Economics is the study of how societies allocate limited resources (such as land, water, human labor, or machinery) among the wants of those societies, recognizing that wants are seemingly unlimited. Due to the limited nature of resources we often find that some wants are mutually exclusive, meaning to have one we must give up another because there aren’t enough resources to go around. Economics recognizes this fact, and as a result, the study of economics also includes examining the consequences of the choices we make, and how societies respond to those choices. The study of economics recognizes that money is a tool used to allocate resources, but is not itself a resource.
