Ouranalysishasshown，thattheformorexpressionofthevalueofacommodityoriginatesinthenatureofvalue，andnotthatvalueanditsmagnitudeoriginateinthemodeoftheirexpressionasexchange—value。
　　This，however，isthedelusionaswellofthemercantilistsandtheirrecentrevivers，Ferrier，Ganilh，[23]andothers，asalsooftheirantipodes，themodernbagmenofFree—trade，suchasBastiat。Themercantilistslayspecialstressonthequalitativeaspectoftheexpressionofvalue，andconsequentlyontheequivalentformofcommodities，whichattainsitsfullperfectioninmoney。ThemodernhawkersofFree—trade，whomustgetridoftheirarticleatanyprice，ontheotherhand，laymoststressonthequantitativeaspectoftherelativeformofvalue。Forthemthereconsequentlyexistsneithervalue，normagnitudeofvalue，anywhereexceptinitsexpressionbymeansoftheexchangerelationofcommodities，thatis，inthedailylistofpricescurrent。Macleod，whohastakenuponhimselftodressuptheconfusedideasofLombardStreetinthemostlearnedfinery，isasuccessfulcrossbetweenthesuperstitiousmercantilists，andtheenlightenedFree—tradebagmen。
　　AclosescrutinyoftheexpressionofthevalueofAintermsofB，containedintheequationexpressingthevalue—relationofAtoB，hasshownusthat，withinthatrelation，thebodilyformofAfiguresonlyasause—value，thebodilyformofBonlyastheformoraspectofvalue。
　　Theoppositionorcontrastexistinginternallyineachcommoditybetweenuse—valueandvalue，is，therefore，madeevidentexternallybytwocommoditiesbeingplacedinsuchrelationtoeachother，thatthecommoditywhosevalueitissoughttoexpress，figuresdirectlyasamereuse—value，whilethecommodityinwhichthatvalueistobeexpressed，figuresdirectlyasmereexchange—value。Hencetheelementaryformofvalueofacommodityistheelementaryforminwhichthecontrastcontainedinthatcommodity，betweenuse—valueandvalue，becomesapparent。
　　Everyproductoflabouris，inallstatesofsociety，ause—value;butitisonlyatadefinitehistoricalepochinasociety’sdevelopmentthatsuchaproductbecomesacommodity，viz。，attheepochwhenthelabourspentontheproductionofausefularticlebecomesexpressedasoneoftheobjectivequalitiesofthatarticle，i。e。，asitsvalue。Itthereforefollowsthattheelementaryvalue—formisalsotheprimitiveformunderwhichaproductoflabourappearshistoricallyasacommodity，andthatthegradualtransformationofsuchproductsintocommodities，proceedsparipassuwiththedevelopmentofthevalue—form。
　　Weperceive，atfirstsight，thedeficienciesoftheelementaryformofvalue:itisameregerm，whichmustundergoaseriesofmetamorphosesbeforeitcanripenintotheprice—form。
　　TheexpressionofthevalueofcommodityAintermsofanyothercommodityB，merelydistinguishesthevaluefromtheuse—valueofA，andthereforeplacesAmerelyinarelationofexchangewithasingledifferentcommodity，B;butitisstillfarfromexpressingA’squalitativeequality，andquantitativeproportionality，toallcommodities。Totheelementaryrelativevalue—formofacommodity，therecorrespondsthesingleequivalentformofoneothercommodity。Thus，intherelativeexpressionofvalueofthelinen，thecoatassumestheformofequivalent，orofbeingdirectlyexchangeable，onlyinrelationtoasinglecommodity，thelinen。
　　Nevertheless，theelementaryformofvaluepassesbyaneasytransitionintoamorecompleteform。Itistruethatbymeansoftheelementaryform，thevalueofacommodityA，becomesexpressedintermsofone，andonlyone，othercommodity。Butthatonemaybeacommodityofanykind，coat，iron，corn，oranythingelse。Therefore，accordingasAisplacedinrelationwithoneortheother，wegetforoneandthesamecommodity，differentelementaryexpressionsofvalue。[24]Thenumberofsuchpossibleexpressionsislimitedonlybythenumberofthedifferentkindsofcommoditiesdistinctfromit。TheisolatedexpressionofA’svalue，isthereforeconvertibleintoaseries，prolongedtoanylength，ofthedifferentelementaryexpressionsofthatvalue。
