So....Economics anyone?

If the universe is infinite, why does it have finite resources?

Basic Economic Problem- scarcity- is what would keep, I imagine, economists up at night. They won't be able to rest, consume, gain or manage anything, not least their social life and status. So how does one become an economist? Sacrifice your life for nothing? Not quite.

Scarcity means that there is not enough of a particular good or service (we all know what those are) to satisfy everyone's wants (the +1 that can be added to anything), i.e. wants are infinite whilst resources are finite. You may think to panic, start looting and piss-off to a country house with dozens of TVs and a a truck load of DVD players, but there's no need for such irrational human display, not least the idea that you'll sell the newest HD Blu-ray technology in your local crop fields. Maybe UFOs will zoom them up their plates and drop a heap of cash (potential capital) to show their gratitude. Long-shot, yes. They probably won't. They probably don't even know what a UFO is, so they cannot be UFOs, therefore no aliens will ever visit us as they do not exist. Huh?

Scarcity is actually the process that fuels everything you had, are and will experience- your computer screen, the wiring in your house, your parents marrying, that chocolate you bought last week, maybe you will buy a different one tomorrow (why?). The economy could not operate as it does if there were no scarcity! Imagine that you can have anything and everything you want at a thought. Firstly, you would most likely suffocate yourself if not doing this outside, and secondly, none of us would probably be here to ponder about this as if resources were infinite, evolution may not have taken place and the Earth would be flat; the universe would most certainly not exist the way it does now.

However, let's bring it down to reality. Let's say some genius whizzard invents a machine that can make anything out of air by rearranging the structure of atoms and building them up to a substance of your choice, whilst at the same time reading every single person's in the world minds and teleporting the want at an instant into their hands. What would happen? Essentially, a total monopoly would happen and markets would break down without second thought. There would be no incentive to do anything. No incentive to make profit- cash would be worthless, no incentive to reproduce- children would really really waste your life, no incentive to do anything. Of course, only if everyone agreed and did not destroy the machine.

Society would turn into a Greek pleasure island where all that people do is seek pleasure; and it could be gained instantaneously! Orgasms wouldn't even require you to fuck anyone.

So on the flip-side, scarcity- good? No. As everything in Economics, a balance needs to achieved. One end is bad, the other as well- just try holding five sticks in one hand by their tips without them tumbling over out of touch (control). It's worse in some places- noticeably, LEDCs- and softer in others, but it's still a problem, a healthy one though. As a problem, it needs solutions. Solutions come in Factors of Production.

I will follow up, stay tuned for more bullshit, Paulius