But the "unlimited desires" may not be those that are satisfied in an economic context. Economics is about the allocation of scarce resources among competing uses.
I don't recall where this first assumption is to be found. So I ask: Just where is this first Assumption of Classical Political Economy to be found. Arthur -----Original Message----- From: Harry Pollard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 12:26 PM To: Brad McCormick, Ed.D.; Cordell, Arthur: ECOM Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: not so fast! Brad, The fist Assumption of Classical Political Economy is that: "People's desires are unlimited." This means that if we all worked 24 hours a day, we couldn't satisfy our unlimited desires. So there cannot be involuntary unemployment - can there? It'll be a long time before we all have Romanee Conti wine in every glass and a gold Patek-Philippe watch on every wrist, but when we do a long list of unfulfilled desires will stretch before us. Harry -------------------------------------------------------------- Brad wrote: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > Keith said, > > > > For stability (and, for goodness sake, a sufficient retention of sufficient > > natural wildernesses in the world) we could do with a population at least > > half of what we have now. > > > > And Cordell asks, > > > > Which half should we do without? > > >[snip] > >The half that's not yet born. The other half we are stuck >with, unless we want to enlist the aid of "the four >horsemen" (which aid they may well supply even >unbidden, of course). > >Of course the hope of many is that continued population >increase will enable the youth of the future to finance >the retirement of the aged of the present without >the youth having to feel "pinched". As long at there are >10 workers for each retiree, things should be OK -- >either fewer retirees or *ever* more workers.... > >But if the hope for retirement for many of us >middle class Westerners is rapidly fading, why not just >"bite the bullet", and make a noble crusade out >of a pathetic necessity. > >There is a way that this can be moderated for the near >future: The well-to-do should stop reproducing and >adopt as meny of the children of the poor as they can afford. >This would raise many persons' standard of living without >producing more persons. "But the poor want their children...", >someone says? You mean: "The poor want their children to be >poor like them." How selfless of them! > >And, as unpopular as the sentiment may be, I still believe >that even if infinite population (within the limits of >gravitation pressing down on an ever thickening layer of >human flesh covering the earth...) can be fed on >soylent green, most of the finer things of this >life are limited. There is simply so much beautiful >landscape to go around, and, a fortiori, things >like Romanee Conti wine (and, lest anyone misunderstand me >here, let me note once again that one of the Dalai Lama's most >prized possessions is a gold Patek-Philippe watch >FDR gave to him -- if the Dalai Lama can have something >better than a Timex, why not *Everyman*?) > >\brad mccormick > >-- > Let your light so shine before men, > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > ><![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED] >----------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ ****************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of LA Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 Tel: (818) 352-4141 Fax: (818) 353-2242 *******************************
