The Economic Machine
Consider the following divisions: Labor vs leisure; present vs future; consumption vs investment; utility vs disutility; individual vs nation; home vs firm.
These demarcations form much of the basis for economic models of how the world works. These concepts existed before economics was acknowledged as a field of study, and modern mainstream culture subtly pounds them into the minds of its young.
What is the difference between labor and leisure? My job is so easy that I have forgotten. If I get home from work and cook for a while to unwind, is that labor? And if I grow tired of cooking and sit down to write a future best-selling novel, is that leisure?
And what is the difference between consumption and investment? Consuming a lunch now is necessary so that I have the energy to work in the afternoon -- here consumption is an investment. And if I buy an empty lot of land as an investment property and hold it for ten years, haven't I consumed it for those ten years, in the sense that I kept it from others?
Ah, never mind. I lack the will and brains to deconstruct the machine any further. I need something better to do in my leisure time. Something more like an investment.
These demarcations form much of the basis for economic models of how the world works. These concepts existed before economics was acknowledged as a field of study, and modern mainstream culture subtly pounds them into the minds of its young.
What is the difference between labor and leisure? My job is so easy that I have forgotten. If I get home from work and cook for a while to unwind, is that labor? And if I grow tired of cooking and sit down to write a future best-selling novel, is that leisure?
And what is the difference between consumption and investment? Consuming a lunch now is necessary so that I have the energy to work in the afternoon -- here consumption is an investment. And if I buy an empty lot of land as an investment property and hold it for ten years, haven't I consumed it for those ten years, in the sense that I kept it from others?
Ah, never mind. I lack the will and brains to deconstruct the machine any further. I need something better to do in my leisure time. Something more like an investment.
posted by My Freakwentness at 8:06 AM
1 Comments:
I find that eating is such a labor. All that chewing and swallowing makes me tired. I'm thinking of having a tube placed directly into my stomach.
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