　　B。TotalorExpandedFormofvaluezCom。A=uCom。Bor=vCom。Cor=wCom。Dor=Com。Eor=&c。or（20yardsoflinen=1coator=10lbs。teaor=40lbs。coffeeor=quartercornor=2ouncesgoldor=1/2tonironor=&c。）or1。TheExpandedRelativeformofvalueThevalueofasinglecommodity，thelinen，forexample，isnowexpressedintermsofnumberlessotherelementsoftheworldofcommodities。Everyothercommoditynowbecomesamirrorofthelinen’svalue。[25]Itisthus，thatforthefirsttime，thisvalueshowsitselfinitstruelightasacongelationofundifferentiatedhumanlabour。Forthelabourthatcreatesit，nowstandsexpresslyrevealed，aslabourthatranksequallywitheveryothersortofhumanlabour，nomatterwhatitsform，whethertailoring，ploughing，mining，&c。，andnomatter，therefore，whetheritisrealisedincoats，corn，iron，orgold。Thelinen，byvirtueoftheformofitsvalue，nowstandsinasocialrelation，nolongerwithonlyoneotherkindofcommodity，butwiththewholeworldofcommodities。Asacommodity，itisacitizenofthatworld。Atthesametime，theinterminableseriesofvalueequationsimplies，thatasregardsthevalueofacommodity，itisamatterofindifferenceunderwhatparticularform，orkind，ofuse—valueitappears。
　　Inthefirstform，20yds。oflinen=1coat，itmight，foroughtthatotherwiseappears，bepureaccident，thatthesetwocommoditiesareexchangeableindefinitequantities。Inthesecondform，onthecontrary，weperceiveatoncethebackgroundthatdetermines，andisessentiallydifferentfrom，thisaccidentalappearance。Thevalueofthelinenremainsunalteredinmagnitude，whetherexpressedincoats，coffee，oriron，orinnumberlessdifferentcommodities，thepropertyofasmanydifferentowners。Theaccidentalrelationbetweentwoindividualcommodity—ownersdisappears。Itbecomesplain，thatitisnottheexchangeofcommoditieswhichregulatesthemagnitudeoftheirvalue;but，onthecontrary，thatitisthemagnitudeoftheirvaluewhichcontrolstheirexchangeproportions。
　　2。TheparticularEquivalentformEachcommodity，suchas，coat，tea，corn，iron，&c。，figuresintheexpressionofvalueofthelinen，asanequivalent，and，consequently，asathingthatisvalue。Thebodilyformofeachofthesecommoditiesfiguresnowasaparticularequivalentform，oneoutofmany。Inthesamewaythemanifoldconcreteusefulkindsoflabour，embodiedinthesedifferentcommodities，ranknowassomanydifferentformsoftherealisation，ormanifestation，ofundifferentiatedhumanlabour。
　　3。DefectsoftheTotalorExpandedformofvalueInthefirstplace，therelativeexpressionofvalueisincompletebecausetheseriesrepresentingitisinterminable。Thechainofwhicheachequationofvalueisalink，isliableatanymomenttobelengthenedbyeachnewkindofcommoditythatcomesintoexistenceandfurnishesthematerialforafreshexpressionofvalue。Inthesecondplace，itisamany—colouredmosaicofdisparateandindependentexpressionsofvalue。Andlastly，if，asmustbethecase，therelativevalueofeachcommodityinturn，becomesexpressedinthisexpandedform，wegetforeachofthemarelativevalue—form，differentineverycase，andconsistingofaninterminableseriesofexpressionsofvalue。Thedefectsoftheexpandedrelativevalue—formarereflectedinthecorrespondingequivalentform。Sincethebodilyformofeachsinglecommodityisoneparticularequivalentformamongstnumberlessothers，wehave，onthewhole，nothingbutfragmentaryequivalentforms，eachexcludingtheothers。Inthesameway，also，thespecial，concrete，usefulkindoflabourembodiedineachparticularequivalent，ispresentedonlyasaparticularkindoflabour，andthereforenotasanexhaustiverepresentativeofhumanlabourgenerally。Thelatter，indeed，gainsadequatemanifestationinthetotalityofitsmanifold，particular，concreteforms。But，inthatcase，itsexpressioninaninfiniteseriesiseverincompleteanddeficientinunity。
