Ch.

16 - Karl Marx The sum total of the labour of all these private individuals forms the aggregate labour of society. Since the producers do not come into social contact with each other until they exchange their products, the specific social character of each producers labour does not show itself except in the act of exchange.

My Response - Kaleigh Comish It is interesting to compare how Karl Marx differs from Adam Smith and the way they view labor. Karl Marx believes that the product of a mans labor dominates him. He believes a man cannot be himself while at work and loses his identity as a man because he is not doing what he loves. Marx views labor as something which is impersonal and inhuman. Labor is something which is almost considered slavery because we are being forced to do things we do not like to do. Society makes items that are only produced for a profit of a company and no other reason. Our society has become so wrapped up in the idea that we are out to make a profit and Karl Marx does not agree with this. He liked the idea that we used to be a society in which every man worked by himself and for himself doing what he enjoyed doing, but now we are all slaves to our jobs. Marx talks about commodities and material things. I think he viewed commodities as something which crowds our minds and how we are only out to make a profit from these things. We are not enthused to have commodities because of the human labor which went into it, but by its dollar value. We have developed fetishes for commodities and have almost become obsessed with them. Commodities are no longer something we want, but have turned into something we need because we can make a profit off of them.

Therefore, the common substance that manifests itself in the exchange value of commodities, whenever they are exchanged, is their value.