Summary to Part I and Looking Ahead

Abstract

The present Part I began with the observation that human beings are restricted, in all their attempts to satisfy their unlimited needs, by the limited availability of goods. This phenomenon was called scarcity. Humans oppose scarcity by acting in conformity with the economic principle. Based on rational behaviour, the negative consequences of scarcity can, in principle, be addressed better within a market system than in other forms of economic systems. However, given some special circumstances, market processes fail to produce outcomes that meet the goal of the greatest degree of satisfaction of human needs. In those cases, the application of economic policy measures is justified. The very special case of market failure, which constitutes the core idea behind the present text is the socially undesirable utilization of natural goods in the context of a market economy.