You thought you were doing stuff just because you wanted to, right? You were! And THAT is economics. Economics is not merely academic. That's why Mises spent so much effort writing out his wonderful work, Human Action. 

Economics is not Merely Economics

So, why is economics about more than just economics? For most people, when they think of economics they think of currency, banks, international trade, business transactions, etc. But there's so much more to it. The fact is that we all engage in economics every day. Every time we interact, there is a sort of "economic transfer" taking place. 

Here's a good example. You go over and visit with someone to ask questions about Steemit. They sit down and talk to you, sharing their time, expertise, knowledge, friendship, humor, etc.  

In a sense, the value of this "transaction" is immeasurable. They "invest" into those around them because they value the people around them. The "exchange" that takes place is for others to come and share their time. So there is a serious trade that takes place.

You visit them because you consider the time spent with them to be less valuable than the relationship and/or information you get from them. That's oversimplifying it. But, you DO consider whatever you expend in the transaction to be worth less than what you receive. Whatever amount of time, energy, insight, gifts, etc., you invest, you consider it worth less than what you have received. Otherwise, you wouldn't bother. Who in their right mind would give more than they receive?

You Always Receive More Than You Give

Oh, that makes the altruists shudder. I can just hear them now.

"Really, of course I give more than I receive. I donate thousands of dollars to causes that never pay me. I spend time with children that can't possibly return so much knowledge. I meet needs when I really don't have needs that aren't being met. How can you say that I receive more than I give?"

The response is simple, "How can you really say that you're giving more than you receive, if that's what drives you?" Oh, your motives could vary. But they're still motives, and they're what spur you on to do the things you do, even if you hate doing them. Here are some possible motives for altruistic pursuits.

• You just love the recipients so much that you're compelled to help
• You like to be able to brag or have your name up in places, perhaps for personal ego or maybe for business or political purposes
• You are compelled to fix something that you consider broken or in need of attention. This could be anything from equal rights to tribes in the desert needing wells. It's something you know you can do something about, so you do.

In every one of these cases, you're rewarded more than you're putting out. Consider love. When we express our love in tangible ways, it sort of feeds that love. In fact, our love usually grows as we do so. And this, in and of itself, is a massive reward. Then we see the expressions of joy. Or maybe we just know that our effort helped, and never even get to see the recipients of our love. That brings us great joy. And that joy, our reward, outweighs whatever resources and energy we expend. Otherwise, if we didn't feel so wonderful for doing it, then we wouldn't do it.... unless...

We want bragging rights. In a sense, this is pretty straight forward. Someone with this attitude is more clearly giving in order to get. So their actions wouldn't even really be considered altruistic, in the eyes of anyone who understands what makes them tick. They are seeking personal gain through philanthropy, pure and simple.

Then there are those with a cause. Perhaps they see ducks dying from chemical leaks out near a logging site or something. To them, those ducks are valuable and the damage being done is horrible. It's important enough to them to spend time, energy and resources to make a difference. What's their reward? Hopefully the reversal of the problem at hand, and the long-term health and vitality of the ducks. For them, this is their payment. And it outweighs the value of what they've spent to make it happen.

It's Okay, You're Not Selfish

See? If you don't value what you get in return, you simply won't do it. I won't mow the lawn unless it's important enough to me to have short grass. In my case, I don't even have a lawn, because I don't consider the expenditure worth having one. But I do have fruit trees and a garden, because the reward is worth the expense, IMO.

This is not selfishness. It's just honest practicality. Selfishness is when you always have to have your way and don't care about others. But when we see how our care for others is fulfilling our inner desires, then we start to recognize the self-gratification that all economic transactions represent.

And, to be clear, our motives are not always satisfied. For instance, though we perceive that we will gain more if we write an article here, it's possible that nobody will see it. In such a case, while we sought to gain more than we spent, our goal was not satisfied.

Stop Thinking About Money

Right? It's not about currency, at all. It's about transactions of value. We've been brainwashed into thinking that the central bank somehow must be involved in every economic transaction. This is insane. Rather, we need to re-develop the mindset that we're all pursuing our own gratification. Ideally, we're pursuing not just our own, but mutual gratification, and we're seeking it together.

Back to Your Economic Transaction

So your friends in the above scenario share with you because they consider the greater value to be in sharing the information rather than keeping it for themselves. In the end, you are both rewarded because an exchange has taken place, whether you compensate them financially or not. Even when we resent or are annoyed by someone, if we still go through with it we consider that course to be of more value than any other course, at least at the time. Upon reflection, we might regret our decision. But, at that moment, the value of the result, in our minds, is more than the cost of time and annoyance.

In fact, if you've read this far, then it was your expectation that to read this article would cost you less than you would gain. You expected to learn something new or be encouraged in what you already know. I wrote this for many reasons, all of them with a desire for personal satisfaction, including sharing in a way that is easy to understand. I hope there is no disappointment. Those are the most gratifying economic transactions.

Of course, we don't think through it all that way moment by moment. But this is at the core of economics. We're always trading and gaining accordingly. Every thought and action is an economic transaction, from the moment we fall asleep until the moment we lay down the next day. All human action is, indeed, economics.

Rockin' on,
Another Joe

My introduceyourself HERE.