The needs of all, or the desires of the few?

Talking with a friend worried about her drop in income because of the pandemic, I asked, “What’s enough?” She responded, “You can never be too rich or too thin.”

I get the sentiment and saying, but had to push back. “You may not have enough for all your desires, but you have enough for all your needs.” She was silent. She is used to feeding her desires.

Writ large, economics is the same. There is enough worldwide to satisfy all the needs of everyone, but never enough so long as we keep satisfying all the desires of even a few.

– Rev. Paul Knowlton, Esq.