Magnitude of Value

The magnitude of value determined by the amount of human labor in general spent on the production of a commodity. Since the natural measure of labor quantity is labor-time, such as months, days, weeks, hours, etc., the magnitude of value of a commodity depends on the labor-time spent on its production.

Since the conditions of labor vary from one commodity producer to another and the individual labor-time expended in producing the same commodity varies, the magnitude of value of a commodity is determined not by the individual labor-time spent on its production, but by the socially necessary labor-time. The socially necessary labor-time is the labor-time required to produce a certain use-value under the prevailing socially normal conditions of production and with the socially average degree of skill and intensity. The “socially average level of skills and intensity” here means that “[the labor-power] must possess the average skill, handiness and quickness prevalent in the trade [in which it is employed]” … “this power must be applied with the average amount of exertion and with the usual degree of intensity.” When different commodities are exchanged, it is necessary to compare the magnitude of value of different commodities determined by the socially necessary labor-time they contain. “The value of one commodity is to the value of any other, as the labor-time necessary for the production of the one is to that necessary for the production of the other.”

The magnitude of value of a commodity is determined by the amount of the socially necessary labor-time spent on its production. The more socially necessary labor-time is required to produce a commodity, the greater its magnitude of value; inversely, the lower its magnitude of value. The socially necessary labor-time required to produce a commodity is not fixed, immutable, and will change with the changes in the productive forces of society. The higher the productive power of labor, the greater the quantity of commodities produced per unit of time, the less the socially necessary labor-time required to produce each commodity, and the less the amount of value of a single commodity, and inversely, the greater. The magnitude of value of a commodity varies directly as the quantity, and inversely as the productive power, of the labor which comes to fruition in the commodity. This is the general law of commodity production and the most fundamental relation between the productive power of labor and the magnitude of value. Therefore, with the development of science and technology and the continuous improvement of the productive power of labor, it is an inevitable trend that the magnitude of value contained in a unit of use-value will decrease day by day.