Social Value: A Study in Economic Theory, Critical and ConstructiveAnderson, Benjamin M. (Benjamin McAlester)
General
Social Value: A Study in Economic Theory, Critical and Constructive
Anderson, Benjamin M. (Benjamin McAlester)
Value
Work, however, is miscellaneous and heterogeneous. There is needed "a
pervasive element in the actions, and one that can be measured." This is
"personal sacrifice," which is "common to all varieties of labor." An
isolated worker, making and using his own products, readily finds an
equilibrium point, where utility and sacrifice are equal, and where he
stops his day's work (pp. 364-65). If the product of any hour's labor be
destroyed (p. 366) he will not suffer the loss of anything more important
than the product of the last hour's labor, for he will forego that, and
re-create the good with the higher utility. The utility of the last hour's
product and the pain of the last hour's labor are equal. Either is his
_unit of value_.
Of society regarded as a unit the same is true.
Take away the articles that the society gains by the
labor of a morning hour,--the necessary food, clothing
and shelter that it absolutely must have,--and it will
divert to making good the loss the work performed at
the approach of evening, which would otherwise have
produced the final luxuries on its list of goods.
(It might be questioned parenthetically here whether _all_ are fed before
_any_ begin to enjoy luxuries, or, if not, just what is considered the
"socially necessary" amount of food, and whom does social necessity require
that we feed before we devote an hour to making luxuries?) Professor Clark
finds the final hour of social labor-pain to be a compound, the sum of the
final hour's dissatisfactions of all the laborers. This sum is the
_ultimate standard of value_. It is in equilibrium with the sum of the
utilities of the final hour's products to all the laborers considered as
consumers. This is illustrated by a diagram on page 271. But the problem
still remains as to the value of particular goods. Granted that the sum of
the satisfactions got from the total amount--a vast amount--of the final
hour's product is equal to the sum of the pains incurred in producing this
giant composite, and granted that the pain incurred by each man in making
his part of the composite is equal to the satisfaction gained by him in
consuming his part of the composite--_not the same part_!--the problem
still remains as to the connection of the marginal utility and the value of
the _particular_ goods that make up the composite, with social labor.
Professor Clark concedes at once that there is no necessary connection
between the utility of the good to him who enjoys it, and the pain of
making it to him who makes it. What connection is there than, between the
value of the good and social labour? It is at this point, I venture to
suggest, that Professor Clark's argument fails. I shall not follow his
argument in detail, but shall quote a couple of paragraphs which seem to
exhibit the failure (pp. 272-73):--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account