A Comparative Analysis of Subjective and Objective Approaches to Value Problem in the History of Economic Thought

This Survey traces the philosophical foundations of the value problem in the history of economic thought. The historical evolution of economic thought implies that there is no subject/object dichotomy in Aristotelian and scholastic traditions; subjective and objective dimensions of value were inseparable from each other and the natural dimension of value was correlated with the social dimension of value. However, after the renaissance and the formation of subject/object dichotomy in modern philosophy and self-interest-based capitalistic economic system, the objective dimension of value was emphasized in the classic age at first. The labor theory of value emerged in this context among classical economists and Marx. But after the marginalistic revolution, the subjective dimension of value was emphasized. Due to the domination of the mathematical approach and positivistic value-free vision in this period, the value dimension was dissolved and was replaced by the price theory. Finally, the heterodox streams tried to revive the value problem by focusing on the objective/subjective dialectics (in critical realism) and ethical and normative dimensions of economics (in AmartyaSen’s capability approach).