Over our lifetimes, most individuals should contribute more net benefits to society and, in general, to the state than they consume.
In societies where the consumption and production are pretty much equal, society stagnates. Think subsistence economies, or what we saw during the Dark Ages once the collapse of the Roman world was done and before the Renaissance. Stasis, in other words.
Some societies, most common in socialism, actually contract as people consume more than they produce. A few at or near the top can live quite well, but overall the society is eating its seed corn and inevitably declines.
Capitalism creates economic growth because production outstrips consumption, so capital is built up, and in return, that capital generates even more growth. We invest in education, roads, and other infrastructure in order to keep the economy expanding and…
