Why there is no such thing as deficiency of demand

The ever eloquent Austrian economist Dr. Frank Shostak debunks the pervasive and populist myth that has pillared today's aggregate demand policies (from the Cobden Center):[bold mine]

There is no such thing as deficiency of demand that causes economic difficulties. The heart of economic growth is the process of real wealth generation.

The stronger this process is the more real wealth can be generated and the stronger so-called economic growth becomes. What drives this process is infrastructure, or tools and machinery. With better infrastructure more and a better quality of goods and services i.e. real wealth, can be generated.

Take for instance a baker who has produced ten loaves of bread. Out of this he consumes one loaf and the other nine he saves.

He can exchange the saved bread for the services of a technician who will enhance the oven. With an improved oven the baker can now produce twenty loaves of bread. Now he can save more and use the larger savings pool to further invest in his infrastructure such as buying other tools that will lift the production and the quality of the bread.

Observe that the key for wealth generation is the ability to generate real wealth. This in turn is dependent on the allocation of the part of wealth towards the buildup and the enhancement of the infrastructure.

Also, note that if the baker were to decide to consume his entire production i.e. keeping his demand strong, then he would not be able to expand the production of bread (real wealth).

As time goes by his infrastructure would have likely deteriorated and his production would have actually declined.

The belief that an increase in the demand for bread without a corresponding increase in the infrastructure will do the trick is wishful thinking.

We suggest that there is no such thing as a scarce demand. Most individuals have unlimited desires for goods and services.

For instance, most individuals would prefer to live in nice houses rather than in small apartments.

Most people would like to have luxuries cars and be able to dine in good quality restaurants. What prevents them in achieving these various desires is the scarcity of means.

In fact as things stand most individuals have plenty of desires i.e. goals, but not enough means.

Unfortunately means cannot be generated by boosting demand. This will only increase goals but not means.

Contrary to the popular way of thinking we can conclude that demand doesn’t create supply but the other way around.

As we have seen by producing something useful i.e. bread, the baker can exchange it for the services of a technician and boost his infrastructure.

By means of the enhanced infrastructure the baker can generate more bread i.e. more means that will enable him to attain various other goals that previously were not reachable by him.

The current economic difficulties are the outcome of past and present reckless monetary and fiscal policies of central banks and governments.

Read the rest  here