قيمة الذهب والموارد: قيمة الاستعمالية والتبادلية

First Point: Value Utility

Firstly, when Ricardo states that gold is “of limited use compared to air and water,” he is referring to the value utility of resources. Value utility is the extent to which a commodity is useful in meeting immediate and essential human needs. Air and water are essential resources for life, as humans cannot survive without them. On the other hand, the practical use of gold is much less in daily human life compared to air and water. For example, people use air for breathing and water for drinking, cooking, and washing, making both of them highly valuable in terms of utility.

Second Point: Exchange Value

Secondly, Ricardo explains that gold can be exchanged for a large quantity of other goods despite its limited practical uses, pointing to the exchange value of precious metals. Exchange value relates to a commodity’s ability to be exchanged for other goods and services in the market. Gold retains its high value in the context of commercial exchange due to its rarity, quality, and trust as a store of value. This means that gold can be sold or exchanged for large quantities of other products and services.

The reason for this exchange value strength of gold is attributed to some important economic factors:

1. Scarcity: The quantity of gold in nature is limited and difficult to extract, making it rare and meeting high demand.
2. Durability: Gold does not easily corrode and retains its luster and quality for a long time, making it a preferred metal for storage and investment.
3. Social Acceptance: Over the ages, gold has been accepted as a recognized medium of exchange, enhancing its value in financial markets.

This excerpt can explain how some commodities, despite not having widespread utility in daily life, retain high value and can be exchanged for a large number of other goods based on their exchange economic value. Thus, Ricardo provides a clear example of how economic values of different goods vary in the market, which is a fundamental principle in the field of economics.