Comparative Analysis of Labor Theory of Value and Utility Theory of Value

The issue of value and what have been the source of value has been the subject of research for economists and thinkers for a long time. Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx did not consider the use value of a good. They argued that considering the exchange value of a good, the Exchange value of that good was determined by the amount of labor time spent in its production. Athough these economists approached the theory of labor value with different perspectives, they reached a common consensus that the source of value is labor. Another current that contributes to the theory of value is the theory of utility value led by W. Stanley Jevons, Leon Walras, Carl Menger and Alfred Marshall. In this study theory of labor value and theory of utility value are compared and their validity is discussed today. It is thought that the value affected by many variables in the economic system cannot be concluded from such a complex structure that it can only be determined by labor or just benefit. It is also considered that there are many variables that affect the value of good other than labor and benefit.