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Karl Marx invented commodities

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Reading this article in its current form, you would be excused for thinking that Karl Marx invented commodities, or certainly its definition. It's a pretty good indication of Wikipedia's bias though. 89.8.26.93 (talk) 10:38, 27 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Incorrect Link to Alternate-Language Article

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The current revision of this article purports to be equivalent to the German Article for Waren, but that article instead describes commodities in the classical sense. Indeed, the German Ware is cognate with the English ware, which denotes articles for sale. In the sense of this Article, commodities are translated into German simply as Commodities. OzzyMuffin238 (talk) 12:58, 27 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not Primary Sense of Commodity

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The current revision of this article is written as though it describes commodities in a general sense. But whenever I think of commodities, I scarcely think of fungibility and standardization: Instead, I think of things for sale; and I think it fairly safe to assume that general usage is likewise. This is well reflected, for example, by the article on commodification—i.e., the process of turning things into commodities by offering them for sale—and also by various historical sources,[1][a][3][b][5][6][7][c] including dictionaries[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] and at least one encyclopedia.[16] In fact, even modern dictionaries primarily define commodities thus.[17][18][19][20][21][22]

In particular, Ricardo still calls these articles commodities even “when by no possible device their quantity can be augmented” by others, in such a manner as to grant “a monopoly price”[4]: 289–290 —in other words, in such a manner as not to be fungible.

I think Wikipedia should reflect this common usage by redirecting “commodity” to the other article, thereby making it the main one, since the current revision may mislead unwitting users. With that, I would recommend renaming this article to something like “Fungible commodity,” and the other one to “Commodity (classical economics).” In the alternative, I might recommend redirecting both pages to a disambiguation page. At the very least, however, I would ask that this article and the other implement a hatnote at the top referring to each other: perhaps {{For|goods and services that are sold|Commodity (Marxism)}} here, and {{For|articles whose price has become standardized by fungibility|Commodity}} in the other.

  1. ^ Blackstone described “sale” as “the last stage before the consumption” “of [a] commodity.”[2]: 318 
  2. ^ “No man produces, but with a view to consume or sell, and he never sells, but with an intention to purchase some other commodity […]”[4]: 339 
    “If [a person] sell his commodity for less money, it is only because one of the materials from which it is made has fallen in value.”[4]: 518  See also id. pp. 241-242.
  3. ^ While the word appears passim in most of these works, I have opted to cite only the most illustrative passages.

OzzyMuffin238 (talk) 15:28, 9 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I should add, perhaps, that the term also often signifies classes of commodity, i.e., classes of article on the market, rather than solely commodities as individual articles.[a]
But the historical record makes it clear that a commodity—whether an individual article or a class of article—must, in fact, be on the market.
  1. ^ “[I]t is not paper that regulates the value of gold as a commodity, but gold that regulates the value of paper.”[4]: 186 

OzzyMuffin238 (talk) 19:46, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  1. ^ Locke, John (1824) [1690-1695]. "Economic Works". The Works of John Locke (PDF). Vol. 4 (12 ed.). p. 57. [I]f [a merchant] pays a quarter more for commodities than he did, he will sell them at a price proportionably raised. See also id. pp. 57-58, 96-98, 167-169.
  2. ^ Blackstone, William (1775) [1765]. "Of the King's Revenue". Commentaries on the Laws of England. Vol. 1 (7 ed.).
  3. ^ Smith, Adam (1786) [1776]. "Taxes upon consumable Commodities". The Wealth of Nations. Vol. 3 (4 ed.). pp. 331–338.
  4. ^ a b c d Ricardo, David (1821) [1817]. On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (3 ed.).
  5. ^ Marx, Karl (1906) [1867]. "Commodities". In Frederick Engels (ed.). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Vol. 1. Translated by Samuel Moore; Edward Aveling. The Modern Library. p. 115. Objects that in themselves are no commodities, such as conscience, honour, &c., are capable of being offered for sale by their holders, and of thus acquiring, through their price, the form of commodities.
  6. ^ Menger, Carl (2007) [1871]. "The Concept of the Commodity in Its Popular and Scientific Meanings". Principles of Economics. Translated by James Dingwall; Bert F. Hoselitz. Ludwig von Mises Institute. p. 238. Products that the producers or middlemen hold in readiness for sale are called commodities. See also id. pp. 236-241.
  7. ^ Böhm-Bawerk, Eugen von (1891) [1889]. "The Positive Theory of Capital". Capital and Interest (PDF). Vol. 2. Translated by William Smart. p. 199. In isolated exchange—exchange between one buyer and one seller—the price is determined somewhere between the subjective valuation of the commodity by the buyer as upper limit, and the subjective valuation by the seller as lower limit. See also generally id. pp. 193-234.
  8. ^ Blount, Thomas (1707) [1656]. "commodity". Glossographia Anglicana Nova. p. 90. Note: unpaginated; page number calculated manually, excluding preface etc.
  9. ^ Phillips, Edward (1720) [1658]. "commodity". The New World of Words (7 ed.). p. 148. Note: unpaginated.
  10. ^ Kersey, John (1757) [1702]. "commodity". A New Classical English Dictionary (7 ed.). p. 52. Note: unpaginated.
  11. ^ Kersey, John (1721) [1708]. "commodity". Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum (3 ed.). p. 143. Note: unpaginated.
  12. ^ Bailey, Nathan (1783) [1721]. "commodity". An Universal Etymological English Dictionary (25 ed.). p. 171. Note: unpaginated.
  13. ^ Society of Gentlemen (1754). "commodity". A New and Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (PDF). Vol. 1. p. 678.
  14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1773) [1755]. "commodity". A Dictionary of the English Language (4 ed.).
  15. ^ Webster, Noah (1806). "commodity". A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. Sidney's Press. p. 58.
  16. ^ Dobson, Thomas (1798). "commodity". Encyclopaedia; or, a Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature (PDF). Vol. 5 (1 ed.). p. 217. Note: first American edition, but not first edition generally. See Encyclopædia Britannica#Reputation.
  17. ^ Merriam-Webster. "commodity". Retrieved 2024-08-09. Sense 1b.
  18. ^ Dictionary.com. "commodity". Retrieved 2024-08-09. Sense 1.
  19. ^ "commodity". Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary (4 ed.). HarperCollins. 2003 [1987]. p. 275.
  20. ^ "commodity". Webster's New World College Dictionary (5 ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2014 [1953]. p. 301. Sense 2.
  21. ^ "commodity". Collins English Dictionary (7 ed.). HarperCollins. 2016. p. 152.
  22. ^ "commodity". Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. 3 (2 ed.). 1989. p. 564. Senses 6a-6b.
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