Guests!

[The Lost One]

Trying to play the "humanity" card. I'm a lawyer, so I don't care about humanity (okay, that isn't true but it goes along with the popular image of lawyers).

Yes, I was looking at the economy for its own sake. To start to look at the players and the people involved then you are no longer talking about economics, you are talking about politics, i.e. the distribution of resources to advantage particular groups/people. I happen to also have a degree in political science but I have to admit that it is a worthless/meaningless degree because everyone considers themselves to be an expert in politics.

[Fellfrosch]

Having a writing degree is similar--everyone thinks they can write. As years of professional experience has sadly proven, most of them are wrong.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Yes, I was looking at the economy for its own sake. To start to look at the players and the people involved then you are no longer talking about economics

Then, frankly, I don't care about economics. I care about economic politics.

I don't claim to be an expert in politics. I do claim to believe I know morals.

[GorgonlaVacaTremendo]

I have to agree with e that an economy as a part of a nation and not as a system is driven by the support that is given by people who spend their money.  Putting aside the fact that the economy will move on, he is just saying that he will be a productive member of society and of the economy if he buys video games, and in saying such he is, in fact, correct, no matter how much you say there will always be a demand.  Just like you can say there will always be a demand, I can say that if everybody didn't support an industry like e is describing, the economy would collapse.  Or, rather, the economy would fail to exist.

The economy as a system that is nation or worldwide will always, other than in extreme doomsday situation, have a demand, but you can't use that to say that by providing demand you aren't helping.  Because if everybody took that to heart and didn't help, you wouldn't have ANY demand.  Just because in theory there will always be demand doesn't mean that the things supplying the demand are worthless or null because you can count on them, they are still providing a service whether or not that seems useful.

If it's raining and I point at a drop and say it isn't helping because I have all the other drops, and then all the other drops stop coming, then I'm pretty screwed (assuming I need the rain).  Likewise, just because there are billions of other sources to the economy, that doesn't make his contribution less useful, especially to his local economy.

[The Lost One]

Just keep in mind that people do not have to support every industry in the economy to keep the economy health. Many times, one industry will collapse and it is actually good for the economy.

Where politics comes in is determining who will benefit (and not benefit) from economic growth and resources.

To follow up on the rain drop analogy, a drop is an individual, a cluster of drops is a company, rain is an industry, and the weather is the economy. I've seen many students not do well in basic economic courses and politicians/bureacrats make dumb economic policy because they don't get the proper scale for terms correct which in turn causes them to think incorrectly about economic problems.