　　Theexpandedrelativevalue—formis，however，nothingbutthesumoftheelementaryrelativeexpressionsorequationsofthefirstkind，suchas:
　　20yardsoflinen=1coat20yardsoflinen=10Ibs。oftea，etc。
　　Eachoftheseimpliesthecorrespondinginvertedequation，1coat=20yardsoflinen10Ibs。oftea=20yardsoflinen，etc。
　　Infact，whenapersonexchangeshislinenformanyothercommodities，andthusexpressesitsvalueinaseriesofothercommodities，itnecessarilyfollows，thatthevariousownersofthelatterexchangethemforthelinen，andconsequentlyexpressthevalueoftheirvariouscommoditiesinoneandthesamethirdcommodity，thelinen。Ifthen，wereversetheseries，20yardsoflinen=1coator=10Ibs。oftea，etc。，thatistosay，ifwegiveexpressiontotheconverserelationalreadyimpliedintheseries，weget，C。TheGeneralFormofValue1coat10Ibs。oftea40lbs。ofcoffee1quarterofcorn=20yardsoflinen2ouncesofgold1/2atonofironxCommodityA。，etc。
　　1。ThealteredcharacteroftheformofvalueAllcommoditiesnowexpresstheirvalue（1）inanelementaryform，becauseinasinglecommodity;（2）withunity，becauseinoneandthesamecommodity。
　　Thisformofvalueiselementaryandthesameforall，thereforegeneral。
　　TheformsAandBwerefitonlytoexpressthevalueofacommodityassomethingdistinctfromitsuse—valueormaterialform。
　　Thefirst—form，A，furnishessuchequationsasthefollowing:
　　1coat=20yardsoflinen，10lbs。oftea=1/2atonofiron。
　　Thevalueofthecoatisequatedtolinen，thatoftheteatoiron。
　　Buttobeequatedtolinen，andagaintoiron，istobeasdifferentasarelinenandiron。Thisformsitisplain，occurspracticallyonlyinthefirstbeginning，whentheproductsoflabourareconvertedintocommoditiesbyaccidentalandoccasionalexchanges。
　　Thesecondform，B，distinguishes，inamoreadequatemannerthanthefirst，thevalueofacommodityfromitsuse—value，forthevalueofthecoatisthereplacedincontrastunderallpossibleshapeswiththebodilyformofthecoat;itisequatedtolinen，toiron，totea，inshort，toeverythingelse，onlynottoitself，thecoat。Ontheotherhand，anygeneralexpressionofvaluecommontoallisdirectlyexcluded;for，intheequationofvalueofeachcommodity，allothercommoditiesnowappearonlyundertheformofequivalents。Theexpandedformofvaluecomesintoactualexistenceforthefirsttimesosoonasaparticularproductoflabour，suchascattle，isnolongerexceptionally，buthabitually，exchangedforvariousothercommodities。
　　Thethirdandlastlydevelopedformexpressesthevaluesofthewholeworldofcommoditiesintermsofasinglecommoditysetapartforthepurpose，namely，thelinen，andthusrepresentstoustheirvaluesbymeansoftheirequalitywithlinen。Thevalueofeverycommodityisnow，bybeingequatedtolinen，notonlydifferentiatedfromitsownuse—value，butfromallotheruse—valuesgenerally，andis，bythatveryfact，expressedasthatwhichiscommontoallcommodities。Bythisform，commoditiesare，forthefirsttime，effectivelybroughtintorelationwithoneanotherasvalues，ormadetoappearasexchange—values。
　　Thetwoearlierformseitherexpressthevalueofeachcommodityintermsofasinglecommodityofadifferentkind，orinaseriesofmanysuchcommodities。Inbothcases，itis，sotosay，thespecialbusinessofeachsinglecommoditytofindanexpressionforitsvalue，andthisitdoeswithoutthehelpoftheothers。Theseothers，withrespecttotheformer，playthepassivepartsofequivalents。Thegeneralformofvalue，C，resultsfromthejointactionofthewholeworldofcommodities，andfromthatalone。Acommoditycanacquireageneralexpressionofitsvalueonlybyallothercommodities，simultaneouslywithit，expressingtheirvaluesinthesameequivalent;andeverynewcommoditymustfollowsuit。
