An Introduction to the Theory of Value: On the Lines of Menger, Weiser, and Böhm-Bawerk

An introductory economics treatise written in the late 19th century. It lays out the Austrian School’s view that value is rooted in subjective judgments of utility and scarcity, showing how personal valuations, not inherent properties of goods, give rise to prices. Smart’s aim is to translate and clarify the ideas of Menger, Wieser, and Böhm-Bawerk for English readers, stressing marginal utility, the demand side of value, and the bridge from personal appraisals to market prices. It will appeal to readers seeking a clear, student-friendly foundation in value and price theory. The opening of this treatise frames the work through brief prefaces and a roadmap of chapters, then defines value with care: distinguishing subjective (personal) value from objective (capacity-based) measures, and criticizing the old “use value vs. exchange value” division. It argues that utility is broader than value and that value appears when a want is felt to depend on a specific good, introducing marginal utility via vivid cases (the sailor’s biscuits, Crusoe’s corn) to explain why scarcity and the last satisfied want set value. Subsequent sections handle complications (durable vs. perishable goods, groups of “complementary goods,” capitalized value), clarify “foreign” or indirect valuations when losses are shifted, and show how usefulness and scarcity jointly set the marginal level. The text then separates subjective from objective exchange value, explains money’s role as anticipated use value, and moves to price formation under competition, deriving market price from the meeting of many subjective valuations—the marginal pair of buyers and sellers that sets the going rate.