Commodity+Fetishism

=Commodity Fetishism= toc

What is a Commodity?
A commodity is an undifferentiated product whose market value arises from the owner's right to sell rather than the right to use. In other words, commodities are things of value, of uniform quality, that are produced in large quantities by many different producers.

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What is Fetishism?
Fetishism takes into the realm where fantasy intervenes in representation; to the level where what is shown or seen, can only be understood in realtion to what cannot be seen and what cannot be shown. Fetishism involves the substitution of an “object” for a dangerous and powerful forbidden force. In anthropology, fetishism refers to the primitive belief that godly powers can inhere in inanimate things.

Karl Marx
Marx turns to fetishism to make sense of the apparently "magical" quality of a commodity. He states that "a commodity appears at first sight an extremely obvious, trivial thing. But its analysis brings out that it is a very strange thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties."



Marx borrows this fetishism concept to make sense of what he terms commodity fetishism.

As Marx explains, the commodity remains simple as long as it is tied to its use-value. For example, when a piece of wood is turned into a table through human labour, its use-value is clear and as a product, the table remains tied to its material use. However, as soon as the table emerges as a commodity, it changes into a thing which transcends sensuousness. The connection to the actual hands of the labourer is severed as soon as the table is connected to money as the universal equivalent for exchange.

Through this, people in a capitalist society begin to treat commodities as if value is inhered in the objects themselves, rather than in the amount of real labour expended to produce the object. In Marx's words, he states that "the mysterious character of the form of a commodity consists simply in the fact that the commodity reflects the social characteristics of men's own labour as objective characteristics of the products of labour themselves, as the socio-natural properties of these things."

In addition, in a capitalist society, the real producers of commodities remain largely invisible. Consumers only approach their products through the relations which the act of exchange establishes between the products. They access the products of the workers through the exchange of money with those institutions that collect profit from the labour of the workers. Since consumers only ever relate to those products through the exchange of money, they forget the "secret" hidden under the apparent movements in the relative values of commodities - this secret is called human labour.

Nike Incorporated Example
Many consumers have a fetish for shoes. Nike Incorporated is a major manufacturer of athletic shoes, clothing, and sports equipment, marketing its products under its own brand. Throughout the years, many television advertisements have been created where famous athletes promote Nike products through a sport activity. For example, Michael Jordan would appear in a commercial playing basketball, showing off his Nike shoes. This image draws in consumers and increases commodity culture and fetishism. Many consumers may begin to believe that Nike products can help them play better in sports.

**Label/Brand Dependency**
Marx argues that the value of a commodity is related to its utility and efficiency rather than the label or brand name of the product. In regards to the brand Nike Inc., people in the society are faced with countless advertisements of Nike products through television, the internet, billboards, magazines, sponsorships to various institutions, etc. This mass advertising corrupts the minds of consumers who fall to the notion of material fetishism. For instance, advertisements on television reveal popular basketball players promoting certain types of Nike shoes. This invests the shoes with an additional meaning because consumers will begin to believe that Nike shoes will allow them to perform better in sports. Furthermore, Nike has corrupted the society to an extent where consumers will pay thousands of dollars on a certain type of Nike shoe. For example, eBay features online users selling limited and rare shoes for an expensive price. One user is currently selling “NIKE AIR JORDAN I ORIGINAL FROM 1985 METALLIC RED." This particular shoe is apparently the most rare out of the entire Jordan Shoe Collection and Nike only produces a few pairs to generate a greater demand.



//The rare shoe. Doesn't look that great anyway, does it?//

**Commodities As Value**
Marx states that our society fails to see that the real producers of commodities remain largely invisible. Consumers access the products of the workers through the exchange of money with those institutions that collect profit from the labour of the workers. Nike has been criticised for using sweatshop labour in countries like Indonesia and Mexico. The company has been subject to much critical coverage of the often poor working conditions and exploitation of cheap overseas labour employed in the free-trade zones, where their goods are typically manufactured. As you can see, consumers do not realize the seriousness of this issue and still continue purchasing Nike-branded products.

//One consumer's __entire__ Air Jordan and Nike collection.//

References:
eBay. (2006, March 22). “Nike Air Jordan Original Shoes.” Retrieved March 22, 2006, from http://search.ebay.ca/NIKE-AIR-JORDAN-I-ORIGINAL-1985-METALLIC-RED_W0QQfromZR40QQssPageNameZRC0021

Marx, K. “The Fetishism of Commodities.” __Karl Marx: Essential Writings__. Ed. Bender, F.L. Harper and Row, 1972. 335-345. Wikipedia. (2006, March 21). “Nike Inc.” Retrieved March 22, 2006, from [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_Inc.]

Wikipedia. (2006, December 1). "Commodity Fetishism." Retrieved December 6th, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_fetishism