| 1 yard of linen | = | 2 lbs. of coffee. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 yard of linen | = | 1/2 lb. of tea. |
| 1 yard of linen | = | 8 lbs. of bread. |
| 1 yard of linen | = | 6 yards of calico. |
| 1 yard of linen | = | etc. |
The above form is theoretical in so far as commodities are only thought of as definite quantities of materialized universal labor-time. But the capacity of a particular commodity to serve as a universal equivalent from a mere abstraction becomes a social result of the process of exchange by a simple inversion of the above series of equations, viz.:
| 2 lbs. of coffee | = | 1 yard of linen. |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 lb. of tea | = | 1 yard of linen. |
| 8 lbs. of bread | = | 1 yard of linen. |
| 6 yards of calico | = | 1 yard of linen. |
While coffee, tea, bread, calico, in short, all commodities express in linen the labor-time contained in them, the exchange value of linen, on the other hand, unfolds itself in all other commodities as its equivalents, and the labor-time embodied in it becomes direct universal labor-time, which is equally expressed in different volumes of all other commodities. Linen thus becomes the universal equivalent through the universal action of all other commodities upon it. As exchange value, every commodity served as a measure of value of all other commodities. Now, on the contrary, since all commodities measure their exchange values by means of a particular commodity, this excluded commodity becomes the special expression of exchange value, as a universal equivalent. At the same time, the endless series of equations in which the exchange value of every commodity was expressed, is reduced to one single equation consisting of