Fundamentals of Economics. Доловова Н.Н - 59 стр.

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necessity to Jones, and what is a commonplace necessity today may have been a
luxury a few short years ago.
But services satisfy our wants as much as do tangible products. A repair job on
our car, the removal of our appendix, a haircut, and legal advice have in common
with goods the fact that they satisfy human wants. On reflection, we realize that we
indeed buy many goods, for example, automobiles and washing machines, for the
services they render. The differences between goods and services are often less than
they seem to be at first.
Material wants also include those which businesses and units of government
seek to satisfy. Businesses want factory buildings, machinery, trucks, warehouses,
communications systems, and other things that assist them in realizing their pro-
duction goals. Government, reflecting the collective wants of its citizenry or goals of
its own, seeks highways, schools, hospitals, and military hard w are.
As a group, these material wants are, for practical purposes, insatiable, or
unlimited, which means that material wants for goods and services are incapable of
being completely satisfied. (It should be mentioned in passing that the fallacy of
composition is relevant here. Our wants for a particular good or service can be
satisfied; that is, over a short period of time we can get sufficient amounts of
toothpaste or beer. Certainly one appendicitis operation is par for the course. But
goods in general are another story. Here we do not, and presumably cannot, get
enough.) A simple experiment will help to verify this point: Suppose we are asked to
list those goods and services we want but do not now possess. If we take time to
ponder our unfilled material wants, chances are our list will be impressive. And over
a period of time, w ants multiply so that, as w e fill some of the w ants on the list, at the
same time we add new ones. Material wants, like rabbits, have a high reproduction
rate. The rapid introduction of new products whets our appetites, and extensive
advertising tries to persuade us that we need countless items we might not otherwise
consider buying. Not too many years ago, the desire for personal computers, light
beer, video recorders, digital watches, and microwave ovens was nonexistent.
Furthermore, we often cannot stop with simple satisfaction: The acquisition of an
Escort or Chevette has been known to whet the appetite for a Porsche or Mercedes.
In summary, we may say that at any given time the individuals and institutions
which constitute society have innumerable unfulfilled material wants. Some of these
wants—food, clothing, and shelter—have biological roots. But some are also
influenced by the conventions and customs of society: The specific kinds of food,
clothing, and shelter we seek are frequently determined by the general social and
cultural environment in which we live. Over time, wants change and multiply, abetted
by the development of new products and by extensive advertis ing and sales
promotion.
Finally, let us emphatically add that the overall end or objective of all
economic activity is the attempt to satisfy these diverse material wants.

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