What does a commodity conceal?
Enter the first chapter without conflating price, usefulness, and value.
An original introduction. This guide accompanies the work; it is neither the complete text nor a translation.
An object with several aspects
Distinguish what makes something useful from how it enters exchange. These questions involve different relationships.
Comparing labor
Ask how concretely different activities become comparable in a commodity society. Do not immediately substitute a definition of price.
Making relations visible
Fetishism explains a social appearance, not merely an individual mistake. Find institutions making that appearance durable.
An idea to keep.
A commodity is a social form as well as an object.
Your turn to think.
- Must a useful thing have a price?
- Which relationships does a price conceal?
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