Theories of Value
From Open Source Ecology
Basics
- In order to calculate pay, price, and many other things in a system, there needs to be some sort of way to determine the objective "value" of something
- This is a debated issue in economics, and this page goes over the various proposed theories
- Actual Economist Help/Review Would Be Appreciated, If Reading This
List
Intrinsic theory of value
- Essentially what it takes to make something / the utility it provides once created
- Kind of calculated in LCAs
- Doesn't entirely potray reality, but it's a "good place to start"
Labor theory of value
- This determines the value of something based off how many hours of work go into it
- This was the main model used in traditional communist theory by Karl Marx etc
- This isn't very effective in modern times, mainly due to Mechanization of Labor and now the emerging Automation of Labor (See Post Scarcity )
Exchange/Monetary/Power Theories of Value
- Essentiall what it equals in another good, a currency, or political power (that last one is odd, need to find a good explanation or remove it? (assuming it means government control / propping up of indistries etc, but seems like a minor part of the whole picture/irrelevant?) )
- May provide some good data points?
Subjective theory of value and marginalism
- Kind of like "Truth is what the state says? but for value?
- Essentially value is whatever the consumer thinks is valuable
- Explains Fads / Artificial scarcity to a certain extent, but otherwise seems not too useful?
Internal Links
External Links
