第1章

Author\'sPrefaceIthasbeensaidthatonefindsinAdamSmithnearlyalltheexplanationsofvaluewhichhaveeverbeenattempted。Whatiscertainisthat，inhisexplanation，AdamSmithhasputtogethertwoviewsthatcontradicteachother。Toputitshortly:hegivestwotheories，onephilosophical，theotherempirical。Inthefirsthetriestomakeclearwhatshouldbethoughtofasthecharacteristicattributeofvalue；whatitisweascribetosomethingsanddenytoothersthat，toallappearance，areentirelythesame；whatitisofwhichweascribeagreatdealtocertainthingsandverylittletootherthingswhich，measuredbyoutsidestandards，seeminfinitelysuperior。Inthisviewvalueisanattributeperse，coincidingwithnootherthatweknow，and，leastofall，withtheusefulnessofthings。IncarryingoutthisattemptAdamSmithfirstofallabstractsfromthecomplicatedcircumstancesofordinaryeconomiclife，andconfineshimselftothesimple，primitive，naturalstate。Inthisstatehefindsthatitislabourinwhichvalueoriginates。Goodsareworthtouswhattheycostinlabour，andwhat，therefore，theirpossessionsavesusinlabour。TheideaofvaluethusarrivedatAdamSmithgoesontoapplytotheempiricalinstancesofthephenomenonofvalue。Thereafterwhenhecomesacrossvalueheseesnothingmysteriousinit；hehasameansofdistinguishingitfromtheotherattributesofthings；heknowshowtogettotheheartofit；indeed，throughitsrelationtothelabourfromwhichitreceivesitscontent，hecanevenmeasureit。

But，independentlyofthis，AdamSmithdescribes——andherewecometohisempiricaltheory——thecausesofvalueandofthemoreorlessofvalue，ashefindstheminactuallife。Heseesclearlythatlabourwhichhehasrecognisedas，philosophically，thesolecauseofvalue，isnotalso，practically，itssolecause。Asarulethreefactorstogether，hethinks，makeuptheexchangevalueofproducts；besidesthelabourofproductionthereisalsointerestonthecapitalrequiredandrentofthelandrequired。Thisisnottosaythatthe“value“ofobservedexperienceisofanothernaturefromthe“value“ofphilosophy。

Thatvaluewhichiscreatedbylandandcapitalisofthesamenatureasthatcreatedbylabour。Asregardsitalso，itislabourtowhichwemustrefer，ifwearetograspitscontentandmeasureit。Theonlysignofhisbeingawarethatthereisanycontradictionbetweenhisphilosophicalandhisempiricalexplanationiswherehepassesfromdescribingtheprimitivenaturalconditionofeconomiclifetodescribingasocietybasedonprivatepropertyinlandandcapital。Herehecannotresistagibeatthosewho“lovetoreapwheretheyneversowed，“

although，oncewithinthekingdomofreality，hetakesinterestandrentintohissystemasself-intelligiblefacts。

Nearlyhalfacenturypassed，andthenRicardotriedtoclearhismaster\'sdoctrinesoftheirimperfections。RicardodeeplyfeltthecontradictionwhichAdamSmithhadscarcelynoticed。Howdidheseektoremoveit？Inawaythat，morethanAdamSmith\'smistake，betrayedhowyoungasciencepoliticaleconomywas。

To-daywhen，invirtueofthelaboursofthesegreatpioneersofthescience，westandfacetofacewiththeproblemswhicharetobesolved，itisscarcelypossibletoputourselvesbackintothoseconceptionsinwhichtheyfirstgaveshapetotheirobservationsandthoughts。Intheirefforttoescapefromabsoluteperplexitytheytookfrankdelightinexplanationswhich，tousnow，aremoreofariddlethanthephenomenontheyweremeanttoexplain。What，then，didRicardoattempt？HiswholeendeavourexhausteditselfintyingtoshowthatthephilosophicalandtheempiricaltheoryofAdamSmith，——bothofwhich，indeed，intakingupthispositionhehadtoclearandcarryfurther，——didnotcontradicteachothersomuchasatfirstsightwouldappear。Ifwelimitourselvestothegeneralruleandtheaverage，valueasitisandvalueaswegetitfromlabour，agreeintheiramounts——notaltogether，indeed，butalmostso——withoneexception，whichissotriflingthatitmaybequiteproperlyneglected。OfthetwoempiricalfactorsintheformationofvaluewhichAdamSmithnamedbesideslabour，therentofland——andthiswastheultimategainofRicardo\'sfamoustheory——isentirelyeliminated。Rentdoesnotdeterminethevalueofproductsbutisdeterminedbythatvalue。Interest，ofcourse，remains，butRicardothinkshehasshownthatitincreaseswiththevalueofproductsin，approximately，thesameratioasthequantitiesoflabourrequiredforproduction，sothatthequantitiesoflabourdo，inthelongrun，giveafairlytruemeasureofthevaluerelationsofallproducts。Interest，astreatedinthisway，formsnohindrancetohissystem，andRicardoconsequentlydoesnotreallytrytoexplainit。Hetakesitashefindsit——afactthatneedsnoexplanation。Thistreatment，whichhasexcitedtheastonishmentofsomanylaterwriters，isperfectlyintelligibleifweremembertheimpulsewhichsetRicardo\'smindtowork。Hehadnointentionofexplainingthewholeofeconomics。Hewishedtoshowonlythatthevaluewhichis，isverymuchthesameasthevaluewhichcan——althoughonlyfromacertainpointofview——beunderstood。

Ricardowasthelastmanintheworldtothinkofreformingeconomiclife。Heneveropposed，tothevaluewhichis，thevaluewhichoughttobe。Itnevercameintohismindtocondemninterest，andhissystem，understoodinthesenseofitsauthor，doesnotintheleastinvolvethecondemnationofinterest。Inthisthereisnothingillogical，andwhenthesocialistsbasetheircrusadeagainstinterestonhissystem，theydonotcompleteit，astheyimaginetheyaredoing，butdestroyit。OnlyifinterestisundoubtedlyagoodthingcanoverpassoveritasRicardodoes。

SinceRicardo\'sbookappearedanotherhalf-centuryhasfled，and，sincetheWealthofNations，morethanacentury。Inthattimethedemandsonthesocialscienceshavegrownapace。InAdamSmith\'sdaypeopleexplainedtheexistingconditionofthingsbythe“original“natureofmanandthe“original“stateofthings，andwerecontent。We，ontheotherhand，liketoexplainrealitybyreality。Philosophyitselfhasbecomeempirical。Itallowsnoargumentwhichisnotdrawnfromwell-foundedexperience。Thehistoricalstate，positivelaw，theeconomyofevery-daylife，aretheobjectsofresearch，and，atthesametime，theultimatesourcesoftheinstrumentsofresearch。IfAdamSmithandRicardowerewritingto-day，theywouldbefullofthespiritofto-day，andeveniftheyhadnotcommandoftheabundanceofobservationandknowledgewhichthegeniusoftheoneandtheacutenessoftheotherhaveputatourservice，theirbookswouldbeeversomuchmoreperfectthantheycouldhavebeenintheirtime。

Certainlytheywouldavoidthemistakeswhichthehumanspiritsincetheirdayhasoutgrown。

Theirschool，however，stillpursuesthepaththeytrod，hesitatingbetweenuncomprehendedempiricismandthepurestspeculation。Anditisagreatschool。Itisstrangeindeedtofindthatwhile，asregardsquestionsofpoliticsandofmethod，wholesideshaverenouncedtheEnglishparentschool，——fromthesocialiststotheadherentsofthehistoricalschoolinGermany，——asregardstheoldeconomicproblemofvaluemanyofthenewereconomistshaveremainedtruetoitsdogmas。Asaman\'sjudgmentaboutvalue，so，inthelastresort，mustbehisjudgmentabouteconomics。Valueistheessenceofthingsineconomics。Itslawsaretopoliticaleconomywhatthelawofgravityistomechanics。

Everygreatsystemofpoliticaleconomyuptillnowhasformulateditsownpeculiarviewonvalueastheultimatefoundationintheoryofitsapplicationstopracticallife，andnoneweffortatreformcanhavelaidanadequatefoundationfortheseapplicationsifitcannotsupportthemonanewandmoreperfecttheoryofvalue。

Ofcoursetherulingtheoriesofvaluehave，inmanyrespects，putthemselvesinantagonismtothetheoryofAdamSmithandRicardo，particularlyinGermany——although，indeed，inthatcountrythereasoflateyearsbeenawideningacceptanceofthelabourtheory。Theadvanceswhichtheoryhasmadetherefromcanscarcelybeoverestimated。MoreparticularlymayitbenotedthatUseValuehasnowbeenputbythesideofExchangeValue，andthat，besidestheeconomiclifeoftheindividual，wenowtakecognisanceofnationalandothermoregeneraleconomies。

Here，again，theconnectionbetweenthetheoryofvalueandpracticalpoliticsisstrikinglyshown。Hostilitytotheindividualistreadingoftheconceptionofvaluetooksideswiththestruggleagainsttheindividualisttendencyineconomics。Itseems，however，asifthisbranchoftherulingdoctrinealsohasexhausteditsforce，andthatthismovementalsohangsonthe“deadcentres。“Aseconomicresearchstandsto-day，people，onthewhole，areinvestigating，notthephenomenonofvalue，butthepopularconceptionorconceptionsofvalue。Ihavesaidinanotherplacethat，forthescienceswhichdealwithhumanactioninanyofitsdepartments，thepeculiardangeristhatofmissingtheirmark。Passingbytheactanditsmotive，theyaretooreadytoinvestigatethemeaningswhichmentakeoutoftheirownactions。Thusweget“populartheories，“particularlythosewhichcanbereadoutoftheordinarymeaningofthetermsinwhichphenomenatheydealwithareexpressed。Thisremarkseemstomepeculiarlyapplicabletothevaluetheoriesjustspokenof。

