Exchange Value Isn't Real – Change My Mind
This article was originally posted on Medium at July 19, 2022 (https://medium.com/@non-monetized_together/exchange-value-isnt-real-change-my-mind-f7f47e91e42b?source=friends_link&sk=e0a560e8ea919e7a1f960804bfac95cc)
#Economics #ChangeMyMind #UseValue #ExchangeValue
Image from Unsplash/Ibrahim Boran
I believe the only value an object has is its use value. Just because some fool is willing to pay a lot of money for a painting, car, piece of clothing, or whatever, just so they can sell it again later, doesn’t mean that the item is worth that much.
Use values are legitimate because they are partly based on the contribution the item makes on someone’s life. People buy something for its use value if they think it will add something to their life. Each purchase is completed in the hopes that it will move the world forward, just a little tiny bit, most of the time.
Whereas the exchange value of one object can be much higher than that of another object, even if the purchasers don’t intend to do anything with either of the objects. This is a pretty clear sign to me that exchange value is meaningless. Both of these goods are equally functioning (i.e. doing nothing) but they get different values! I mean, sure, rarity or “status” factors into the exchange value, but what does that have to do with anything?
Another reason exchange value is meaningless — there is no end point. People buy a good to sell it for more but there is never a point where all the buying and selling ends. It reminds me of a pyramid scheme.
So, I wouldn’t say a product has an exchange value. It has a use value, but an exchange value is just the price the highest bidder will pay, and has nothing to do with the product. I want to hear other’s opinions on this. Maybe there is something important I’m missing here, or some new perspectives to consider.