"All social life is essentially practical. All mysteries which lead theory to mysticism find their rational solution in human practice and in the comprehension of this practice." -Marx, Thesis 8.
Is all social life practical? According to Aristotle in Book VIII of Nichomeachean Ethics people may have any of three types of friends in their social life: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure and friendships of the good (based on mutual respect and common admiration). Do these two ideas necessarily agree with each other? Are all friendships necessarily practical?
"Money - the common form into which all commodities as exchange values are transformed, i.e. the universal commodity - must itself exist as a particular commodity alongside others, since what is required is not only that they can be measured against it in the head, but that they can be changed and exchanged for it in the actual exchange process." -Marx, Grundrisse 165.
Marx hereby promotes the idea of money becoming a commodity unto itself, serving no purpose other than to be used as a useless commodity, soon to be exchanged for "useful" commodities and to allow a universal value to be placed on things. He goes on implying that it is simply an ephemeral means upon which to exchange goods over a longer period of times. Does this idea necessarily agree with the others that he presents in Grundrisse? How does this idea affect his stance on social relations?
No comments:
Post a Comment