Value, Exchange & SNLT

Choose two commodities

Commodity A

Labour time for A (hours per unit)

Commodity B

Labour time for B (hours per unit)

Tip: SNLT ≈ average time with normal productivity

Exchange ratio

1 A = 2.00 B

General relation: EV_A : EV_B = SNLT_A : SNLT_B

Interpretation

Derivation

P_i ∝ L_i (in the simple case).

Ignoring differences in skill, turnover, fixed capital and distribution for clarity.

Set labour times (hours per unit)

Commodity	Labour time (hours/unit)	Relative price (numéraire = 1)

Relative prices are normalized to the first commodity (numéraire). Change any labour time to see implied relative prices.

Monetary Expression of Labour Time (MELT)

MELT (money per labour hour)

Currency

Price rule (simplified): P_i = MELT × SNLT_i

Implied money prices

Commodity	Labour time	Price

About this demo

This interactive page illustrates core ideas in Marx’s theory of value:

Use value vs exchange value
Common property of commodities: products of labour
SNLT regulates exchange ratios in the simple case
MELT converts labour time into money prices

This is a didactic tool. Real price formation includes many mediations (productivity dispersion, turnover, fixed capital, distribution, world market, etc.).