Menger on Economizing

This post is part of a series exploring Principles of Economics by Carl Menger.  The following explores content from chapter 2.

Previously in this series: Menger on Available Quantities

When a good is scarce (when the requirements for it exceed its available quantity), men economize it, which means they (the quotes below are Menger's wording):

1. try not to lose it ("maintain at their disposal every unit of a good standing in this quantitative relationship")
2. try not to spoil it ("conserve its useful properties")
3. try to prioritize what they use it for (" make a choice between their more important needs, which they will satisfy with the available quantity of the good in question, and needs that they must leave unsatisfied")
4. try to use it as efficiently as possible ("obtain the greatest possible result with a given quantity of the good or a given result with the smallest possible quantity—or in other words, to direct the quantities of consumers’ goods available to them, and particularly the available quantities of the means of production, to the satisfaction of their needs in the most appropriate manner.")

Next in this series: Menger on Property