- What is the distinction that Marx draws between use value and exchange value?
In the words of Marx, use value can be described as how every product or commodity meets any social need. Every commodity has a purpose, which is referred to as its use value. For example, if everybody is to be fed, we need a certain amount of food. Some of the use values need no effort to get, like air, water, sun, etc. However, others require some effort to get. Any amount of work that can be used in the production of use values has a finite limit.
Exchange value, on the other hand, refers to the ratio at which one good or commodity can be swapped for another. In any developed market, one good emerges to be the primary good in which all other goods express their exchange value. Today, this good is known as money.
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