Fetishism and the Theory of Value

Desmond McNeill (PhD, economics, University of London) graduated from Cambridge University in 1969. He has been a lecturer at University College London and the University of Edinburgh and recently retired from the Centre for Development and the Environment, at the University of Oslo, Norway, where he had formerly been Research Professor and Director.

• Chapter 1: Introduction.- Section 1: The Concept of Fetishism.- Chapter 2: The Origins of the Term in Marx’s Writings.- Chapter 3: The Development of the Concept over Time.- Chapter 4: Fetishism: a Preliminary Exegesis.- Section 2: The Ontology of Fetishism.- Chapter 5: Fetishism of Money, Capital, Interest-bearing Capital and Commodities.- Chapter 6: The Form of Value: the Scylla of Bailey and the Charybdis of Hegel.- Chapter 7: Appearance and Reality: Some Ontological Issues.- Section 3: On Value and Meaning.- Chapter 8: What is Value? Marx’s Use of Analogy.- Chapter 9: The Limitations of Structural Marxism.- Chapter 10: The Commodity as Sign.- Section 4: The Social Relations of Production, Exchange and Consumption.- Chapter 11: Marx’s Emphasis on Production.- Chapter 12: Exchange and Reciprocity.- Chapter 13: Consumption, Need and Use-Value.- Section 5: Marx in the 21st Century.- Chapter 14: Marx and the Environment.- Chapter 15: Marx and Financialisation.- Chapter 16: Conclusion.

“This book offers a profound and worthwhile consideration of value theory, fetishism, and financialization, not only from the purview of Marxist theory but from a broader range of interlocutors, whereby these themes in Marx and others are brought into fecund dialogue with the modern world.” (Tony McKenna, Science & Society, Vol. 87 (4), October, 2023)“The history of Desmond McNeill’s fascinating and extraordinarily ambitious Fetishism and the Theory of Value covers nearly 40 years, and involved three stages, all of which are clearly reflected in the nature of the final result. … he presents a very thorough and instructive summary of Marx’s work in this area … . McNeill usefully details the origins of fetishism in Marx’s writings … .” (John, McKay, Marx and Philosophy, marxandphilosophy.org.uk, January 22, 2022)