The “pressing problem” Keynes had in mind was what classical economists refer to as the “economic problem” and sometimes also as the “problem of scarcity.” It holds that we are rational creatures cursed with insatiable appetites and that because there are simply not enough resources to satisfy everybody’s wants, everything is scarce. The idea that we have infinite wants but that all resources are limited sits at the beating heart of the definition of economics as the study of how people allocate scarce resources to meet their needs and desires. It also anchors our markets, financial,
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