Keynesians and neo-keynesians will tell me its consumption.
I say its humans acting rationally. amirite?
humans acting to fulfill their desires with the means available to them. a good economy provides them with non-violent, non coercive means. a bad economy incentivizes destructive behavior.
Investments made out of voluntary savings put to the end of serving consumer preferences.
Labor —> Savings —> Investment in Capital by Entrepreneurs ----> Increased Productivity of Labor —> Repeat
The engine is you… and I … and all those that produce goods that are desired by the customers.
And, following the metaphore of “What drives the economy”, what drives it is the desires of consumers. Yet the engine is those that add to producing the goods individual consumers desire.
The absence of violence, force and coersion.
The government.
As I understand it, investment is the same thing as savings.
There are three possibilities for allocation of income: consumption, investment, or cash. If people are saving money, but not investing, then by definition they are adding to their cash holdings. Boy, Keynes was stupid…