7. Consumption the Purpose of Production

To provide the tools for the workers, a part of the past production of individuals must be saved. There is no other way. Workers compete with one another for the use of tools; the more plentiful the supply of tools, the better each worker's chance of being highly paid for using them. Workers who use their organized power to frustrate production, thus preventing the saving for new tools-new capital-tend to cut off. their only avenue to progress. 7. Consumption the Purpose of Production In an economic sense, the only reason for producing anything is to satisfy the desires of consumers. This idea seems simple enough, but it is often lost from sight as an economy becomes more and more complex and specialized. In a subsistence economy, where the producer is also the consumer, production is obviously for consumption. In such an economy, the family is acutely aware that it 27 must produce food in order to eat; to provide its cloth ing, sheep must be raised or fur-bearing animals hunted.