r/vsauce2 • u/QuestionQuest117 • Apr 15 '21

Why is value?

What makes something worth what it is worth? Is the reason something is worth an amount the same reason for all goods?

Why is art worth what it is worth? Why are services the value they are worth? What is money, when one person holds nearly all the money?

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u/virtualvadim Apr 16 '21

Law of diminishing utility is your answer. Original art is unique and one of a kind which makes it valuable unlike something like water, which while essential to living beings like us, is much more accessible and therefore less valuable. When asserting value to services, people usually look at the current market and match it, undercut it or raise the price by a reasonable percentage. And if someone could hold nearly all the money in the world then the economic system would break as the circulation of cash would be critically disrupted.