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Introduction
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| Source: Dune Poster |
Origin and meaning of economics:
The science of economics was born with the publication of Adam Smith. “An Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of Wealth of Nations” in the year 1776.
Adam Smith is known as the Father of Economics.
At its birth, the name of economics was “political economy.” Toward the end of the 19th century, there was a definite change from the use of the word “political economy” to “Economics”.
The use of the word “Economics” is derived from two Greek words: oikus (a house) and nomos (to manage).
The word economics literally means home management with limited funds available in the most economic manner possible.
Lionel Robbins defines economics as a science of scarcity.
Economics is the science of scarcity which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.
Paul A. Samuelson defines economics s the study of how men and society choose with or without the use of money, to employ scarce productive resources which could have alternative uses, to produce various commodities over and distribute them for consumption now and in future among various people and groups of society,
The aforementioned definition is modern and the most satisfying definition of economics.
I know that the above content must have felt like diving into a textbook, but it lays the groundwork for understanding the fundamentals.
And trust me, now I am going to discuss each topic in the most intriguing way possible, and dear readers, now I want you to read the above content once again, and if you don’t want to
Kindly close the tab Scroll some short-form content and consider coming later on.
I resonate with the fact that studying econ without real-world examples is fun, but we are not ordinary; we are taking it up a notch. Together we will delve into economics through an extraordinary lens: the fictional world of Dune.
As I mentioned earlier, econ was referred to as Political Economy, you know why because economic models are closely linked with political systems
The governmental structure of the Dune universe is a Feudalistic Political Economic Organisation consists of families of nobility who have a miniature part of the Empire serving an emperor just like the Medieval era. Dune also has a unified text system referred to as planetary tithes.
It follows a pre-industrial land-based wealth model and centralized economic organization through monopolistic structures.
Concept of Scarcity
You must be wondering why I am emphasizing the word ‘scarcity’ in the above stanzas.
The reason is simple yet profound: economics exists because scarcity exists.
The lore of the Dune universe revolves around a highly utilitarian substance called Melange Spice, which is only available on the desert planet Arrakis.
So basically the association that controls the economic and trade activities will have immense economic and political power, and the crux here is that spice is quite crucial for interstellar travel and super addictive, which instigates the problem of rivalry as well.
From a critical perspective, one can argue why these people are not leveraging tech; the answer lies in the historical Butlerian Jihad against thinking machines. (A crusade between humans and AI).
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| Characteristics of Spice |
Demand Price Elasticity of Spice
Now to truly grasp the concept of Demand, it is a prerequisite to understand Price elasticity.
In simple terms, Price elasticity is nothing but the degree of responsiveness in demand of a commodity when its price is changed.
But, as the Dune universe is doomed, the demand for Spice is highly inelastic.
That simply means no effect on demand due to price change (just like essentials like vaccines in the real world).
It is due to the following reasons:
- Essential for survival and power
- Essential across the universe.
- Lack of Substitutes
Monopoly & Crony Capitalism
The Dune universe has a centralised economic structure controlled by two super monopolies: the Guild (responsible for Planetary travels) and CHOAM (extraction and management of spice production).
Yes, you read that right. I used a term called super monopoly, and that's a made-up term.
The reason I did that is because the amount of profits they are making is unimaginable, out of this world, quite literally.
And now let me let the cat out of the bag: the emperor and houses have their directorate share in CHOAM. The Emperor controls 25% of the directorate's shares; therefore, all the policy of the ruling body is indirectly contributing towards increasing the wealth of the emperor and great house.
Quite similar to the East India Company, right?
Excess Government Intervention
As emperor and great house are intervening in spice production directly,
So just like in the real world, high inversion can lead to unethical trade practices and the emergence of black markets.
The outlaws:
These are basically the smugglers in the Dune universe. they are also capable of interstellar travel just like Guild. The reason they are in business is because a section of the Dune population does not want to deal with Guild and CHORM. So they are paying extra.
The Fremen (Natives of Arrakis)
These are basically the slaves who are forced into labour under dire conditions.
They extract life with the risk of their lives, and all the profits are shared among the Emperor and the great houses.
This is unfortunately seen in modern times as well since the colonial era, where workers are treated as equivalent to slaves, as they are supposed to work in horrendous working conditions, forced overtime, and little pay.
It is quite parallel to slaves in the Dune Universe.
The Dune economic system represents a deliberately regressive mode, reflecting pre-industrial economic principles transplanted into a galactic context.
No conclusion this time as well, but let me ask you a question: What do you think? Why would people choose a feudalistic, monarchical political system over a progressive type of government that suits expanding civilizations?
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