Article: The Prison of Things
Author(s):
Abstract
In a materialist theory a form cannot exist independently from a material support
– therefore a social relation, a social form like value must be embodied and
materialized. A ‘social form’ needs a material support or, to be more precise, presupposes
a complicated assemblage of materials and processes. Some elements of
the media and materiality of value are described. Media are understood as techniques
of storage, transmission, processing and representation of information. Which
techniques of storage, transmission, processing and representation of information
go along with ‘value’? The media and materialities that are necessary to stabilize the
value of material commodities are put into focus. A whole ecosystem of apparatuses
and practices is necessary to perform the value of, let’s say, an ordinary apple
in a supermarket.
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