Ancient Theories of Value : As Viewed from Modern Economic Theory

Aristotle was among the first thinkers to appreciate the difference between the use value and exchange value of the object of an economic exchange. He drew not simply economic but, more profoundly, ethical conclusions from this distinction. In this he was followed by Aquinas who distinguished two different types of conducting economic exchange. Today we can recognize in these forms the modern equivalents of market exchanges and relational exchanges which take place within organizations. The distinction between use value and exchange value also reveals what is often most puzzling about the economic thought of both Aristotle and Aquinas and, by extension, that of the entire Judaic, Christian, and Islamist tradition, that of the prohibition of interest on lent money