Marxists on Horrible Couches

“There is a mirror, and the commodity form is also this mirror — manifest even in this extremely unattractive couch, despite its apparent ‘materiality,’ its presence — but since all of a sudden it no longer plays its role, since it does not reflect back the expected image, those who are looking for themselves can no longer find themselves in it. Men no longer recognise in it the social character of their own labour. It is as if they were becoming ghosts in their turn.”