Definitions: economics, and price

[organon1973]

Are there current best, most integrative, definitions of economics (as a science) and of price? Thank you; be well.

[organon1973]

No one hurrying to the podium, I see. Very well; I'll start with my own:

Economics: the science that studies the principles relating to the creation and exchange of wealth.

Price: the equilibrium point between the amount of a good available for sale and the demand for it (in a given context).

The word 'priceless' is one of those conceptual mindblowers, that disables rational thought. No, nothing is priceless -- unless it is off the market (not available for sale), in which case the word does not apply. Given it is on the market, and not worthless (and even a used styrofoam coffee cup is not wholly worthless), it has a price.

If a man, with no other options, who has ten billion dollars in diamonds were he to have access to an exchange 7,000 miles from where he stands (in the desert, 500 miles from water), is offered, by a man (they are alone, and the diamond-holder is near death), a gallon of water for his whole hoard, yes, he will pay it.

Throw out "marginal utility" -- although it is/was a good first step in relating context to price.

Another mindblower (this belongs in another thread): infinite. Nothing is infinite; alright, you know that. But what of potential growth? Of adding ten thousand trees daily, to a logger's forest, over a potentially infinite period of time? Better word: unlimited. Without a limit relating to the nature of things. Does anything have a limit, relating to the nature of things? The speed of light, and nothing else? I do not know.

Is fusion a process that produces a net gain of energy? And thus will the universe never run down, but endure forever, growing in its "volume" and overall magnitude constantly over time? I do not know.

And, while (2nd law of thermo?) energy spontaneously disorganizes by spreading from a source (hot pan on a stove, once the burner is turned off), does matter (vastly concentrated energy) spontaneously organize by means of gravity, in all cases?

Pardon, belongs elsewhere. All for now. Be well; happy holidays.

[organon1973]

No one hurrying to the podium, I see. Very well; I'll start with my own:

Economics: the science that studies the principles relating to the creation and exchange of wealth.

Price: the equilibrium point between the amount of a good available for sale and the demand for it (in a given context).

The word 'priceless' is one of those conceptual mindblowers, that disables rational thought. No, nothing is priceless -- unless it is off the market (not available for sale), in which case the word does not apply. Given it is on the market, and not worthless (and even a used styrofoam coffee cup is not wholly worthless), it has a price.

If a man, with no other options, who has ten billion dollars in diamonds were he to have access to an exchange 7,000 miles from where he stands (in the desert, 500 miles from water), is offered, by a man (they are alone, and the diamond-holder is near death), a gallon of water for his whole hoard, yes, he will pay it.

Throw out "marginal utility" -- although it is/was a good first step in relating context to price.

Another mindblower (this belongs in another thread): infinite. Nothing is infinite; alright, you know that. But what of potential growth? Of adding ten thousand trees daily, to a logger's forest, over a potentially infinite period of time? Better word: unlimited. Without a limit relating to the nature of things. Does anything have a limit, relating to the nature of things? The speed of light, and nothing else? I do not know.

Is fusion a process that produces a net gain of energy? And thus will the universe never run down, but endure forever, growing in its "volume" and overall magnitude constantly over time? I do not know.

And, while (2nd law of thermo?) energy spontaneously disorganizes by spreading from a source (hot pan on a stove, once the burner is turned off), does matter (vastly concentrated energy) spontaneously organize by means of gravity, in all cases?

Pardon, belongs elsewhere. All for now. Be well; happy holidays.

[softwareNerd]

Economics: Your definition is fine if that's the way you wish to conceptualize the subject. Some people use a broader conception, and therefore a broader definition. My personal preference is treat wealth/production related topics as economics.

Price: The mention of "equilibrium" is too specific. The price is what you pay to buy something.

Edited December 19, 2009 by softwareNerd

[Robert J. Kolker]

Is fusion a process that produces a net gain of energy? And thus will the universe never run down, but endure forever, growing in its "volume" and overall magnitude constantly over time? I do not know.

When nuclei fuse the resulting nucleus has less mass than the sum of the nuclei that produced it in the fusion reaction. The energy produced is precisely the rest mass defect times the speed of light squared, just as Einstein specified. There is no net gain. Mass is lost and converted into energy. Between the time of the big bang and now nothing has been lost or gained. Just re-arranged.

Bob Kolker

[gags]

Economics: the science that studies the principles relating to the creation and exchange of wealth.

Price: the equilibrium point between the amount of a good available for sale and the demand for it (in a given context).

The definition of economics that I recall from college Econ 101 was something more along the lines of: The study of how scarce resources are allocated through the forces of supply and demand. Sometimes people go a bit further with it and break economics down into Macro and Micro.

As far as "price" is concerned, snerd's definition makes more sense. You might say that I'm in the business of pricing certain kinds of assets and I can tell you that people often pay more or less than what one determines to be the equilibrium point for the supply and demand of an item. Prices are frequently set by a whole host of factors other than supply and demand.

Edited December 19, 2009 by gags

[dream_weaver]

Are there current best, most integrative, definitions of economics (as a science) and of price? Thank you; be well.

http://mises.org/ is a good resource for Austrian based economics.