What makes something valuable?

If extrinsic value is the treasure map and intrinsic value is the treasure chest, then what exactly is the treasure we’re talking about?

As far as I can tell, there are broadly two conditions which make anything valuable: utility and desirability.

In keeping with our treasure analogy, we can think of the gold (useful) and jewels (desirable) of the classic pirate booty.

When it comes to content, this value roughly translates into knowledge (useful) and emotion (desirable).

While every good treasure hoard should have a mix of each, as a small business, remember that gold, which is an agent of exchange, makes its way back into the economy much faster than jewels, which are kept and possessed for their own sake.

At the same time, the desirability of jewels is exactly what makes them so costly in the first place.