Commodities

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an analysis of the term commodities. It describes the modern history of commodities and then focuses on the Marxist interpretation of the history and form of commodities. The paper delves into how value and human labor define characteristics of commodities. It finally describes the opposition to the Marxist definitions and explanations of commodities.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Modern History of the Commodity
Marxist Interpretation of Commodities: History and Form
Value and Human Labor as Defining Characteristics of the Commodity
Commodity Value = Money?
Opposition to Marx
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Gold, or money, is therefore an expression of value in defining the nature of the commodity because it is a measure of that commodity's value. Commodity value needs always to be determined by some measure - whether that be gold or money. This measure implies that it is invariable, as it is a unit of weight and should require a fixed ratio of values; but this is not the case, as the value of gold can - and does - change. This has little effect on the nature of the commodity as different quantities of gold will always represent the same ratio of relative values, and can therefore be used as a measure of assessment for commodity value. In other words, gold (and money) can always be used as a standard stable price measure, regardless of alterations to its own implicit value (Marx "Contribution" 65)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "A Guide to Commodities Market." MCDEXINDIA.com. Date accessed: September 19, 2006. Available: <http://www.mcdexindia.com/comm_guide.htm#2>
• "Commodity". Investopedia. 2006. Date accessed: September 19, 2006. Available: <http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/commodity.asp>
• "History of Commodities Exchange." Lind-Waldock. Date accessed: September 19, 2006. Available: <http://www.lind-waldock.com/edu/com/com_history.shtml>
• Marx, Karl. Capital: Volume 1. New York: Random House, 1977.
• Marx, Karl. Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. New York: International Publishers Co., Inc, 1970.

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