Dave's concept of 'economic value' as commensurability does not sufficiently
distinguish between value and use-value.
When Richard III said 'my kingdom for a horse' he was equating two very
different use-values. But nothing in the quality of being a horse is
commensurable with the quality of being a kingdom. Such valuations therefore
do not refer to the intrinsic qualities of the objects compared, but to a
third quality - the subject's need for them. What Richard was measuring, in
other words, was his own desperation.
It is very different when we say '1 coat is worth the same as 1 chair'.
This kind of value is independent from users' needs; it refers to an
intrinsic quality both objects share in equal amounts - embodied abstract
labor.
Paula
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Received on Tue Mar 17 21:52:49 2009
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