, Social Relation, Semiotics
20 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Karl marx on commodities taken from chapter 1, vol 1 capital. Markets, exchange value, abstraction and fetishism define commodities. The utility of an object: o o o o o o o. Intrinsic to the physical or natural properties of the object but contingent upon historical factors. Exists independently of the amount of labour expended in the production of a commodity. Is realized only in consumption (which may also be part of production: e. g. steel in automobiles) When a good is exchanged for another good, it becomes a commodity. A commodity is produced in a market place and that is structured by advertising. It is exchange value that allows the commodity form. It is not determined by the natural or intrinsic qualities of the commodity but rather by its relations with other commodities. Results in an equivalence or equally between all commodities. Exchange is an act characterized by a total abstraction and independence from use-value.
