Having a NEED takes no effort and creates nothing. And a lot of times you don't have a clue what to buy for someone do you? But you go to the mall, and find cool shit that you NEVER EVER imagined. A good entreprenuer can CREATE a need. You don't NEED to buy a 12" cookie with your Family Size Pizza --- do ya?
Outside of consumer market -- which is a LARGE chunk of the marketplace, Average Joe has no ******* idea what kind of new bedside monitor he needs in the hospital. Or what kind of gear your ISP should have. You guys are limiting your thesis to CONSUMER need.
Bullshit. Having a need is what creates a market...that market is what creates the opportunity to make money off of it. Consumer need drives innovation and the ability to pay for those products and services drives the economy.
Not Bullshit.. Your needs only affect the Consumer part of the market and 1/2 the time, you have no idea what you're gonna buy for a birthday.
But when in doubt --- do an experiment..
China was shit poor in the 80s. Only folks with stuff was literally a couple million politically connected people.
NEED was rampant. Not much was handed out from Beijing. Wht happened to create a WHOLLY NEW Middle Class and move them into SuperPower status in 30 short years?
Did UNESCO hand each poor soul there a $100 bill? Did the Chinese govt go into massive debt in futile Keynesian attempt to STIMULATE the economy? No.
Outside Capitalists came in and INVESTED HEAVILY in Chinese factories. From all over the world with the INITIAL goal of NOT serving the needs of the Chinese people, but to serve their OWN needs in far off places.
The Chinese govt capitalized on this momentum and invested wisely in the growth of their economy which came from OUTSIDE investment. In many places, like Shenzheng, they had a laissez faire attitude to regulation and control and LET IT HAPPEN.
The middle class grew, and some needs got fulfilled by default based on what OTHERS had decided to supply to them. Their needs were not addressed by what factories made stuff available. UNTIL --- they became a big enough factor to be served directly by AGAIN -- Outside capital being expended to fill their new BOURGEOIS wants and needs.
THe outside capital investment, influx of technology, and training was the KEY spark that drove that development.
Now do the experiment for yourself. All the Castros are dead. You want to serve the Cuban peoples needs and wants. How do you go about it?
Got nothing to do with mere consumer appetites. Or govt stimulation.
You guys ABHOR consumerism anyway dontcha? What's all the noise about "sustainable development" from your side if consumer spending is the primary fuel of advancing economies. Isn't that a little hypocritical? When the leftists are trying to tell Africans (in an economic Imperialist way) that they SHOULDN'T strive for the Western standards of life.