Commodity fetishism
Commodity fetishism is an economic concept primarily discussed in the context of capitalist societies, where the value of products is shaped more by the perceptions and meanings ascribed to them by consumers than by their practical uses. This idea was notably articulated by Karl Marx in his seminal work, *Das Kapital*, where he described how consumers often lose sight of the labor and processes involved in the production of goods. In such environments, the relationship between consumers and commodities becomes depersonalized, leading individuals to evaluate products based on their perceived status or cultural significance rather than their inherent utility.
Marx identified two types of value within this framework: use-value, which pertains to a product's practical functionality, and exchange-value, which relates to the worth of a product in comparison to other similar goods. In capitalist systems, exchange-value tends to overshadow use-value, fostering a "mystical" relationship where consumers are influenced heavily by marketing and advertising narratives. As a result, the perceived benefits and cultural meanings of products can become detached from their actual qualities and the labor that produced them. Understanding commodity fetishism thus sheds light on how consumer culture can obscure the social and economic realities behind the products we buy, influencing both individual behavior and societal norms.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Commodity fetishism
Commodity fetishism is an economic phenomenon that occurs in capitalist societies when the value of products is derived not from what they can do for consumers but from what they mean to consumers. The idea of commodity fetishism was first outlined by renowned German economist, historian, and philosopher Karl Marx in Das Kapital (1867-1894). Das Kapital was Marx's masterwork in economic theory. In it, he described commodity fetishism as a sort of magical quality that consumers ascribe to products when they begin to lose their connection with the actual people and processes involved in the making of those products. When this happens, consumers come to form a relationship with products instead of the people who make them. Further, consumers judge a product based on how it compares to other products of the same kind. This comparison—rather than the nature of its creation—determines the product's cultural meaning and its ultimate commercial value.
Background
Karl Marx was a nineteenth-century German economist, political theorist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best known for developing a philosophical theory of society, economics, and politics, now known as Marxism. Marxism is based primarily on the belief that the development of human societies is directly tied to class struggle. Marx's writings, especially a landmark pamphlet called The Communist Manifesto, form the basis of socialist economic theory and essentially laid the groundwork for modern international communism.
Shortly after completing his studies at the University of Berlin, Marx found work writing for a liberal democratic newspaper called Rheinische Zeitung. When the Prussian government shut the paper down in 1843, Marx moved to Paris and there met fellow social philosopher Friedrich Engels. Marx and Engels remained friends and collaborators for the rest of their lives. In 1845, the Prussian government forced the pair out of France. Upon subsequently settling in Belgium, Marx and Engels were approached by London's Communist League to write a pamphlet in support of the communist movement. The resulting work was The Communist Manifesto, an 1848 political leaflet in which Marx and Engels described human history as a series of class struggles and predicted that capitalism would eventually be undone by a working-class uprising that would shift control of the means of production away from the world's wealthy elite. The Communist Manifesto became one of the most influential political writings ever put to paper.
Marx left Belgium in 1848 and ultimately settled in London. He spent the rest of his life there. During this period, Marx increasingly turned his attention to developing his economic theories. His work in this area culminated in the 1867 publication of Das Kapital. In Das Kapital, which he intended to be the first volume of a broader masterwork of economic theory, Marx described his theory of capitalism as a dynamic system that was ultimately doomed to self-destruct. It was also in Das Kapital that Marx outlined the concept of commodity fetishism and its role in capitalism. Although he continued working on his economic theory series, Marx never completed any other volumes. He died on March 14, 1883.
Overview
At its core, commodity fetishism is an economic concept that arises from the ways in which consumers perceive and relate to marketplace commodities. Commodities are marketable products that serve to meet human needs in one way or another and include both raw goods like grain and finished goods like bread. In economic systems, there are two forms of value that determine a product's worth: use-value and exchange-value.
Use-value refers to a product's inherent ability to meet consumer wants and needs. Use-value is defined by a product's physical properties and what those properties allow it to do for the consumer. Moreover, use-value is life-sustaining and purpose-driven. In non-capitalist societies, use-value arises from the consumer's direct knowledge of who made a particular product and how that product was made. In capitalist societies, labor and production processes are usually obscured by consumer culture and branding. As a result, consumers have little or no understanding of the effort and processes that go into making the products they buy.
Exchange-value is unique to capitalist communities. Exchange-value is defined by a product's worth as compared to the perceived worth of another equivalent product. In other words, exchange-value hinges on what a person can get by exchanging one product for another. This, in turn, means that the effort and processes involved in the creation of a product have no direct relation to that product's value.
Commodity fetishism arises in communities where exchange-value supersedes use-value. When consumers have no knowledge of the people or process involved in the making of a product, their perception of that product tends to take on a mystical slant. This mystical perception is supported and enhanced by the marketing and advertising used to sell the product. As a result, when people choose to purchase a particular product, they exchange their money for the benefits of whatever they believe a product can do. Judging a product's worth based solely on the mystical—and sometimes mythical—perception of what it can do is precisely what Marx defined as commodity fetishism.
It is important to note that the meaning of "what a product can do" is different when viewed from the exchange-value perspective than it is when viewed from the use-value perspective. In the use-value sense, "what a product can do" refers quite literally to what a product can directly do for a consumer. In the exchange-value sense, "what a product can do" has a much broader meaning based primarily on what the consumer is told a given product can do. For example, many products are marketed in such a way as to suggest that they can elevate the social status of people who purchase them. Whether or not this is realistically true, consumers tend to believe such claims because their relationship with the products in question is determined mostly through marketing and advertising. In short, consumers who have no connection to the people or processes involved in the creation of the products they purchase develop a relationship with those products that is based on the mystical properties imbued on such products through marketing and advertising. Thus, the value of a product is determined through commodity fetishism.
Bibliography
DeMichele, Thomas. "Commodity Fetishism, Consumerism, the Society of the Spectacle, Alienation, and More." Fact/Myth, 10 July 2017, factmyth.com/commodity-fetishism-consumerism-the-society-of-the-spectacle-alienation-and-more. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
Fahim, Jamal. "Chocolate and Commodity Fetishism." The Society Pages, 15 Nov. 2010, thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/11/15/guest-post-chocolate-commodity-fetishism-and-high-class-luxury. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
Garrido, Carlos. “What is the Fetishism of Commodities?” Hampton Institute, 31 May 2022, www.hamptonthink.org/read/what-is-the-fetishism-of-commodities. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
Ghosh, Jayati. "150 Years of 'Das Kapital': How Relevant Is Marx Today?" Al Jazeera, 22 Aug. 2017, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/08/150-years-das-kapital-relevant-marx-today-170817115417283.html. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
Riggins, Thomas. "What Is the Fetishism of Commodities?" Dissident Voice, 1 June 2009, dissidentvoice.org/2009/06/what-is-the-fetishism-of-commodities. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
Robinson, Andrew. "In Theory – Karl Marx's Fetishisms." Ceasefire, 23 Sept. 2010, ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-karl-marxs-fetishisms. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
"Theory: Commodity Fetishism." Beautiful Trouble, beautifultrouble.org/theory/commodity-fetishism. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
Tromsness, Rebecca. "Marx: A Summary of 'The Fetishism of Commodities'." Owlcation, 2 Dec. 2023, owlcation.com/social-sciences/Analysis-of-Marx-The-fetishism-of-commodities. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.