mr.verymuch

The Intrinsic Value of Nothing, Part 1

great point, John. And i would add that only based on your description of value-in-use can object have value in exchange. The author dismisses his "bad theory" rather cavalierly. his "philosophical" premise is superficial


On Oct 27 10:58 AM John Lounsbury wrote:

> Paco - - -
>
> Good article, but I have a philosophical bone to pick.
>
> You wrote:
>
> "Nothing in this universe has intrinsic value; every single thing
> you possess, want to possess, use, can use, have used, can offer,
> have offered, or will offer is valuable only if someone else finds
> it valuable."
>
> You have defined value in terms of exchange. I would argue that is
> too narrow a definition. There are things with intrinsic value independent
> of any medium of exchange. Exchange is merely one way, but not the
> only way, to define value.
>
> I maintain that anything necessary for my existence has intrinsic
> value. Air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat have intrinsic
> value. The value has a binary measurement: either I have these things
> and exist or one is missing and I don't exist.
>
> Most economists make their definitions based on commerce. The basics
> of existence don't come into the equation, except for a few fringe
> operatives who play with things like "happiness indexes".
>
> Ultimately, all of the "commercial" definitions of value are secondary
> to the "existence" definition of value. We lose sight of that and
> many externalities result, which repetitively blow apart the best
> of economic theories. Throughout history societies and civilizations
> have failed because of resource exhaustion. They thrived on commerce
> and decayed on the basis of not sufficiently supporting existence.
>
>
> There absolutely are things with a real intrinsic value.
>
> I know this is outside the scope you intended to address, but I just
> had to have my rant.

When Will American Realize the World Has Changed?

The US is not a "superpower"; it only insists it still is. The days when we could unilaterally exert our military and economic power to work our will are gone. Two catastrophically stupid wars over the past 50 years accomplished nothing but proving we now face enemies we have no idea how to fight. & Americans' seemingly helpless dependence on foreign oil gravely weakens our position. we have some major vulnerabilities right now - and we have our heads in the sand about how to fix them.