Marx's Capital, Chapter 1, analyzes the nature of commodities, beginning with their dual character: use-value (utility) and exchange-value (value). The magnitude of exchange-value is determined by the socially necessary labor time required for production, a concept that abstracts from the specific skills involved. The chapter then explores the different forms that exchange-value takes, progressing from simple to expanded to general forms, culminating in the money form. Finally, it discusses the fetishism of commodities, arguing that the social relations of production are obscured by the seemingly objective nature of exchange-value.