18 May 2022 10:46 am
Skans » 18 May 2022, 7:59 am » wrote: ↑ Actually, you can have utility, i.e. personal satisfaction, if you die to save your son's life. In this case, it would be a simple set of supply and demand curves where the equilibrium is the price of your life for your son's. Or, if you believe your life is more valuable than your son's I believe this could also be graphed with a vertical supply curve and a vertical demand curve. But, that's probably not accurate either, more likely it would simply be two independent points in the ++ quadrant of the graph.
Prior to the bit about one's son, your example fits. Paying any price no matter how high in order to keep obtaining positive utility. No diminishing returns either because the good, air, is necessity and therefore you are never counterbalancing desire and resources.
You would have to have two separate demand curves in your situation. The math does not work out for two situations that are opposed to each other.
back to the topic, when class would start i would ask the simplest of questions such as what other options do you have besides sitting in this classroom? This illustrates opportunity cost. The glazed over looks were astounding to me.