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What does money represent but the value that humans ascribe to things? We aren’t all willing to pay the same price for certain things, but we all know that we

What does money represent but the value that humans ascribe to things? We aren’t all willing to pay the same price for certain things, but we all know that we can get more of what we value by getting more money. Fighting against this is like trying to swim up a waterfall. This is why carbon taxation or cap and trade style policy is the the only scalable non-technical solution.

munk-a 5y ago
I think your first line is pretty provably false - "Money can't buy you love" exists as a saying for a reason, some goods and services aren't translatable into monetary values so while money represents the value that humans ascribe to a lot of things it isn't all encompassing. And if you don't like the "soft" counter argument above then externalized costs also nibble away at an understanding that money represents the value we ascribe to costs. I do think that carbon taxation is probably the best resolution to pursue - bringing all those long ignored factors into the actual costs of goods forces the market to respond them - however other approaches to speed this process along (and bridge areas of the world where taxation is politically difficult) seems wise as well.
- relax88 5y ago
  It’s definitely not false. The entire purpose of money to exchange human ascribed value across space and time. People try to buy love all the time, and if they could purchase the real thing they would likely pay a lot for it. Just because something isn’t for sale doesn’t mean it’s value can’t be compared relative to other things. How much would you personally be willing to pay to limit the warming of the Earth to 1.5C?
  - klyrs 5y ago
    > How much would you personally be willing to pay to limit the warming of the Earth to 1.5C? Nearly all of my money, if I thought it would actually work, but that's not even half a million canadian. If Jeff Bezos felt the same as me, he could effect significantly more change than I could. Money doesn't represent what "people" value, it represents what the very richest people value.

munk-a 5y ago

I think your first line is pretty provably false - "Money can't buy you love" exists as a saying for a reason, some goods and services aren't translatable into monetary values so while money represents the value that humans ascribe to a lot of things it isn't all encompassing. And if you don't like the "soft" counter argument above then externalized costs also nibble away at an understanding that money represents the value we ascribe to costs. I do think that carbon taxation is probably the best resolution to pursue - bringing all those long ignored factors into the actual costs of goods forces the market to respond them - however other approaches to speed this process along (and bridge areas of the world where taxation is politically difficult) seems wise as well.

relax88 5y ago
It’s definitely not false. The entire purpose of money to exchange human ascribed value across space and time. People try to buy love all the time, and if they could purchase the real thing they would likely pay a lot for it. Just because something isn’t for sale doesn’t mean it’s value can’t be compared relative to other things. How much would you personally be willing to pay to limit the warming of the Earth to 1.5C?
- klyrs 5y ago
  > How much would you personally be willing to pay to limit the warming of the Earth to 1.5C? Nearly all of my money, if I thought it would actually work, but that's not even half a million canadian. If Jeff Bezos felt the same as me, he could effect significantly more change than I could. Money doesn't represent what "people" value, it represents what the very richest people value.