r'--

" \--) \..-)

fihe F=ETISHspea,ks!

It is an
enchanted,

'in rAtrA
l'1. CaPital
/'/r". Lord,

//.o { hetr g/zos/ .a/king as

social orl o( lAc
"Aoro"/.r" /f;rg" .
ame /i*e 4s mere
 a+

I
'-l-
A
,l .
-rf, l S \,\crlc, a carnrnod i+7 1s So fo' a.s it is q.
I-

c,-bor.,ndin5 \al ue i n uS e, * 1,* n9.

VefY ?ueer '|,nj
is no*Lin3 rnysieriou5
rrigrn pity sicai si*t *is.tie s qnd
nice*ies, oboq.t it, wheiller we
*Leo iogico"I
tonrsider it $ron *l,e
point oS view ttat
Uy its propeties it
i5 capoble o{ sa+14t-
inqJ- hurnon tarnnts.

*1.'e poiat
*i''at -l-l.rose
ptopertieS
are *he
pndrrct of
t^moh lo.Aor

a.s clca-r as noon-dd.y lha/ rnan'

F4
by his industry, change..s /h.e
. *-"
if {he rnale.rra/s fernished -/
bv na, lure in such 4
4s to 'rake
"Joy -/
dhe"t, u.se{or/
{o ht.rz. fet, for
a/l lAat
,/7 , the ta6le
fo rm af
certinues
6taod, {o* tn'
i" a/lered ly
t-"!r"S lalle out of it.
"larr",a comtnon
ev?ry-
doy
l/ting,
 50 cs it s{eps $orth <r.s q- cotntn"di}y,
.[,o in*o somethino trans.en dent.

b"t, i" rclation *"

"-ll o+hJ
/ co--odities. it stonds oh
\ it= h.oJ, ond evolves orrt of
it r.t o''lY
*":d'" brain grotesl're
with it: feet A\

rorn t!.. moment *Lqi men in o.ny woy work {o" one
*[,cir labor q.ssumes o. socio-l {o.rn

rn.rtual relo-tions of *he produ.ers t"ke *he S.m of

b.*"ce.n *he

A co.-Jity is th.re.$ore o- r',ys*'riotr

*hinq, si-ply be.o.ute in it *he 56)qy
cho.ricter 'o$ Yn"n's labor. o-pPeqrs
,/
to *hem q's o.h obje.live chotr ter
up,on the. prJ".i of
$o.mpgd 7

beco-use *he relction

of
*he proJucers |o the
srrrn
*otol of *l-,eir own l.bor
rs presented to fl.m os
a s oci al rel oti on
exi s+ i nq
rot belween i|=r,...fr*s]
brr"t L..fween *1,.
prod*.i=
of *J-,err lobon
 It is a. d efin it e s oc is . ] -
relation between men t}.a
assu mes, in t heir n that world
ey e6
t}.e fan- ttre productions gf
In order to .find the human brain
ta stic
an aJla]-ogy we appear as independent
fo rm of
must trave recourse beings endowed with
a re].a-
to the mi.st-enve]-o J-ife, and entering
tio n
regions of t he into re]-ation both
betwe en
reJ * igioue wor J - d. rrith one another
things
and the human race.

i s l 'e t i s h -
i s m }"a s i t s
origin in t
This
pecuJ.iar
I ca.].]-
So it is socia]-
t he Fet is his m
in b he wo rld cl:aracter of
whi- c h at t ac hes it-
of commo di- thre ].abor
s el- f t o t k r e pr oduc ts o tl.rqf n-n-
J . abor , s o s oon as t h e y
with the
ar e pr odueed as c om m o d i -
p rod uct6
t ies , and whj- c h is
of me nrs
t}.erefore inseparabl-e
kran dg .
m t he pr oduc t ion of
co m m o d f_ t]- e s.

