Karl Marx's idea of "commodity fetishism" explains why the desk has so much value, even though it is just wood.  Marx argues that people have begun to treat commodities as independent values, separating them from the human labor that created them. People tend to forget that objects were made by people, and object values have focused on the object itself rather than the labor. This can be connected to the Resolute Desk, as the desk is known for symbolizing diplomacy and respect, forgetting the labor behind the desk. The desk becomes a fetishized symbol, making the history of the wood in the HMS Resolute become invisible.

Marx also has a fascinating concept of "wooden brain" - "The form of wood, for instance, is altered if a table is made out of it. Nevertheless, the table continues to be wood, an ordinary sensuous thing. But as soon as it emerges as a commodity, it changes into a thing which transcends sensuousness...far more wonderful than if it were to begin dancing of its own free will." (Capital Volume 1). In this sense, it stands on its own to become a symbol of "grotesque ideas" adn "ghostly objectivity" of a capitalist system. This idea of "wooden brain" also represents the further fetishism of commodities, as products of labor become their own entity with power and value, beyond the scope of the actual human labor put into it (Armstrong).