Economics of Choice

 

The Economics of Choice: A Cultural Illustration

The Urdu poet Zafar Gorakhpuri laments, “Ae gham-e-zindagi kuchh to de mashwara; Ek taraf uska ghar, ek taraf maykada; Main kahaan jaaun, hota nahin faisla, Ek taraf uska ghar, ek taraf maykada”—O sorrow of life, give me some counsel; on one side is her home, on the other the tavern; I cannot decide where to go; on one side is her home, on the other the tavern.

The lines evoke the universal struggle of choosing between two desirable yet mutually exclusive paths, the classic dilemma imposed by scarcity.

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