AUTHOR
fhe ]-abor of the inctivj-dua.l aseerts itsel-f as a part
of th e ].ab or of s oc iet y onJ . y by m e a n s o f t L r e r e 3 . a -
tions which t he ac t of ex c hange es t a b J - i s h e s directJ-y
betwe en the pr oduc t s , and j- ndir ec t ly, tl.rough them,
betwe en th e uc er s .
The money form of the worJ-d
When I state tha.t
of commodities actual-J-y con-
cea l-s, coats or boot6
instea d of dis c J - os -
i-ng, t} e sociaJ- stand in a ref.s.-
c}-aracter
of private t io n to J-inen, be-
l-abor and the
socie']. ca.use it is the
re].ations between
pr oduc er s . universa]. incarne.-
ind ivid ua l.
t io n of abstra.ct
human J.a.bor, the
absurdity of the
statement is se]-f-
evident -

or, what is the

same thing, wi-th
gofd or silver, as
the universa] equi-
val-ent e they e5-
press the rel-ation
between their own
private ].abor end
the co].]-ective
la b o r of soci-ety
in the sa:ne absurd
 t

T}.e categoriea o
They a.re forms of thought
bourgeois eoonoqy socie.3- val.iditY
expressing with
cons ist o f su c h of
the conditions a,rrd rel-ations
l-ike forms. his t o r i c a l ] - y de-
a def inlt e,
termined mode of productiont

The who].e mystery of commodities

a3-l the magic and necromancy
that surrounds tlre Produets of
J.abor as long as theY take the
f orm of co mmod it ies t

't
.:l
il
i't

It

:)l

I
 bas ed tfr" productJ-on of commoditiee,
F or a. societY
"tr

which
t}. e producers
in general- enter int tLreY red.uce their
wbereby
eocial- relati-ons wit}" individual- Private aa'bor
one errother bY treat- to the standard of hono-
ing their Products a's geneoue b.uman 13!er-
commodities and wa'].uee

'--fo t such a s oc iet Yt

Ch ristia litY wit h it s hote especi'a3.J-Y in its
cultus of abstract man deweloPmente t
bour geo i s
?r ot es t a n t i s m , Deismr etc'
j-s the most fj-tting form
of r el.i g i o n .
hhey b.lot,q to o- slo-t ' ' '[ I
-whi.h
s*llty ir, *Le Proces:
of y'odu.tion. ht' T":t:'Y
ou.J rns{"^d of beit'3
-on lled
contro

e vi dent heeessr| y rmyosed

by noture o.s produ.five.
lcbo. rtse lf

-;l\
; lhr5
Hence {orms of socio'I DerSOnltr-
I-
| . .l

produciion thq-t pre ceded co-tlon ot thrnSs

-
' t h e bo u r g o is torm *t9. trnd qonversion
treo-ted Ui +t.,. bourgeoisie o f p ro d u c * io n
ir, m,^ch the some wtrY as
of the CL**h \ rc lat ion s
*l.. F**h..s
into eritities
treoted gre- Cl'rislorin religions'
l s(L
re lig io n
ot
everrldc.y
.\..-.t
l;fc.
The q.t,^o\ aqgr,ts ot proJuctio. {."1 c"mpl"tely at home in
esl.c.ng-d otid i.t,e-ti.,.,o-l {ormS-

#,/
-
E.ono-i.s is no more *Lo.., o- dido.tlc,
rrbre or l.ss doqrotic trc.nslotion of
\. . J-

qvervoo.y conceptions
\eVerydov eonCePIlOnS of
or *he o.tuo-l
the (rcl U(LI
\lfll
c,gents of prod,.c-.

It sees in this TRINITY,

whi.h is derniJ of
"-ll
inn.r connection, the
nctur*l ond i"d,.bitable
lofty bo-sis Sor its sho-l*
lou PornPousness.
 .
I r^,.-
n ls r--ormu-La \
simu]-tsJ1eous]-y sor-
r es po n d s to the
int er e s t s of the
rr.rl-l_ng oaasses

b y pro ela im ing t he phy s i- ea1 necessity and

ete rna l- jus t if ic at j- on of t heir sourees of
r.evenue and elevating tkiem to a, dogma.

F i r s l p r in le d n Bla ck & Re d No . 5 , Ja nuary 1969

Re p r in te d in 1 9 7 3 b y
Black & Red
Bo x 9 5 4 6
De tr o it, M ich ig a n4 8 2 0 2