Fortunately for the progress of civilization the normal individual is not satisfied with a bare existence. He desires more and a greater variety of food than will merely sustain his physical strength sufficient to permit him to go about his daily tasks. He might be able to get along and even thrive on the coarse fare of the early pioneer, yet he demands something more in the way of delicacies, fresh vegetables out of season, or ice cream. Also, in so far as physical comfort is concerned, a rough woolen shirt, a pair of overalls, heavy shoes, and a shoddy coat would suffice. But no self-respecting American would be satisfied with such an outfit comprising his whole wardrobe. Comfort in the matter of clothing means more than protection and warmth. It means some style in the way of an extra suit for Sundays and holidays, linen collars, neckties, and other accessories. Likewise, in the matter of the home the normal individual desires more than one or two shabbily furnished rooms with none of the comforts in the way of rocking chairs, pictures, musical instruments, or attractive dishes. Obviously, he could exist, and even live to an old age, as his early ancestors did, without any of these comforts. Yet he refuses to do so, and in his refusal we find the second chief motive for his economic activity.

What has been said leads naturally to the significant question: What are comforts? The term is a relative one, much like such terms as heat, cold, and dark. What to one group or to one individual is a comfort may appear to another as a luxury or to a third as a necessity. For most people a fur-trimmed overcoat is a luxury. The well-to-do consider it a comfort, while the very rich might well look on it as a necessity. We may say, roughly speaking, that whether or not a social group or an individual considers goods needed above the bare line of subsistence to be necessities, comforts, or luxuries, depends in a large part on habit and standard of living, about which we shall have more to say later.