|
|
Article: Making the right stuff: wealth or consumption?
- Article from:
- Synthesis/Regeneration
- Article date:
- January 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 WD Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Economical use of wealth means to conserve it, to make it last, to not use it up. Consume can mean either to "use" or to "use-up." Adopting the meaning of "consume" to mean "use-up" in economics will eliminate one source of fuzzy economic thinking. If consumers merely "use" wealth the consumer economy seems harmless, but the consumer economy really works because it tries to use-up wealth.
If consumption means "use-up" then we could say that our wealth is approximately all that we ever acquired minus all that we ever consumed.
Wealth can be classified as durable or perishable. Some durable items may last more than a lifetime. A razor is good for more ...