Commodity fetish

From MarxWiki

Marx and Engel's discussion of commodity fetishism remains relevant in today's capitalistic culture. `Commodity Fetishism` refers to the idea that a commodity’s worth is entirely based on its economic, or trade value, not based upon its use-value. Such fetishism occurs when a commodity's exchange-value has so overcome its use-value that the use-value has been forgotten, therefore making a commodity stripped of technical use-value and only valuable in its “commodity-ness.”

Example: Beanie Baby collectors keep their toys in plastic cases, not playing with them, because if their tags are damaged they lose their value. The commodity’s original value was in the pleasure attained from playing with the soft object, but collector’s instead valued them for being a somewhat rare commodity, replacing its use-value for its exchange-value. (Marx, Commodities)