#commodity fetishism

[blorbocedes]

his bag is unzipped and his luggage is louis vuitton

sent to me by: @cuthechicane

[gothicseverance]

For Marx the self under capitalism ceases to have an ontological reality of its own, instead it substitutes within itself a series of object-attachments which replace any real (or otherwise economically non-motivated) sense of autonomy.

—Dickens' Ghosts

[valenciamidknight]

“Distraction”, July 2024.

[deepdrearn]

Ok I need an audience to talk to this about and dear Tumblr I have decided it is you. I'm reading this book on Marx' theory of alienation and just discovered that this "thing" that has been bothering me since forever where people speak of "the economy" as if it's this universe of its own, governed by it's own natural laws has a name!!! It's apparently an exponent of commodity fetishism, which tbh I haven't fully grasped yet but it has to do with the distorted relationship between people and objects (as a result from alienated labor) and it's a very wild concept.

[talking-theory-with-chatgpt]

How is the concept of a commodity a foundational concept in Marx's definition of and critique of capitalism?

In Karl Marx's analysis of capitalism, the concept of a commodity is fundamental to understanding the nature of capitalist production and exchange. Marx defines a commodity as a good or service that is produced for exchange on the market, with a use-value (i.e., usefulness) and an exchange-value (i.e., price). In other words, a commodity is something that has both a physical or functional purpose, as well as a value that can be expressed in terms of money.

According to Marx, the production of commodities is the driving force behind capitalist production. In a capitalist society, workers produce commodities for sale on the market, and capitalists accumulate profits by buying and selling these commodities. The value of a commodity, in Marx's view, is determined by the amount of labor that is necessary to produce it.

However, Marx argues that the capitalist system creates a fundamental contradiction between the use-value and exchange-value of commodities. While commodities are produced to satisfy human needs, their value is determined by the labor time required to produce them, not by their usefulness. This means that under capitalism, production is driven not by the needs of society, but by the need to accumulate profits.

Moreover, Marx contends that the process of commodity production and exchange leads to the exploitation of workers. In a capitalist system, the value of a commodity is determined by the amount of labor required to produce it. However, capitalists pay workers only a fraction of the value they create, while keeping the surplus value for themselves. This exploitation, according to Marx, is the root cause of the inherent instability and inequality of capitalist society.

Therefore, the concept of a commodity is crucial to Marx's critique of capitalism, as it highlights the contradiction between the use-value and exchange-value of goods, and exposes the exploitation of labor inherent in the capitalist system.

And what does "commodity fetishism" denote?

"Commodity fetishism" is a concept developed by Karl Marx to describe the way in which the social relations involved in capitalist production are masked by the process of commodity exchange.

According to Marx, under capitalism, people tend to see commodities as having a value that is inherent in the objects themselves, rather than as a product of social relations. This "fetishism" arises from the fact that the value of a commodity is expressed in its price, which makes it seem as though the value is an inherent property of the object itself. In reality, however, the value of a commodity is determined by the labor required to produce it, and the price is simply a reflection of the social relations involved in the exchange.

In other words, "commodity fetishism" refers to the way in which the social relations involved in the production of goods are obscured by the market exchange of those goods. This leads people to view the market as a natural and inevitable aspect of human society, rather than as a social construct that can be changed.

Marx argued that commodity fetishism is a key feature of capitalist ideology, as it serves to reinforce the dominant social relations of the capitalist system. By making it seem as though the value of commodities is a natural and objective fact, rather than a product of social relations, commodity fetishism helps to conceal the exploitation of labor and the inherent contradictions of capitalism.

[quirkymarshmallows93]

Something interesting from 2010

I found this thinkpiece about Trader Joe's, a company I think about a lot, that touches on their perpetuation of commodity fetishism and post-Fordist consumption, among other thinks.

[shax-from-nerus]

Only on twitter.com 

[zmyaro]

What OP describes sounds like moving from the commodity fetishism version of punk to what punk is actually about.

[ellisdee161]

Eat Shit Die

[gothicseverance]

In Marx’s account of commodity fetishism in Capital (1867), objects become ‘alive’ with the labour which produced them, whilst individuals become increasingly objectified through labour.

—Dickens’ Ghosts

Art by @sketchupnfries 🖤

[teachanarchy]

How Cars (2006) Explains the Collapse of American Society

[cinnamaya]

It’s so absurd to try to assign market value to something which doesn’t actually ever exchange on the market. The fact that anyone thinks this will actually work is an example of how far commodity fetishism has gone. The idea that value is an intrinsic physical property of things (as opposed to a reflection of economic relations) has gotten so ingrained in our society that literal economists are trying to assign value to things outside the system of production and exchange. They think value can come from measuring something, as if value has any economic meaning outside the mode of production itself.

You can’t measure the “value of nature” because it has no quantitative effect on the cost of production.

Capitalism only values nature by how it can be exploited.

[codswallopia]

379 days until submission

9am-5pm Karl Marx

5pm-12am Carl Barks

no changes to report some 300 years onwards

[platonicpolycule]

I dream of one day meeting someone who will make feel as safe and comfortable as I do in my aikido pants.

[deepdrearn]

My university be like 🙃

[quirkymarshmallows93]

A few years ago I joined a couple Rae Dunn trading/discussion Facebook groups because I was fascinated by the cult following of the brand. Looks like times are tough…