How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes

17
S H A R I N G   T H E   W E A L T H
Although Charlie saw the effi ciency of using a net, he was 
apprehensive about the prospect of building one for himself.  
He responded to Able, “How do I know if I’ll get it right? I’ve 
never made one of those things before, and besides I don’t 
do well with hunger. I get the shakes. I might starve to death 
before I make a decent net!”
Baker stepped forward with another proposal. “Okay
 tightwad, so you’re not gonna do us any favors. We get it. 
But how about this? Lend us some of your surplus fi sh to eat 
while we make our own nets. That way we won’t starve as we 
build, and we’ll repay every fi sh we borrow from you from the 
extra fi sh we catch!”
Although the idea appealed 
to Able more than 
giving away his 
net, he was still 
very skeptical. 
“But if I lend 
you my fi sh, 
I have no 
guarantee 
that you 
won’t just lie 
on the beach 
and take the 
day off! Even if you build your own nets, they may not 
even work. Either way, you’ll never be able to repay me, 
and I would have lost my savings for nothing! You gotta do 
better than that.” 

---