Autor: Bruce, Anderson and McShane, Philip

Buch: Beyond Establishment Economics

Titel: Beyond Establishment Economics

Stichwort: Definition: Basic Goods and Services; Surplus Goods & Services

Kurzinhalt: ... orthodox economists think unclearly of producer goods as used in the production of consumer goods

Textausschnitt: 23a The key to appreciating Bernard Lonergan's economic theory is to understand how he sharpens the orthodox distinctions between producer goods, consumer goods, and capital and then goes on to fully exploit the distinction he draws. The particular distinction Lonergan draws is one of the fundamental building blocks of his theory. (Fs)

23b Lonergan does not use the terms consumer goods or producer goods. Rather, he uses the terms basic goods & services and surplus goods & services. But don't be mislead by the terms. Basic does not mean essential to life and surplus does not mean extra, superfluous, or luxurious. Lonergan's explanation of basic goods & services is roughly analogous to consumer goods & services as understood by orthodox economists and his term surplus goods & services is roughly analogous to orthodox economists' description of producer goods and capital. But the analogy does not hold. There are important differences. Lonergan sharply distinguishes between basic and surplus goods & services. For him, these are fundamental elements in an economy. (Fs)

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23d When I was a kid my parents gave me an allowance - a certain amount of spending money each week. I remember spending this money on things like chocolate bars, bus rides to the shopping mall, hockey sticks, camera film, bowling, skating. These expenditures were all made for basic goods & services. Today, I spend the money I earn on groceries, newspapers & spy novels, gas for my car so I can go sight-seeing, tickets' to see the Washington Capitals play hockey, beer, movie tickets, video rentals, wood for the kitchen table I am making, my phone bill, and rent. These sorts of things are also basic goods & services. I spend money on these goods & activities in order to survive, not to make money from them. (Fs)

24a So, in that precise way, my purchases are different from a fisherman paying to have his boat tuned up, a carpenter upgrading to the latest computer accounting program, a dentist buying a new dental chair, a bicycle courier upgrading the components on her bike, a shipping company adding a new fleet of airplanes, or a corporation building a new plant. In these situations goods are purchased & services are performed in order to maintain equipment, replace it as it wears out, or to buy new equipment. What makes these goods & services different from basic goods & services is that these goods & services are bought with the intention of using them to make other goods. These goods & services are part of the process of producing & selling other goods & services - catching fish, building an extension on a house, filling cavities in teeth, delivering packages, manufacturing new products. The engine tune-up, the accounting program, the dental chair, the bike components, the airplanes are not used just one time, but are used over & over again in the process of producing goods to be sold or in the process of performing services to be paid for. According to Lonergan's theory this distinguishes them as surplus goods & services. (Fs)

24b Perhaps you are thinking that there does not seem to be much difference between orthodox economists' descriptions of producer and consumer goods and Lonergan's distinction between surplus and basic goods & services. On both accounts consumer goods and basic goods are consumed, used up by entering the standard of living. On both views, producer goods and surplus goods continue to be part of the process of producing other goods & services to be sold. Further, for both orthodox economists and Lonergan the criterion for distinguishing between consumer and producer goods & between basic and surplus goods is how the goods are used. (Fs)

25a But orthodox economists think unclearly of producer goods as used in the production of consumer goods. An example is the use of sheet metal in automobiles. Sheet metal, for them, is a producer good that is used to make consumer goods, ie automobiles. For Lonergan, however, what determines whether a good is classified as basic or surplus is its use when it is sold as a finished product. A car used solely for leisure activities would be a basic product, but a new car purchased and used by a salesperson to sell printing presses would be a surplus good. The sport fisherman paying a mechanic for an engine tune up would be paying for a basic service, but the inshore fisherman would be paying for a surplus service. A cyclist who buys new gears so she can more easily ride around the countryside has purchased basic goods, but the bike courier who buys new gears so she can quickly deliver parcels has bought surplus goods. The home handyman who buys the same table saw as a carpenter has purchased a basic good, but the carpenter has purchased a surplus good. The recreational pilot who buys his own plane has purchased a basic good, but Air Canada has bought a surplus good. Orthodox economists don't make such clear distinctions. (Fs)