The paradox of value - Akshita Agarwal

Paradoks vrijednosti - Akshita Agarwal

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Dunja Knežević

Imagine you're on a game show, and you can choose between two prizes:

Zamislite da ste u kvizu i morate izabrati između dvije nagrade:

a diamond

dijamanta

or a bottle of water.

ili boce vode.

It's an easy choice.

To je jednostavan izbor.

The diamonds are clearly more valuable.

Dijamanti su očito vrjedniji.

Now imagine being given the same choice again,

Sad zamislite da ponovno imate isti izbor,

only this time, you're not on a game show,

samo ovog puta niste na kvizu,

but dehydrated in the desert after wandering for days.

već dehidrirani u pustinji nakon što ste danima lutali.

Do you choose differently?

Birate li drugačije?

Why? Aren't diamonds still more valuable?

Zašto? Nisu li dijamanti vrjedniji?

This is the paradox of value,

To je paradoks vrijednosti,

famously described by pioneering economist Adam Smith.

slavno opisan od vodećeg ekonomista Adama Smitha.

And what it tells us is that defining value is not as simple as it seems.

I kaže da definiranje vrijednosti nije tako jednostavno kako se čini.

On the game show, you were thinking about each item's exchange value,

Na kvizu, razmišljate o vrijednosti razmjene svakog predmeta,

what you could obtain for them at a later time,

ono što možete za njih kasnije dobiti,

but in an emergency, like the desert scenario,

ali u hitnom slučaju, kao u scenariju u pustinji,

what matters far more is their use value,

ono što je najvažnije je korisna vrijednost,

how helpful they are in your current situation.

odnosno koliko vam pomaže u trenutnoj situaciji.

And because we only get to choose one of the options,

I zato što možemo odabrati samo jednu opciju,

we also have to consider its opportunity cost,

moramo razmisliti i o oportunitetnom trošku,

or what we lose by giving up the other choice.

odnosno što gubimo kada odustanemo od jedne stvari.

After all, it doesn't matter how much you could get from selling the diamond

Poslije svega, nije važno koliko možete zaraditi prodajom dijamanta

if you never make it out of the desert.

ako nikad ne izađete iz pustinje.

Most modern economists deal with the paradox of value

Većina modernih ekonomista bavi se paradoksom vrijednosti

by attempting to unify these considerations

pokušavajući ujediniti ova razmatranja

under the concept of utility,

u konceptu korisnosti,

how well something satisfies a person's wants or needs.

odnosno koliko dobro nešto zadovoljava želje ili potrebe osobe.

Utility can apply to anything from the basic need for food

Korisnost se može primijeniti u bilo čemu, od potrebe za hranom

to the pleasure of hearing a favorite song,

do zadovoljstva kada čujete najdražu pjesmu

and will naturally vary for different people and circumstances.

i varirat će za različite ljude i prilike.

A market economy provides us with an easy way to track utility.

Tržišna ekonomija pruža nam jednostavan način da pratimo korisnost.

Put simply, the utility something has to you

Jednostavno, korisnost koju nešto ima za vas

is reflected by how much you'd be willing to pay for it.

odražava se u tome koliko biste bili spremni platiti za to.

Now, imagine yourself back in the desert,

Sad, zamislite da ste opet u pustinji,

only this time, you get offered a new diamond or a fresh bottle of water

samo ovoga puta, nudi vam se novi dijamant i boca vode

every five minutes.

svakih pet minuta.

If you're like most people, you'll first choose enough water to last the trip,

Ako ste kao većina ljudi, prvo ćete uzeti dovoljno vode za putovanje,

and then as many diamonds as you can carry.

i onda koliko god dijamanata možete nositi.

This is because of something called marginal utility,

Ovo se događa zbog marginalne korisnosti,

and it means that when you choose between diamonds and water,

i to znači da kada birate između dijamanata i vode,

you compare utility obtained from every additional bottle of water

uspoređujete korisnost dobivenu od svake dodatne boce vode

to every additional diamond.

ili dodatnog dijamanta.

And you do this each time an offer is made.

I to radite svakog puta kada dobijete ponudu.

The first bottle of water is worth more to you than any amount of diamonds,

Prva boca vode vrijedi vam više nego bilo koja količina dijamanata,

but eventually, you have all the water you need.

ali uskoro imate svu vodu koju trebate.

After a while, every additional bottle becomes a burden.

Nakon nekog vremena, svaka boca vode postaje teret.

That's when you begin to choose diamonds over water.

Tada počinjete birati dijamante umjesto vode.

And it's not just necessities like water.

To nije samo za nužne stvari, poput vode.

When it comes to most things, the more of it you acquire,

Kod većine stvari, što ih više steknete,

the less useful or enjoyable every additional bit becomes.

manje korisne ili zanimljive postaju.

This is the law of diminishing marginal utility.

Ovo je zakon opadajuće marginalne korisnosti.

You might gladly buy two or three helpings of your favorite food,

Rado ćete kupiti dvije ili tri porcije najdraže hrane,

but the fourth would make you nauseated,

ali od četvrte će vam biti muka,

and the hundredth would spoil before you could even get to it.

a stota bi se pokvarila prije nego dođete do nje.

Or you could pay to see the same movie over and over until you got bored of it

Ili možete plaćati da gledate isti film nanovo dok vam ne dosadi

or spent all of your money.

ili ne potrošite sav novac.

Either way, you'd eventually reach a point

U svakom slučaju, doći ćete do točke

where the marginal utility for buying another movie ticket became zero.

gdje je marginalna korisnost za kupovinu još jedne ulaznice za film nula.

Utility applies not just to buying things, but to all our decisions.

Korisnost se ne primjenjuje samo na kupnju stvari, već na sve naše odluke.

And the intuitive way to maximize it and avoid diminishing returns

I intuitivni način za maksimiziranje i izbjegavanje opadanja

is to vary the way we spend our time and resources.

je varirati kako trošimo naše vrijeme i resurse.

After our basic needs are met,

Kada su osnovne potrebe zadovoljene,

we'd theoretically decide to invest in choices

teoretski odlučujemo investirati u odabire

only to the point they're useful or enjoyable.

samo do točke kada su korisni ili u njima uživamo.

Of course, how effectively any of us manage to maximize utility in real life

Naravno, kako učinkovito bilo tko od nas maksimizira korisnost u stvarnom životu

is another matter.

je druga priča.

But it helps to remember that the ultimate source of value comes from us,

Ali pomaže sjetiti se da najveća vrijednost dolazi od nas,

the needs we share,

od potreba koje dijelimo,

the things we enjoy,

stvari u kojima uživamo,

and the choices we make.

i u izborima koje činimo.