D.1. The Asymmetric Impacts of Changes in Human Needs on Causal Order of Goods:
I. While a change in human need affects the entire Causal Order of Goods, due to a possibility of alternative uses (See 8 in The Regularity of One-to-Many Relations), a change in human needs affects different Goods differently subject to their alternative uses.
Axiomatic Derivation:
1. Following 8 in The Regularity of One-to-Many Relations, it is possible and not necessary that alternative uses of the same useful thing exist.
2. Following Order Wise Dependency of Good Characters, it is necessary that a change in human needs, its intensity or existence, affects Good Characters of each good on Causal Order.
3. Following 2. when a human need ceases to exist at any time, or in any region, it results in loss of Good Character of each Good on Causal Order serving that need.
4. Notwithstanding aforementioned, due to 1 so long as some goods on a Causal Order have alternative uses for other Human Needs, an instance of 3 will not result in loss of Good Character of these goods because these will find a good use elsewhere.
5. Read the following explanation for a more thorough elaboration.
Explanation:
E.1. From Schema E.4. in The Causal Order of Goods, it is clear that if a need ceases to exist, the entire causal order absorbs the shock, and everything now becomes a Non-Good.
E.2. However, from II of The Primacy of One-To-Many Relations we know that there exists a possibility that a certain good has alternative uses as well.
E.3. Accordingly, from E.1. and E.2. we can infer that if a need ceases to exist, the entire causal order responds, but depending upon the alternative uses those with alternative uses retain their good character, and those without lose it.
E.4. As a rule of thumb, we say that the lower the order, the higher the impact of change in human needs, the higher the order, the more the chances of alternative employment, the lesser the impact. Consider the following flow chart.
INSERT flow Chart from Notes _____
E.5. Consider for elaboration the following instance:
All residents of a certain region decide never to smoke again, the stocks of cigarettes in their stores lose demand, lose their good character immediately. The tobacco shop is now out of business. This then affects those who supplied cigarettes to that region from the local producers. These transporters now find no demand for their transportation service. However, being transporters they can always find a new market for covering the loss of income they now face. If they do, they retain the good character of their services. The same holds for those who used to pack cigarettes. Ultimately, the fall of demand affects the humid stores for tobacco, and finally the farms. While humid stores may have lesser alternative uses, fertile land always certainly has uses.
The purpose of this example is only to direct our attention to asymmetric effects of the same shock in human need on the entire causal order of goods serving that need depending upon the alternative uses of each good. The purpose is well served if you can extend it to various markets - product, service, labour, financial etc - at various scales from local to global etc.
Reference: Menger, Carl (2004). Principles of Economics, Online edition, The Mises Institute, 2004. (Chapter 01 page 65to 66)