We’re talking past each other by using differing definitions of “value”. Economic value is affected by scarcity (and other factors).
But I have been talking about ethical value—the thing that classical utilitarians talk about when they say that happiness is valuable. A classical utilitarian doesn’t care about whether wolves are common or scarce; they care about how the relative scarcity of wolves makes people feel.
Put another way, I’ve been talking about terminal values, which are not in any way fungible. I think you’ve been talking about instrumental values, which are. Is that at all right?
Not completely fundamental, but derived very quickly from the fundamentals, hundreds of years ago.
Value depends on scarcity. If you don’t agree with this, I’m not going to continue this conversation.
Economics is the study of value decisions, and so is ethics.
We’re talking past each other by using differing definitions of “value”. Economic value is affected by scarcity (and other factors).
But I have been talking about ethical value—the thing that classical utilitarians talk about when they say that happiness is valuable. A classical utilitarian doesn’t care about whether wolves are common or scarce; they care about how the relative scarcity of wolves makes people feel.
Put another way, I’ve been talking about terminal values, which are not in any way fungible. I think you’ve been talking about instrumental values, which are. Is that at all right?