Economics Asked by user23101 on September 2, 2021
JS Mill in his Principles (1848):
But though air is not wealth, mankind are much richer by obtaining it gratis, since the time and labour which would otherwise be required for supplying the most pressing of all wants, can be devoted to other purposes.
I am bewildered by the above sentence. Mill seems to be making a distinction between "riches" (or "being rich") and "wealth" (or "being wealthy"). But what is this distinction?
Air and sunlight have great value in use, but no value in exchange.If you come to my farm and I offer you all the air you want to breathe for $50 per hour, you'll just leave since air for ordinary breathing is free of charge for all.Mill uses "richer" in the sense of being better off by having the air, though you can't exchange it for something else you might want like a pair of shoes.
Answered by Rev Skip on September 2, 2021
I can only speculate on what Mill meant, but it seems to me that
Answered by Giskard on September 2, 2021
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