Thatthetheoryofvalueneedsreformingfromtheveryfoundationnoonewill，Ithink，deny。Theimperfectionoftheprevailingviewsisconfessedevenbytheirownadherents。Butwhilethegreatmajorityofeconomistsarestillatalosswheretoturn，anewtheoryhascometothefront。Atfirstunnoticed，andthenforlongbutlittlethoughtof，workedoutbymenwho，forthemostpart，didnotknowofeachotherbutyetagreedwheresomanyhaddoubtedanddisagreed，cameanewtheorybasedonanewfoundation——anempiricaltheoryonanempiricalfoundation。

Thenewtheorystartsfromtheoldproposition，thatthevalueofgoodscomesfromtheUtilityofgoods，or——whatisthesamething——fromthesatisfactionsofwantwhichgoodsassure。

Tofindthelawsofvalue，then，onemustfirstknowthelawsofwant。Now，inthispursuit，wecomeuponthefactthatthewantforthesamethings——eveninthesameperson，andingiveneconomicconditions——isofquitedifferentstrengths，varyingaccordingtothedegreeinwhichthewanthasalreadybeensatisfiedthroughtheemploymentofgoods。Butsincetheemploymentofgoodsdependsupontheamountofgoodswhichonepossesses，thequantityofgoodsobtainsadecisiveinfluenceonthevaluationofwantsandsoonthesourceofvalueitself。Thisobservationisthestarting-pointofthewiderinvestigation。Initselfitisofgreatimportancebecauseitultimatelygivesthesolutionoftheparadoxicalphenomenonthatvaluefallsasgoodsincrease。Butitisasimportantthroughitseffectsoneconomicmethod，becauseitguidestheeconomist，fromthefalseobjectstowhichspeculativemethodsandordinarylanguagepoint，totheempiricalheartofthephenomenonofvalue。

Asforerunnersofthetheorywemaynamegenerallyallthosewhohavederivedvaluefromutility；speciallythosewhowerepersistentinbasingevenexchangevaluealtogetheronutility，particularlywhentheydidnotshrinkfromtheirprincipleinspiteoftheobviousinfluenceofcostsofproduction。Usuallyonthispointthestatementofthetheoryiseitherinconsequentorobscure，orretainsitslogicanditsclearness，attheexpenseofrenouncingcompleteness，byleavingoutthequestionofcosts。

Asforerunnersofthenewtheoryinthestrictersenseofthetermwemaynamethosewhotakeupthequestionofquantitiesofgoodsaswellastheirutility。Usually，ofcourse，thisgoesonlytotheextentofshowingthechangesintheamountofvaluewhichfollowfromchangesinsupplyanddemand。But，inthecaseofafewwriters，ithastakenamuchmoreexactform，where“scarcity，““limitationofsupply“isrecognisedasconditionunderwhichutilitycreatesvalue——andthatnotonly，asRicardosays，asregardscertainraregoods，butasregardsgoodsgenerally。Amongwritersansweringtothisdescription，whomaybeheldtheimmediateprecursorsofourtheory，areAugusteWalras(DelaNaturedelaRichesseetdel\'OriginedelaValeur，Evreux，1831)，andalsoCondillac，Genovesi，andSenior。(1*)

Passingbythosenumerouspioneerworks，wemeetwithnolessthanfourauthorswhohadworkedoutthesametheoryindependentlyofeachother，Gossen，(2*)Jevons，(3*)Menger，(4*)

andLeonWalras。(5*)Gossen\'sstatement，inspiteofmanyquiteclassicalpointsofsuperiority，is，onthewhole，themostimperfect。ThatofWalras，thoughadmirableofitskind，suffers，tomymind，fromthepreponderanceofthemathematicalelement。

Thelawswhichgovernamountsofvalueundoubtedlyallowofamathematicalexpression；nay，themorecomplicatedofthesecanbeexpressedexactlyonlybymeansofmathematics；andherecertainlymathematicshasagreattasktofulfil。Butinthevaluetheorywehavetodowithsomethingmorethantheexpressionofthelawsofamounts。Theobscureconceptionofvalueistobemadeclear；allitsmanifoldformsaretobedescribed；theserviceofvalueineconomiclifeistobeanalysed；theconnectionofvaluewithsomanyothereconomicphenomenaistobeshown；inshort，wehavetogiveaphilosophyofvaluewhichneedswords，notnumbers。And，besidesallthis，theempiricalexistenceoftheallegedfactsistobeestablished。

Finally，Jevons\'sstatement，inspiteofitsamazingwealthofobservationandreflection，inspiteofitsfinishedexpression，inspiteofthecatholicspiritwhichspeaksfromit，mustbeplacedsecondtothatofMenger。Mengergoesmoredeeplyintothesubject，inasmuchashestartsfromamoregeneralconceptionofvalue。ForthisMengerisindebtedtotheGermanschoolofnationaleconomistswithitspatientuntiringlabourinformulatingthegeneraleconomicconceptions，andpressingforwardfromconcretephenomenatothatheightofabstractionfromwhichthephenomenaaretobelogicallyarranged。Itmaybesaidthat，ingreatpart，theGermanschoollongagoformulatedtheconceptions，leavingforusonlythetaskoffillingthemoutbyadequateobservation。Inthisithaslaidupatreasurefromwhichallsucceedingeconomiceffortmaydrawindefinitely。

OfJevons\'ssystemonepart，the“theoryofutility，“ashecallsit，haspassedintoEnglishliterature。AmongtheworksofContinentaleconomistswhoadoptedthenewtheory，maybementionedthefinestatementsofPierson，(6*)andCharlesGide；(7*)andinGermanyaworkofLaunhardt(8*)onthelinesofJevonsandWalras。ButitisinAustria，inthelinealsuccessiontoMenger，thatthedevelopmentofthenewvaluetheoryistobesought。ImaybeallowedtorefertomyownUrsrpungundHauptgesetzedeswirthschaftlichenWerthes，Vienna，1884，inwhichIappliedMenger\'stheorytothephenomenaofcosts。OnthisfollowedaworkbyBohm-Bawerk，(9*)which，independentlyofitsextremelyclearpresentationanditscarefulandfruitfulrevisionofmanymattersofdetail，isparticularlyvaluablefromitstreatmentofthetheoryofobjectivevalue。FinallycameacomprehensiveworkofE。Sax，(10*)extendingthetheoryofvalueoverentirelynewmaterialtowhichnopreviouswriterhadappliedit——topublicimposts，andthusgivingthetheoryoneofitsrichestapplications。

Theground-planofthenewtheoryisdrawn，butmuchremainstobedone；notonlytowidenitsreachgenerally，buttocompleteitinitself。Thefollowingpagesareanattempttosupplementwhathasalreadybeendone。IndistinctionfrommyearlierworkIhavenotpausedtodiscusstheassumptionsofthevaluetheory，butlimitedmyselfseverelytothesubjectofvalueanditsdirectcontent。OntheotherhandIhaveattemptedtoexhausttheentiresphereofthephenomenaofvaluewithoutanyexception，and，besidesthat，sofarasmyabilitygoes，tothinkoutmoreexactlythesubjectsIhadalreadytreatedof。Thepresentworkisonthataccountinnowayarepetitionofmyformerone，butanentirelynewbook，treatingforthemostpartofentirelynewmatter，andhavingnothingmoreincommonwithitthanthegeneralfundamentalpropositions。IhopethistimetohavemettheobjectionurgedagainsttheUrsprungdesWerthesthatIhadomittedtheconnections——the“bridges，“asonecriticcalledthem——betweentheprincipleslaiddownandtheconcretephenomenaofvaluewithwhichwearefamiliar。Whatevermaybethoughtofitstruthorcorrectness，IthinkImayventuretosaythatnovaluetheoryhaseveryetbeenputforwardmorecompleteandexhaustiveinexternalformandtreatment。

TheverymultitudeofsinglematterswhichIhadtotouchonhascompelledmetopassoveralmosteverycriticalanalysisthatdifferedfrommine，andindeedtoleaveoutalmosteveryappealtoeconomicauthoritiesoutsideofthoseauthorswhobelongtothesameschool，andfromwhomIdirectlytookthepropositionsI

hadputforward。SimilarlyIhaverefrainedfromdiscussinganyoftheeconomicconceptionsIhadtoemployoutsideofthatofvalue。Ishallverywillinglyputupwiththereproachofbeingincompletebyreasonofthisifitshouldsucceedinmakinganyclearertheinnerconnectionofthebook。AtthesametimeI

shouldnotliketobesuspectedofhavingdonesofromanyundervaluingofthetheoreticalworkofothereconomists——leastofall，ofthoseofGermany。

Ihavejustsaidhowdeeplyindebted，inmyopinion，everytheoreticalattemptofto-dayistothelaboursofGermantheory。

Andtoitthenewvaluetheorystandsmostnearlyrelated——itisintruththefulfilmentofwhatGermantheoryhadlongdemanded。

NOTES:

1。Rau，too，withhis“concreteGebrauchswerth“maybeincluded。

ThereisanotabletreatiseofthemathematicianDanielBernoulli:Specimentheoriaenovaedemensurasortis(CommentariiAcademiaeScientiarumimperialisPetropolitanae，tomusV。Adannos1730et1731。Petropoli，1738)。Bernoullimaintainsthatitisvaldeprobabile，lucrulumquodvissemperemolumentumafferresummaebonorumreciproceproportionale。Heisfullyacquaintedwiththesubjectivecharacterofvalue，aswellaswiththemostimportantlawofthechangeofvalue。HisworkisreferredtobyJevonsinanextractfromanotherofhisbooks。BythekindnessofProfessorMengerIhaveseentheoriginal。Dupuit\'sDel\'influencedesPeages，1849，mentionedbyJevons，Ihavenotbeenabletoconsult。

