Craig --

[Ham, previously]:
Does the written score for a piece of music have any value
before it is heard?  Did the majesty of the Grand Canyon
have any value before it was seen?

[Craig]:
The answers are of course "Yes".  Take a recently discovered
but unheard score by Beethoven to Christie's auction house &
watch its value increase bid by bid.
Or put the Grand Canyon, sight unseen, up for sale.
I think you'll get some offers.
How does this affect your thesis?

A nice try from left field.

Monetary (or book) "values" apply to wealth generation, so the real value in the examples you've cited is Power. That wealth is a prime utility in the market place is especially apparent during a recession when the money supply shrinks. While I don't deny that having wealth is a great advantage in a materialistic society, the exchange value of monetary power doesn't affect my understanding of esthetic or moral values, which was the context of this discussion.

A newly discovered Beethoven score is priced as a commodity, rather than for its musical value Also, I suspect that the U.S. National Park Service who leased property rights to the Hualapai Indians would have strong objections to my putting the Grand Canyon up for sale. (If you don't believe that, I can give you a good price on a bridge in Brooklyn.)

Thanks for the diversion, Craig.
Ham

Moq_Discuss mailing list
Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org
Archives:
http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/
http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/

Reply via email to