[PLUG-TALK] Re: [PLUG] Sounds good to me ;)
Miller, Jeremy
JMILLER at ci.albany.or.us
Mon Jun 17 23:33:38 UTC 2002
> > That's just it. "No man is an island" applies.
> >
> > Something has intrinsic value because we choose to give it intrinsic
> value.
>
> It's quite exasperating but let's give this a shot:
>
> Argue with a hungry Serb about it sometime while he tries to
> understand how
> his hunger is only making him choke you out becuase he
> chooses to be hungry.
>
Pretty much everything has intrinsic value, not just because we choose to
give it. It has its value in inherent qualities and properties.
Now value in relationship to other things (which is where trade and currency
come in) is a different matter. Value in that regard is based on common
priorities. Which are... choices.
Nobody is saying a person chooses whether or not to be hungry. What you
value is based on your choices and priorities. Gold is good for looking
pretty, being easily molded, and a good conductor. (Beyond that it is
useless, unless we choose it as a medium for trade.) So far those physical
properties have been sufficiently desireable to enough people that it IS
useful as common currency. Everyone wants it, so it works. But what if
no-one wanted it anymore? Or what if anyone could just make more at will?
How does that differ from other forms of currency?
Let's find this starving Serb. Offer him a meal, or the equivalent value in
gold, and see which is chosen.
Even better, find the person he is choking, and offer him a big bag of
gold... or the immediate return of his (normally free) air supply.
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