I Want to be a Consumer

The following poem, by Patrick Barrington, was published in April, 1934, a couple of years before John Maynard Keynes published his General Theory of Money and Credit, which forever changed mainstream economic thought. In over-simplified terms, Keynes' underlying premise was that the primary cause of recession was "underconsumption". The theory was that production follows consumption, so if consumers decide to save more of their money rather than spend it, the result is overproduction and wasted resources. So all the government needs to do to prevent a recession is to get more money into the hands of consumers so they can spend, spend, spend, and thereby save the economy!

It is true that production and consumption cannot exist without one another, but Austrian economists understand that wealth is built on the accumulation of capital, which is a direct result of savings. The more money is saved (or invested), the more capital there is to lend, thereby lowering interest rates. This serves as an indicator to entrepreneurs of what is known as "time preference", which simply means that consumers (in the aggregate) have shown a preference for spending more money later rather than less money now. This alerts the entrepreneur (or established firm) that the time is ripe to undertake larger projects that will yield higher profits in the future, when consumers will once again be ready to spend the money they have saved.

I Want to be a Consumer

"And what do you mean to be?"
The kind old Bishop said
As he took the boy on his ample knee
And patted his curly head.
"We should all of us choose a calling
To help Society's plan;
Then what to you mean to be, my boy,
When you grow to be a man?"

"I want to be a Consumer,"
The bright-haired lad replied
As he gazed into the Bishop's face
In innocence open-eyed.
"I've never had aims of a selfish sort,
For that, as I know, is wrong.
I want to be a Consumer, Sir,
And help the world along."

"I want to be a Consumer
And work both night and day,
For that is the thing that's needed most,
I've heard Economists say,
I won't just be a Producer,
Like Bobby and James and John;
I want to be a Consumer, Sir,
And help the nation on."

"But what do you want to be?"
The Bishop said again,
"For we all of us have to work," said he,
"As must, I think, be plain.
Are you thinking of studying medicine
Or taking a Bar exam?"
"Why, no!" the bright-haired lad replied
As he helped himself to jam.

"I want to be a Consumer
And live in a useful way;
For that is the thing that is needed most,
I've heard Economists say.
There are too many people working
And too many things are made.
I want to be a Consumer, Sir,
And help to further trade."

"I want to be a Consumer
And do my duty well;
For that is the thing that is needed most,
I've heard Economists tell.
I've made up my mind," the lad was heard,
As he lit a cigar, to say;
"I want to be a Consumer, Sir,
And I want to begin today."

The poem's brilliance is that it illustrates how ludicrous the concept of "underconsumption" really is. Carried to its logical conclusion, it would stand to reason that all we really need is for government to print money as fast as possible, so that people can spend it as fast as possible, thereby stimulating production like never before! It makes one wonder why they don't just go ahead and run the printing press 24/7.