Reply to Rafael
We both agree that value is a matter of convention. I was referring more to
its relational aspects: the book value of a firm vs. its market value, and
the intertemporal value of oil (present economic growth vs. future
socioeconomic stability). Economic science (and social sciences in general)
cannot close an eye on these problems. In that sense I do not believe that
we can or ought to develop "value free" theories. Perhaps what we can do is
to recognize and reject those idealistic theories which may be in principle
impossible or may have a high potential social cost. In any case
indeterminacy stays with us.
The best
Igor
If we see economics like this, i.e., within the horizon of indeterminacy
> then we are also free from any kind of 'dialectic' as well as of
> idealistic value theories.
> Igor,
>
> products are in fact, I believe, 'invaluable,' i.e., there is no
> possibility (as conceived in classic economic theories) of finding their
> 'intrinsic' value (based on material, work, knowledge or whatever). Their
> value is a matter of convention. Therefore is economics something
specific
> human. It presupposes that we are open to a space of indeterminacy not
> only with regard to what we do (our 'praxis' in Greek terms: with the
> question of finding the right 'middle', Aristotle's 'mesotes') but also
of
> what we produce (our 'poiesis' in Greek terms; which means the process of
> finding also the right 'middle' with regard also the human life 'as a
> whole', which means that economics and ethics belong together...).
> If we see economics like this, i.e., within the horizon of indeterminacy
> then we are also free from any kind of 'dialectic' as well as of
> idealistic value theories. Economics is thus not something that does not
> belong to the very realm of the human (as stated sometimes by creating a
> contradiction between ethics and economy), and it is not just
'humanistic'
> in the sense that it could be based on a given 'measure'. The measure of
> economics is nothing but the very space of indeterminacy as which we,
> humans live. At least this is how I see it. Information takes place at
the
> very moment in which we start the process of 'fixing' a value.
> cheers
> Rafael
>
>
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Received on Wed Jun 1 16:29:04 2005
