Friends,

The next meeting of the Dem-Soc discussion group will be held on
Sunday March 30th @ 3:00pm in the A. J. Muste Institute (339 Lafayette
St. buzzer #11). We will examine a short but influential section of
Karl Marx's Capital (Vol. 1) entitled "The Fetishism of Commodities
and the Secret Thereof."

At this meeting we can also discuss Jesse's proposal for establishing
a set meeting time every month and develop a reading list.

"The Fetishism of Commodities" raises important questions regarding
the relationship between acts of production and consumption in a
capitalist economy. Are these separate and distinct acts? Can
distinct political strategies be developed to address both? Should
socialists attempt to bridge the gap between the two? What tools
would be most useful - culture, political economy...?

Here is a link to the reading:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch01.htm#S4

Preview Quote from the Reading:
"Value, therefore, does not stalk about with a label describing what
it is. It is value, rather, that converts every product into a social
hieroglyphic. Later on, we try to decipher the hieroglyphic, to get
behind the secret of our own social products; for to stamp an object
of utility as a value, is just as much a social product as language."

Useful Terms
use-value
http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/u/s.htm#use-value

exchange-value
http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/e/x.htm#exchange-value

mode of production
http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/m/o.htm#mode-production

relations of production
http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/r/e.htm#relations-production

Contact
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/democraticsocialistdiscussion
billyspnyc@yahoo.com
http://www.spnyc.org/main/
(718) 869-2279

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