> If you take a piece of lumber and carve it into a dresser you've just generated wealth. I'd make the note that you've converted raw materials and labor (and

> If you take a piece of lumber and carve it into a dresser you've just generated wealth. I'd make the note that you've converted raw materials and labor (and maybe some capital machinery/tools) into a finished good. Whether the market will value that finished good at more than the sum of what you paid for its parts is a fair question though! It's entirely possible to have net-unprofitable economic activities, especially in a bubble.