2。EntwicklungderGesetzedesmenschlichenVerkehrsundderdarausfliessendenRegeinfurdasmenschlicheHandeln。

Braunschweig，1854。

3。FirstinapaperbeforetheBritishAssociation，1862，thenfullyintheTheoryofPoliticalEconomy，London，1871；2ndedit。

1879。

4。GrundsatzederVoikswirthschaftslehre，Vienna，1871。

5。Elementsd\'economiepolitiquepureouTheoriedelarichessesociale。Lausanne，1874-77——Theoriemathematiquedelarichessesociale。Lausanne，1883——TheoriedelaMonnaie。

Lausanne，1886。

6。Leerboekderstaathuishoudkunde。Haarlem，1884。

7。Principesd\'economiepoiitique。Paris，1884。

8。MathematischeBegrundungderVolkswirthschaftsiehre。Leipzig，1885。

9。GrundzugederTheoriedeswirthschaftlichenGulerwerths。

Conrad\'sJahrbucher，N。F。vol。xiii。Jena，1886。

10。GrundlegungdertheoretischenStaatswirthschaft。Vienna，1887。

BookI:TheElementaryTheoryofValueChapter1

TheOriginofValueWhencedothingsgettheirvalue？Ifweputthequestiontoanyintelligentandtrainedmanofbusiness，whohadnoknowledgeofthevariousattemptsoftheoriststowardsanexplanationofvalue，whosemindwasunbiassedbytheformsofspeechwhichecholearnedtheoriesandhavepassedintoordinarybusinessuse，andwhowas，therefore，capableofjudgingonlythroughthemediumofhisownpersonalexperience，hewouldundoubtedlyanswer，asthefirsttheoristsdid，——“fromtheirUtility。“Hewouldbeverymuchsurprisedtolearnthatseveralconsiderationsmadethetruthofthisanswerimprobable，andthatmanyfacts——someofthemtoacertainextentgenerallyknown，andfamiliareventohimself——seemedtoprove，withalmostabsolutecertainty，thatutilitycouldnotbethesourceofvalue。Thesefactswemaystateasfollows。

First:goodswhicharetobehadinsuperfluity，andwhichanyonemayappropriateatwill，noonewillpayanythingfor，betheyeversouseful。Inmanyplaceswater，althoughindispensabletoman，isentirelywithoutvalue。Ofcoursethisobservationrefersimmediatelyonlytovalueinmoney，theso-called“exchangevalue，“anditmightbethoughtthatitwasnottrueofvalueintheusingofgoods，theso-called“value-in-use。“Closerexaminationshows，however，thatitistruealsoofvalue-in-use。

Inthehousehold，asinthemarket，thesuperfluousisregardedasthevalueless，andisclearlyseparatedfromthosethingsofwhichthereisnosuperfluity。Howeverfrugallywemayactwithregardtootherthings，weshouldneverthinkofeconomisinginthingswhichwearealwayssureofhavinginover-abundance。Noonewillevertrytosecurepossessionofthem:thereisnopropertyinthem；nointerestistakeninthem。Theyareused，butwethinknomoreaboutthem。

Second:thingswhichhaveagreatdealofusehaveoftenasmallervaluethanthosewhichhavelittleuse。Iron，forinstance，haslessvaluethangold。Thisistrueequallyofitsmoneyvalue，andofitsvalue-in-use，inthemarketandinthehousehold。Eveninthesocialiststate——supposingitscitizensstilltopossesstheaestheticsense——itwillbeconsideredoflessmomenttoloseanounceofironthananounceofgold。

Third:alargequantityhas，undercertaincircumstances，lessvaluethanasmallerquantityofthesamething。ItiswellknownthattheDutchEastIndiaCompanydestroyedaconsiderablepartoftheirproduceandoftheirplantations，inordertocreateamorelivelydemand，andsosecurefortheremainderagreatervaluethanthewholepropertyhadoriginallypossessed。

Thesamethingisobservedasregardsthereturnsderivedfromgoodandfrombadharvests，——thebadharvestsshowingbetterthanthegood。Thisalso，asIhopetoshowlater，appliestovalue-in-useaswellastoexchangevalue。

Fourth:whilethemeasureofuseisinsuchfrequentandstrikingcontradictionwiththatofvalue，ithappens，asoftenandasstrikingly，thatvalueisinagreementwiththeexactantithesisofuse——namely，withcosts。Isay“antithesis“

because，ifgoods，bytheiruse，provethemselvesthefriendsofman，theyprovehisenemybythecostswhichtheynecessarilyinvolve。

Agreatmanyofthewriterswhohaveoccupiedthemselvesintheinvestigationofvalue——and，wemayadd，foralongtimemanyofthebestofthem——haveforthisreasonrefusedtoconsideratalltheideathatvaluemayarisefromutility；theyassertthatthevalueofgoodscomesfromthedifficultyoftheirattainment，andisproportionatetoit。Thoseagainwhohavebasedtheirtheoryuponutility，have，forthemostpart，donesoinamanifestlyunsatisfactoryfashion。Theyhaveeitherplacedthemselvesincontradictiontothefactsalreadymentionedwithoutexplainingawaythecontradiction，orlaidsomuchstressonthesefactsthat，intheend，theycanscarcelybedistinguishedfromthosewriterswhohaverejectedtheprincipleofutility，exceptbytheirexpressavowalofthatprinciple。

Onlyafewauthors，themoreimportantofwhomarementionedinthepreface，havestrucktherightroad。ThesehaveconceivedtheideaofUseValueinsuchawaythatitisneitherconfutednordisturbedbytheforegoingconsiderations，butonthecontraryisentirelyconfirmedbythem。

Itisastheselast-mentionedwritersunderstanditthatI

meantostatethetheoryofvalue。Beforebeginning，ImaybeallowedtomakeasingleintroductoryremarkastothemannerinwhichIintendtocarryoutmytask，and，particularly，astothenatureoftheproofswhichwillbeused。

Theeconomistwhoundertakestoexplainvaluehastoexplaintheprocedureofthosewhovalue。Hedescribesinplainlanguagethemeaningoftransactionscarriedon，timeswithoutnumber，byallofus。Hedoes，onalargescaleandwithadifficultsubject，thesamethingasonewhoaccuratelydescribessometradeorsomemechanicaloperation，whicheveryonecando，butwhichitisnoteasy，withouttheassistanceofconcreteinstances，topresentandfollowupinallitscomplexityofconditions。Asthepoetgivesexpressiontothethoughtwhicheveryonefeelsbutcannotexpress，ortheactor\'sgeniusshowsthepassionwhichperhapshemaynotevenfeel，sodoesthemanofsciencedescribeinwords，andapartfromtheirconcreterealisation，theactionswhicheveryoneisaccustomedtoperform。Hedoesnotrequiretohaveanyactualcasebeforehim，ortoaccompanyhisdescriptionwithanypracticalworkingout。

Anylaymanineconomicsknowsthewholesubstanceofthetheoryofvaluefromhisownexperience，andisalaymanonlyinsofarashedoesnotgraspthemattertheoretically，i。e。

independently，andforandbyitself，——butonlypractically，——

thatistosay，insomegivensituation，andinconnectionwithitsworkingoutinthatsituation。Ifthisbetrue，howelseshallwebetterproveourscientificstatementsthanbyappealingtotherecollectionwhicheveryonemusthaveofhisowneconomicactionsandbehaviour？Forthisreason，everyexpressionwhichmaybetakenasconfirmingthisrecollection，iswelcomeasanaidtoourinvestigation。Forinstance，whenwefindthattheunbiassedanswerofthelaymanindicatesthatheconsidersusefulnesstobethesourceofvalue，thisjudgmentisafinger-postwhichwedarenotneglect，unlessthemostsearchingandcarefulexaminationhasprovedthatitpointsinawrongdirection。Andwhoelseisthefinaljudgeofthetheorybutthepublic？Theonlytruetheoryoftheestimatewecall“value，“

willbethattowhichpracticallifegivesitsentireassent。

Only，ofcourse，thejudgemustfirsthimselfbeeducated。Hehastojudgewhetherherecogniseshimselfinadescriptionwhichinformshimabouthisownlifeandbeing，andwhichhehimselfisincapableofgiving。

Itrustthatwhatfollowsmaymeettheapprovalofthosewhonotonlyacteconomically，butreflectontheiractions。Ihavenootherwishthantogainthisapproval，butIcannotallowtherightofjudgmenttothosewhoprotestwithouthavingreflected。

Itcostsmuchtroubletogiveacleardescriptionofeventhesimplestandmostfamiliartradeorbusiness，andcertainly，inthetheoreticalstudyofamattersomany-sidedandcomplicatedasthatofvalue——eventhoughitissofamiliartoall，perhapsbecauseitissofamiliartoall——wecannotdowithoutthemostearnestandamplereflection。

Chapter2

TheValueofSatisfactionofWantInitsordinaryuseamongeconomicwritersthewordWantsignifieseveryhumandesire，whethergreatorsmall，justifiableorunjustifiable，necessaryorunnecessary，materialorimmaterial。Bodilywell-being，idledelights，artisticpleasure，moralsatisfactionmayallbeclassedtogetherasobjectsofhumanwant。

