"'Value...is the property of things, riches...of man. Value...necessarily implies exchanges, riches do not'...'Riches...are the attribute of man, value is the attribute of commodities...A man or a community is rich, a pearl or a diamond is valuable...A pearl or a diamond is valuable as a pearl or diamond'" (243).

Half of what Marx says reminds me of a geometry proof and, therefore, goes in one ear and out the other. This particular point Marx makes, however, I actually understand. Marx is making the distinction between value and riches. Inevitably, it is all relative. Things with value are comparable. Riches are not. Value is an attribute of a commodity; riches are an attribute of man.

"The value of commodity...varies directly as the quantity, and inversely as the productivity, of the labor which finds its realization within the commodity" (225).

Just talking about direct and inverse relationships makes me cringe. Help anyone?