In classical political economy, any commodity has a dual character, which is determined by the abstract and concrete labor laid down in it. It is worthwhile to figure out what is invested in these concepts.
Product
Any product on the market, be it a car, a hammer, or a food product, has two quality characteristics. First, the product satisfies some human needs. Secondly, the commodity has a certain exchange value. Its usefulness is expressed in use value. Exchange value is a concept that characterizes the value of a given commodity in comparison with another commodity, the use value of which is similar to that exchanged.
Before the money exchange appeared, the seller in the market understood that, for example, for his fish he would be given a kilogram of grain or one ax. It follows from this that one fish, a kilogram of grain, and one ax have the same exchange value and the amount of social labor that was incorporated into all these goods. With the advent of money, each of these goods began to have the same value, but different consumer value.
The greatest theoretician in the formation of the dual nature of labor is Karl Marx. He expressed his theory of political economy in the two-volume work "Capital".
Abstract labor
The value of a commodity, expressed by its exchange value, is obtained through the so-called abstract labor. It is expressed in the cost of labor as such. The more it was spent in the production of a commodity, the higher its exchange value or value, expressed in monetary units. Thanks to abstract labor, the consumer has the opportunity to compare this or that product in terms of its value, which is set by the manufacturer.
The modern world, although it prefers the monetary exchange of goods, but there are still corners on the Earth where tribes still use natural exchange, evaluating goods in terms of consumer value.
Specific labor
Labor, which is expressed with the help of physical, mental efforts, expenditure of materials, is concrete. In other words, the form of expression of such labor is measurable. Thanks to this form of labor, any product has a use value. Thus, the work of the carpenter is expressed in the furniture, the work of the tailor in the dress, the work of the potter in the jug, etc.
Market commodity relations
Although the economy recognizes the dual nature of the labor that is put into the produced goods, it prefers to evaluate the goods from the point of view of abstract labor, since this made it possible to move from the exchange of goods to money. Money has become a way of assessing abstract labor, since the use value is a rather subjective value, the assessment of which is not always possible.
