The labor contained in commodities possesses a dual character: concrete useful labor that creates use-values, and abstract human labor that creates value.

By Karl Marx, from Le Capital : Critique de l'économie politique

Key Arguments

  • Just as the commodity has a dual form (use-value and exchange-value), the labor producing it must have a twofold nature
  • This distinction is crucial for understanding political economy
  • Marx claims priority in critically examining this twofold nature

Source Quotes

THE DUAL CHARACTER OF THE LABOUR EMBODIED IN COMMODITIES Initially the commodity appeared to us as an object with a dual character, possessing both use-value and exchange-value. Later on it was seen that labour, too, has a dual character: in so far as it finds its expression in value, it no longer possesses the same characteristics as when it is the creator of use-values. I was the first to point out and examine critically this twofold nature of the labour contained in commodities.
Later on it was seen that labour, too, has a dual character: in so far as it finds its expression in value, it no longer possesses the same characteristics as when it is the creator of use-values. I was the first to point out and examine critically this twofold nature of the labour contained in commodities. As this point is crucial to an understanding of political economy, it requires further elucidation.
I was the first to point out and examine critically this twofold nature of the labour contained in commodities. As this point is crucial to an understanding of political economy, it requires further elucidation. Let us take two commodities, such as a coat and 10 yards of linen, and let the value of the first be twice the value of the second, so that, if 10 yards of linen = W, the coat = 2 W.

Key Concepts

  • labour, too, has a dual character
  • in so far as it finds its expression in value, it no longer possesses the same characteristics as when it is the creator of use-values
  • I was the first to point out and examine critically this twofold nature
  • As this point is crucial to an understanding of political economy, it requires further elucidation

Context

Marx introducing the central theoretical innovation of this section, distinguishing between the two aspects of labor.