Most of what is produced anywhere but particularly in a free market or open economy is produced to satisfy the demands of humans, driven by their desire or their need to have things.
Because of this nearly endless demand, in the average, open market, general consumers typically account for the largest spending sector in the economy.
The wider spending habits of consumers are so reliable by their sheer existence that they determine the development of various industries within a country, so much so that if businesses, newly formed or established, small or large, don't know what consumers want or need, they don't know what to sell to them, they don't know what to produce to be sold, and they do not earn revenue let alone turn a profit.
Cyd Essock, while training as a journalist at the University of Wisconsin, once wrote in an essay that "...the reins of the free market economy lie in the hands of the consumer. And the consumer, because he is in the driver's seat, has an obligation to consume wisely."
What consumers want, for the most part, will determine the allocation of a business' scarce resources to the production of consumer products, to the extent that our prevailing culture determines what we designate as important and what is in the greatest demand for consumption.
What we demand most of all determines what we consume most of all. And what we spend our incomes on is not only a reflection of our cumulative personal priorities, but also our cultural and social priorities.
Adam Smith, Scottish moral philosopher and political economist stated: "Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it might be necessary for promoting that of the consumer." In other words, producers exist primarily to satisfy consumers.
What we want most
If we drive around our country's busiest cities, starting with our nation's capital, scouting the types of businesses which predominate, what we find speaks very loudly to the nature and quality of our demand and expectations of businesses in general.
This exercise of searching around our local markets, malls and mom-and-pop stores, and assessing our people's main interests based on what we find in these locations, reveals a stark and pervasive predisposition to certain goods and services which add little or no further value to the quality of our lives or our level of industry and productivity.
What we find, after such an analysis as this, tells an even greater story about our development, or our lack of development, over the last four decades. The same observation can be had by listening to and watching radio and television ads and by perusing print ads.
So what do Bahamian consumers spend most on? It seems we are preoccupied with food and physical appearance.
Canvassing one of the longest and busiest streets of commerce on the island of New Providence, from the northern end to the southern end and back again, shows some troubling realities about the leading types of products sold in more than half the businesses in The Bahamas, which is driven by the demand Bahamians have for these same products:
Alcohol. Numbers. Artificial hair, hair-styling services, hair and makeup products, and hair accessories. Clothing and fashion accessories. Fried chicken and French fries, burgers, barbecued rib dinners, and other fast or franchise foods. Used vehicles. Phone cards.
The story within
What does this tell us about the people we are or are becoming? Are our interests so shallow and fleeting that the bulk of our purchases are of temporary, or, intangible and temporary goods or services, as well as tangible products/ final goods which lose value as soon as they're purchased?
Is this a deeper indication of how we perceive ourselves, the purpose of our lives and our ability to achieve? If most of what we buy goes in a flash, are we concerned about (our) longevity?
What matters most to us as individuals and as a collective people? Do we simply believe that companies make things that we must buy, or do we, could we, see that we actually have the clout to determine the choices of products and services brought before us, i.e., that what a reseller sells to us or what a local producer manufactures for us to buy, is really a function of what we ask them for?
Are material things that make us look and feel good what we want most out of life? Is that the end of our personal vision? And does this short-sightedness translate into our narrow-minded views of many other issues we face in our society on a recurring basis?
Can we broaden our prospects and our thoughts to include the desire for durable goods and life-enhancing services which elevate us and serve us better in the long run, raising our standard of expectations and of living, with respect to our physical, social, and mental health?
Because, if we preserve those things, we place ourselves so much more strategically for every other type of success we could envision in the future whether we are individual consumers or business owners.
Can we raise our standard of consumption - of products and services - in order to raise our standard of living?
The picture we see now is of a nation whose consumption of goods and services is comprised mostly of aesthetics and vices. But where do we see ourselves growing to? Do we not recognize the benefit in expecting and wanting more from our own existence?
With our current inclinations toward patronizing the kinds of businesses that satisfy us with things for brief periods of time, which direction are we pointed in to achieve the economic expansion, diversification, and development we all say we require?
o Nicole Burrows is an academically trained economist. She can be contacted at: nicole.burrows@outlook.com

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