　　Itthusbecomesevidentthatsincetheexistenceofcommoditiesasvaluesispurelysocial，thissocialexistencecanbeexpressedbythetotalityoftheirsocialrelationsalone，andconsequentlythattheformoftheirvaluemustbeasociallyrecognisedform。
　　Allcommoditiesbeingequatedtolinennowappearnotonlyasqualitativelyequalasvaluesgenerally，butalsoasvalueswhosemagnitudesarecapableofcomparison。Byexpressingthemagnitudesoftheirvaluesinoneandthesamematerial，thelinen，thosemagnitudesarealsocomparedwitheachotherForinstance，10Ibs。oftea=20yardsoflinen，and40lbs。ofcoffee=20yardsoflinen。Therefore，10Ibsoftea=40Ibs。ofcoffee。
　　Inotherwords，thereiscontainedin1lb。ofcoffeeonlyone—fourthasmuchsubstanceofvalue？labour？asiscontainedin1lb。oftea。
　　Thegeneralformofrelativevalue，embracingthewholeworldofcommodities，convertsthesinglecommoditythatisexcludedfromtherest，andmadetoplaythepartofequivalent？herethelinen？intotheuniversalequivalent。
　　Thebodilyformofthelinenisnowtheformassumedincommonbythevaluesofallcommodities;itthereforebecomesdirectlyexchangeablewithallandeveryofthem。Thesubstancelinenbecomesthevisibleincarnation，thesocialchrysalisstateofeverykindofhumanlabour。Weaving，whichisthelabourofcertainprivateindividualsproducingaparticulararticle，linen，acquiresinconsequenceasocialcharacter，thecharacterofequalitywithallotherkindsoflabour。Theinnumerableequationsofwhichthegeneralformofvalueiscomposed，equateinturnthelabourembodiedinthelinentothatembodiedineveryothercommodity，andtheythusconvertweavingintothegeneralformofmanifestationofundifferentiatedhumanlabour。Inthismannerthelabourrealisedinthevaluesofcommoditiesispresentednotonlyunderitsnegativeaspect，underwhichabstractionismadefromeveryconcreteformandusefulpropertyofactualwork，butitsownpositivenatureismadetorevealitselfexpressly。Thegeneralvalue—formisthereductionofallkindsofactuallabourtotheircommoncharacterofbeinghumanlabourgenerally，ofbeingtheexpenditureofhumanlabour—power。
　　Thegeneralvalue—form，whichrepresentsallproductsoflabourasmerecongelationsofundifferentiatedhumanlabour，showsbyitsverystructurethatitisthesocialresumeoftheworldofcommodities。Thatformconsequentlymakesitindisputablyevidentthatintheworldofcommoditiesthecharacterpossessedbyalllabourofbeinghumanlabourconstitutesitsspecificsocialcharacter。
　　2。TheInterdependentDevelopmentoftheRelativeFormofValue，andoftheEquivalentFormThedegreeofdevelopmentoftherelativeformofvaluecorrespondstothatoftheequivalentform。Butwemustbearinmindthatthedevelopmentofthelatterisonlytheexpressionandresultofthedevelopmentoftheformer。
　　Theprimaryorisolatedrelativeformofvalueofonecommodityconvertssomeothercommodityintoanisolatedequivalent。Theexpandedformofrelativevalue，whichistheexpressionofthevalueofonecommodityintermsofallothercommodities，endowsthoseothercommoditieswiththecharacterofparticularequivalentsdifferinginkind。Andlastly，aparticularkindofcommodityacquiresthecharacterofuniversalequivalent，becauseallothercommoditiesmakeitthematerialinwhichtheyuniformlyexpresstheirvalue。
　　Theantagonismbetweentherelativeformofvalueandtheequivalentform，thetwopolesofthevalue—form，isdevelopedconcurrentlywiththatformitself。
　　Thefirstform，20yds。oflinen=onecoat，alreadycontainsthisantagonism，withoutasyetfixingit。Accordingaswereadthisequationforwardsorbackwards，thepartsplayedbythelinenandthecoataredifferent。Intheonecasetherelativevalueofthelinenisexpressedinthecoat，intheothercasetherelativevalueofthecoatisexpressedinthelinen。
　　Inthisfirstformofvalue，therefore，itisdifficulttograspthepolarcontrast。
