Limited resources as a basic principle of economic science

The limited resources and unlimited economic needs form the basis for the movement of the entire economy and express the basic principle of economic theory. In fact, the whole economy boils down to studying how a society with a scarcity of resources decides what to produce, how and for whom. The main goal of production is to make the most efficient use of its economic opportunities in order to maximally satisfy the material needs of the individual.

Limited resources mean that the full amount of opportunities that are at the disposal of individual countries, companies, families, as well as the whole of humanity, will not be enough to satisfy the whole gamut of society's needs.

Arable farmlands, industrial facilities, water resources, minerals and minerals, the air basin, flora and fauna all have their final limits and very limited capacity for restoration, and in many respects also apply to completely irreplaceable natural resources.

The labor of people, as a resource, has its limits and is determined by the total number of working people, as well as by the desire and the opportunity to work, work and long hours of work.

The means of production also show limited resources, since the number of buildings, industrial structures, machinery, equipment, production materials is not at all boundless. The cycle of the development, creation and effective use of the means of production invariably leads to wear, discontinuation of use and utilization. Secondary resources arising from processing allow only partial compensation and restoration of resources previously expended.

It seems that at least the possibilities of human cognition must be unlimited. However, in practice, the volume of knowledge, information and other information resources is clearly insufficient both in quality and in quantity to solve pressing economic problems.

Limitations of resources are also manifested in finance. Money, as the equivalent of natural resources, also has its limit.

Thus, we see that this problem is global in nature and concerns all areas of human and natural opportunities. In foreign literature, it is called fundamental and is one of the defining. The main task, which, according to some authors, is put before economics is to find ways to increase the consumer effect and utility, given the limited resources that must be used to achieve the best result.

However, for all its importance, the principle of limitation should not be absolutized. With regard to a number of possibilities, the limited resources are not rigid, because their interchangeability is manifested. In such cases, the main task is to use available, sufficient resources as efficiently as possible. For example, in the Russian economy, many natural resources are becoming scarce, precisely because of their extremely inefficient use.

The limited economic resources also demonstrates to us that people always want to have more than they can get with real opportunities. This contradiction between needs and opportunities forms the core around which all economic activity is built. Economic economies of all sizes - from families to huge corporations, constantly have to choose what to buy, what to produce and how to spend their resources, which are always limited.