Exchange value is always judged relative to the moment’s circumstances
Evidence
The value which an actor surrenders for another value can never be greater, for the subject himself under the actual circumstances of the moment, than that for which it is given. All contrary appearances rest on the confusion of the value actually estimated by the actor with the value which the object of exchange in question usually has or has by virtue of some apparently objective assessment. Thus if someone at the point of death from hunger gives away a jewel for a piece of bread, he does so because the latter is worth more to him under the circumstances than the former. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 240
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Exchange creates value such that the sum exceeds what each party held. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 219; Economic value arises only through sacrifice and exchange — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 245; Every exchange is individually advantageous given its actual circumstances — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 255 (+1 more)
Related
- Exchange creates value such that the sum exceeds what each party held. (similarity 0.89)
- Every exchange is individually advantageous given its actual circumstances (similarity 0.86)
- Exchange creates value as genuinely as production does. (similarity 0.85)
- Economic value arises only through sacrifice and exchange (similarity 0.84)
- Two-person exchange is a subspecies of the individual’s internal sacrifice-and-gain. (similarity 0.83)
- Exchange itself, not utility or scarcity, creates economic value. (similarity 0.82)
- Exchange stands as the purest form of human interaction and rationalizes daily life. (similarity 0.81)
- Every interaction, including love and conversation, is a form of exchange. (similarity 0.81)
- Sacrifice itself can generate the value of its goal (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Every exchange is individually advantageous given its actual circumstances
#corroborates(0.80) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 255