Inthissenseallthe“useofgoods“——alltheutilitywhichgoodsafford——amountsinthelastresorttosatisfactionofwants，andtheopinionthatthevalueofgoodsarisesfromtheirusemaybemoreexactlystatedbysayingthatitrestsuponthesatisfactionofwantswhichtheyfurnish。Itisthesatisfactionofwantswhich，inthefirstinstance，hasvalue，or“worth“or“importanceto“us。Satisfactionisthatwhichisreallydesired，andisworthyofdesire:and，aswedonotdesiregoodsforthemselves，butforthesatisfactiontheygive，sodowevaluethemonlyforthatsatisfaction。Thevalueofgoodsisderivedfromthevalueofwants。

Thetheoryofvalue，then，hasfirstofalltodowiththevalueofwants，thisbeingtheforminwhichvaluefirstappears。

Whatitisthatgivesvaluetothesatisfactionitselfweshallnothereattempttoexplain。Itwillbeenoughifwegivethesymptombywhichthedegreesofvalueorimportancearerecognised。Itistheintensitywithwhichthesatisfactionisdesired。Werewetoplacethedifferentsatisfactionsonagraduatedscale，itwouldprobablyberemarkedthatthosewhichstandhighestarenotthosewhichprovidethepurestpleasure，orwhichwillmostservetobeautifyourlives。Ourmosturgentconcernisratherwiththewardingoffofextremewant，andwiththepreventionofcareandsuffering；thenecessariesoflifemustfirstbeassured“beforewecanreachthegoodthingsofthisworld。“Thereisadifferencebetweenwhatmenmightliketohave，andwhattheymustfirstdecidetosecure；anditisaccordingtothelatter，nottheformer，thatinterestsareactuallyrangedaboveandbelowoneanother。Theactualrankingofthevaluable——nomatterhowmoraljudgmentorfancywoulddictate——issimplythatwhichmenrecognisebytheiractionswhentheyarecalledontochoosebetweenhavingonethingandanother。

Inthissensetheamountofthevalueofwantdependsontheclassofwant，but，withinthisclass，itdependsuponthedegreeofsatisfactionalreadyattained。

Thislatterpointindetailwemustnowdiscuss。Here，first，weshallhaveoccasiontoremarktheinfluenceofquantityuponvalue。Anditisnotthevalueofgoodsalonethatisaffectedbyquantity，butthevalueofwants。

Chapter3

Gossen\'sLawoftheSatiationofWantEveryoneknowsthatthedesireforfooddecreasesasthewantisgraduallysatisfied，until，finally，whenwhatwemaycallthe“satiationpoint“isreached，thedesireisforacertaintimeentirelyallayed，andpossiblychangedintoitsopposite，surfeitanddisgust。Everyoneknowsthatthesamehappensinthecaseofnumerousotherdesires；satisfactiondiminishesthecraving，andintheendfullydestroysandtransformsit。

Thereareseveralauthorswhohavethemeritofhaving，independentlyofeachother，extendedthisobservationscientificallyspeaking，andmadeitthestarting-pointoftheirtheoryofvalue。Thesehavebeenmentionedinthepreface。AmongthemGossenisworthyofparticularnotice，owingtothefateofthebookinwhichhegaveexpressiontohisdiscoveryandtohisideasoneconomicsgenerally。HisEntwicklungderGesetzedesmenschlichenVerkehrsundderdarausfliessendenRegelnfurdasmenschlicheHandeln，waspublishedinBrunswickin1854，butitalmostentirelydisappearedfromsightinGermany，althoughitsauthorhadhopedtowinforitaCopernicanfame。Anyonewhoreadsthebookwillunderstandwhy，aswellonaccountofthepeculiaritiesofitsexcellencesasofitsfaults，bothofwhicharegreat。Jevons，intheintroductiontothesecondeditionofhisTheoryofPoliticalEconomy，andalsoWalras，inanessaywhichappearedintheJournaldesEconomistesin1885，havegivensomewhatdetailedaccountsofbothbookandauthor。EconomicsowesagreatdebttoGossen，anditiswiththisfeelingthatI

callthelawofthesatiationofwantGossen\'sLaw，althoughmystatementofitisnotentirelyinaccordancewithhis。

Itscarcelyrequiresillustration。Gossenhimselfaddedtoitsclearnessbythefollowingaddition。Alongsideoftheweakeningeffectwhichcontinuedsatisfactionhasupondesire，wefindalso，incertaincircumstances，theoppositetendency；thatthedesiregrowsbyrepetitionandexercise，inasmuchasitisthusdeveloped，getstoknowitself，itsownendanditsownmeans，becomespurifiedandelevated。Thus，duringtheperiodofdevelopment，thelawofdiminishingdesiremeetswithanoppositetendency，andthelawappliesunlimitedlyonlytowantswhichareentirelydeveloped。Grantingthis，however，itappliestoeverywantwithoutexception。

Therecanbenodoubtthatitappliestothosecoarsermaterialwants，whichrecurperiodically，as，forinstance，thedesireforfood。Here，however，wemustdistinguishbetweenthewantasawholeandtheseveralfeelingsofwantwhichareincludedinit。

Thewantasawholeofcourseretainsitsstrengthsolongasmanretainshishealth；satisfactiondoesnotweakenbutratherstimulatesit，byconstantlycontributingtoitsdevelopment，and，particularly，bygivingrisetoadesireforvariety。Itisotherwisewiththeseparatesensationsofthewant。Thesearenarrowlylimitedbothinpointoftimeandinpointofmatter。

Anyonewhohasjusttakenacertainquantityoffoodofacertainkindwillnotimmediatelyhavethesamestrengthofdesireforanothersimilarquantity。Withinanysingleperiodofwanteveryadditionalactofsatisfactionwillbeestimatedlesshighlythanaprecedingoneobtainedfromaquantityofgoodsequalinkindandamount。

Manymaterialwantsarenotintermittent，butrequireacontinuoussatisfaction。Suchforinstanceistheneedofwarmth，thehumanbodyrequiringtobekeptatacertaintemperature。

HerealsoGossen\'slawapplies。Thatactionwhichisneededtosecuretherequiredminimumtemperature，——thatis，theexpenditureforclothing，fuel，andsoon，indispensableforkeepingthebodyinsufficientwarmth，——willbemostintenselydesired，whilethemultiplicationofthisnecessaryexpendituredoesnotaffectourwell-beinginthesamedegree，andwillbemuchlesseagerlydesired。Inthelongruntheprospectofanyfurtherincreasewillbemetwithaversion。

Withregardtothehigherwants，——thosewhichcomeintoexistencewheneverthenecessariesoflifearesecured，——thesamelawobtains。Itisnot，however，sonoticeabletoordinaryobservation，and，indeed，appearancesareratheragainstit。Thewantsofwealthappeartobetheveryoppositetothoseofpoverty。Thelatterareurgentbutnarrowlylimited；theformercanbedonewithout，but，whenawakened，showthemselvesmany-sidedandextensive。Many-sided，becausetheyarefromthefirstrichinvarieties，andbecomealwaysmoreso，asonegivesrisetoanother；andextensive，becausetheyfrequentlyincludeobjectsofgreatcompass，increasingwiththedegreeofcultureattained。Onthisaccountitmightwellbethoughtthatsuchwantswereinfiniteandsubjecttonodiminution。Butonlookingmorecloselyatthematterweshallfindthat，whenthesameactofenjoymentisrepeatedwithoutvariation，——theverysame，andneitherextendednorchanged，theresultisinthiscasealsowearinessanddisgust。Thethirstofacollectorseemstobeinsatiable，andhisobjectcertainlyisoneofextraordinarycompass，eventhoughitbeconfinedtoonearticle。Themanwhocollectsbooksorpicturesrequiresagreatfortune，andmaynoteventhenbeabletofullysatisfyhiswish。Everynewbookheacquiresservestostimulateinsteadoftoweakenhisdesire，andthisisnotduetomorbidextravagance:itisentirelyjustifiable，asitbringshimnearertohisobject，thepossessionofaperfectlibraryoraperfectpicturegallery。

Buthowwoulditbe，ifhewereofferedaduplicateofsomeworkhealreadyhad？Thisandthisalone，asGossenremarked，wouldbeacaseofexactrepetition，——oftherepeatedsatisfactionofthesameimpulse；andhere，withoutdoubt，thedesirewouldbemuchlessened，probablyentirelydestroyed。Andthusweshalleverfindittobeifwedirectourattentionstrictlytotheproperobject。Evendesiressuchasthatofpowerorofwisdom，evenambition，greedofhonour，thirstforknowledgearenotexemptfromthesamerule。Thesumofwhatthesecrave，whenattheirheight，isinfinite；noman\'slifeorstrengthissufficienttosatisfythemwhollyevenonce，nottospeakofrepeatingit。Butthesingleactswhichmakeupthiswholesum，theindividualeffects，exercisesofpower，acquisitionsofknowledgecanberepeatedandtiredof。Thecharmofthewholeliesinthepowertovarytheitems。Nothingonearthisofsuchanaturethatmancangoonenjoyingitoverandoveragain，andlosehimselfinitscontemplation。Thisholdsofallemotions，fromhungertolove。

