This section lists the foundational axioms of Value Management Theory (VMT). Axioms establish the minimal set of statements assumed to hold within the theory; theorems and derived results follow from these axioms in combination with the ontology.
A1. Contextuality of Value
Value and anti-value are defined exclusively within a specific value system; outside a value system, statements about value are logically incomplete.
A2. Multiplicity of Interpretations
The same empirical reality may have different interpretations of value and anti-value in different value systems.
A3. Flow Representability
Any change in the distribution of value and anti-value within a value system can be represented as a set of directed flows between actors.
A4. Asymmetry of Planned and Realized Value
The planned value of a flow and the realized value obtained by an actor generally do not coincide.
A5. Independence of Anti-Value
Anti-value is an independent form of actor state change and is not reducible to the absence of value.
A6. Value Realization
Realized value arises at the moment an actor consumes planned value as an ordered change of its state, regardless of whether this leads to further production or transformation of value.
A7. Value Transformation
Value transformation takes place if and only if an actor, having realized planned value, produces new planned value or anti-value for other actors.
A8. Actor Participation
An actor participates in a value system only if its participation condition is satisfied over the chosen time horizon.
A9. System Sustainability
A value system is sustainable if and only if participation conditions are satisfied for all actors belonging to the system over the chosen time horizon.
A10. Inter-System Interaction
Value systems interact with each other exclusively through external flows of value and anti-value.
A11. Value Leakage
If, over a chosen time horizon, the total realized value leaving a value system through external flows persistently exceeds the total realized value entering the system through external flows, then the system exhibits value leakage.
A12. No Conservation Law of Value
There is no conservation law of value in value systems: value may arise, transform, lose interpretive meaning, and disappear as a result of changes in context, system structure, or interpretation conditions.
A13. Axiom of Partial Commensurability
Within a value system, value and anti-value elements may be fully commensurable, partially commensurable, or incommensurable under the chosen aggregation policy.
Commensurability is not a mandatory property of value. The absence of commensurability does not preclude the possibility of comparing value elements according to individual criteria or within partial orders.