　　FormBshowsthatonlyonesinglecommodityatatimecancompletelyexpanditsrelativevalue，andthatitacquiresthisexpandedformonlybecause，andinsofaras，allothercommoditiesare，withrespecttoit，equivalents。Herewecannotreversetheequation，aswecantheequation20yds。oflinen=1coat，withoutalteringitsgeneralcharacter，andconvertingitfromtheexpandedformofvalueintothegeneralformofvalue。
　　Finally，theformCgivestotheworldofcommoditiesageneralsocialrelativeformofvalue，because，andinsofaras，therebyallcommodities，withtheexceptionofone，areexcludedfromtheequivalentform。Asinglecommodity，thelinen，appearsthereforetohaveacquiredthecharacterofdirectexchangeabilitywitheveryothercommoditybecause，andinsofaras，thischaracterisdeniedtoeveryothercommodity。[26]
　　Thecommoditythatfiguresasuniversalequivalent，is，ontheotherhand，excludedfromtherelativevalue—form。Ifthelinen，oranyothercommodityservingasuniversalequivalent，were，atthesametime，toshareintherelativeformofvalue，itwouldhavetoserveasitsownequivalent。
　　Weshouldthenhave20yds。oflinen=20yds。oflinen;thistautologyexpressesneithervalue，normagnitudeofvalue。Inordertoexpresstherelativevalueoftheuniversalequivalent，wemustratherreversetheformC。Thisequivalenthasnorelativeformofvalueincommonwithothercommodities，butitsvalueisrelativelyexpressedbyaneverendingseriesofothercommodities。
　　Thus，theexpandedformofrelativevalue，orformB，nowshowsitselfasthespecificformofrelativevaluefortheequivalentcommodity。
　　3。TransitionfromtheGeneralFormofValuetotheMoney—FormTheuniversalequivalentformisaformofvalueingeneral。Itcan，therefore，beassumedbyanycommodity。Ontheotherhand，ifacommoditybefoundtohaveassumedtheuniversalequivalentform（formC），thisisonlybecauseandinsofarasithasbeenexcludedfromtherestofallothercommoditiesastheirequivalent，andthatbytheirownact。Andfromthemomentthatthisexclusionbecomesfinallyrestrictedtooneparticularcommodity，fromthatmomentonly，thegeneralformofrelativevalueoftheworldofcommoditiesobtainsrealconsistenceandgeneralsocialvalidity。
　　Theparticularcommodity，withwhosebodilyformtheequivalentformisthussociallyidentified，nowbecomesthemoney—commodity，orservesasmoney。Itbecomesthespecialsocialfunctionofthatcommodity，andconsequentlyitssocialmonopoly，toplaywithintheworldofcommoditiesthepartoftheuniversalequivalent。Amongstthecommoditieswhich，informB，figureasparticularequivalentsofthelinen，and，informC，expressincommontheirrelativevaluesinlinen，thisforemostplacehasbeenattainedbyoneinparticular—namely，gold。If，then，informCwereplacethelinenbygold，weget，D。TheMoney—Form20yardsoflinen1coat10Ibs。oftea40lbs。ofcoffee1quarterofcorn=2ouncesofgold1/2atonofironxcommodityA。，etc。
　　InpassingfromformAtoformB，andfromthelattertoformC，thechangesarefundamental。Ontheotherhand，thereisnodifferencebetweenformsCandD，exceptthat，inthelatter，goldhasassumedtheequivalentformintheplaceoflinen。GoldisinformD，whatlinenwasinformC？theuniversalequivalent。Theprogressconsistsinthisalone，thatthecharacterofdirectanduniversalexchangeability？inotherwords，thattheuniversalequivalentform？hasnow，bysocialcustom，becomefinallyidentifiedwiththesubstance，gold。
　　Goldisnowmoneywithreferencetoallothercommoditiesonlybecauseitwaspreviously，withreferencetothem，asimplecommodity。Likeallothercommodities，itwasalsocapableofservingasanequivalent，eitherassimpleequivalentinisolatedexchanges，orasparticularequivalentbythesideofothers。Graduallyitbegantoserve，withinvaryinglimits，asuniversalequivalent。Sosoonasitmonopolisesthispositionintheexpressionofvaluefortheworldofcommodities，itbecomesthemoneycommodity，andthen，andnottillthen，doesformDbecomedistinctfromformC，andthegeneralformofvaluebecomechangedintothemoney—form。