Chapter4

TheScalesofSatiationIfweweretofollowoutthecourseofsatisfactionofawant，andmarkeveryseparateactofsatisfactionwiththevaluethataccompaniedit，weshouldobtainadiminishingscale，thezeroofwhichwouldbereachedwithfullsatisfactionor“satiation，“whileitshigherpointwouldcorrespondwiththefirstactofsatisfaction。Ifwehadacommonandexactmeasurefordesireandnon-desire，wemightbeabletoputintofiguresthe“satiationscale“ofeverywant，andsocomparethescaleswitheachother。Wearefarfromhavingthat。Butweareabletosayquitepositivelythattherearegreatdisparitiesbetweentheindividualscales。Itisnotonlythatthehigherpointsofsuchscalesdiffer，anddiffertoanextraordinarydegree，astheexperienceofeveryonesufficientlyshows，butthat，inthescales，thedegreesbetweenoneactandthenextareverydifferent。Therearemanywantswhichalmostleapfromthepointofhighestdesiretothatoffullsatisfaction——such，forinstance，asthecoarserneedsofdailylife。Thereareotherswhich，althoughlittlefelttobeginwith，continueforlongperiodswithoutanyveryperceptiblediminutionoftheirstrength，——as，forinstance，manyofthefinerwants。Evenasregardstheindividualwantthedecreaseofdesireisfrequentlyquiteirregular——decreasingmoreslowlynowatthebeginning，nowattheendofthescale。Itmustnotintheleastbeexpectedthateveryscalewillpresentallthedifferentdegreesofdesirebetweenwhichitispossibletodistinguish。Assumingthepossibilityofdistinguishingbetweenonehundreddifferentdegreesofintensityofdesireonthewhole，weshouldcertainlyfindnosinglescalethatwouldshowexactlyallthehundreddegrees；eachwouldmissone，oranother，orevenmanyofthedegrees；weshouldnotperhapsfindanyscalewhichwouldregularlymove，say，tendegreesatatime。Individualscalesare，indeed，likelytobeformedwithconsiderableirregularity，andweshallfindsuchaseriesas100，90，80，10，0；or20，14，5，3，2，1，0，andsoon。

Thisstatement，rudeandimperfectasitis，willbefoundofgreatuseinwhatfollows。Weshallhavetoturnbacktoitatseveralimportantpoints。Evenhere，itgivesusafirstsuggestionofhowoneofthefundamentaldifficultiesoftheproblemofvaluemaybeovercome；that，namely，arisingfromobservationofthecontradictionbetweenvalueandusefulness。A

fewwordswillmakethisclearer。Asensationofwantwhichbelongstoaveryimportantclassofwantsmayneverthelessnotpossessanygreatimportance。Theimportanceoftheentireclassismeasuredbytheentirescaleofsatiation，especiallybyitshighestdegree。Buttheimportanceofeveryseparatesensationofdesireismeasuredbysomeparticularandpossiblylowpointuponthescale，accordingtotheconditionofsatisfactionwhichhasalreadybeenreached。Thewantforfood，measuredbyitsclass，ismoreimportantthanthatforadornmentorfinery，butnonethelessmaytheindividualsensationsofvanity，inthefirststagesoftheirsatisfaction，befarstrongerthanthedesireforfood，supposingthelatterdesiretobesatisfiedforthetimebeing。

Classesofgoodscorrespondtoclassesofwants，andjudgmentsconcerningtheimportanceofclassesofwantswillcorrespondwithjudgmentsontheusefulnessofclassesofgoods。

Butthesinglecommodityneednomorerealisetheusefulnessofitsclassthantheseparatesensationofdesireneedrealisetheimportanceofitsclass。Thelastcourseeatenbyonewhohasalmostdinedhasacomparativelysmallutility，althoughitcontainsinitselfthepropertyofsavingfromthepangsofhunger。Supposethatonehasasufficientlylargenumberofgoodsofthehighestusefulness，someofthemcanbeputonlytoaverytriflinguse，and，indeed，ifthereisasuperfluityofthem，hewillhavenousewhateverforthatpartofthesupplywhichisinexcessofthedemand。

Ineconomiclifewehavetodonotonlywithclassesofwantsandclassesofgoods，butalsowiththestateofsubjectivesatisfactionalreadyreached，orthesupply。Wecannot，therefore，judgeofgoodssimplybytheirusefulness；wemustjudgebytheamountofuseattainableintheindividualcase；

and，consequently，thevalueofgoodsmustbekeptatleastasdistinctfromtheirusefulnessastheusetowhichweputthemis。

Chapter5

MarginalUtilityEvenwherenatureismostlavishwithhergifts，therearebutfewkindsofgoodswithwhichsheprovidesmaninsuchsuperfluitythathecansatisfyevery，eventhemostinsignificant，sensationofwant。Asarulethesupplyofgoodsofwhichhecanavailhimselfissoscantythathemustbreakoffhissatisfactionatapointonthescaleshortofcompletesatiation。Thispoint——thesmallestutilityobtainableinthecircumstances，assumingthemostthoroughpossibleutilisationofthegoods——isofpeculiarimportance，bothfortheactofvaluationandforeconomiclife。Toitrefertheexpressions，“WerthdesletztenAtoms，“ofGossen，“Finaldegreeofutility，“

or“Terminalutility“ofJevons；and“Intensitedudernierbesoinsatisfait(rarete)“ofWalras。Mengerusesnoparticulardesignation。Thename“MarginalUtility“wassuggestedbyme(UrsprungdesWerthes，p。128)，andhassincebeengenerallyaccepted。

Wherethesupplyofgoodsistooscantytosatisfyeverysensationofdesire，thenecessarybreakmustbesomadethatitwillbefeltaslittleaspossible。Thiswillbethecasewhenwebeginbysatisfyingthemostintensesensationsofwant，andgoontoextendtoitsutmostthecompassofenjoyment；or，inotherwords，whenwereach，inunbrokensatisfaction，thelowestpossiblemarginalpointofenjoyment。Economicconductrequiresthatthemarginalutilityinthissensebeplacedaslowaspossible。Themeansbywhichtoreachthisendare，ontheonehand，theutmostpossiblequantitativeexploitationofgoods，and，ontheotherhand，theutmostcareinchoosinghowthegoodsaretobeemployedwherethereareseveralcompetingwaysofemployingthem。Suchacompetitionofemploymentsmayarisefromtwocircumstances——first，wheregoodsarecapableofmanifoldandvarioususes，and，second，wheresuppliesareaccumulatedandtheirconsumptionshouldbespreadoverperiodsoftime。Inthefirstcaseourconcernmustbetochoosebetweentheseparateformsofemployment，andtokeeptheeconomicbalanceeven；inthesecond，todistributethegoodssoasbesttomeetthewantsofthewholeperiod。

Thedifferencebetweenthevarioussatiationscalesofwantscomesintoplayinthecaseofgoodsofmany-sidedusefulness。

Everydifferentkindofemploymenthasitsownparticularscaleofsatiation，withaculminatingpointpeculiartoitselfandacourseofsatisfactionpeculiartoitself。Onaccountofthisthedeterminationofthemarginalutilityinthegivencasebecomesaverycomplicatedmatter。Itsprinciplewillbebestexplainedbyanexample，andweneedbeatnolossforexamples，asgoodsofmanifoldutilityarenumerousenough。Themostimportantarefoundamongthemeansofproduction。Whocouldcountuptheserviceswhichiron，wood，orcoaliscapableofrendering？Orthoseforwhichhumanlabourisfitted？Themostmany-sidedofallgoodsis，however，money；throughexchangeitcanbeturnedintoalmostanyothercommodity，andthusmadeserviceableforthesatisfactionofalmostanywant。Fromnoothercommoditycanweobtainsoclearapresentationoftheideaof“marginalutility。“Ithereforetakeitasexample，althoughmoneyisreallyusefulonlyasamedium，andpresupposestheexistenceofexchange，aphenomenonofwhichweshallnottreattillthefollowingbook。

Themoneyincomeoftherichestmanisusuallynotsufficienttocovereveryoutlaythathemightdesire。Actingeconomicallytherefore，soastosecurewhatGossencallstheGrossteanGenuss，thegreatestpossibleenjoyment，weshalldistributeourexpendituresoasto“makeitgoasfaraspossible，“fromthesatisfactionofthemosturgentwantsdowntothemostinsignificant。Thelargertheincomeis，thefartheritwillgo，andthelongerwillitbebeforeweneedtobreakoffoursatisfaction。ButtheGrossteanGenusscouldnotbereachediftheseparatebranchesofexpenditurewerenotadequatelyweighedagainsteachother。Nowheremusttheboundary-linebeoverstepped，whichisfixedbythegeneralcircumstancesofourwealth。Everyoversteppinginonebranchwillhavetobepaidforinanother，whichother，asrepresentedbyahigherdegreeonthescaleofwants，willimposeasacrificegreaterthantheenjoymentgotfromit。Tothisextentitisquitepossibletospeakofa“levelofhouseholdexpenditure，“ofageneralconditionoflifeprescribedforeveryhouseholdbythepeculiaramountofitsdemandandthepeculiaramountofitsmeans，andnecessitatingstrictadherencetoitinallitsbranches。Itwould，however，beamistaketobelieve——asalmosteverywriterwhohasoccupiedhimselfwiththisquestionhasdone，Jevonsmorethananyother——thatitisnecessarytokeepstrictlyineverybranchofexpendituretothesamedegreeofsatisfaction，thesamelevel，thesamemarginalutility。Thatisquiteagainstthenatureofwants，forwantshavenoteachanequalbuteachapeculiarsatiationscale。Werethe“levelofhouseholdexpenditure“tobeunderstoodinthisway，everyadditiontoincomewouldrequiretobelaidoutequallyincorrespondingenlargementofeverybranchofexpenditure。Asamatteroffactitisusuallyspentonafewindividualbranches，whiletheothersremainastheywere；or，iftheadditionalincomebesogreatastoallowofanimprovedconditionofthingsallround，theextraexpenditureisdistributedinthemostirregularmanner。Thesatiationscalesofwantsareverydiverse；thereceptivepowerofonewantisgreat，thatofanothercomparativelysmall；thatistosay，oneissusceptibleofadegreeofintensitywhichanotherdoesnotteach，orwhichitoversteps。Theprinciplefortheeconomicemploymentofgoodsofmanifoldusefulnessisnot，then，thatwemust，ineveryemployment，obtainthesamelowestpossiblemarginalutility，butthatinallemploymentaslowamarginalutilitybereachedasispossiblewithoutnecessitatingtheloss，insomeotheremployment，ofahigherutility。

