Monday, May 10, 2021

Everything has a Price

I find the title to be propaganda. The words are twisted, precisely to cover up the thought they should express. When you read it, you don't think, [all acts and objects can be priced] but instead that everything has a monetary value and can be bought out. More specifically, that all values can be bought at a lower value with dollars. 

Simple counterexample: ethically speaking, if you like your house you can simply refuse to sell it. Sure, [everything has a price], there is some dollar value you would trade your house for, no matter how much you like it. Except that price may be some trillions of dollars; so much you can turn around and buy the whole country, getting your house back in the deal. Naturally you will agree to sell your house if you can two of whatever you like your house for at the offered price. 

Realistically, the house is worth more to you than anyone else; nobody can make a sensible bid that you would accept. It cannot realistically be bought. Realistically, not everything has a [price] in the sense of being purchasable. 


The covered-up thought is particularly important. Values can be priced. What would you pay to satisfy that value? There you go, that's the price. Not all of these prices will be in money, but they can all be converted, however so roughly, into something fungible with dollars. There is a dollar value on all your values. It's just math. Money has value. Value has value. Do the substitution and you get the equation. Even imprecise dollar values are accurate enough to do the accounting.

Though, value doesn't have money. Money per se is worthless; rather, the things we buy with money have value. Money is denominator. Hours are typically a better denominator. Always make sure the thing you're trading for money is worth the things you're trading the money for. If you could trade the effort or whatever for the end goal directly, would you do it?

Because values can be priced, they can be compared. Since they can be compared, you can do the accounting. You can find out you are caring for things you don't care about, and stop. Whenever two values conflict, you can re-cast it as buying one value by selling the other; it will almost immediately be obvious which deal is the better.


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