For example, a person may play music because she enjoys it, but since music is considered a desirable commodity in our society, her action produces a use value that has meaningful level of of social objectivity. On the other hand, if the same person went on a mountain hike be cause she enjoys hiking, this would produce "uses and gratifications" for her, but not something that has use value to others.
Gambling is clearly the second type of activity - it produces "uses and gratifications" for the gamblers but no use value to society. Note, however, that if someone facilitated gambling for others, that would have a use value.
As far as the example of copper wire trading is concerned, the concept of use value, or uses and gratifications for that matter, is quite tangential. The argument was that "value rationality" typically trumps "purpose rationality" to use Max Weber terms - i.e. people tend to attain and maintain social status rather than maximize profits for the efficiency sake.
Wojtek
Wojtek
On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 3:15 PM, c b <cb31450 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Wojtek S
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/10372678.stm
> [WS:] What makes this case interesting is that it is a clear-cut
> demonstration of what I believe is one of the most fundamental
> principles of human behavior - construction and maintenance of one's
> own dignity i.e. a desirable image of the self projected to others.
> Not to maximize profits or pursue his material interests - as
> variations of the rat-choice paradigm want us to believe - but to
> construct, maintain, and defend if necessary a dignified image of the
> self, even at the expense of one's material interests and personal
> freedom.
>
> -clip-
>
> To use an example, the natives in Joseph Conrad's story "The Heart of
> Darkness" serving the Europeans in exchange for pieces of copper wire
> are not ignoramuses who do not understand the concept of value. They
> understand it it perfectly - to them, the possession of shiny metal,
> such as copper wire, is a manifestation of one's social status, and
> thus dignity, which is of ultimate value. They act quite rationally
> when they go to great lengths to obtain objects manifesting that
> value. It is the Europeans who are are ignoramuses, as they fail to
> grasp this simple principle of human social behavior, and confused the
> principle with its manifestation.
>
> ^^^^^^^
> CB: If some people value having shiny metal, isn't it understandable
> that some people value virtual gaming or just gaming ? In the society
> of computer gamers, playing games or winning more games gives social
> status. So, the virtual game time has use-value for them, just as
> pieces of copper wire had use-value for the Africans in the novel.
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