More than 150 years since the publication of "Das Kapital" (The Capital)- the most significant book for the world's working class- we remember some basic thoughts written by Karl Marx.
The commodity is first of all, an external object, a thing which through its qualities satisfies human needs of whatever kind. The nature of these needs, whether they arise, for example, from the stomach, or the imagination, makes no difference. Nor does it matter here how the thing satisfies man's need, whether directly as a means of subsistence, i.e. an object of consumption, or indirectly as a means of production.
- Vol. I, Ch. 1, Section 1, pg. 41.
Every commodity is compelled to chose some other commodity for its equivalent.
- Vol. I, Ch. 1, Section 3, pg. 65.
