Anthology of Ideas

Before one can evaluate the theory itself one must first define economics. Therefore, economics — in its most basic sense — can be defined as the procurement of resources. The statement “It All Comes Down to Economics” reflects this basic sense of the term, but in doing so it raises economics from a means-to-an-end to the driving force. It also declares that all human conflicts and connections are based on the procurement and dissemination of resources. However, the human drive for resources, as with all creatures, is based on the need to successfully reproduce. This drive is what economics is based on, therefore while it does all come down to economics a better phrase may be “it all comes down to sex”. Technicalities aside all cultures and communities depend on economics to survive, if you take economics to be the gathering or reduction of resources. However if you consider economics to be trade, then only large societies have a need for economics on any large scale.

In small isolated communities — those will under 100 members — resources take more work to gather and the process of gathering them requires that the entire community both gathers and consumes them. Trade between different communities is limited to a small portion of the total resources because each separate group has access to the same resources. While items such as clothing and pottery can be traded there is only a limited need for these items. Once the concept of money or valuables is introduced it is then possible to trade at all times for all goods because money can then be traded for something completely different.

Money is a requirement of large, complex societies with finite resources. In a typical modern city there are millions of who each have different skills — most of which are only useful to a select few. In a community such as this bartering is useless because there are just too many “required” goods for survival and too few barter-able goods. However to solve the lack of the ability to barter one creates a new problem : poverty. Money is nonperishable, thus people can collect as much as they wish and in doing so create the concept of the wealthy and poor.

In a small community the majority of the goods are perishable foodstuffs, utensils, live animals and clothing. Clothing is finite and is made from local fibers, utensils are carved from the trees, rocks and bones, live animals must be fed and will eventually grow old and die, and food rots. In this society the difference between the richest member and the poorest is measurable in small amounts. However if you look at the rich versus poor in a large city, one group has access to everything and can afford waste while the other must subsist on the charity of the wealthy. Therefore not only have you created a class structure by the introduction of wealth, but you have also a power base for the wealthy where many people owe them their lives and livelihoods — as an aside this is the situation that made it simple for Julius Caesar to seize power.

In many smaller societies the culture itself forms in such a way that it dissuades members from hording wealth even when it is available. In many smaller cultures the members of the community who in a large society would be the elite are actually in less of a position to gather wealth than those he has power over. For instance, the German Volk would be lead by the person who had the most successful in battle and who shared the resources the most. The person who lead the warrior expedition into battle would legitimately have control over all spoils, but if he did not share he would quickly lose his followers. Another example is the tribes of Papua New Guinea. The chiefs are given the most land on which to grow yams, but rather than being better off they are worse. Now they have to work a larger piece of land and give away the fruits of their labor to keep face.

All-in-all economics is the foundational issue in conflicts because all conflicts come down to gaining new things or protecting what you have — be it the intangible concept of face or something else. However, connections between groups are based on art, language and other less base and intangible things.