economic activities

Economic activities are those that involve the measurable exchange of goods and services, with the primary means of measurement being currency value. Those who want to be running things, and skimming something for themselves off the top, are very interested in the economy. The drawing above is intended to show the relationship between economic and non-economic activities. How much we participate in the economy has a lot to do with how much we choose to do for ourselves, vs. how much we pay others to do for us. If I fix dinner tonight, I have one level of economic engagement. If I choose to go out for dinner tonight, I am involved economically at a different level.

Can you see why powerful forces would like us to become relatively impotent, and be forced to pay others for our sustenance?

The level of our engagement in economic matters is variable based on our commitment to economy. We get to choose. The important thing to observe is that decline of economy is not necessarily decline in the quality of life. In fact, we can have very meaningful lives, contributing to the welfare of our communities and providing for our own security through activities outside the realm of "economics." I suggest that those things that provide the greatest return on our investment of time and energy are most often outside measurable economics.