May
2
Just as there is no reason for a firm to produce as much as it possibly can, there is no reason for me to be as nice as I possibly can. Firms that overproduce lose money, and people that are overly nice get stepped on and lose authority. Economics calls for an optimal output of goods, and I will follow suit by calling for an optimal output of kindness. Sometimes, one will over-stretch and it will be asked whether this person has a motive or something of that sort. Sometimes, people are kind “just because”, but it is not interpreted as such. Economics has also taught me that positive externalities, benefits to people other than the producer, are subsidized because not enough of the good that is causing this positive externality is being produced. In other words, this subsidy is an incentive to produce more or a bonus. One will realize that if there are not enough nice people in the world, it is because there is no subsidy, no benefit for being nice. There is not always an incentive for a person to be nicer, so why should they be? If it feels like a wasted effort, people will probably think that it is a wasted effort. If people do not gain a benefit from being nice that would encourage them to continue doing it, they will not be as nice. Similarly, if a company does not get an incentive for producing something that has good effects on society, they will not produce as much.
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