Question

“If we make abstraction from its use value, we make abstraction at the same time from the material elements and shapes that make the product a use value; we see in it no longer a table, a house, yarn, or any other useful thing. Its existence as a material thing is put out of sight. Neither can it any longer be regarded as the product of the labour of the joiner, the mason, the spinner, or of any other definite kind of productive labour. Along with the useful qualities of the products themselves, we put out of sight both the useful character of the various kinds of labour embodied in them, and the concrete forms of that labour; there is nothing left but what is common to them all; all are reduced to one and the same sort of labour, human labour in the abstract.” (Karl Marx, ‘Capital’)
Which statement(s) can be asserted from the above excerpt?

• A. Abstraction refers to a material process that occurs in production.
• B. Abstraction refers to an analytical operation.
• C. Abstraction refers to the reduction of material products to their common element.
• D. Abstraction refers to a mathematical operation.

Hint:

In Marx’s analysis, abstraction is a theoretical tool used to reveal what is common across different concrete forms of labour.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B, C

Step 1: Understanding Marx’s use of abstraction.
In the given excerpt, Marx describes abstraction as a process of analysis in which the concrete, material, and specific qualities of products and labour are set aside to focus on what they share in common.
Step 2: Interpreting abstraction as an analytical operation.
Option (B) is correct because abstraction here is a conceptual or analytical operation carried out in thought, not a physical process occurring in production itself.
Step 3: Identifying the reduction to a common element.
Option (C) is correct as Marx explains that abstraction reduces diverse products and labours to their common element—abstract human labour.
Step 4: Eliminating incorrect options.
Option (A) is incorrect because abstraction does not occur materially in production.
Option (D) is incorrect as the abstraction discussed is philosophical and analytical, not mathematical.
Step 5: Conclusion.
Thus, statements (B) and (C) can be asserted from the excerpt.
Final Answer: (B), (C)