 What Is Value? Marx’s Use of AnalogyDesmond McNeill ()
Chapter 8 in Fetishism and the Theory of Value, 2021, pp 129-139 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract In this chapter, I analyse the challenge that Marx faced—most notably in Chapter 1 of Capital Volume I—in seeking an appropriate way to explain the mysterious phenomenon of exchange-value: what does it mean that 1 quarter of corn = x cwt. iron? He considers analogies with geometry, and with chemistry, and suggests that value is like weight. None of these entirely satisfies him, but he does not consider analogy with language, which I suggest would be more apt, in view of the fact that value is a social rather than a natural or material phenomenon. Indeed, Marx referred more than once to language as the epitome of the social. For example: “For to stamp an object of utility as a value is much as much as social product as language”. One passage in the Grundrisse indicates that he considered, but rejected, adopting this analogy, but I suggest that he would have strengthened his argument if he had chosen otherwise. Keywords: Marx; Metaphor; Value; Exchange-value; Physics; Chemistry; Geometry; Analogy; Language (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:pshchp:978-3-030-56123-9_8 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-56123-9_8 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought from Palgrave Macmillan |
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