> We can't simply pay more money to get a personal chef, doctor, and pilot for everyone, even if there was a magical infinite source of compensation to pay them

> We can't simply pay more money to get a personal chef, doctor, and pilot for everyone, even if there was a magical infinite source of compensation to pay them. Remember, money is debt – an IOU, a promise to deliver something later. It says "You do this for me now and I will give you this token (money) that you can redeem for what you want from me in the future.". 'Compensation' is just the other side of the transaction – you offering the same in kind. If there was a magical infinite source of compensation then there would necessarily be an infinite ability to provide chef, medical, etc. services. In the real world, you only have so much to offer others, which limits how much you can receive from them. As before, transactions must be balanced. That is what it means 'to compensate'. In the real world, you have a pick what you want from the limited amount of value you can offer in kind. There is no such thing as an insatiable demand for chefs or doctors. People will stop considering those services when they become too expensive. The more expensive, the fewer people needed. This only becomes a problem when price is prevented from rising (e.g. due to government intervention) – and that is when you can encounter a shortage.