ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the idea of a providential abundance of necessities. The paradox arises because there is a play with concepts like ‘value’, ‘price’ and ‘usefulness’ or ‘utility’. In daily life, the use-value of a good varies from person to person, something that is reflected in the demand for it. If the value of gold, silver and other luxury goods is only relative, the same can be said of such notions as wealth and poverty. The rise of the modern worldview did not put an end to scholastic thinking about value and price. The price of labour is said to depend partly on the value of different human talents. Some Christian writers addressed the paradox of value more explicitly. The body of ancient and medieval thought about value and price was not refined in natural-law philosophy alone. The emerging economic discourse also produced numerous reflections on these subjects, often as prelude to theories of money.
