markitect-main/examples/infospace-with-history/output/entities/consumption-as-the-end-of-production.md

Consumption as the End of Production

Definition

The principle that the ultimate purpose of all economic activity is to satisfy consumer wants and needs, with production serving merely as a means to this end. This fundamental concept inverts the mercantile system's focus on production and export, arguing that economic policy should prioritise consumer welfare over producer interests.

Source Chapter

Book IV, Chapter 8

Context

Smith presents this principle as the key to understanding proper economic policy. He demonstrates how the mercantile system's sacrifice of consumer interests to producer interests represents a fundamental misunderstanding of economic purpose, leading to policies that reduce rather than increase national wealth.

Economic Domain

Consumption

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