Economics is the study of how to most effectively manipulate conscious actors to engage in work they don't intrinsically want to do towards some large, long term goal.
That goal is always primarily to increase the power and influence of the society (crudely GDP growth) because those that don't direct most energy towards this goal eventually end up getting out competed and supplanted by those external societies that do.
That goal is always primarily to increase the power and influence of the society (crudely GDP growth) because those that don't direct most energy towards this goal eventually end up getting out competed and supplanted by those external societies that do.