Whathasjustbeensaidappliesaswelltotheeconomicmanagementofsuppliesofgoodsdestinedtocoverperiodsoftime。Prematureandextravagantindulgenceshouldnotimposeunnecessaryburdensonthefuture。Itwouldbebesttodividetheenjoymentequallyoverthewholeperiod，butthisisfrequentlymadeimpossiblebythenatureofgoods，whichdoesnotallowoftheirbeingkept，asalsobytheuncertaintyofprovidingforchangesofvalueintheeconomyinquestion。Thelimitofemploymentshouldalwaysbeofsuchasortaspromisesthegreatestamountofutilisationonthewhole。(1*)

Aspecialquestionisheresuggested:——Arepresentandfuturesatisfactionstobeestimatedentirelyalike？Isnotprecedenceintimealsoprecedenceindegreeofimportance？Isitnotrightthatenjoymentsshouldbeconsideredoflessvaluethefurthertheyareinthedarknessofthefuture？Jevonshasansweredthisquestionintheaffirmative，andsincehimmanyothers，somewithgreatpositiveness，though，asIthink，wrongly。Wecannotavoidgoingintothismattermoreclosely，eventhoughitdetainsusalittlefromtheattainmentofourpresentobject，thedeductionoftheelementarylawofvalue。

NOTES:

1。SeeUrsprungdesWerthes，p。146，andSax，p。371。

Chapter6

TheValueofFutureSatisfactionsofWantIfwedidnotpossessthepowerofprovidingforfuturewants，ourliveswouldbebutpoorlyprovidedfor。Nonewproductswouldbeprepared；thosewealreadypossessedwouldbethoughtlesslydissipated；onlychanceandthegoodwillofnaturewouldprovideforthemorrow。Andasitisofimportancethatweshouldbesensibleinadvanceofthewantsofthefuture，soisitofimportancethatthedegreeofthatsensibilityshouldbesufficient。Anxietyaboutfuturenecessariesshouldbeaspowerfulasthepassionwithwhichwegiveourselvesawaybeforetheurgentfeelingsofthemoment。Iffuturesatisfactionsofwantwererepresentedinpresentvaluation，notattheirfullfuturevaluebutatonlyasmallfractionofthesame，alleconomiclifemustintheendfalltopieces，justasthoughtheywerenotrepresentedatall；onlythatthecourseofeconomicdecaywouldbelessrapidanditsendfartheroff。

Itisevidentthatmanpossessesthecapacityofactinginconsiderationoffuturefeelingsofwant，butobservationofhumannaturemakesitveryobviousthathewillactwithlessenergythanwhenheisundertheinfluenceofpresentfeelings。

Thefuturewant，whereveritcomesintothedomainofthepresent，isprecededbyapsychicalreflection，andthisreflectionisofatotallydifferentnaturefromthewantitself。

Itisfarfiner，moreinnerlich，and，eveninthecaseofpurelybodilywants，isalwaysmental。Thehungerofafutureday，e。g。，doesnotactashunger，butasanxietyforsustenance；theobjectofdesireisthesame，butthedesiringisdifferent。Insteadofawantofwehaveaninterestin。Isnot，then，someenergylostinthischangefromthecoarsertothefiner？Mustnottheanxietyaboutafuturewantalwayshavelessweightthantheactualappetitethatcomesafterit？

Ifmenincivilisedsocietiesdopossessthedegreeofforesightrequiredforaprosperouseconomiccondition，onethingiscertain；——theyhavenotalwayspossessedit。Ithasbeengainedthroughthelabourofcivilisation，justas，inmoralconflicts，strengthtomeetthefiresofpassionhasbeengainedthroughthefeelingofduty。Atbottomtheeconomicconflictbetweentheneedsofto-dayandthoseofto-morrowisreallyofamoralnature；itisaspecialcaseofthestrugglebetweenimpulseandreason。Uncivilisedracesareonlytoasmallextentcapableofconsideringinadvancethewantsofthefuture；——tososmallanextent，infact，thatthemiserableconditioninwhichtheyarefoundcanbefullyexplainedbythisalone。Itisnotonlytheforeknowledgethatiswanting，but，quiteasmuch，thepreviousmentalexcitation，theuneasinesswhichthecivilisedmanexperiencesintheconsciousnessthatwantsarecomingforwhichthereisnoprovision。Aheavynumbapathydeadensthesenseofthesavage。Heawaitswithindifference，oratmostwithafeelingofhelplessness，themiseryfromwhichhedoesnotsupposeitpossibletoescape，butwhichhecertainlycouldescapehadheonlytheenergytowillit。

Whethercivilisedraceshavereachedthehigh-watermarkofdevelopmentthatisdesirable，mayeasilybeascertainedbyconsiderationoftheireconomicactions。Howdotheybehaveinthemajorityofcases？Domostpeoplesacrificetheirmeansforthepleasureofthemoment，ordotheylaybyforfutureneeds？——

Therecanbenodoubtthat，onthewhole，thewisehouseholdersoutnumberthespendthrifts。Certainlythereisnooneentirelywithouteconomicalsin；noonewhohasneverconsumedtoosoonsomethingwhichheafterwardsbitterlydesiredandhadnot。But，onthewhole，itisaneconomicprinciplewhichisaswellobeyedasanyofthefundamentaleconomicprinciples，thatwealthandincomeshouldbeeconomisedwithaviewtothefutureandtooldage。Everysupplyofgoodsshould，sofaraspossible，bedistributedoverthewantsoftheperiodoftimewhichitisintendedtocover，insuchawaythat，whetherthetimeatwhichtheyoccurbeearlierorlater，allthemoreimportantsensationsmaybesatisfied，andonlythelessimportant——thosewhichitisimpossibleforthesupplytocover——beleftout。Theexceptionstothisrulearesofewinnumber，thatatheoreticalinquirywhichregardstheprincipleasinvariable，andasksastoitsfurthereffectswillhelptoexplainoureconomy，notonlyasitoughttobe，butalsoasitactuallyis。

ToavoidmisunderstandingIshalltrytoexplainmymeaningmoreexactly。Ihavenowishtodenythat，ingeneral，thefuturityofaneventhastheeffectofweakeningitsimpression。

Asarulethisisalsotrueineconomics。Itseemstome，however，that，inacivilisedstate，everygoodhouseholder，and，inthemain，everyaverageone，haslearnttomasterthisweaknessofhumannatureinonerespect；——sofar，namely，astodistributearegularly-acquiredincomeamongregularly-expectedwants，and，inconnectionwiththisagain，sofarastotrytoacquirearegularincome，andsecuretheconditionsthereofbyexerciseoflabourpower，andmaintenanceoftheparentstockofwealth。Thecallforforethoughtinthislatterconnectionispeculiarlystrong，anditshouldnotexcitewonderthatitismoreactiveherethaninanyotherdirection。

Moreoverawell-regulatedandprosperouseconomicconditiondoesnotintheleastdemandthateveryfuturesensationbefullyrealisedinthepresent。Onlythoserequiretobeconsideredwhichhavetobeprovidedfor，andthoseagainonlyinsofarastheyrequiretobeprovidedfor。Firstinimportanceareallthosewantswhichmustbecoveredbythepresentsupplyofconsumptiongoods，andbytheincomeavailableatthemoment，andwhichconsequently，ineconomicmanagement，comeintoconflictwithpresentdesires。Alongsideofthesewemayputthefarmorenumerouswantswhichhavetobecoveredbysuitableemploymentofthepresentparentwealth。Ourconceptionofbothgroupsofwants，butparticularlyofthelatter，takesapeculiarlysimplifiedform，whicheasilygivestheimpressionthattheyareentirelyshovedintothebackground。Theyareconceivedofinthemass，andgroupedtogetherinperiodsoftime；andwearegenerallyconsciousofthemonlyinsofarastheyarerepresentedbythegoodswhicharedevotedtotheirsatisfaction。

Foresightforthewantsofaremotefutureandoflatergenerations，forinstance，isseeninthepreceptwhichforbidsdiminishingoftheparentstockofwealth，evenalthoughthispreceptonlyreferstothegoodswhichformthewealth，whilethewantsthemselvesappeartoretreatmoreandmoreintoadarknesswhichtheimaginationdoesnotseekandneednotseektoilluminate。(1*)

NOTES:

1。Manyeconomistswouldexplaininterest，particularlytheinterestonproductivecapital，bythedifferenceinvaluebetweenpresentandfuturefeelings。Thisseemstomeanerror。

Interestderivedfromproductivecapitalisaphenomenonoftheverybestorderedeconomictransactions，ofthosemanagedwiththehighestpossibledegreeofforesight。Itisnotintheleastasignofadefectiveeconomy。See，however，BookIV。

Chapter7

TheValueofGoodsOriginallyonlythehumanhasimportanceforman。Thoughtforone\'sself，interestinone\'sself，comesbynature。Towardsthings，ontheotherhand，manisoriginallyindifferent，andhisinterestinthemonlyawakensinsofarashefindsthemconnectedwithhumaninterestsanddestinies。Thistakesvariousforms；suchaspity，whentheloweranimalsareseentosufferjustasmandoes，orreligiousorpoeticemotion，whenobservationofthelivinginnatureawakenssuspicionoftheconnectionofalllife，or，finally，economicvaluation，whenthingsareconceivedofasinstrumentstoandconditionsofhumanwell-being。Thisisthecoldestformthatourinteresttakes，asitregardsthingssimplyasmeanstohumanends；itis，however，atthesametime，themostfar-reaching，asitembracesmostthings，andclaimsnotonlyexistence，butproperty。

