What is the way economics distinguishes between items that people buy to use/keep, and people just buy to sell at a higher price to other sellers? I see both referred to as “commodities”, and both have “intrinsic value” (People will pay for them), but they seem clearly different to me.

Question

What is the way economics distinguishes between items that people buy to use/keep, and people just buy to sell at a higher price to other sellers? I see both referred to as “commodities”, and both have “intrinsic value” (People will pay for them), but they seem clearly different to me.

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Answer 1

Marxist economics have a classic differentiation here, where items to keep/use only have a relevant *use value* and are referred to as such (or things, objects, whatever), whereas the other type of item – one that you only purchase in order to sell it again for a higher price – are specifically considered *commodities*, the process being *commodification*.