Title: Cost vs Price vs Worth vs Value [The Human Condition]
Headings: Cost vs Price vs Worth vs Value
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Table of Contents
Cost vs Price vs Worth vs Value
Everyday language
value
cost, price
worth
In Economics
value
price, cost
worth
In Business
value, worth (accounting)
value (marketing)
price, cost
Discussion

Content: Price and worth are similar, but a true price only exists when we are actually selling, whereas we can speculate about worth at any time. Also, if we actually do sell, and prices are negotiable, we will set our price higher than what we think it is worth. Of course these generalizations about usage have many exceptions. Expressions of worth that are vague ( worth a great deal) or dramatic ( worth the world) refer to non-monetary value. We aren't anticipating the selling price of our civil rights or our children. A clever economist could probably calculate a cash value of civil rights, perhaps by comparing the social health of a place where they are common with one that lacks them to some degree, but by law and tradition it’s profoundly wrong to assign a price to them. Similarly, when we say we are counting the cost, or ask At what price?, we are not actually expecting a discussion of money. In Economics
Economics offers theories (see Story) that explain the observed behavior of buyers and sellers in markets, exchanging money for goods and services. In this real world we see that price, value, etc.