THE THEORY OF VALUE 5 
capitalists are obliged by market conditions to sell their goods 
below cost of production. Bohm-Bawerk himself states, in 
another passage, that only “a sentimental fool” could under 
such conditions refuse to sell his goods. In this case the 
original valuation for which the seller came to market is de- 
feated by the elemental force of the market conditions, which 
obliged him to accept an exchange involving loss to 
his business. Let us now touch upon the factors determin- 
ing the level of prices in accordance with the above formal 
“price law”. Bohm-Bawerk enumerates six such factors: (1) 
the number of specific demands for the commodity; (2) the 
absolute magnitude of the subjective value of the commodity 
for the prospective purchaser; (3) the absolute magnitude of 
the subjective value of the price money for the prospective pur- 
chaser; (4) the number of specimens of the commodity avail- 
able; (5) the absolute magnitude of the subjective value of the 
commodity for the sellers; (6) the absolute magnitude of the 
subjective value of the purchase money for the sellers. Let 
us note how Bohm-Bawerk considers each of these factors 
conditioned. 
(1) The number of specific demands for the commodity. 
Bohm-Bawerk has the following to say on this point: “Very 
little that is not self-evident can be said of this factor. It 
is obviously influenced on the one hand by the extent of the 
market, and on the other by the character of the need. Fur- 
thermore—and this is the sole remark of theoretical interest 
to be made here—not every one who wishes to possess the 
commodity by virtue of his needs constitutes thereby a pros- 
pective purchaser. . . . Countless persons who need a com- 
modity and wish to own it nevertheless voluntarily [!] absent 
themselves from the market because their evaluation of the 
purchase money, in view of the presumable level of prices 
[Bohm-Bawerk’s italics], so far exceeds their evaluation of 
the goods as to preclude any economic possibility of their 
effecting a purchase.” (Ibid., pp. 514, 515.) In other words, 
the “number of demands” is fixed as the number of possible 
demands minus the number of demands that are self-precluded 
from purchase; the latter depends on the market prices, which 
in turn appear to be determined by the “number of demands”. 
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