What is value? It is whatever a particular individual decides it to be at a particular instant. Science cannot measure value. Nor can society, economics, finance, politics, technology, artificial intelligence, organizations, governments, corporations or any other collective, business, or academic pursuit determine the value of anything.
Today I may value peace and quiet; tomorrow I may value the excitement of a crowded sporting event. This morning I may crave pizza; but later, after eating too much pizza, the thought of more pizza may disgust me. A soldier may value the lives of his buddies above his own.
There is no way any individual or group of individuals can be sure how another individual will value anything at any future moment. From a social standpoint, the best we can do is try to guess typical valuations based on what individuals have chosen in the past.
We may assume the price listed on an item in a store is the item’s value, but that is not the case. You would not buy the item unless you valued it more highly than you valued the requested amount of money. Similarly, the seller must value the item at less than the money price or it would not be offered. One day you might value the item above the price and decide to buy, while another day you might not.
This principle does not just apply to economic values. It also applies to moral, ethical, spiritual, and all other values. Religions, philosophies, and culture can provide guidance that individuals may or may not follow in establishing values, but they cannot assign or determine values; only individuals can do that.
Some early economic writers, Karl Marx prominently among them, argued that value came from labor. But anyone who observes people knows that customers determine values of items based on their personal situations, not on how long someone else worked to provide the items. Ultimately customers, those who actually buy, determine the value of marketed items; a seller who chooses not to sell at a certain price has effectively bought the item at that price.
Each of us judges the behavior of others according to our own constantly-changing values. This is unavoidable and often appropriate. Still, remembering that the values of the people we deal with are different from ours, and in their minds their behaviors are justified, can help guide us to respond constructively. It also helps to remember that their values are changing, as are ours.
Posted 2023/02/25