　　Theelementaryexpressionoftherelativevalueofasinglecommodity，suchaslinen，intermsofthecommodity，suchasgold，thatplaysthepartofmoney，istheprice—formofthatcommodity。Theprice—formofthelinenistherefore20yardsoflinen=2ouncesofgold，or，if2ouncesofgoldwhencoinedare£2，20yardsoflinen=£2。
　　Thedifficultyinformingaconceptofthemoney—form，consistsinclearlycomprehendingtheuniversalequivalentform，andasanecessarycorollary，thegeneralformofvalue，formC。ThelatterisdeduciblefromformB，theexpandedformofvalue，theessentialcomponentelementofwhich，wesaw，isformA，20yardsoflinen=1coatorxcommodityA=ycommodityB。Thesimplecommodity—formisthereforethegermofthemoney—form。
　　SECTION4THEFETISHISMOFCOMMODITIES
　　ANDTHESECRETTHEREOF
　　Acommodityappears，atfirstsight，averytrivialthing，andeasilyunderstood。Itsanalysisshowsthatitis，inreality，averyqueerthing，aboundinginmetaphysicalsubtletiesandtheologicalniceties。Sofarasitisavalueinuse，thereisnothingmysteriousaboutit，whetherweconsideritfromthepointofviewthatbyitspropertiesitiscapableofsatisfyinghumanwants，orfromthepointthatthosepropertiesaretheproductofhumanlabour。Itisasclearasnoon—day，thatman，byhisindustry，changestheformsofthematerialsfurnishedbyNature，insuchawayastomakethemusefultohim。Theformofwood，forinstance，isaltered，bymakingatableoutofit。Yet，forallthat，thetablecontinuestobethatcommon，every—daything，wood。But，sosoonasitstepsforthasacommodity，itischangedintosomethingtranscendent。Itnotonlystandswithitsfeetontheground，but，inrelationtoallothercommodities，itstandsonitshead，andevolvesoutofitswoodenbraingrotesqueideas，farmorewonderfulthan"table—turning"everwas。
　　Themysticalcharacterofcommoditiesdoesnotoriginate，therefore，intheiruse—value。Justaslittledoesitproceedfromthenatureofthedeterminingfactorsofvalue。For，inthefirstplace，howevervariedtheusefulkindsoflabour，orproductiveactivities，maybe，itisaphysiologicalfact，thattheyarefunctionsofthehumanorganism，andthateachsuchfunction，whatevermaybeitsnatureorform，isessentiallytheexpenditureofhumanbrain，nerves，muscles，&c。Secondly，withregardtothatwhichformstheground—workforthequantitativedeterminationofvalue，namely，thedurationofthatexpenditure，orthequantityoflabour，itisquiteclearthatthereisapalpabledifferencebetweenitsquantityandquality。Inallstatesofsociety，thelabour—timethatitcoststoproducethemeansofsubsistence，mustnecessarilybeanobjectofinteresttomankind，thoughnotofequalinterestindifferentstagesofdevelopment。[27]Andlastly，fromthemomentthatmeninanywayworkforoneanother，theirlabourassumesasocialform。
　　Whence，then，arisestheenigmaticalcharacteroftheproductoflabour，sosoonasitassumestheformofcommodities？Clearlyfromthisformitself。
　　Theequalityofallsortsofhumanlabourisexpressedobjectivelybytheirproductsallbeingequallyvalues;themeasureoftheexpenditureoflabour—powerbythedurationofthatexpenditure，takestheformofthequantityofvalueoftheproductsoflabour;andfinallythemutualrelationsoftheproducers，withinwhichthesocialcharacteroftheirlabouraffirmsitself，taketheformofasocialrelationbetweentheproducts。
　　Acommodityisthereforeamysteriousthing，simplybecauseinitthesocialcharacterofmen’slabourappearstothemasanobjectivecharacterstampedupontheproductofthatlabour;becausetherelationoftheproducerstothesumtotaloftheirownlabourispresentedtothemasasocialrelation，existingnotbetweenthemselves，butbetweentheproductsoftheirlabour。
