Lesson Summary
Many people mistakenly believe that basic needs like food, water, and shelter are more important than individual wants. However, the economic way of thinking challenges this view by showing that needs are actually driven by desires. You need food and shelter not just because you exist, but because you want to live, and those needs are secondary to that desire. If your desire to live is strong, you prioritize basic needs, but if other desires are stronger, such as creating art, those may take precedence.
Ludwig von Mises identified three key factors in human action: feeling discomfort, believing that discomfort can be resolved, and acting to resolve it. Whether it’s satisfying hunger or pursuing a passion, people act in ways that they believe will alleviate discomfort or increase satisfaction. This understanding helps us see how incentives shape our actions and drive us to make choices based on our desires.
