Dictionary.com defines economies as “the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus characterises the descipline in this manner: “a science concerned with the process or system by which goods and services are produced, sold, and bought”.
Clearly, there is little distinction between these two descriptions of economies. What is not immediately clear from the definitions is that this beautiful subject area has evolved on the premise that with only a few exceptions resources are generally considered to be scarce and consequently choices become extremely important whether we are dealing with transactions involving individuals, private enterprises, trade unions, non-governmental organisations, churches, farmers, fishermen, or governments, among others.
I want, first, to describe a simple scenario that may help us to understand why the issue of making choices is considered a core element of economies. Assuming 365 days in a year, an individual who is fortunate to secure his “three score and ten years” would have lived for 25 550 days which amounts to 613 200 hours or 36 792 000 minutes or 2 207 520 000 seconds. In essence, this individual would have lived for almost 37 million minutes or two billion seconds. Are you seeing where this illustration is heading? I really do hope so. Otherwise, stay with me and I am sure you will eventually get the picture!
Let’s zero in on the final piece of information since it is the most exciting. Here is this individual with two billion seconds on Planet Earth. A simple question that arises is: what does this individual do with two billion seconds? It this a fair question? Absolutely!
Now, I am sure some of you may have already lived your two billion seconds. Others may be approaching that crucial milestone. Some have gone way past that allocation. In all three cases, were you able to achieve all of the goals you have set for yourself, for your family, for your career? Do you have major regrets? I think the answers to these questions are quite clear to all.
Even with two billion seconds to consume in a “normal” lifetime, most of us will never achieve the level of success we dream of on an ongoing basis. That’s because despite our best intentions we are forever constrained by a lack of sufficient resources whether those resources refer to time, energy or money. Consequently, to make the best of one’s life, one must make choices. Faced with countless options, individuals, businesses, and governments are forced to select from among various alternatives. We just cannot have it all, period!
Let us all reflect soberly on our lifestyles and try to make adjustments in the choices we make and the way we do things generally to bring greater success to our lives. We all deserve better. Our families deserve better. Our countries deserve better.
To help us along this new journey, in a recent interview, Wharton Professor G. Richard Shell responded to a question about happiness with this: “Part of what I do is try to substitute new goals for the more automatic ones that our culture provides. So instead of fame, I try to get people to start thinking about gaining respect – earning it from people you know and who know you, as opposed to getting recognition from people you don’t know. When it comes to money, I try to emphasise needs that are related to financial security for you and your family rather than a status scorecard that counts up the zeros at the end of your net worth.”
Do you value, accept, and are willing to put into practice those sentiments?