or desired. Under these circumstances a pound of oranges would have as much power in exchange as several pounds of potatoes; that is, oranges are more valuable than potatoes.

By increasing the number of diagrams the relative power in exchange of a number of commodities could be illustrated in the same way. That, however, would introduce no new principle, but would only complicate matters.

CHAPTER XXVI

SCARCITY

Causes of scarcity. It was shown in the last chapter that commodities must be both desirable and scarce in order to possess value. We have now to inquire why such things are scarce. There are four reasons which come within the limits of our comprehension. These we may call (1) "the niggardliness of nature," (2) the expansion of desires, (3) the cost of production, and (4) monopoly.

"Niggardliness of nature." When the term "niggardliness of nature" is used, it is not intended to cast reflections upon nature nor to imply that she is not bounteous in many respects. It is merely to call attention to a fact which cannot well be disputed; namely, that in many places men have congregated in numbers greater than nature has there provided for. Desirable things are scarce in those places at least, and it is at least necessary to bring supplies from other places where there is a surplus. Moreover, there are many things which we desire which nature does not supply at all in the form in which we desire them, though she supplies the raw materials out of which we may make them. Again, some things which we desire can be produced only at certain times and seasons. They must therefore be preserved and kept for other times when they will be needed.

Expansion of desires. The fact that nature does not supply us with everything we desire in the exact forms and at the exact times and places when and where we happen to desire them may be in part due to the fact that we desire more refined products than grow in a natural state, or to the fact that great numbers of us choose to live in places where such products do not grow in sufficient abundance. It is only a symptom of the

Expansion of desires

maladjustment between man and nature. It is not necessarily the fault of either man or nature; it is simply a fact of experience, and we must make the best of it. There is, however, a marked tendency for human desires to expand. "When goods increase, they are increased that eat them." In the language of the day, "The richer we get, the more we want." Therefore we must expect an indefinite continuation of the condition wherein some desirable things are insufficient in quantity to satisfy everybody. We shall therefore continue trying to increase the supply of desirable things in the forms in which they are wanted and at the times when and the places where they are wanted. This is called the production of utilities, or, more properly, the adding of utilities to material things,-form utility, time utility, and place utility.

Cost. If the efforts which we have to make in order to produce utilities were altogether pleasant and not in the least degree unpleasant or disagreeable, there is no reason why most things might not be produced in such abundance as to satisfy everybody completely. Some things, of course, cannot be increased by any human effort. Meteoric iron has long served as an illustration. Autographs of distinguished men of the past, the paintings of old masters, first editions of books, and a number of other illustrations might be given. But if we are speaking of an ordinary reproducible commodity we are safe in saying that unless there were some difficulty in the way of indefinite reproduction, some unpleasantness, irksomeness, or fatigue connected with its production,-its supply would certainly increase until everyone had all he wanted of it.

Effort not always irksome. Illustrations are not hard to find of desirable commodities which have to be secured by human effort, but which, because the effort is pleasant rather than unpleasant, become so abundant as to command no price. Trout are generally regarded as a delicacy and are greatly desired. They can only be caught by considerable muscular effort and by the exercise of great patience and skill. And yet, in certain communities where the demand is not very great and the fishing

not too arduous, trout are caught for sport in such numbers as to supply the neighborhood. They become free goods and are given to those who desire them without money and without price. If there were more consumers, or fewer persons who enjoyed the sport of fishing, there would not be enough to go around. Those who did not get as many as they desired would then be willing to pay a price in order to get more. In other neighborhoods flowers are grown for pleasure. The demand not being very great, and there being a number of people who enjoy gardening, there is such an abundance that everyone is supplied free of charge. Poultry-raising is a pleasure to many people if they do not have to work too hard at it. In most neighborhoods, however, there is a demand for eggs and poultry that cannot be completely satisfied with the products of those who keep poultry for the pleasure of it. In order to induce these to produce more than is pleasurable and to induce others to do the work who do not enjoy it at all a price must be paid. The price is paid, virtually, to overcome the disinclination of producers.

Cost is disinclination. All the reproducible products which sell on the market and which are not monopolized are limited in supply by some form of disinclination or reluctance to carry on the work of production. This disinclination may resemble that which one finds in the average fisherman, gardener, or poultrykeeper, to whom the work in small doses is not irksome, or it may be of a different sort altogether. In the case of the fisherman, the gardener, and the poultry-keeper, their work may be pleasant rather than unpleasant up to a certain point. Almost anyone likes a certain amount of this kind of work, though some of us are easily satisfied. Beyond that point such work becomes irksome and fatiguing, and we keep at it only on condition that someone pays us for it. Up to that point it was play; beyond that point it literally becomes work.

Opportunity cost. Where two kinds of work are pleasurable and one has to choose between them, the fact that one has to surrender the one form of pleasure in order to pursue the other