COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

To waste or to economize? ... It is waste that characterizes a modern rich economy ... 'economy' is no longer the foundation of modern economic models

The whole idea of economics was founded on the need for a society to be careful and 'to economise'. The mechanics of the (dismal) science of economics were based on the idea that it was good to economise on the use of resources in order to be able to have more benefit from the available resources. The idea was based on the prevalence of 'shortage' and the relative absence of 'abundance'.

So we have the language derived from the verb economize, the subject of economics, the society as an economy and the profession of economist. The words that need to get changed are as follows:

	to economize economics the economy an economist	to waste wastonomics the wastonomy a wastonomist