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I apologize for not replying sooner to Pat Gunning's pointed questions. I was busy NOT
enjoying the use value of a medical treatment which I perceived to have lousy utility, but
whose exchange value was very steep indeed.
 
Seriously, the other difficulty I had was the narrowness with which he had framed the
issue. I could not find a way of getting inside that box, because I was referring to
shared values in a much broader sense. His example of use of paper money does not capture
what we normally consider to be ethical, cultural norms in a society. Rod Hay's comment
that
 
"If a group shares a value system and acts upon it, it is meaningful to call that value
system objective" is most useful here.
 
Those value systems are relevant to economics, because they affect economic outcomes. If
economics was about 'how mankind goes about the business of satisfying its material wants'
, then I believe the social value systems affect how we 'use our scarce resources '.
 
Referring to value in use and value in exchange Pat wrote: "[they] acquire some items
because they plan to use them and other items because they plan to exchange them." I
believe that the distinction between these two kinds of
values is more important when you consider their production. Economics does not concern
itself with household production of use values which contribute
substantially to people's material happiness, and it is easy to make the case that the
patriarchal values, and social norms have contributed substantially to the sexual division
of labor, and its invisibility in economics. Smith's moral sentiments and Schumpeter's
sociology add insights to our understanding of how the economy actually works and I
wondered if the practice of economics has not been impoverished since we focus on the tool
kit of economic analysis rather than its wider context. The very fact that economists
disagree violently on many issues tells us how important is the role of values and
ideologies in the practice of our discipline, no matter how refined the tools. 
 
If this is still illogical or unclear, I plead guilty as charged. Going outside the box
has its own risks.
 
Best, Sumitra 
 
I hope Susan Feiner is able to send a link to the Challenge article she mentioned in her
post.
 
 
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