Subjective Value Theory

Value exists only in relation to conscious beings who can value. Objects don't possess intrinsic value - a diamond in the ground has no value until a conscious entity recognizes its utility for human purposes.

The Anthropogenic Theory of Value

What the Austrian Economics tradition calls "subjective value" is more precisely anthropogenic value - value that is born of man (from Greek anthropos = man, genesis = origin).

The Logical Foundation: Why Value is Anthropogenic

Value cannot exist without a valuer. This is not merely a definitional point - it's a fundamental metaphysical fact:

The Requirements for Value to Exist

1. A conscious entity capable of awareness and evaluation
2. Objects of potential value in reality to be evaluated
3. The capacity for choice between alternatives
4. Scarcity that necessitates choosing some things over others

Why Only Humans Create Value in Our Context

While other animals may have preferences, only humans possess:

• Conceptual consciousness: The ability to form abstract concepts and reason about alternatives
• Volitional choice: The capacity to choose to think or not think, focus or evade
• Long-range planning: The ability to project consequences and organize action across time
• Moral agency: The responsibility for one's choices and their consequences

The Anthropogenic Process

Value emerges through distinctly human cognitive processes:

1. Perception: Man becomes aware of entities in reality
2. Conceptualization: He identifies what these entities are and their potential uses
3. Evaluation: He judges their relevance to his life and goals through Reason
4. Prioritization: He ranks them in order of importance given Scarcity
5. Action: He acts to gain and/or keep what he values most highly

This entire process is anthropogenic - it originates from and depends upon human nature. Remove the human element, and "value" becomes meaningless.

Against Intrinsic Value

Objects don't "have" value the way they have mass or chemical properties. A chunk of gold has:

• Intrinsic properties: atomic weight, conductivity, malleability
• No intrinsic value: until a conscious being recognizes its utility for jewelry, electronics, or monetary exchange

Value is always relational - it describes a relationship between a conscious valuer and objects that can satisfy human purposes.

Why "Subjective" is Misleading

The Austrian term "subjective" creates a false dichotomy between subject and object. In reality:

• Consciousness is an attribute of an entity (man), not a separate entity
• Man is an object - an entity with a specific nature
• There is no mind-body dichotomy, only an integrated human being

Value as Human-Centered

Value is value qua man - it exists in relation to human nature:

What Creates Value

• Man's capacity for Consciousness - the faculty of awareness
• Man's volitional nature - he must choose to think and act
• Scarcity - man cannot satisfy all desires simultaneously
• Human action - purposeful behavior aimed at removing felt uneasiness

The Nature of Value

Per the Axiom of Action: man acts to gain and/or keep that which he values.

Value is demonstrated through action, not through verbal claims. When you choose one thing over another, you reveal your actual value-scale.

Ordinal vs Cardinal

Value scales are ordinal (ranked) not cardinal (measured):

• You can rank preferences: A > B > C
• You cannot measure the "extent" of preference - asking "how much more do you value A than B?" is an invalid question
• Like asking "how much does the color red weigh?"

Price vs Value

Price reflects relative scarcity and facilitates Trade - it does not measure subjective valuation:

• Trading 10 apples for shoes doesn't mean you value shoes "10 apples worth"
• Price tells us about supply/demand relationships, not intrinsic value
• Like a shadow tells us about the sun's position, not its size

Integration with Ethics

There is no dichotomy between "economic value" and "ethical values" - value is value:

• Austrian Economics studies human action as it is (what people actually value)
• Ethics studies what people ought to value (proper values for human life)
• Both examine what man acts to gain and/or keep

Man as Integrated Being

Value relates to man as a totality:

• Not just his mind (consciousness)
• Not just his body (physical needs)
• Man as an integrated rational animal with specific requirements for survival and flourishing

This challenges both:

• Mystics of spirit: who believe consciousness can exist without a physical basis
• Mystics of muscle: who deny the reality of consciousness and volition

Ultimate Standard

Man's ultimate value is alleviating uneasiness through rational action:

• Ultimate means: Reason - the faculty that identifies reality
• Ultimate end: Removing felt uneasiness (achieving flourishing)
• Method: Voluntary Trade and production in free Markets

This grounds value theory in objective reality while recognizing that only conscious beings can hold values.

Key Insight

What Austrians call "subjective" is actually objective - it recognizes that:

1. Value requires a valuer (consciousness)
2. Values must be grounded in the objective requirements of human life
3. Individual preferences reflect personal knowledge and circumstances
4. Markets coordinate individual valuations through voluntary exchange

The "subjectivity" lies not in arbitrary whims, but in the objective fact that individuals have different knowledge, circumstances, and legitimate preferences within the framework of human nature.

This integration draws from Argumentation Ethics, The Non-aggression Principle, and the Economic Calculation Problem to show how value theory supports both Austrian economics and Objectivist ethics.