Carl Menger on Value

Value is nothing inherent in goods, no property of them, nor an independent thing existing by itself. It is a judgment economizing men make about the importance of goods at their disposal for the maintenance of their lives and well-being. Hence value does not exist outside the consciousness of men.

So wrote Carl Menger, one of the three economists who created the marginal revolution in the early 1870s. This is a very nice, succinct statement.

I’m discussion leader of a colloquium on Menger in Las Vegas that starts Thursday evening. It’s in 6 sessions. I loved the Menger readings for the first three. The readings for the last 3, on methodology, were challenging, but I think I get it.

Here is my short bio of Carl Menger for The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.