Sagar Sanyal
The talk contrasts rival theories of the commodity advanced by mainstream economics and by Marxists. Marx saw the commodity as the cell form of the whole capitalist mode of production, and as something that con only be understood in terms of class relations and history. Mainstream economists treat commodities as things that satisfy demand in mutually advantageous exchanges, that are produced efficiently and priced impartially by the market. The contrast between the two theories serves as an overview of Marx’s economics generally, and demonstrates the ideological and apologetic nature of mainstream economics.