Nature of Competition; Whom and Where

 

All through, “The only constant is change.” Whom and Where to compete is very much situational as well. Here we focus on competition, as opposed to cooperation where we come later on.

 

At the household. We compete with family members by birth or by law. The limit to consumable utilities at present is defined by home-produced and market-purchased products. The means to acquisition thereof are limited to 24 hours times the number of members on top of the wealth of the household. The wealth has historically been accumulated through saving to investment of, by and for the household.

             Most typically, the master of the household earns monetary incomes out of home, which are to be used in purchasing products (for consumption) and assets (for investment) in the markets. In effect, the incomes are the third means after the wealth of the household as a whole, 16 hours or so of the master and 24 hours each of the rest. Apparently, the hard-working hours of the master equals to the money earned on the day. 

            The money stock (M) at any moment of time can never exceed the daily income (I) times the number of days to date (k), or y: M< k x I .  Never mind the paradox of thrift because S≡ I . Oh wait, the undergrown baby might throw one to a few dollar bills into the drain. “See, I told you so”: There is no law without an exception.   

             As the resources are limited, members compete against one another while the present and the future are competitive of each and all. Naturally, when a member is overly indolent by way of consuming too many self-generated units of services, the others suffer (or can possibly be happy). All in all, nothing utile comes for free. In other words, a benefit comes at the cost of the opportunity cost. What is true for each is unchangeably true for all.

 

In the community. The competitive game is not so much different in substance out there in the community: we get the utility at the cost of the best alternative namable and named as at the moment. Nevertheless, there is a difference in the means: we usually use money as the currency which has a hyper-attractive force of purchasing. Sometimes, nevertheless, we spend time for money while other times we spend money for time. After all, “time is money,” or so do we say.

             Competitors are neighbors of the community, mostly innocent yet self-centered.

             We in economics compete in the communal markets largely of three types: that is, the product market, the rental market and the asset market.

 

All across the nation. We are the people of the Republic. We are always and everywhere together: As I work, so do we; as I idle the time away, so we do. For better or for worse, there is the GDP (Y, also called the aggregate supply). The only competition in aggregate is between the gross national consumption (C) and the gross domestic investment (I). Put it in a slightly twisted way, the gross domestic welfare now competes against the welfare as such later. Yes, to be really meaningful the competition is between C/ Y and I/ Y, not exactly C vs I. We do not forget that macroeconomic indicators are for the sole sake of comparison.

             Ups, we can secure the present stability at the cost of growth in the future! This is even more so because the Consumption multiplies while the Saving, the flipside of Investment, is thrown into the sea. There in macroeconomics is no place for the gross nation Saving (S= Y– C– G). If in recession, consumption, more consumption and still more consumption! That’s the way “Saving Public Economy” is.

             We come back later to the fact that we can promote the present stability at the cost of demotion in the future growth. 

 

In this world. We compete with other sovereignties more politically than economically. If David Ricardo is right, we when it comes to economic prosperity might well cooperate with other nations, successful or failed. Nevertheless, beware of the negative externalities from other economies.

 

In Eternity. Time never lapses (T^-1) but it flies (L^-1, L² or L^-3 as the case may be). Time is more than bountiful. Ergo, there ain’t no such thing as competition, fine. 

            Better news: the economy climb ten thousand kilometers while Time is flying across one mile, with or without regard to the diminishing returns to per-capita Kapital (k= K/ L). RIP!