No, that's a fundamental misunderstanding of what value is. And a manifestation of a common one! Things don't have value because of how much it cost to create

No, that's a fundamental misunderstanding of what value is. And a manifestation of a common one! Things don't have value because of how much it cost to create them. They have value because of how much people are willing to buy them for. If you and I both produce spoons, and the spoons that we produce are identical in every way, but I have a more efficient manufacturing process and it costs me less to produce those spoons, that does not make your spoons worth "more." And, importantly for people who are drawn to this idea, we should not attempt to legislate that your spoons are worth "more" for fairness reasons -- this fundamental approach to value is exactly what creates incentives for me to find efficiencies in manufacturing.