Introduction 

A friend sent me the infographic below, asking for my opinion of it. My immediate reaction was negative. It showed no basis for the Creator’s benefits to whom He chooses or for economist Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” at work in a free market. In this system, a person’s access to resources is based on some level of value, determined by his or her contribution to society. One’s value is discussed and determined by some Value Council (my label) and overseen by an “ethical AI”. For these reasons the Value Rank System infographic is criticized by me.

Value Determined by One’s Contribution to Society

I perceive here a system for ranking one’s value, based on one’s contribution to society. Some Value Council (overseen by an AI) categorizes (from the Greek for “accuses”) people into seven levels of contribution. Individuals can climb up the levels of value by working hard, working smart, working with integrity. They can fall to lower levels by failing to contribute.

This ignores the extreme value of each human life as given by our Creator. The Bible requires the ultimate punishment for taking a human life (Genesis 9:5). 

Access to Resources Based on One’s Value

Each person receives resources, based on one’s rank of value to society. “Instead of buying, you request resources.” One must appeal to some Value Council for those resources. The members, overseen by an “ethical AI”, determine your value and contributions then determine your access. It occurs to me that someone of the highest, Legacy, rank may not want all the resources due to them while people in much lower levels may want things the Council determines they don’t deserve.

This strikes me as Marxist in that this outside agency – some government, the Value Council – decides what and how many resources a person is allowed to receive. This council determines what and how many resources must be produced and by whom. They ignore people’s desires for particular resources.

The leaders of Communist Russia tried to work their economy that way… and failed utterly. President Reagan was able to start the process of overthrowing Russian communism. He did it by using the leaders’ economic fantasies and power- lust against them.

Under the Value Rank System, Value Council members are the final arbiters. They replace God as the Righteous Judge.  They try to take the place of the Creator as our Provider.

Reality of the Free Market

The free market is so much better and it works best with money, a symbolic medium of exchange everyone agrees to use. Those who are able – not hampered by physical, mental, or emotional disabilities – have opportunities to create goods or services of value. Ideally, this comes from one’s God- given purpose and identity.

The person uses his or her imagination – dreams and visions – to invent what other people need and value. Education, training, and practice make that person capable of providing goods or services that others value. The person offers those goods or services to people in a free market, using marketing methods to gain people’s attention and desire.

In the free market, the person sets a value for his/ her goods or services, based on a certain amount of money. Potential customers decide whether they want to give that amount of money for those goods or services. In Oriental bazaars, the seller and buyer dicker over the price (value) of what is offered. They reach an agreement on the price and exchange their valuables (money) for the goods or services.

Yes, a person must work hard, work creatively, to provide something that people want. That person must create and sell with integrity to be trusted by customers. The person receives resources from other people in exchange. 

This is more justly done through individual agreement on how much each individual values the other’s resources. It is not based on values set by some outside agency – a Marxist government or some Value Council.

Other Considerations

There are other philosophical considerations. 

• the inherent value of people unable to contribute to society 
• allowing for people to remain sick, even die, because they simply don’t have the resources to trade for health or medical care 
• an impoverished lifestyle because one is unable or unwilling to offer value to society 
• allowing for God to give His “unfair” benefits to undervalued people.

As flawed as it is, because of human flaws, the free- market system is the best around. It is not based on one’s value to society. It is based on one offering to others what they want and are willing to give in exchange.