The two factors of commodities and the duality of labor that produces commodities

Commodities are products of labor that are used for exchange and can meet certain needs of people. They have two factors or two attributes, namely, use value and value. They are the contradictory unity of use value and value.

The use value and value of commodities

1. Use value Use value refers to the usefulness of commodities in meeting certain needs of people. It reflects the material relationship between people and nature. It is the natural attribute of commodities and the attribute shared by all labor products. Without use value, commodities no longer exist. Use value constitutes the material content of social wealth. Marx pointed out: "No matter what the social form of wealth is, use value always constitutes the material content of wealth." The use value of commodities is not used to meet the needs of producers themselves, but to meet the needs of others and society through exchange. Use value is the material bearer of exchange value.

2. Value Exchange value is first manifested as the relationship or ratio of the amount of exchange between one use value and another use value. It is not the use value of commodities that determines the exchange ratio of commodities, but their value. Value is the undifferentiated general human labor condensed in commodities, that is, the consumption of human brainpower and physical strength. Value is a social attribute unique to commodities. Any useful item has use value, but only when such a useful item is a product of labor and is a commodity does it have value. The reason why commodities with different use values ​​can be exchanged in a certain proportion is that they all have value. The value of commodities is qualitatively the same, so they can be compared with each other. Value is the basis of exchange value, and exchange value is the manifestation of value. The value of commodities is created by labor. Commodity exchange is actually the relationship of mutual exchange of labor between commodity producers. The value of commodities essentially reflects a certain social relationship between producers.

The unity of opposites between use value and value

The use value and value of commodities are in a relationship of unity of opposites.

1. Opposition The use value and value of commodities are mutually exclusive, and the two cannot be obtained at the same time. To obtain the value of commodities, you must give up the use value of commodities; to obtain the use value of commodities, you cannot obtain the value of commodities. Commodity producers produce commodities not to obtain use value, but to obtain value, and only care about use value in order to obtain value. Commodity producers can only obtain value by transferring the use value of commodities to commodity buyers.

2. Unity As a commodity, it must have both use value and value. Use value is the material bearer of value, and value is contained in use value. If an item has no use value, it is useless, and it has no value even if people have paid a lot of labor for it. Although an item has use value, it has no value if it is not a product of labor, such as sunlight and air in nature.

The duality of labor in producing commodities

Commodities are products of labor, and the labor in producing commodities has a duality, namely concrete labor and abstract labor.

1. Concrete labor Concrete labor refers to the concrete form of labor that produces a certain use value.

2. Abstract labor Abstract labor refers to general human labor that is undifferentiated and sets aside all concrete forms, that is, the consumption of human mental and physical strength. The concrete labor of producing commodities creates the use value of commodities, and abstract labor forms the value of commodities. Any kind of labor that produces commodities is, on the one hand, specific concrete labor, and on the other hand, general abstract labor. This is the duality of labor. It is the duality of labor that determines the two factors of commodities.

The unity of opposites between concrete labor and abstract labor

Concrete labor and abstract labor are also in a relationship of unity of opposites.

1. Opposition Concrete labor and abstract labor respectively reflect different attributes of labor. Concrete labor reflects the relationship between man and nature, which is the natural attribute of labor; abstract labor reflects the social relationship of commodity producers, which is the social attribute of labor.

2. Unity Concrete labor and abstract labor are not two independent types of labor or two times of labor. They are unified in time and space, and are two inseparable aspects of the same labor process of commodity producers.