　　Thisisthereasonwhytheproductsoflabourbecomecommodities，socialthingswhosequalitiesareatthesametimeperceptibleandimperceptiblebythesenses。Inthesamewaythelightfromanobjectisperceivedbyusnotasthesubjectiveexcitationofouropticnerve，butastheobjectiveformofsomethingoutsidetheeyeitself。But，intheactofseeing，thereisatallevents，anactualpassageoflightfromonethingtoanother，fromtheexternalobjecttotheeye。Thereisaphysicalrelationbetweenphysicalthings。Butitisdifferentwithcommodities。There，theexistenceofthethingsquacommodities，andthevalue—relationbetweentheproductsoflabourwhichstampsthemascommodities，haveabsolutelynoconnexionwiththeirphysicalpropertiesandwiththematerialrelationsarisingtherefrom。Thereitisadefinitesocialrelationbetweenmen，thatassumes，intheireyes，thefantasticformofarelationbetweenthings。Inorder，therefore，tofindananalogy，wemusthaverecoursetothemist—envelopedregionsofthereligiousworld。Inthatworldtheproductionsofthehumanbrainappearasindependentbeingsendowedwithlife，andenteringintorelationbothwithoneanotherandthehumanrace。Soitisintheworldofcommoditieswiththeproductsofmen’shands。ThisIcalltheFetishismwhichattachesitselftotheproductsoflabour，sosoonastheyareproducedascommodities，andwhichisthereforeinseparablefromtheproductionofcommodities。
　　ThisFetishismofcommoditieshasitsorigin，astheforegoinganalysishasalreadyshown，inthepeculiarsocialcharacterofthelabourthatproducesthem。
　　Asageneralrule，articlesofutilitybecomecommodities，onlybecausetheyareproductsofthelabourofprivateindividualsorgroupsofindividualswhocarryontheirworkindependentlyofeachother。Thesumtotalofthelabourofalltheseprivateindividualsformstheaggregatelabourofsociety。
　　Sincetheproducersdonotcomeintosocialcontactwitheachotheruntiltheyexchangetheirproducts，thespecificsocialcharacterofeachproducer’slabourdoesnotshowitselfexceptintheactofexchange。Inotherwords，thelabouroftheindividualassertsitselfasapartofthelabourofsociety，onlybymeansoftherelationswhichtheactofexchangeestablishesdirectlybetweentheproducts，andindirectly，throughthem，betweentheproducers。Tothelatter，therefore，therelationsconnectingthelabourofoneindividualwiththatoftherestappear，notasdirectsocialrelationsbetweenindividualsatwork，butaswhattheyreallyare，materialrelationsbetweenpersonsandsocialrelationsbetweenthings。Itisonlybybeingexchangedthattheproductsoflabouracquire，asvalues，oneuniformsocialstatus，distinctfromtheirvariedformsofexistenceasobjectsofutility。
　　Thisdivisionofaproductintoausefulthingandavaluebecomespracticallyimportant，onlywhenexchangehasacquiredsuchanextensionthatusefularticlesareproducedforthepurposeofbeingexchanged，andtheircharacterasvalueshasthereforetobetakenintoaccount，beforehand，duringproduction。
　　Fromthismomentthelabouroftheindividualproduceracquiressociallyatwo—foldcharacter。Ontheonehand，itmust，asadefiniteusefulkindoflabour，satisfyadefinitesocialwant，andthusholditsplaceaspartandparcelofthecollectivelabourofall，asabranchofasocialdivisionoflabourthathassprungupspontaneously。Ontheotherhand，itcansatisfythemanifoldwantsoftheindividualproducerhimself，onlyinsofarasthemutualexchangeabilityofallkindsofusefulprivatelabourisanestablishedsocialfact，andthereforetheprivateusefullabourofeachproducerranksonanequalitywiththatofallothers。Theequalisationofthemostdifferentkindsoflabourcanbetheresultonlyofanabstractionfromtheirinequalities，orofreducingthemtotheircommondenominator，viz。expenditureofhumanlabour—powerorhumanlabourintheabstract。
