Diamonds and Oil are not essential to human existence. Water is life on the other hand. Yet a glassfull of water costs much less than a glassfull of diamonds. A glassfull of oil costs marginally more than a glassfull of water but still much less than the glassfull of diamonds.
The reason for that, as the theory of marginal utility puts it, is that while water has the greater overall utility value oil and diamonds have a larger marginal utility value. Put another way, water is not considered to be as scarce as oil and diamonds though it is much more essential.
That marginal utility of oil and diamonds is quite impressive. It shows that once the basic needs are fulfilled that men and women are still driven to consume. Since goods are scarce , however, that drive to consume breeds conflict and competition.
Take the NFL for example. No one needs a superbowl ring, but men sacrifice their bodies and time to get it. More importantly, only one team gets it. The rest leave empty-handed.
No comments:
Post a Comment