"Capital and Ideology" and Hot Topics in Chinese Economic Theory

Author: Zhang Yanxi / et al.
Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Kemin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-02-01
Features:
Excerpt: Chapter, it laid the theoretical foundation for further research on capitalist economy. Marx called it the "prelude" to the entire "Capital," giving it a special status in the book.
[Key Points of the Chapter]
(1) Commodities
1. The Two Factors of Commodities
A commodity is a labor product used for exchange. All commodities possess two factors: use value and value, or they are a unity of use value and value.①
(1) Use Value
One factor of a commodity is its use value. Commodities must first be useful, meeting people's needs. This usefulness is the use value of the commodity. Use value is determined by the physical, chemical, and other natural properties of the commodity. The same commodity may have multiple use values due to its diverse natural properties. The various use values of commodities are gradually discovered, recognized, and utilized as social production and science and technology progress. In all social formations, use value constitutes the material content of wealth. As mere use value, or the natural attributes of an object, is not the object of study in political economy. Marx examines the use value of commodities here because it is the material basis for commodity exchange, or the material bearer of exchange value. This endows use value with a social form that it does not inherently possess, transforming it into a material that embodies social relationships between people, thus making it a social use value. This is precisely the distinction between the use value of commodities and that of general products.
(2) The Qualitative Determination of Value
The other factor of a commodity is its value. Value is intangible and is expressed through exchange value. Exchange value is initially manifested as a quantitative relationship and proportion between one use value and another in exchange. A commodity can exchange with multiple commodities, so each commodity can have multiple exchange values. At the same time, in exchange, the quantitative ratio between different use values changes with time and place. The ability of various commodities to exchange at certain proportions indicates that they share something in common. This commonality cannot be their geometric, physical, chemical, or natural attributes, as natural attributes merely endow commodities with specific use values, which are qualitatively different and thus cannot be compared quantitatively. If we set aside the use value of commodities, the only attribute left is that they are products of labor, thus "embodied or materialized with abstract human labor." (23.51) This human general labor condensed in commodities is their value. Therefore, the exchange value of commodities is the form of their value, while the value of commodities is the content of their exchange value.
(3) The Quantitative Determination of Value
The substance of value is labor, so its quantity can only be measured by the amount of labor. The value of a commodity is not determined by the individual labor time of a producer but by the socially necessary labor time required to produce it. The "socially necessary labor time" is "the labor time required to produce a certain use value under the existing normal production conditions, with an average level of labor skill and intensity." (23.52) This means that the socially necessary labor time that determines the value of commodities is the time required by the majority of commodity producers under similar production conditions, technical levels, and labor intensity over a certain period. It is formed behind the backs of commodity producers through market competition. The determination of the value of commodities by socially necessary labor time is an objective law of commodity economy.
Postscript: After arduous efforts, we have finally completed the manuscript as scheduled. Writing a study and research work on "Capital" has been our long-standing aspiration. Among us, one is a central party school economics professor with over two decades of teaching experience in "Capital" and involvement in several study and guidance books on it; the other is an associate professor of economics who focused on "Capital" during their master's studies, completed a doctorate while working, and remained devoted to it, having taught at the central party school for over a decade. Our extensive experience with "Capital" has benefited us greatly, naturally sparking the idea of sharing our learning insights and research findings with the world. As is well-known, Marx's great work "Capital" has been published for over a century. Given the vast number of research on this "Bible of the working class" both domestically and internationally, we aimed to give this book a unique edge by focusing on addressing difficult points and hot issues related to practical application. Thus, with a certain degree of "overconfidence," we included the book's challenging points, especially those debated domestically, and theoretical issues still under discussion in the outline. Frankly, with years of learning and teaching experience and numerous reference books, we found it relatively easy to complete the "introductions" and "key points of content" for each volume and chapter of the original work. However, when we actually began explaining the "difficult points," especially exploring the "hot theoretical issues," we realized how "overwhelmed" we truly were. Among the difficult points we chose, there were those academically referred to as the "Goldbach conjecture of economics" regarding the understanding of "re-establishing private ownership," as well as issues debated for half a century without a unified "explanation," such as how to interpret "the dual determination of socially necessary labor time" and "productive and unproductive labor." Our exploration of hot issues involved several "frontier" problems with no established "explanation" in academia, which inevitably put us under great pressure. We celebrated our "small progress" in researching each issue but were troubled by our "lack of direction" during writing. In this book, Zhang Yanxi completed three chapters of the th volume, chapters 3 and 5 of the third volume, and one difficult point from both the second and third volumes; Shi Xia was responsible for two chapters of the second volume and chapters 1, 2, and 4 of the third volume. Here, we sincerely hope for the readers' criticism and corrections. At this moment, our only solace is that through the writing of this book, we have learned a great deal and strengthened our belief in Marxism, which may be more important than completing and publishing the book itself. During the writing process of this book, we received tremendous help from the renowned economist and doctoral supervisor, Professor Wang Jue: He helped us select the difficult points and hot issues to address in the book when we outlined it; he discussed key issues with us multiple times during drafting, offering us many insights; he reviewed some chapters after we completed the manuscript despite his busy schedule; he allowed us to use his earlier research findings as the content of the book's introductory chapter; and he kindly wrote the preface for the book at our invitation. As his assistant and student, we are truly delighted to continuously receive his earnest guidance and deeply grateful for his selfless help!
Author: Zhang Yanxi
January 1999
Central Party School of the Communist Party of China