“Why are economists so concerned about the material aspects of life?” Economists are often criticized for focusing on material well-being. Remind students that promoting the emotional (or spiritual) aspect of life depends heavily on attaining material well-being. Ask them to consider the need for life- enhancing goods and services such as health care or education to support spiritual or emotional well-being. Ask how protestors at the WTO meetings or at the IMF and World Bank meetings would be able to voice their opinions without low-cost air travel and the power of the Internet to coordinate the activities of hundreds of protesters. (Be careful not to seem to be either condoning or condemning these activities.) Most students will begin to see that the more efficient we are at producing material prosperity, the more time and opportunity everyone has to promote emotional (or spiritual) goals.