to the capitalist for money is their labour power" (p. 17). For Marx, this "labour power" was a commodity, since the amount of money paid is worth a tangible amount of money, not a skill or ideal of labor. Thus, wages are little more than the price of a certain commodity, and "determined by the same laws that determine the price of every other commodity" (p. 20).
Commodities on the free market of capitalism are priced according to the competition between buyers and sellers, and by the ratio of supply versus demand. If there is an overabundance of a product, the price will be lower than if it is scarce. Furthermore, if society places a great demand on that item, the price will be higher. The price of a commodity, however, must include the capitalist's profit. The amount of profit is determined by the cost of production and "the actual price of a commodity . . . stands always above or below the cost of production; but the rise and fall reciprocally balance each other" (p.24). Wages, on the other hand, are further determined by
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