　　Thetwo—foldsocialcharacterofthelabouroftheindividualappearstohim，whenreflectedinhisbrain，onlyunderthoseformswhichareimpresseduponthatlabourinevery—daypracticebytheexchangeofproducts。Inthisway，thecharacterthathisownlabourpossessesofbeingsociallyusefultakestheformofthecondition，thattheproductmustbenotonlyuseful，butusefulforothers，andthesocialcharacterthathisparticularlabourhasofbeingtheequalofallotherparticularkindsoflabour，takestheformthatallthephysicallydifferentarticlesthataretheproductsoflabour。haveonecommonquality，viz。，thatofhavingvalue。
　　Hence，whenwebringtheproductsofourlabourintorelationwitheachotherasvalues，itisnotbecauseweseeinthesearticlesthematerialreceptaclesofhomogeneoushumanlabour。Quitethecontrary:whenever，byanexchange，weequateasvaluesourdifferentproducts，bythatveryact，wealsoequate，ashumanlabour，thedifferentkindsoflabourexpendeduponthem。Wearenotawareofthis，neverthelesswedoit。[28]Value，therefore，doesnotstalkaboutwithalabeldescribingwhatitis。Itisvalue，rather，thatconvertseveryproductintoasocialhieroglyphic。
　　Lateron，wetrytodecipherthehieroglyphic，togetbehindthesecretofourownsocialproducts;fortostampanobjectofutilityasavalue，isjustasmuchasocialproductaslanguage。Therecentscientificdiscovery，thattheproductsoflabour，sofarastheyarevalues，arebutmaterialexpressionsofthehumanlabourspentintheirproduction，marks，indeed，anepochinthehistoryofthedevelopmentofthehumanrace，but，bynomeans，dissipatesthemistthroughwhichthesocialcharacteroflabourappearstoustobeanobjectivecharacteroftheproductsthemselves。
　　Thefact，thatintheparticularformofproductionwithwhichwearedealing，viz。，theproductionofcommodities，thespecificsocialcharacterofprivatelabourcarriedonindependently，consistsintheequalityofeverykindofthatlabour，byvirtueofitsbeinghumanlabour，whichcharacter，therefore，assumesintheproducttheformofvalue？thisfactappearstotheproducers，notwithstandingthediscoveryabovereferredto，tobejustasrealandfinal，asthefact，that，afterthediscoverybyscienceofthecomponentgasesofair，theatmosphereitselfremainedunaltered。
　　What，firstofall，practicallyconcernsproducerswhentheymakeanexchange，isthequestion，howmuchofsomeotherproducttheygetfortheirown？inwhatproportionstheproductsareexchangeable？Whentheseproportionshave，bycustom，attainedacertainstability，theyappeartoresultfromthenatureoftheproducts，sothat，forinstance，onetonofironandtwoouncesofgoldappearasnaturallytobeofequalvalueasapoundofgoldandapoundofironinspiteoftheirdifferentphysicalandchemicalqualitiesappeartobeofequalweight。Thecharacterofhavingvalue，whenonceimpresseduponproducts，obtainsfixityonlybyreasonoftheiractingandre—actinguponeachotherasquantitiesofvalue。Thesequantitiesvarycontinually，independentlyofthewill，foresightandactionoftheproducers。Tothem，theirownsocialactiontakestheformoftheactionofobjects，whichruletheproducersinsteadofbeingruledbythem。
　　Itrequiresafullydevelopedproductionofcommoditiesbefore，fromaccumulatedexperiencealone，thescientificconvictionspringsup，thatallthedifferentkindsofprivatelabour，whicharecarriedonindependentlyofeachother，andyetasspontaneouslydevelopedbranchesofthesocialdivisionoflabour，arecontinuallybeingreducedtothequantitativeproportionsinwhichsocietyrequiresthem。Andwhy？Because，inthemidstofalltheaccidentalandeverfluctuatingexchange—relationsbetweentheproducts，thelabour—timesociallynecessaryfortheirproductionforciblyassertsitselflikeanover—ridinglawofNature。Thelawofgravitythusassertsitselfwhenahousefallsaboutourears。[29]Thedeterminationofthemagnitudeofvaluebylabour—timeisthereforeasecret，hiddenundertheapparentfluctuationsintherelativevaluesofcommodities。Itsdiscovery，whileremovingallappearanceofmereaccidentalityfromthedeterminationofthemagnitudeofthevaluesofproducts，yetinnowayaltersthemodeinwhichthatdeterminationtakesplace。