[MD] U.S. Values: the Jones

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

Craig,

To be clear, are you suggesting then that "Quality" and "exchange value" are
(neutrally) synonymous? Or at the very least directly related (rising and
falling together)?

This was the point of commodity fetishism, witnessable throughout modern
American culture, than the market value for X becomes seen as a neutral and
reliable indicator of Quality.

The example from ZMM shows this type of thinking when John refuses to use a shim
to fix his bike, because it has no "exchange value" for John it has "no
Quality".

Perhaps you, like Pirsig, would see the use-value of the object, and perhaps you
would move in the other direction (assigning an exchange value based on its
utility to you), but the trend (culturally) is the opposite.

Finally, please don't suggest that (1) the only other option is market control,
or (2) I am in favor of market control. The point is not to control the market,
but talk directly to the valuations that derive from culture that lead to
particular market realities.

Arlo

On Mon, 04 Dec 2006 07:26:41 +0000  moq_discuss at moqtalk.org wrote:

> 
> [Arlo]
> > Then why was the beer can shim, something high in use-value, low in
> > exchange-value?
> 
> No mystery here.  If I can use a shim to repair my motorcyle, I will value
more
> (& pay more for) an empty beer can than an empty glass jar or plastic
bottle. 
> But that is not the only market force at work.  There is also the Law of
Supply
> & Demand.  There are millions of empty beer cans each day (especially on
Fri. &
> Sat. nights), but comparably little demand for shims.  Any economic system
that
> tries to force a high price on empty beer cans, will only succeed in moving
> frat boys with their empty beer cans into the black market.
> Craig