[1] Often, the subsistence economy is moneyless and relies on natural resources to provide for basic needs through hunting, gathering, and agriculture.
In a subsistence economy, economic surplus is minimal and only used to trade for basic goods, and there is no industrialization.
[4] The subsistence system is maintained through sharing, feasting, ritual observance and associated norms.
[citation needed] As urbanization, civilization, and division of labor spread, various societies moved to other economic systems at various times.
[citation needed] Some remain relatively unchanged, ranging from uncontacted peoples, to marginalized areas of developing countries, to some cultures that choose to retain a traditional economy.