To auction, to auction

Accompanying my significant other to auctions has made me very aware of the fads and fashions in antiques, some influenced by TV and celebrities. Marketers will see it as environmentally responsible - 2 of the 3Rs. But a recent re-reading of some David Harvey has also raised the whole issue of capital in the process. The creation of use value in the past, often by under-valued labour, means that we get pressured to exchange items for money rather than to retain and treasure them for their personal and social meanings.