George Pennefather wrote:
>
> In the opening paragraph of Capital Marx proclaims:
>
> The wealth of those societies in which the capitalist mode of production prevails,
> presents itself as "an immense accumulation of commodities," its unit being a single
> commodity. Our investigation must therefore begin with the analysis of a commodity.
> So the capitalist mode of production can prevail in more than one society.
>
> To say that the "wealth of those societies presents itself as an immense accumulation of
> commodities" is not true. Much of the wealth is in the form of industrial capital which is
> not capital in the form of the commodity. This mistaken premise renders the validity of
> making the commodity a starting point questionable on that basis.
[snip]
The question, it seems to me, is: How to interpret the word
"commodity"?
If we interpret the word "commodity to mean: That which is
valued in terms of its exchange value, or, even better: in terms of
its potential to be sold for a profit, then *every[-]thing* is a
commodity, because capitalism is the totalization of the
regional ontology of monetarization ("Geld! Geld! Uber Alles!...).
Heidegger asked: What is the meaning of Being? Capitalism
answers: The meaning of Being is to turn a profit. Hence,
all that-which-is is, for capitalism, a commodity. I think this
is something like what Marx meant.
Of course capitalists are
not quite consistent, in that they do not generally value *themselves*
*only* in terms of their ability to be converted into profit,
although, even here, they will often prefer such expenditures
as wives who are "social assets", i.e., able to help win
new business contracts in "social situations" (i.e., business
conducted by "other" means).
What use has a capitalist for *anything*, except to
turn it into the greatest positive delta of net worth
per unit of time?
Be that as it may, As Hannah Arendt beautifully put it, even the
mistakes of a great thinker such as Marx are often more
valuable for our understanding of our
life than the correct assertions of their detractors.
+\brad mccormick
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [log in to unmask]
914.238.0788 / 27 Poillon Rd, Chappaqua NY 10514-3403 USA
-------------------------------------------------------
<![%THINK;[XML]]> Visit my website: http://www.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|