Your personal internet banking in Malaysia is just a “broker” in a transactional process between you and the sender or recipient. Regardless, it is still a part of an economic cycle where everything is earned and spent. There is no such thing as a permanent hoard as no matter how long things are kept unspent, soon it will be, even against the will. Such is the nature of the general economy theory.
The theory
In “The Accursed Share”, a 1949 book by French economist Georges Bataille, the general economy theory is the first main topic of focus. Essentially, what Bataille wrote was that energy is always received and spent in the earlier mentioned cycle. This energy is mainly used to grow or benefit a system so life can be maintained.
The very same system, however, won’t sustain infinite energy as there will be a point where it will reach its peak and burst like a bubble. If the system can no longer grow or absorb any more excess energy to contribute to its growth, the system will eventually leak like burst pipes.
At this point, there is no choice but for the excess to be spent without profit, willingly or unwillingly, gloriously or catastrophically. If you think about it, this cycle of the general economy works more or less similar to the cycle of life and death. After the glorious or disastrous loss of excess energy, the system will start to grow or be benefited by energy once more, and it repeats for good.
A good example
After reading about the general economy theory, you might be confused if this is your first exposure. Or you may ask whether any of this has anything to do with our lives and the modern world. The answer is yes.
The general economy is applicable to several things, including our literal economy or the value of an object. As an example, money is used to spend on growing wealth, a system such as water purification, or help others in a charity. To make this easier, imagine a person earning so much that they are now a millionaire or a billionaire.
Now they can spend even more excess money to upgrade their lifestyle and afford expensive services, collectibles, vacations and so on. Now supposed they had been there, done that. What else can they do at the moment apart from going on with their life routine?
Their savings are now bloated with their excess earnings, and this is where they will have to find new things or ways to spend them. Charity and investments are examples they can follow. If they do nothing otherwise, the excess money will be lost in the future.
It does not matter whether they are losing all or only some of their savings. It doesn’t matter whether the reasons for their wealth’s loss are because of a declined invested market or their indictments by the law for incriminating deeds. Either way, the fact that their excess money is lost without benefiting or profiting them remains.
That is the general economy.
