We human beings have many needs – for food, shelter, clothing, transportation, communication, medicine, friendship, entertainment, love, and more – no matter wherever or whenever we live. The source of such needs is our biology and, as such, are immutable, part of who we were, are, and will always be. In this sense, an ancient Athenian and a contemporary American are the same.
One thing that is different, however, is how different people meet such needs; that is, the products and services available to support their survival and well-being. And therein lies the role of production in human life. Production contributes to a people’s ever-changing solutions to their never-changing needs.
We all communicate, but how we do can be as varied as shouting across a village, speaking into a telephone, sending an email, or connecting via Skype. We eat, whether as a result of a hunt or a visit to a grocery store. Where some have carts and wagons, others have railroads and shipping liners. Everyone requires shelter, but how sturdy might it be, how spacious, how comfortable in internal climate, how safe from external forces? In every case, what stays the same is who we are. What differs is our ability to satisfy our needs. What explains the difference is productive capacity.
Productive capacity refers to two elements: what we can produce and how much we can. The existence of a single automobile on earth would be one thing; the existence of a billion is another. These two elements explain much about the quality of life in different cultures. Consider what was available to the inhabitants of Early North America versus the present-day United States. Or those of North America today versus those of North Korea.
All are populated by human beings, with every need the same. Yet some are more likely to survive and thrive by virtue of their superior productive capacity.
(Photo by Jon Toney on Unsplash)
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