One economist argued it's basically impossible to produce too much of everything at once

Jean-Baptiste Say argued in 1803 that producing goods necessarily generates income, and that income necessarily gets spent buying other goods, so economy-wide overproduction couldn't persist, only local gluts in a given product. This "supply creates its own demand" became a pillar of classical economics for over a century. John Maynard Keynes challenged it during the Great Depression, arguing people can simply hoard money instead of spending it, letting demand collapse while factories sit idle.

— Jean-Baptiste Say, Treatise on Political Economy — 1803

One credited idea per card. No filler. Swipe the rest in Savvy.

Keep swiping — it's free Works right in your browser. No app store needed.

More Economics

All Economics cards →
More from Jean-Baptiste Say →

Five ideas worth knowing, every week

The week's best cards and a puzzle, credited as always. Free, unsubscribe any time.