Sacrifice is the inner condition of value, not merely an obstacle to it

Evidence

The fact that value is the issue of a process of sacrifice discloses the infinity of riches for which our life is indebted to this basic form. Because we strive to minimize sacrifice and perceive it as painful, we tend to suppose that only with its complete disappearance would life attain its highest level of value. But this notion overlooks the fact that sacrifice is by no means always an external barrier to our goals. It is rather the inner condition of the goal and of the way to it. Because we dissect the problematic unity of our practical relations to things into the categories of sacrifice and profit, of obstacle and attainment, and because these categories are frequently separated into differentiated temporal stages, we forget that if a goal were granted to us without the interposition of obstacles it would no longer be the same goal. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 231

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s ‘On Sacrifice: The Real Kind, with Corpses’ article — Simmel here theorizes sacrifice as constitutive of value, a conceptual counterweight to its ritual forms. — connects to: Two-person exchange is a subspecies of the individual’s internal sacrifice-and-gain. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 226; Sacrifice itself can generate the value of its goal — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 242; Ethical merit requires the conquest of contrary impulses — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 243 (+5 more)
• DEFINE: Illuminates Simmel’s core claim that sacrifice is a positive condition of value, not a mere cost.

Related

• Sacrifice itself can generate the value of its goal (similarity 0.91)
• Two-person exchange is a subspecies of the individual’s internal sacrifice-and-gain. (similarity 0.87)
• Ethical merit requires the conquest of contrary impulses (similarity 0.84)
• Economic value arises only through sacrifice and exchange (similarity 0.82)
• Exchange is sacrifice’s secularized form, not its offshoot (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Sacrifice itself can generate the value of its goal #expands (0.85) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 242
• Ethical merit requires the conquest of contrary impulses #exemplifies (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 243
• Gratitude in folklore can demand the ultimate sacrifice of life itself #exemplifies (0.70) — , A Year of World Stories, 8823
• Life’s destructive elements are positive fulfillments within the whole #complicates (0.60) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 983