Exchange Value and Price According To Marx
Strictly speaking, the exchange value of a commodity is for Marx not identical to its price, but represents rather what (quantity of) other commodities it will exchange for, if traded.
Exchange-value does not need to be expressed in money-prices necessarily (for example, in countertrade where x amount of goods p are worth y amounts of goods q). Karl Marx makes this abundantly clear in his dialectical derivation of the forms of value in the first chapters of Das Kapital (see value-form).
Actually, the word "price" came into use in Western Europe only in the 13th century AD, the Latin root meaning being "pretium" meaning "reward, prize, value, worth," referring back to the notion of "recompense", or what was given in return, the expense, wager or cost incurred when a good changed hands. The verb meaning "to set the price of" was used only from the 14th century onwards.
The evolving linguistic meanings reflect the early history of the growing cash economy, and the evolution of commercial trade. Nowadays what "price" means is obvious and self-evident, and it is assumed that prices are all one of a kind. That is because money has become used for nearly all transactions. But in fact there are many different kinds of prices, some of which are actually charged, and some of which are only 'notional prices.' Although a particular price may not refer to any real transaction, it can nevertheless influence economic behavior, because people have become so used to valuing and calculating exchange-value in terms of prices, using money (see real prices and ideal prices).
Read more about this topic: Exchange Value
Famous quotes containing the words exchange, price and/or marx:
“There is a delicate balance of putting yourself last and not being a doormat and thinking of yourself first and not coming off as selfish, arrogant, or bossy. We spend the majority of our lives attempting to perfect this balance. When we are successful, we have many close, healthy relationships. When we are unsuccessful, we suffer the natural consequences of damaged and sometimes broken relationships. Children are just beginning their journey on this important life lesson.”
—Cindy L. Teachey. “Building Lifelong Relationships—School Age Programs at Work,” Child Care Exchange (January 1994)
“How long most people would look at the best book before they would give the price of a large turbot for it?”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)
“There is a specter haunting Europe, the specter of Communism.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)