Marx puts his analysis of the commodity at the very beginning of Capital. He maintains that commodities are unique objects, the understanding of which requires that we also understand many forms of “value”. Yet the truth about commodities is still difficult to grasp, due to what he calls the “fetishism of commodities.” What is a commodity? What are the different kinds of value that Marx tries to separate from one another, and why are they important? What is the “fetishism of commodities,” what does it seem to conceal, and how can one reveal the truth about the commodity?
