The Economics of Knitting

My wife decided to knit a sweater for my mother. She had this intention, and I was too late to be happy. In fact, knitting a sweater is a matter of 'flour is more expensive than bread'. The cost of wool alone is higher than the cost of ready-made sweaters on the market! For more than a month, I don’t count most of the free time my wife has invested in after work, nor the hard work of the wife. In the words of my wife, 'the fingers are all worn out, and the eyes are all blind, Those troubles of hitting and dismantling, dismantling and beating are not counted. The ready-made sweaters are not only rich in variety and color, but also of good quality. Buying one to wear on your body saves money, trouble and effort. In economics, people are rational people, whose purpose is to maximize their interests. From a general economic point of view, knitting is not a matter of maximizing benefits, and is not an 'economic' behavior. It is true that we can understand that the value of knitting sweaters lies in expressing feelings and filial piety, not for the sake of less input and more output. Therefore, the sweaters knitted by oneself are called 'Warm Brand' and 'Happy Brand' sweaters. However, it cannot be said that buying a sweater for the elderly is not a sign of affection, nor is it a filial piety and respect, and that it is not warm and unhappy. It can only be said that knitting sweaters shows greater filial piety due to more effort and emotions, more manpower and money, and greater filial piety. A well-knitted sweater has the symbolic meaning of being attached to one thing. Under this understanding, knitting is not simply 'making' a piece of clothing. This behavior is still in line with economics’ judgment of people-the pursuit of maximum utility. The utility here is to express emotions-in the most beautiful and touching way. Honor your loved ones. This is the purpose of the wife's knitting sweater. However, the reason why she knows the difficulties and never gets tired is that she is pursuing another kind of benefit maximization in knitting sweaters, and that is happiness. My wife told me that the proprietress who sells wool is very good at doing business. She not only sells wool, but also teaches people to knit sweaters to attract customers. Gradually, some 'weaver friends' often gathered in her shop. They sat together to exchange information, discuss their experiences, and share results. They enjoyed themselves and some became good friends. In this way, the trade of wool is no longer a simple act of exchange. In other words, 'friends of weaving' participate in exchanges not only for material benefits or material enjoyment, but the by-products of exchange itself also attract them, such as making friends. , Exchange information, learn from each other, appreciate each other, etc. The proprietress who sells wool consciously or unconsciously realizes that with the ever-increasing textile technology and lower and lower textile costs, people may knit sweaters not only to add warm clothes, but also to express affection, communicate with each other, and The value of self-affirmation, she satisfies this need. In fact, with the rapid increase of human social wealth and following the law of diminishing returns, the satisfaction brought by material benefits will become smaller and smaller. People's happiness must be obtained from other aspects, including the happiness that can be obtained by participating in the exchange itself. When such demands become more and more important, exchange itself will become an end. This can actually explain why people save a few dollars and would rather drive dozens of kilometers to buy cheap goods instead of buying more expensive goods nearby, although they will save some money (gasoline, etc.) because they are in You will also enjoy yourself in sightseeing and shopping for bargains along the way, and the exchange itself becomes a happy process. The same cannot be said that people at this time are no longer rational people in economics, but when material living conditions reach a certain level, the proportion of spiritual needs in the maximization of utility will become larger and larger. The economist Mao Yushi once mentioned an example. He said that sometimes we take a taxi and chat with the driver, and we talk happily, and we tip two yuan more when we get off the bus. The money is paid for extra utility. The driver was also encouraged because he talked happily and got a tip. He will work hard in this area to cultivate his own abilities in this area. Even if there is no tip, it will be harmless and beneficial to him. In Mr. Mao's view, exchange is undergoing subtle changes, that is, the joy of exchange will become our final goal. It's just that our nation and our country have been poor for too long and are afraid of being poor, so they value money and material things very seriously, even more important than happiness. When survival is still the top priority, the utility of the non-material exchange does seem insignificant. Only with the improvement of life, people will pay attention to spiritual satisfaction, even knitting sweaters will place a certain spiritual pursuit, this is my economic interpretation of knitting.