Value is the capacity of something's existence, preservation, use, or continuation to produce meaningful benefit. Benefits need not be material or collective: utility, knowledge, beauty, pleasure, emotional significance, historical continuity, rarity, contribution, future potential and irreplaceability may all constitute legitimate forms of worth. Their importance is contextual rather than absolute. Measure Eternal therefore distinguishes between possessing value and warranting preservation. Something may genuinely matter while nevertheless failing to outweigh the opportunity cost of preserving it. Every claim of worth can be measured against competing claims, including subjective and emotional ones.