In Das Kapital, Karl Marx lays out what he calls the fetishism of the commodity. Don't look at us like that; we didn't make that term up. Basically, Karl argues that the reality of labor-time as value is hidden to us in the buying and selling of goods and services, which take on as objective characteristics the social relationships of people's labor. Objects start to seem like more than they are, and their true nature is obscured. Marx also bends minds when he suggests that economics is as base for the rest of life, which is merely the superstructure on top. In other words, everything, in Marx's view, is a result of economics.
Questions About Versions of Reality
- What do you think when you see a commodity for sale? Think about the last thing you purchased. What determined its value, according to Marx? What evidence did you see of that determination? What went into the product that you didn't see?
- What largely determines your everyday life? Is Marx right that reality boils down to economics? Why or why not?
- Explain commodity fetishism. What would it be like to interact with goods and services if none of them were to be bought and sold? How might the production and distribution of them be arranged?
Chew on This
The reality of a person's everyday life is best explained by his or her economic situation.
The reality of a person's everyday life isn't best explained by his or her economic situation.