[MD] U.S. Values: the Jones

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Craig]
Do you have the name of the Wikipedia article quoted above?

[Arlo]
Under "Commodity Fetishism".

[Craig]
Does it presentany evidence or argument for the quoted claim?

[Arlo]
Its an encyclopedic reference. Treatments of evidence range from ZMM to the
Sullivan book I mentioned. Not to mention almost daily in the Dilbert strips.
:-)

[Craig]
It seems very implausible.  Inthe marketplace, use-value should equal
exchange-value, i.e., I will pay morefor something I value & less for
something I don't.

[Arlo]
Then why was the beer can shim, something high in use-value, low in
exchange-value?

[Craig]
The disconnect betweenvalue & cost is characteristic of non-market economic
systems where price isestablished by fiat.

[Arlo]
Both Pirsig and Marx would agree that "value" is determined by the metaphysical
foundations one assimilates through culture. In a country that "values" gold,
it has a high exchange value, in a country that does not, it has little
exchange value. The mistake is to assume the exchange value is neutral (here we
get into advertising, "branding" and the like on top of culturally-bestowed
determinants), or like John to assume the exchange value is an absolute marker
for Quality (here we get into the devaluation of human life, the poor are
stupid and lazy, people as "resources"). That is "commodity fetishism" (or more
accurately, "reification").