How do you measure the worth of a man?

[Grinner]

Ya know, I might agree here. Maybe some things are objectively valuable.

Goodness, as the existence of innumerable D&D alignment debates shows, is an incredibly complex subject. Let's say I have friend with some really poor ideas. Let's say he wants to make a living writing RPGs while supporting a wife and three kids. The nice thing to do would be to support him. The right thing to do, at least by his family, would be to tell him off.

You might argue that "Good is not nice." Well, the problem is that niceness is frequently equated with goodness, so it seems we collectively don't really know what we're talking about.

3) Perhaps assigning values is somehow not ``right.'' It's been touched upon, but saying, for example, smarts are better than beauty, somehow places smart people above pretty people.

That is implicit in the statement, yes. While it offends your egalitarian sensibilities, it cannot be avoided.

We should remember that we already seem to have agreed that the whole concept is rife with subjectivity. Therefore, the consequent ranking is also subjective.