Economic value arises only through sacrifice and exchange

Evidence

If for the moment we take value as something given, then in accord with our foregoing discussion the following proposition is established beyond doubt: Economic value as such does not inhere in an object in its isolated self-existence, but comes to an object only through the expenditure of another object which is given for it. Wild fruit picked without effort, and not given in exchange, but immediately consumed, is no economic good. It can at most count as such only when its consumption saves some other economic expense. If, however, all of life’s requirements were to be satisfied in this manner, so that at no point was sacrifice involved, men would simply not have economic activity, any more than do birds or fish or the denizens of fairyland. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 245

Categorization

• DEFINE: Key definition: an object becomes economic value only by being surrendered for another, not by mere use.
• XREF: connects to: Two-person exchange is a subspecies of the individual’s internal sacrifice-and-gain. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 226; Exchange creates value as genuinely as production does. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 228; Sacrifice itself can generate the value of its goal — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 242 (+11 more)

Related

• Exchange itself, not utility or scarcity, creates economic value. (similarity 0.91)
• Exchange creates value as genuinely as production does. (similarity 0.91)
• Two-person exchange is a subspecies of the individual’s internal sacrifice-and-gain. (similarity 0.89)
• Labor power only becomes a value through the possibility of exchange. (similarity 0.86)
• Exchange creates value such that the sum exceeds what each party held. (similarity 0.86)
• Exchange value is always judged relative to the moment’s circumstances (similarity 0.84)
• Economic value emerges through the distance exchange creates between self and object (similarity 0.83)
• Sacrifice itself can generate the value of its goal (similarity 0.83)
• Exchange stands as the purest form of human interaction and rationalizes daily life. (similarity 0.82)
• Sacrifice is the inner condition of value, not merely an obstacle to it (similarity 0.82)
• Exchange value is measured by what a commodity trades for, not by its price (similarity 0.82)
• Exchange is sacrifice’s secularized form, not its offshoot (similarity 0.81)
• Every exchange is individually advantageous given its actual circumstances (similarity 0.80)
• Labor is the commodity whose surplus value is expropriated and realized through market exchange (similarity 0.80)
• Exchange is a change within each party, not a thing between them. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Labor power only becomes a value through the possibility of exchange. #expands (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 258
• Exchange itself, not utility or scarcity, creates economic value. #corroborates (0.70) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 261
• Economic value emerges through the distance exchange creates between self and object #expands (0.65) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 250
• Production and exchange form a unity of the diverse, not an identical unity #expands (0.65)
• Market ideology conceals exploitation by making exchange stand in for production #qualifies (0.60)
• Exchange value is always judged relative to the moment’s circumstances #qualifies (0.45) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 240