Commodities and Consumption: General and Specific Features

Abstract

As we have seen, markets are artificially maintained structures. They support the movement of various kinds of things and agents, most notably money (capital) and commodities, as well as people who are selling their labour power and earning wages and consumers who are living on income transfers. In this chapter my focus is on the core cell of the markets, i.e. the commodity. By commodity, I mean both tangible products and more or less intangible services. The reason for subsuming both services and goods under the heading of commodity is simple enough. Increasingly, services today are sold in standardized packages; this applies equally to adventure holidays and hotel services. For instance, when I check in at a hotel I receive the same anonymous and efficient reception as all other guests — although when I get to my room I discover that I’m not quite that anonymous after all as I receive a second personalized welcome via the television screen. The next morning I can look forward to my standardized breakfast package.