Capitalist normativity: Value and values

Abstract

In this paper I locate values within a uniquely capitalist confrontation between freedom and nonagency. Freedom marks individual’s freedom to buy and sell work and commodities according to their own capacities and preferences. Nonagency marks their dependence on market exchange for the goods and services they need, and lack of control over their production. I call this confrontation between freedom and nonagency value, and I consider this the social relation that defines the capitalist mode of production. People partaking in this relation who nevertheless exert a measure of influence over their immediate surroundings often use their influence to try and reconcile their freedom with their nonagency. I argue here that values are their means of doing so, because values extend freedom to meet necessity on more morally palatable terms. Values are therefore most prevalent among middle classes and under welfare regimes, where the requisite influence is provided. In the absence of such influence, mediation between freedom and nonagency is no longer possible. Values then give way to different forms of normativity such as pragmatism, duty, or virtue, all of which are presently gaining ground.