> The labor theory of value (LTV) posits that the economic value of a good or service is determined by the socially necessary labor time required to produce it under prevailing conditions
So the purpose of prices is to comply with LTV? Prices carry information from individual needs and desires in markets. And incentive production to meet that demand. What do they do in your system? My understanding from this thread and the other is basically their purpose is to comply with LTV. And also at the same time they're right because they correlate with market prices? I'm legitimately confused.
As a follow-up: If we have full labor input as baseline, we have other ways to adjust the price to steer behavior. For example, we could properly price in environmental cost and steer consumption towards a socioeconomic system that can survive the environmental crisis.
I see the framing of "optimal" pricing as inherently ideological. "Optimal" for achieving which socioeconomic goal?
Pricing externalities is not a feature unique to LTV.
Is your position that your pricing is not more "optimal" than market based pricing? Just because you're using moral terms doesn't mean you're not making a value judgement.
Comments
I tend to agree with the LTV definition:
> The labor theory of value (LTV) posits that the economic value of a good or service is determined by the socially necessary labor time required to produce it under prevailing conditions
Ok, so the purpose of prices to you is not to convey information about what's needed?
That is correct! I would also posit that if that is the main point of a market pricing mechanism, I'm also not fully sold it works as intended?
So the purpose of prices is to comply with LTV? Prices carry information from individual needs and desires in markets. And incentive production to meet that demand. What do they do in your system? My understanding from this thread and the other is basically their purpose is to comply with LTV. And also at the same time they're right because they correlate with market prices? I'm legitimately confused.
As a follow-up: If we have full labor input as baseline, we have other ways to adjust the price to steer behavior. For example, we could properly price in environmental cost and steer consumption towards a socioeconomic system that can survive the environmental crisis.
I see the framing of "optimal" pricing as inherently ideological. "Optimal" for achieving which socioeconomic goal?
Pricing externalities is not a feature unique to LTV.
Is your position that your pricing is not more "optimal" than market based pricing? Just because you're using moral terms doesn't mean you're not making a value judgement.