2. Markets and Prices | Lucas M. Engelhardt

The principle of diminishing marginal utility is explained referring to the diminishing relevance (or usefulness) of uses that people will direct an extra unit of a homogenous good to. Then the opportunity cost of holding a certain amount of money in relation to the possession of a good is explored. From this assessment, the market process is explained in terms of the "double inequality" of value, where seller and buyer have different subjective values attached to the good in question and to money, which leads to an exchange. If prices are not enabling exchange the laws of supply and demand will make prices converge. The prices of non-consumption goods and services are calculated backwards from consumer prices by entrepreneurs.

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