PDA

View Full Version : Guns and butter.


Sử Tiến
17-07-2004, 12:20
This is no more than my jot-it-down notepad... just to keep the thought from passing off me and also to share with you guys... I'd tell ye that... it's going to be quite fuzzy. So bear with me! [-o<

People in all over the world have their own choices... They want this and they want that. They want things that satisfy their needs and the economy is after their demands. Now here comes the question: "What do they choose for the economy to produce?" Shortly after World War II, the choices were guns and butter... pretty bizzare eh... But it's really a good way to illustrate the concept of capital good vs. consumer demand... Nowaday, they are using "pizzas and robots" instead. But it doesn't matter. Both choices are simply metaphors for industrialization vs. agrarian, steel vs. fruit crop... Are you going to do farming or manufacturing?... Most of the time, guys come up with beer and cars. Those are the first things that come out of among undergraduate students when being asked about their suggestion of what the economy should produce. As an opposite fact to that, not apparently but more often than not, women select shoes and chocolate, sometimes shoes and gloves... wow, what a concept! :P ... The production possibility curve as silly as it may appear on the surface does have some realized application because there are many countries, many economy better confront of such choices...

Tieu Son Trang Si
27-09-2004, 05:06
I assume you are taking an economic course, maybe a macro one.

Sử Tiến
28-09-2004, 08:03
You're pretty much right on with your response. It's one of my general elective courses.