Ournaturalindifferencetowardsthingsisneverthelesssogreatthatitrequiresaspecialcompulsion，aperemptorychallenge，tomakeuslookuponthemasobjectsofimportance，objectspossessingvalue。Nordoesthemereobservationthatthingsare“ofuse“tous，andthattheusehasforusimportanceorvalueexertthiscompulsion。Whereweemploygoodsforourownuses，butwhereatthesametimethesegoodsareatourdisposalinabsolutelyassuredsuperfluity，weusethem，butconcernourselvesnomoreaboutthemthanaboutthesandsofthesea。

Whethertheyincreaseordecrease——alwayssupposingthatthesuperfluityremains——wemerelythink，“Whatdoesitmatter？wehavealwaysenoughandmorethanenoughofthem！“InParadisenothingwouldhavevaluebutsatisfactions——neitherthingsnorgoods。Becausethereonecouldhaveeverything，onewouldnotbedependentonanything。

Ontheotherhand，wherethereisnotanassuredsuperfluity，interestawakensinthetrainofself-seekingcalculation，andcommunicatesitselftosuchgoodsaswenoticeourselvesusingandnotcaringtolose。Meningeneralthuslaytheiraccountwiththings，astheegoistwithpersons。Andherewearenotspeakingonlyofcasesofrealneed，ofextremestwant，wherethelittlethatonehasisguardedwithanArguseye；norofobjectsofgreatscarcenessorrarity，suchasaworkofartwhichisquiteunique，andwhoselossitwouldbeimpossibletoreplace。

Wereferalsotocaseswherepeoplearefairlyprosperous，butneverthelessrequiretoeconomise；andeventocasesofextremewealth——alwayssupposingitisnotassurednaturalsuperfluity——where，inmanyrespects，amanhaseverything，butwhere，allthesame，the“everything“requirescontinualguarding，administration，andrenewal。Inthesecircumstancesthereisnotasinglechangeinaman\'spossessionswhichisentirelyindifferent。Everyadditionbringssomeadditionofenjoyment；

everyloss，eventheslightest，disturbs，makessomegap，andbreakstheexpectedlineofenjoyments。Happinessandsorrowaredependentonourpossessions；thedestiniesofgoodsmeanthedestiniesofmen。Thereisanintimateassociationofideasbetweenhumaninterestsandgoods。Goods，indifferentinthemselves，receivevaluefromthatvaluewhichtheiremploymentshave。

GoodswhicharetobehadinanassuredandnaturalsuperfluityarecalledFreegoods；allothersareEconomicgoods。

Thusonlyeconomicgoodscanpossessvalue。Thevalueofgoods，accordingtoMenger\'sdefinition，is“theimportancewhichconcretegoods，orquantitiesofgoods，receiveforusfromthefactthatweareconsciousofbeingdependentonourdisposaloverthemforthesatisfactionofourwants。“

Itshouldbenoticedthatnopartoffreegoodsreceivesvalue；neitherthatpartwhichissuperfluous，andcannotthereforebeused，noryetthatpartwhichisused。Ofthewaterwhichflowsabundantlyfromsomespring，neitherthatportionwhichfillsthejar，northatwhichoverflowshasvalue。Thevalueofgoods，althoughithasitsorigininuse，doesnotallthesamereflecttheutility:therearecasesinwhichgreatuseisobtained，whereneverthelessnovalue——i。e。novalueofgoods——iscreated。Thetheorist，therefore，whowouldexplainvaluemustnotcontenthimselfwithexplainingthechangeinamountsofutility；hemustgofurtherandexaminethoselawsbywhichamountsofutilityarechangedintoamountsofvalue。Itmaybesuspected——andweshallfindthissuspicionconfirmedinwhatfollows——thatvalue，owinginmanycasessolittleofitsorigintoutility，is，evenwhereithassooriginated，equallyfarfromalwayscontainingthefullamountofutility。

Iftheuseofagoodintheindividualcasebesofarremovedfromitsgeneralusefulness，itsvalue，ifoursuspicionisindeedconfirmed，mustbeevenfurtherremovedfromthatgeneralusefulness——andhereisopeneduptousasecondpointofviewfromwhichwemayexplainandmakeintelligiblethecontradictionswhichexperiencepointsoutbetweenvalueandusefulness。

Chapter8

TheValuationofaSingleCommodityGoodsarevaluedeitherindividuallyandbythemselves，orinconnectionwithothergoods。Thelatterformofvaluationtakesplacechieflyinoneofthreeways。Agoodmaybevaluedinconnectionwithothersimilargoodsbelongingtooneandthesamestockorsupply；orinconnectionwithgoodsfromwhichitcanbeproduced；orinconnectionwithgoodswhichcanbeaddedtoitbypurchase。Ofthesethreecasesthefirstistheelementaryone，towhichbothoftheothersmaybetracedback。Itiswiththisfirstalone，therefore，thatweshalldealintheelementarytheoryofvalue。

Itisextremelyseldomthatgoodsarevaluedsingly。Itmaybesomechanceorotherwhichhasisolatedthem，oritmaybeaconsequenceofsomepeculiarcharacterwhichallowsofthembeingobtainedonlyindividually。Inthefirstcase，theyareirreplaceableduringtheperiodoftheirisolation；inthesecond，theyarealtogetherso；and，inbothcases，theymust，onanyreasonablevaluation，haveascribedtothemthefullvalueoftheutilitywhichisexpectedfromthem。Themeanswithoutwhichanendcannotbereachedmustbevaluedashighlyastheenditself。Ifthegoodisbynaturefittedforseveralpurposeswhich，however，mutuallyexcludeeachother，sothatitcanactuallyserveonlyoneofthem，thatemploymenttowhichthegreatestimportancebelongsdecidesitsvalue。OnlyabarbariancouldvaluetheVenusdeMilobytheutilityofthematerialofwhichitismade。Astarvingmanwillvaluehislastbiteatitsfulllife-savingvalue，——supposingthesavingofhislifetobeofconsequencetohim。

Nowandthen，too，considerablesuppliesofgoodsarevaluedasoneindivisiblewhole，and，consequently，asonegood。A

vendormay，forinstance，laydownasaconditionofsellingsomelargesupplyofgoods，thatitbeboughtentireornotatall。Ifcircumstancesforcethebuyertoconsenttothiscondition，heonhispartmustestimatethevalueofthesupplyasawhole。Hehastoreckonupthewholesumofusefulserviceswhichhemayexpect，fromthehighestutilitywhichthegoodscomposingthestockarecapableofrendering，downtothemarginalutilityfixedbytheamountofthestockandofthedemandforit；andthesumofallthoseservicesgiveshimthevalue。Valueherereflectsthewholeutilityaimedatinemployingthegoods。

Supposeacommunitywereforcedtobuythegrainitrequiresfromsomeforeigncountryandinonelot，iftheconditionsjustdescribedwerelaiddown，thegovernmentwouldhavetomakeavaluationwhichwouldbealmostinfinite。Itwouldrequiretoconsiderthat，withoutthepurchase，agreatpartofthecommunitymightdieofhunger，andtocalculateallthatwouldbegainedbythepreventionofthismostextrememisfortune，andbysecuringthehealthandvigourofthepeople。

Besidesthatwouldhavetobereckonedallthelessimportantusefulresults，whichreallyareobtainedalthoughtheirmarginaleffectsareinappreciable。Itisobviousthatthevaluationoftheharvestwhichisactuallymadestandsfarbehindanysuchvaluationasthis。Andwhatisthereasonofit，seeingthattheactualeffectsoftheharvestarenolessimportant，——thatitdoesintruthkeepawayhungerandmisery，andmaintainthestrengthofthecitizens？Whydoesitsfullusenotenterintothevaluation？Thereasonis，obviously，thatwearenotforcedtoobtainandvaluetheharvestinonelot。Itcomesthroughthousandsofbusyhands，byathousanddifferentmeansoftransport，fromthousandsofstorehouses；anditpassesthroughthousandsofpurchasestothosewhoneedit，andisbythemconsumedinthousandsofdifferentacts。Thequestionastotheeffectonthewholeisneverput；theonlythingwehaveevertodowithistheeffectofindividualparts，which，comparedwiththewhole，arevanishinglysmall。Andthisbringsustoalawofvaluationbywhichanamountofvalueisascribedtothesinglepart，and，therefore，finally，tothesumofalltheparts，whichisasfarremovedfromtheamountofvaluethatwouldotherwisepertaintotheunitedwhole，astheresistingpowerofallthesinglerodsinabundleisfromthatofthewholebundle。

Thislawwehavenowtotrace。ItmightbedescribedastheGeneralLawofValue，sinceitholdsinalmosteverycase。Almostallsupplieswhichwepossessandemploy，whichareboughtandsold，whichareusedupandproduced，areacquiredandusedinparts。Seldomonlyisasupplyofgoodstheobjectofeconomicuseandvaluationasawhole——awholeofwhichnothingcanbelostwithouteverythingbeinglost。Asaruleeverysupplyorstockofgoodscomestousasasumofparts，eachofwhichhasitsseparatedestiny，andcanbeindividuallydisposedof。

