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“Economists explain that wealth has ‘declining marginal utility,’ which is a fancy way of saying that it hurts to be hungry, cold, sick, tired, and scared, but once you’ve brought your way out of these burdens the rest of your money is an increasingly useless pile of paper. ” (Gilbert 239).
So my interpretation of Gilbert’s interpretation of economical theory is that once money has helped you survive (i.e. not die). It’s more or less fairly useless. I actually fully agree with and understand that. I agree with the necessity of money for survival and well-being, but then, in stark contrast, its total negligibility and uselessness after survival has been acquired and one has basic living essentials for survival , but genuinely just taken care of, resolved, and certain. Once the burden of being concerned about basic survivals has been resolved, the utility of money plummets and the hassle of it starts to increase!
I fear musing on this too much for “testing this theory out” like I did in france or something rubbish. of testing out survival I will never test that out again. wilderness hiking is NOT survival; that’s enjoyment. As is work and computer work. Not knowing where will sleep is horridly scary in a city and not knowing if one will get food is also horrifying. But once survival needs are met, it’s good to know that money is a declining marginal utility!
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