Marx, Capitalism--Who decides value: measure as social consensus (19th century-)

Marx, Capitalism--Who decides value: measure as social consensus (19th century-)

Marx argued that the exchange value of a given commodity is not an inherent property, but depends on the relationships among people in a society. The key is "socially necessary labor time," which refers to the time required to produce a product at the average level of skill and proficiency in that society. For example, in a society where it takes an average of one hour to bake a loaf of bread, the value of the bread is measured as "one hour of social average labor. If a craftsman takes three hours, the excess is not recognized as value.

This principle allows value to be determined not by individual labor, but by the average conditions of society as a whole, and serves as a common measure that makes different commodities comparable. Value is not an individual's subjectivity or utility, but a "product of social consensus.

In the late 19th century, with the advance of mass production, this concept became an important theoretical answer to the problem of how to fairly exchange goods with different efficiencies. Value theory is not just an economic theory, but rather, based on the social and cooperative nature of labor, it provides an entry point to rethink contemporary issues such as prices, wages, and the distribution of wealth from the perspective of "time and consensus.