Value

A Question of Value

Value is a construct which describes how much a person or group will endeavour to obtain a certain object. Although this may sound like a concept based in Capitalism, it is in fact universal- how much effort is a person or group willing to apply to gain a certain end.

People as individuals may also be said to have ‘value’, and this can be determined in the same way as the value status of objects. This assessment of individual personal value does not indicate any absolute value of that person’s life, but merely reflects how much that person is valued by another person or group.

The value accorded to a person or object by an individual or group may be best assessed by the actions of that person or group. Many people will make value statements which are not backed up by their actions.

Devaluation may be said to occur when persistent low value is placed on a person or group by a powerful person or group.

See section on Devaluation:

Devaluation

Values Based Theories

There are many different ways to approach an analysis of how people are and should be treated by society, that is to say, what value is accorded to individuals and groups.

For instance, a Marxist analysis would be based on how the economic deep structure of society determined the manner of responding to different classes of individuals. A Religious analysis might depend on the concept of ‘God’s Will’. A Capitalist analysis might depend on a concept of personal societal utility. A Liberal analysis might depend on a concept of Rights. All of these would result in a description of the methods and ends accorded to individuals and groups according to their ‘value’ within the social system. These Values would be determined by the Economy, by God, by Capital or by Rights.

Each of these methods have strengths and weaknesses and are not to be denied as providing relevant insights.

However, this current analysis is based on the concept of individual and group valuation processes- how individual and group psychological processes determine belief and action.

This does not deny Marxist Economic Determinism, nor Religious Determinism, nor Capitalist Utility, nor a Liberal Concept of Rights. These analyses may have their uses in their own areas of interest, but we are concerned here with how individuals as parts of groups react according to their individual and group psychological processes.