From: Michael Schauerte (mikeschauerte@GMAIL.COM)
Date: Sat Apr 28 2007 - 21:28:44 EDT
Setting aside for a moment the question of whether "detour" or "roundabout way" is appropriate to describe the mediated mechanism of value-expression, I think that in the passage from Marx that Kuruma quotes either of those terms would be OK to translate Umweg. Also, as a humble translator, I cannot get too far away from Kuruma's usage of terminology so I will probably have to make a choice between the two (or use "circuitous route", etc.) to describe the mechanism of value-expression. Perhaps the key term here is "mechanism," in fact. Because Kuruma is not merely saying that the value of one commodity (e.g. linen) is expressed in the use-value of another commodity (e.g. coat), which is evident and also clearly a mediated or indirect action. He is emphasizing how this is possible and how it occurs, which involves that "detour" Marx describes where the tailoring labor of the coat becomes the manifestation of abstract human labor. Kuruma describes a two-step detour, which is not so much chronological as simultaneous, where the linen equates the coat to itself, thereby positing the coat with determinate being as "value-body" wtihin this relation, and then uses the bodily form of the coat to express its own value. The emphasis here is not merely on how this is a mediated relation, which is undeniable, but is a sort of minute (and to some minds, perhaps, tedious) explanation of how this occurs. Mike On 4/29/07, Pen-L Fred Moseley <fmoseley@mtholyoke.edu> wrote: > > Quoting Michael Schauerte <mikeschauerte@GMAIL.COM>: > > > I listed three versions of the passage from Marx that uses the term > > "detour" or "roundabout way." You can see that there is a variation > between > > using the pronoun "we" or "commodity owners" as the subject, and that > > expressions like "equating to" or "equating with" are used. At any rate, > > this is one example of the "detour" Kuruma is referring too. I have used > it > > in my translation too, although in some respects "roundabout way" (not > > "roundabout way of saying") might be better. For most of the passages > quoted > > from Marx in my translation of Kuruma's book I have relied on Hans > Ehrbar's > > excellent translation, but here I think I will have to make a number of > > alterations. > > > > I would be interested if anyone has an alternative translation of this > > passage from Capital that begins: "Indem z.B. der Rock als Wertig der > > Leinwand gleichgesetzt wird, wird die in ihm steckende Arbeit der in ihr > > steckenden Arbeit gleichgesetzt..." > > > > > > "By equating, for example, the coat as a thing of value to the linen, we > > equate the labor embedded in the coat with the labor embedded in the > linen. > > Now it is true that the tailoring labor which makes the coat is concrete > > labor of a different sort from the weaving labor which makes the linen. > But > > the act of equating tailoring with weaving reduces the former in fact to > > what is really equal in the two kinds of labor, to the characteristic > they > > have in common of being human labor. This is a roundabout way of saying > that > > weaving too, in so far as it weaves value, has nothing to distinguish it > > from tailoring, and, consequently is abstract human labor." (Penguin, p. > > 142) > > > > > > > > "By making the coat the equivalent to the linen, we equate the labor > > embodied in the former to that of the latter. Now, it is true that the > > tailoring, which makes the coat, is concrete labor of a different sort > from > > the weaving which makes the linen. But the act of equating it to the > > weaving, reduces the tailoring to that which is really equal in the two > > kinds of labor, to their common character of human labor. In this > roundabout > > way, then, the fact is expressed, that weaving also, in so far as it > weaves > > value, has nothing to distinguish it from tailoring, and, consequently, > is > > abstract human labor." (International, pp. 60-1) > > > > > > > > "By setting the coat, for example, as a thing of value equal to the > linen, > > the commodity owners also set the labor embedded in the coat equal to > the > > labor embedded in the linen. It is true, tailoring, which makes the > coat, is > > concrete labor of a different sort than weaving, which makes the linen. > But > > by equating the tailoring with weaving, the commodity owners reduce > > tailoring in fact to what is really equal in the two kinds of labor, > namely, > > that they are both human labor. Through this detour over tailoring they > say > > that weaving too, in so far as it weaves value, has nothing to > distinguish > > it from tailoring, and consequently, is abstract labor." (Ehrbar) > > > I think that Hans' addition of "commodity owners" to Marx's sentence is > a mistranslation. Chapter 1 is about the objective properties of > commodities, independent of the perceptions or evaluations of > commodities owners. The title of Chapter 1 is "The Commodity". > > Marx introduces commodity-owners for the first time at the beginning of > Chapter 2, as follows: "Commodities cannot themselves go to the market > and perform exchanges in their own right. We must, therefore, have > recourse to their guardians [for the first time], who are the > possessors of commodities." > > And Marx emphasizes at the end of this paragraph the objective nature > of his theory: "As we proceed to develop our investigation, we shall > find, in general, that the characters who appear on the economic stage > [e.g. commodities owners] are merely PERSONIFICATIONS OF ECONOMIC > RELATIONS, it is as the bearers of these economic relations that they > come into contact with each other." > > In other words, the objective laws of capitalism determine the > perceptions and actions of individuals, not vice versa. > > Comradely, > Fred > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. >
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