Re: Utility?

Karl Hallowell wrote:

> > If people think that fitness is important to them, it might
> > contribute to their utility level. Assuming that the human
> > species have become fitter, we may have gained utility. Yet,
> > this is not exactly what economics is about, since fitness is
> > not a scarce resource that can be used in several alternative
> > way to maximize utility. I would say that fitness is an
> > exogenous factor that affects our utility level. It is
> > exogenous, because as an individual I cannot choose between
> > increasing my level of fitness (in terms of evolutionary
> > biology) and, for example, buying a car.
> 
> Actually, you are incorrect. Fitness indeed is a scarce resource.
> Choice of home size, income, time, health and resources available for
> children to increase their fitness (education, health, nutrition,
> environment) all effect the relative evolutionary fitness of an
> individual. Ie, I can chose between improving the education of my
> child, and buying a car for example. The former may improve the
> evolutionary fitness (or perhaps just the perceived fitness) of my
> child and hence improves indirectly my fitness. A purchase of a fancy
> car over a cheaper "dull" car may improve the fitness of a young male
> by the display of wealth. Even a donation to a charity might improve
> the fitness of people I identify with. Mates with higher fitness cost
> more to attract and keep (at least long enough for mating to occur).
> My genetic makeup may be fixed, but I have a host of expenditures that
> I can make to improve my fitness.
> 
> In other words, fitness is heavily influenced by the display and
> consumption of a large host of scarce resources. Hence, fitness isn't
> strictly an exogenous factor.

Since I was talking about the fitness of the human species and
not about the fitness of an individual, I still believe to be
correct. Yet, the health and wealth of an individual is indeed
derived from scarce resources.

Best regards,

Mark

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