>A factory when used as a factory is a use value that is
>not a
>commodity. It is only a commodity when it is sold.
George misses the point of Marx's comment. All wealth takes the form of
commodities. The fact that something is not being sold at that moment
does not stop it from being a commodity. (More to the point, George only
recognises consumer goods and not capital goods as commodities).
A factory that remained unsold throughout its lifetime would be a rare
exception. Forgetting that the original site would be bought from one
vendor, and the building from another, once constructed and in operation
the factory, as the property of a business would be traded every day on
the stock exchange (or more precisely, parts - shares - of it would be).
It is also false to think that the commodities that rest unsold on the
shelf of the supermarket at the end of a busy day are not therefore
commodities (they only cease to be when they perish). A commodity that
is not being sold at any one moment is not thereby any other kind of
property than a commodity.
Marx's point is very precise, and I am surprised that George want to
quibble with it. Under capitalism all forms of wealth are commodities.
In message <002d01bf8b47$b93d3b80$8afe869f@oemcomputer>, George
Pennefather <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes
>Jim is making a mistake. A factory when used as a factory is a use value that is
>not a
>commodity. It is only a commodity when it is sold. Factories can exist for years
>and
>years -indeed for their entire life span-- as use values --as forms of fixed
>capital.
>
>The dirty hanky in my pocket is a use value --snot rag. But if I am prepared to
>sell it to
>you and you buy it from me because you have a use, say, for my snot rag then it
>eh presto
>a commodity.
>
>Warm regards
>George Pennefather
>
>Be free to check out our Communist Think-Tank web site at
>http://homepage.eircom.net/~beprepared/
>
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>
>
>
>George is making a mistake. A factory is a commodity that can be bought
>or sold, just as it can be used in the hands of its owner. Factories are
>bought and sold all the time.
>--
>Jim heartfield
>
>
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>
>
>
>
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--
Jim heartfield
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