9. If at any time any Economic Quantity, A, can be exchanged for any other Economic Quantity, B, then the Quantity A

is termed the Value of B, and B is similarly termed the Value of A. Now as each of the three species of Economic Quantities may be exchanged for either of the others, any Quantity may have value in terms of the others. Suppose that at any time 1 oz. of gold will exchange for 15 oz. of silver, then it is said 1 oz. of gold is of the Value of 15 oz. of silver, which is simply this equation: -

1 oz. gold =15 oz. silver.

Hence Value may be said to be the sign of equality between any two Economic Quantities. As Aristotle says: - "Now the term Value is used in reference to External Goods."

So it is said in Roman law: - "The Value of a thing is what it can be sold for"

We have then this definition -

The Value of any Economic Quantity is any other Economic Quantity for which it can be exchanged.

Hence any Economic Quantity has as many Values as Quantities it can be exchanged for: and of course, if it can be exchanged for nothing, it has no Value. This shows that there can be no such thing as absolute Value, or universal Value, because there is nothing probably which can be exchanged universally throughout the world.

Value, therefore, by the very definition, like distance or an equation, requires two objects. We cannot speak of absolute or intrinsic distance, or equality. A single object cannot be distant, or be equal. If we are told that an object is distant, or equal, we immediately ask - Distant from what? or equal to what? So it is equally clear, that a single object cannot have value. We must always ask - Value in what? And it is clear that, as it is absurd to speak of a single object having absolute or intrinsic distance, or having absolute or intrinsic equality; so it is equally absurd to speak of an object having absolute or intrinsic Value.

This must suffice here for the definition of Value; we shall have to enter somewhat more fully into the theory of value in the next chapter.