Jun 28 2009
The philosophy of the value of goods
“Value is thus nothing inherent in goods, no property of them, nor an independant thing existing by itself. It is a judgement economizing men make about the importance of the goods at their disposal for the maintenance of their lives and well being.” ~Karl Menger
What is value? Is it something to the bought? How can we tell a value of a good? The value of an item is not intrinsic to the item, but is what others put on the item that gives it its worth. For instance, you want to sell a microwave for $100 but the highest price offered is $50. So what is the value of the microwave?
What one person says value is equal to is obviously much different than other individual’s personal value of the same good.
So, is this where it must end? Can anything more be said?
Let’s take a different angle of attack. Value is mostly defined by it’s scarcity and utility. That is how many of the good is being circulated and how it can be used. (That is the modern definition, in essence, however, different economists have defined value a little differently.)
How one uses something gives value to that object, whether it is intagible or tangible. It is how one uses something that determines worth or value. Value is a relative idea, something that can be gathered only from personal observation in differing circumstances.
Now, the next logical question is: then is intrinsic worth or value relative to each person and is therefore, technically speaking, not intrinsic at all?
