Subsistence economy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ideologies and theories
Part of a series on Economic systems
Capitalism Communist economy Corporatism Fascist economy Islamic economics Laissez-faire Mercantilism Natural economy Primitive communism Social market economy Socialist economics
Sectors and systems
Closed economy Dual economy Gift economy Informal economy Market economy Mixed economy Open economy Participatory economics Planned economy Subsistence economy Underground economy Virtual economy
Related articles
Anglo-Saxon economy American School Command Economy Global economy Hunter-gatherer Information economy Newly industrialized country Palace economy Plantation economy Token economy Traditional economy Transition economy
Image:Portal.svg Business and Economics Portal
This box: view • talk • edit

A subsistence economy is an economy in which a group generally obtains the necessities of life, but do not attempt to accumulate wealth. In such a system, a concept of wealth does not exist, and only minimal surpluses generally are created, therefore there is a reliance on renewal and reproduction within the natural environment. For this reason subsistence economies are often lauded by environmentalists who consider market systems too much of a strain on the environment^{[citation needed]}.

Before the invention of currency, subsistence economies were the dominant economic system throughout the world. The system still survives as the primary traditional practice in several societies, including the Melanesian people of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It was also the primary practice in French Polynesia until French military personnel were stationed there in 1962, after which time there was a shift to a tourism-based system.