p Form of Value, the form of expressing the value of commodity at different stages of commodity production and exchange (I). Value, as a social property of commodity, manifests itself only when one 147 commodity is equated to another during exchange. After analysing a vast amount of material on the history of exchange, Marx was the fitst to analyse the development of the form of value. This process has the following stages: 1) simple, single or occasional form of value; 2) full or expanded form of value; 3) universal form of value; and 4) the money form of value. The simple, or occasional, form of value, is a component of the initial stage of the development of commodity production, when products of labour became commodities only through single or occasional acts of exchange. In the simple form the value of commodity was expressed in a certain other commodity only by chance. It can be presented in the form of an equation: commodity A = commodity B. In this case two different commodities—commodity A and commodity B—play two different roles. Commodity A expresses its value in terms of-commodity B, therefore, it plays an active role and is in a relative form of value. Commodity B serves as a criterion for expressing the value of commodity A. It plays a passive role, and is in an equivalent form of value. The transformation of the simple, single or occasional form of value into full or expanded value is determined by the development of the social division of labour, the growth of production and the further development of exchange. With the first large-scale social division of labour—the separation of cattle- raising from agriculture—the exchange becomes more or less regular. Now one product of labour, such as a cow or goat, is exchanged for many other items. And this becomes the rule rather than an exception. This stage of exchange is characterised by a full, or expanded form of value: commodity A = commodity B or commodity C and so on. One and the same commodity (A) began to express its value not in a single commodity, but in several other commodities. A number of commodities act as an equivalent, every one of them is one of many equivalents—not chance, but a special equivalent (alongside many other commodities). The social character of labour, embodied in a certain commodity, is especially evident in the full or expanded form of value because the value is expressed not in a single commodity but in several others. The precision of the quantitative relation between the commodities being exchanged increases. As a result of the social division of labour and growing commodity output exchange becomes a vital necessity for the commodity producer. One commodity for which all other goods can be exchanged is singled out from a great mass of products— this is called a universal equivalent. Inherent in this stage of exchange is the universal form of value:

p commodity B ^
commodity C > = commodity A.
commodity D\

p The value of all commodities is now expressed uniformly in the use value of one commodity, which plays the role of universal equivalent. The latter is a commodity which can be directly exchanged for all other goods. Its use value becomes the general form of the manifestation of the value of all commodities; the concrete labour embodied in the equivalent serves as a universal manifestation of human labour generally; the universal equivalent is the direct embodiment of social labour. The product which acted primarily as the commodity, i. e. was manufactured chiefly for exchange, began to play the role of universal equivalent. With some peoples it originally was cattle, with others it was furs and pelts, or ivory, salt, etc. As exchange expanded and extended the boundaries of the local market, gold ultimately won the role of universal equivalent. The universal form of value was replaced by a money form:

p commodity A commodity B ^ =X gold commodity C etc.

Commodity whose natural form merges with the equivalent form because of social habit functions as money.