Chapter9

TheValuationofGoodsinStocks。TheLawofMarginalUtilitytheGeneralLawofValueSupposeapoormanreceiveseverydaytwopiecesofbread，whileoneisenoughtoallaythepangsofpositivehunger，whatvaluewilloneofthetwopiecesofbreadhaveforhim？Ifforinstanceastillpoorerman，whohasnothingwhatever，beggedofhimonepiece，whatsacrificewouldthefirstmakeincomplyingwiththerequest？Or——whatcomestothesamething——whatuseorutilitywouldheretainifherefusedtocomplywithit？Theansweriseasyenough。Ifhegivesawaythepieceofbreadhewilllose，andifhekeepsithewillsecure，provisionforthatdegreeofwantwhichmakesitselffeltwheneverpositivehungerisallayed。Wemaycallthisthe2nddegree。

Oneoftwoentirelysimilargoodsis，therefore，equalinvaluetothe2nddegreeinthescaleofutilityofthatparticularclassofgoods。Oneofthreegoods，underthesameconditions，willhavethevalueofthe3rddegree；oneoffour，ofthe4th；inshort，anyonegood，inastockofgoodsofthesamekind，willhaveingeneralthevalueofthefinalormarginalutility。Thelargerthesupply——theneedremainingunaltered——thesmallerwillbethemarginalutilityandthevalue，andviceversa；while，ontheotherhand，thegreatertheneedthehigherwillbebothmarginalutilityandvalue，andviceversa。(1*)

This，however，isnotenough。Notonlyhasoneoftwogoodsthevalueoftheseconddegreeofutility，buteitherofthemhasit，whicheveronemaychoose。Inourexample，neitherofthetwopiecesofbread——solongasthepossessorhasboth——willhavethatvaluewhichbelongstotheallayingofpositivehunger，because，solongastheyarebothinhispossession，hewillneverbeexposedtothisextremity。Hemaygiveawayoneofthem——whicheverhelikes，solongashekeepstheother——withoutlosinghisprovisionagainststarvation。But，ifeitherofthetwopiecesisequalinvaluetotheseconddegreeofutility，bothtogetherhavetwicethisvalue。Andthreepieceshavetogetherthreetimesthevalueofthethirddegreeofutility，andfourpieceshavefourtimesthevalueofthefourthdegree。

Inaword，thevalueofasupplyofsimilargoodsisequaltothesumoftheitemsmultipliedbythemarginalutility。

Saythataharvest，consistingof1，000，000quarters，isshort，andthatthecommunityhastobesosparinginitsuseofitthatgraindarenotbeconsumedunlesstheactofconsumptionyieldasatisfactionequaltothefigure10:thevalueoftheharvestwillbecalculatedas1，000，000x10。Thevalueofaharvestof2，000，000quarters，wheretheactofconsumptionneedonlyyield，say，4，isequalto2，000，000x4。Thevalueof1，000，000tonsofiron，wherethemarginalutilityis1，is1，000，000，andthevalueof100，000oz。ofgold，withamarginalutilityof50，is5，000，000。

Astheuseobtainedfromfreegoodsrepresentsnovaluewhatever，soistheuseobtainedfromsuppliesofeconomicgoodsnotfullyrepresentedintheirvalue，andforthesamereasonInthecaseoffreegoodsweneednotconcernourselvesatallabouttheiruse，thatbeingalwaysassuredsolongasthegoodsremaininsuperfluity；andinthecaseofeconomicgoods，ouronlyconcerniswiththemarginalutility，allthehigherutilitiesbeingassuredsolongastheamountofthesupplyremainsunaltered。Intheformercaseweneedhavenoanxietyasregardstheprovisionforourwantsgenerally；inthelatterweneedhavenoanxietyasregardstheprovisionfortheprincipalpartofourwants——andthelargerthesupplythelesstheanxiety——andneedonlyconcernourselvestoseethatthepropermarginofemploymentismaintained。

Thelawofvaluejustdescribedowesitsexistence，ontheoneside，tothepeculiarformationofthescalesofwant，but，ontheother，tothepeculiarconditionsunderwhichgoodsarepossessed。Ifgoodsdidnotcomeforwardinstocksorsuppliesconsistingofsimilaritems，butonlyindividuallyandeachwithaseparateform，thelawwouldnothold。Wheresuchstocksdoappear，however，itmusthold。Howcouldthingsentirelysimilarbedifferentlyvalued，——supposing，ofcourse，thattheybelongtothesameperson，andareusedtosatisfythesamedemand？Evenifanyoneinananxiousmoodweretosetapartcertainitems，asareserveforextremeexigency，and，assuch，mightthinkofputtingaspecialvalueonthem，hewouldsurelyfind，onreflection，thatthereservedgoodswereinnowaydifferentfromalltherest，andthattherewouldbenodangerofthisextremecasearising，evenifsomeaccidentdestroyedthereserve，solongastheotherstockheldout。

Thislawofvalueunitestheconceptionsofvalueandofutilityinawaythatisfullyconfirmedbyfacts。Whenexperienceshowsthatironisworthlessthangold，andthatanabundantharvestmaybeoflessvaluethanapoorone，ourlawcangivetheexplanation。Inthemain，itclearsupallthecontradictionswhichappeartoseparatetheconceptionsofvalueandutilityfromeachother；anditonlyremainsforusnowtocombinethefactofcostswiththelawofmarginalutility，——ataskweshallundertakelater。Meanwhilewehavenotyetcompletelyexhaustedtheelementarytheoryofvalue。Inthefirstplacewehaveonlyexternallyresolvedthecontradictionsbetweenvalueandutility。Undercertainconditionsironmustbeoflessvaluethangold，andtherichharvestoflessvaluethanthepoorone——butwhathiddenimportiscontainedinthis？Howeverunconditionallyoneadoptsourlawandisconvincedbyourlogic，hewillneverthelessscarcelybeabletodenythatitsinmostcontentisveiledindarkness。Inoneconnectionitappearsparadoxical；inanotheritevenseemstocomprehendwithinitselfacompleteantinomy。Thefinaltaskoftheelementarytheoryofvaluewillbetoclearupthisparadoxandexplainawaythisantinomy。Onlywhenthisisdone，shallweobtainaclearideaoftheessentialnatureofthephenomenonofvalue。(2*)

NOTES:

1。Theamountofsupplydependschieflyontheresultofproduction，andthustheelementsofproductioncomeintorelationwithvalue。Thenatureofthisrelationweshallfirstdiscuss，however，inBookV，undertheheadof“Costs。“Meantimeweshallassumethatsuppliesexistwithoutproduction。

2。Wehaveherereachedadecisivepointinourexamination。

Experienceshowsusdailythatsimilargoodsobtainsimilarprices；andthemajorityoftheorists(althoughtheymayusedifferentnamesforthesamething)areagreedthatthesepricesarefixedbyamarginallaw。Inthisisinvolvedthatexchangevalue，whichrestsonprices，isthesameforallsimilargoods，andobeysamarginallaw。We，however，havegonestillfurther，andsaythatValuegenerallyandineveryform，eveninthatofuse，andevenwherethereisnoexchange——ase。g。inacommunityorganisedonasocialistbasis——mustbethesameforallsimilargoods，andmustobeyamarginallaw。Jevons，Gossen，andWalrashavenotgonesofarastoassertthis。Tothesewriterstheutilityoftheseparateportionsoritemsofonesupplyisdifferent，accordingtotheamountofusewhicheachactuallygives。Icanscarcelyhopetohavebroughthometothereader，andstilllesstohaveconvertedhimallatoncetosuchanunfamiliaraspectofthequestion。ButItrustthatthefollowingpresentationofthetheoryofvalue，whichisfoundedontheforegoing，andwhichexamines，and——sofarasmyjudgmentgoes——explainsallthedifferentrelationsofvalue，willbefoundconvincing。

ThereisjustonemorepointtowhichIshouldlikenowtodrawspecialattention。Pricenotonlyregulatestheamountpaidbybuyers，butalsotheamountofproductionbysellers:itgivestothelatteritslevel。Allgoodsproducedforthemarketareproducedunderavaluationwhichconsiderssimilargoodsasequaltooneanother，andwhichsubjectsthemtoamarginallaw，anditiswithreferencetothisvaluationthatthecostspermissiblearecalculated，thatallstocksareinventoried，thatallundertakingsmakeuptheirbalance-sheets，andthatallprofitandlossisreckoned。Ifasocialistcommunityweretogiveupexchange——thepaymentofbuyertoseller——itwouldnotonthatamountrequiretogiveupthismeasuringscaleforthevaluationofgoods。Itcouldcontinuetovaluesimilargoodsatthesamefigure，andtobringthemallunderamarginallaw。Andmightwenotgavesomerighttoask，whatreasonsitwouldhavetodiscontinuethis？Certainlyitwouldrequireweightyonestojustifyachangeinamethodofvaluationwhichhasbeenfollowedeversince，ifnotbefore，humaneconomicsbegantobeenlargedthroughtrade。And，finally，wehavestilltoaskwhetheritwouldeverbepossibletoceasevaluinggoodsinthisway。Isitpossibletovalueequalthingsunequally？Canweeverregardtheusefulbutunimportantasimportant？

Menger\'stheoryofvaluediffersessentiallyfromitsrivalsonthispoint。Heassertsthatthelawofequalityandthemarginallawrefernotonlytopricebuttovalue。Inmyopinionthisplaceshistheoryinadvanceofalltheothers，andwinsforhimthefameofbeingthefirsttolayaperfectfoundationforthetheoryofvalue。Theotherauthorswehavenamedexamineonlythelawsofwantandthelawsofprice。Mengeraloneincludesthelawsofvalue。Hisviewofthequestionisthemostwide-reaching，inasmuchasitnotonlyaidsustotheclearestcomprehensionofthepresenteconomy，butalsoenablesustothinkoutpossiblefutureformsofeconomy。