This episode focuses on Part A of Assignment 1 in SOCA3780, which lays the foundation for the entire conceptual analysis. Part A examines why integrating analytical and normative theories of value is essential for a critical engagement with capitalism. Analytical theories excel at diagnosing systemic problems and showing how capitalism generates crises and inequalities; however, without a normative basis, they risk normalizing the status quo. Normative theories articulate what should be valued and imagine alternative futures, yet without analyzing the structures of power that resist or co-opt change, they can remain vague or idealistic. Integrating both perspectives creates a holistic, praxis-oriented critique that links what is with what ought to be, revealing how true value is undermined by capitalist “fetish value.” This approach is central to the commonist value theory and provides the conceptual groundwork for the analysis developed in Part B.