Benefits

Remember, we are still trying to answer the question, "What is the most efficient quantity of machines for Economia to produce," and costs are only half the story. The idea is to balance the costs of machine production against the benefits, so that we get the maximum net benefit, as shown in Figure 2. So now we need to think about the benefits side of the problem. We have expressed the costs in terms of units of food given up. Somehow, we must express the benefits in terms of units of food. How can we do that?

At least some of the benefits from the production of machines are subjective -- as the pleasure of driving around in a nice car is subjective. (Remember, that's one of the purposes that Economians use machines for -- personal transportation). How can we measure a subjective quantity, and if we can measure it, how can we express it in units of food?

Mathematical details .