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Date: | Fri Mar 31 17:18:44 2006 |
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Pat Gunning has suggested that wealth cannot be precisely defined.
Certainly a complete catalog of every item of wealth would be an
impossibility. But the concept of wealth can be delimited with several
criteria which can exclude those things which in popular belief are
considered wealth.
Are services (included in GDP), money, land, financial assets, part of
the wealth of nations as well as individuals? Amasa Walker (father of
Francis A Walker) stated that "in science, the term 'wealth' includes
all objects of VALUE and nothing else." (Walker, Amasa. The Science of
Wealth. A Manual of Political Economy. Embracing the Laws of Trade,
Currency, and Finance. Boston, Little, Brown, and Company. 1866, p.7).
He continues with a definition of value. Depending upon one's
definition, every item of wealh has value but everything having value is
not necessarily wealth.
I would be interested in any comments on the significance of precise
definitions for both wealth and value.
Roy Davidson
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