Re the on-going discussion with Steve K over
whether use-value can be expressed quantitatively:
"[Given that the commodity is bought by the
buyer not because it has value but because it
is a 'use-value' and is used for determinate
purposes, it is perfectly self-evident, 1. that
use-values are 'estimated' [geschaatzt], i.e.
their *quality* is investigated (just as their
*quantity* is weighed, measured, etc.) ....]"
("Marginal Notes on Adolph Wagner's
'Lehrbuch der politischen Okonomie'",
_Theoretical Practice_, Spring 1972, p. 53).
[NB: in the original both 'use-value' and
'estimated' appear as above with quotation
marks.]
Note here that this 'estimation' of use-value
does not mean that use-value as such has a
quantitative dimension. Rather, it means -- it
seems to me -- that the prospective use-value
is *accessed* -- i.e. there is an 'evaluation' of
quality -- prior to the sale of the commodity
by the prospective buyer. As what is being
accessed ('investigated') is *quality* that is to
be used for *determinat*' (individual, specific) purposes, there is no
standard magnitude that can
serve as a measure of the 'estimation' of
use-value.
In solidarity, Jerry
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