[philwelch]

If you think there's a meaning to the phrase "inherent value", try to define it instead of being petulant. Nothing has value without some customer who has a demand for it, which is why the concept of inherent value is meaningless.

If something was only worth the cost of the materials that went into it--then what determines that cost? Even steel and oil have value that depends on customer demand rather than any sort of inherent value. And if that was all it was worth, why would you waste time and effort turning steel into a steel bracelet, or a steel ship, when the end product wasn't actually worth more than the materials that went into it? You'd waste energy and human effort without producing any value. You'd be richer just holding onto the raw steel itself.