The Economics of Scarcity

[Bitco55]

At the beginning of every first econs lecture, we were made to understand the foundation on which the study stands, and is based upon; " human wants are unlimited, but resources are scarce". Human wants are never ending. After this, we want that, after conquering the world, we'd still be looking for more, and the resources for obtaining every single thing we need and want is limited, for all of us.

The phenomenon of scarcity has its advantages though. It pushes people and societies to create, to trade, & to evolve. It drives innovation, competition, creativity, but unfortunately, even inequality. It is why we argue about minimum wage, housing, fuel prices, etc,. It makes sure that contentment is rare. Say, if everyone in the world earned $500k a month, do you think everyone would be satisfied? I think not. Someone out there, some people, would still complain about it and say it's not enough. Because, it really isn't enough for their lifestyle and other stuffs.

So, scarcity isn't something that can be prevented on a national level & even for everyone. Resources will always be less than our need. But, what do think is the best way us as individuals can best work on the issues of scarcity ?

[Stepstowealth]

So, scarcity isn't something that can be prevented on a national level & even for everyone. Resources will always be less than our need. But, what do think is the best way us as individuals can best work on the issues of scarcity ?

If it is possible for you to create personal alternatives to the general choices that people around you will make, you may never find yourself in a position where you experience scarcity because you focus on  different resource that others are not focusing on and that will always give you leverage. If you are able to identify these alternative resources that people are not focusing on, in periods of general scarcity, you will not be stuck and you may even find yourself making a lot of money from the situation because you already have the alternatives in place that people formally were not paying attention to.

[Churchillvv]

Make do of the available resources to the fullest! You don’t always need the whole world to be fine, you just need a little of what you can use the resources for, they say people do not always realize what they have until they loss it, so as humans we have all it takes but the greeds in us makes us feel like it’s not enough for our wants.

What I recommend is, go for your needs and not your wants as such you will be satisfied. What you want is always beyond your capacity and our needs are always within our reach. Needs are not always too scarce like wants.

[Helena Yu]

Human always wants to seek more not because they're not satisfied or grateful with what they have, but they only want to improve their life and reach as high as they can, what's wrong with that?

The reason why something can be valuable is due to scarcity, if the asset no longer scarce, it won't be as valuable as now.

So, scarcity isn't the issue and nothing wrong to improve life, the problem is you because you're comfortable to stuck at one place and judge other people who not want to stuck like you.

[Bitcoin_people]

It is true that the more people have, the more their needs increase, even after conquering the world, they will want more, this is the human mentality. Generally speaking, if a poor person is caught and removed, he runs to achieve more in the future. On the other hand, a rich person regrets increasing his money even though he has the right amount of money. No person's needs in the world are ever constant, rather their needs remain lacking.
If you have $500k now, you will try to increase it more, but your needs will not be fulfilled, later you will still try to go to a higher position. Similarly, all the people in this world talk about their lack, despite having money, they want more, but their needs are not fulfilled. However, I think we should all be satisfied with what we have, because the Creator does not give everyone the same, rather some are poor and some are rich, so it is best to be satisfied with what we have.

[Olatundespo]

By continuing to meet unlimited needs in harmony with limited resources, you can reach a courageous and financially healthy state. Learn how your income and unlimited needs with limited resources can keep you out of poverty. The purpose of the state is to take appropriate measures to create wealth and as a citizen of the state you should ensure the proper use of that wealth without wasting it.

If your weekly salary is $500 then the amount you have to spend on your family if your salary is $700 after a year you will still face the same situation and this is a reality. You should set a budget for your expenses in line with your salary income, but in most cases this is not possible due to the effect of inflation but most of the time after meeting basic needs we should move towards potential investments with the amount of money that is left with us.

In this situation where people needs are unlimited, we should refrain from the kind of readiness we have to repeatedly cross the limit. For example, building a house or owning a car or expanding a business.  If you can use the money you have to expand your business rather than buy a house and a car, then you can make up your mind to buy a house and a car by earning a profit from it. This is a strategy that keeps money flowing regularly without locking it in one place and tries to become the owner of more wealth by giving up your own needs for a few days through limited resources.

[Free Market Capitalist]

So, scarcity isn't something that can be prevented on a national level & even for everyone. Resources will always be less than our need. But, what do think is the best way us as individuals can best work on the issues of scarcity ?

What I think is that what you say is nonsense, although you are by no means the only one who thinks that way. To all of you who conceive the world around you in this way, I recommend reading the following book:

Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet

227 years after Malthus's failed prophecy, time and time again, people insist on repeating the same mistake. It happens with communism (which is conceptually linked to that vision of a world with scarce resources): the more it fails, the more people it kills through starvation and repression, the better its reputation becomes.

[Ishicryptic]

As human beings we want a lot of things because we all like good life, nobody wants to suffer so our desires for material things becomes insatiable, the more we want new things the more attractive ones are emerging. It is not everything that we want we actually need so if we don't have the resources to get everything we want then we have to separate needs from our wants. Needs are essential things like food, rent and healthcare while wants are getting the latest car and vacations. Since the resources (money) to take care of our needs and wants is not abundantly available or scarce we have to forgo our wants then concentrate on our needs. Wants are not what are important or immediate so we can plan for them.

[KiaKia]

At the beginning of every first econs lecture, we were made to understand the foundation on which the study stands, and is based upon; " human wants are unlimited, but resources are scarce". Human wants are never ending. After this, we want that, after conquering the world, we'd still be looking for more, and the resources for obtaining every single thing we need and want is limited, for all of us.

The phenomenon of scarcity has its advantages though. It pushes people and societies to create, to trade, & to evolve. It drives innovation, competition, creativity, but unfortunately, even inequality. It is why we argue about minimum wage, housing, fuel prices, etc,. It makes sure that contentment is rare. Say, if everyone in the world earned $500k a month, do you think everyone would be satisfied? I think not. Someone out there, some people, would still complain about it and say it's not enough. Because, it really isn't enough for their lifestyle and other stuffs.

So, scarcity isn't something that can be prevented on a national level & even for everyone. Resources will always be less than our need. But, what do think is the best way us as individuals can best work on the issues of scarcity ?

Yes you are right, that's why the government can never satisfy it's people, there will always be some who will complain that they are not getting enough, unfortunately people are always like that.

Those who are contented with what they have are inhuman to us, because they are not part of the society in terms of standard, we talk against them, we bully them for who they are, such people live in the jungle, they don't run after fortunes, they are not in challenge with anyone.

Another good example are the monks, who have dedicated their lives serving buddhaism, and people don't look at them twice, they believe the monks are missing out and wasting their lives.

[Findingnemo]

Say, if everyone in the world earned $500k a month, do you think everyone would be satisfied? I think not. Someone out there, some people, would still complain about it and say it's not enough. Because, it really isn't enough for their lifestyle and other stuff.

It is not possible and if that were to happen then the money will be useless because everyone got the same amount of money and who will work for whom?

Scarcity is what gives value to something which we call demand and supply rule. That is why the value of the money not depends on the number that is printed on the paper but what it can get you will decides that while with these centralized system the supply is controlled and they will inject newly printed paper into the economy whenever they want.

[MArsland]

So, scarcity isn't something that can be prevented on a national level & even for everyone. Resources will always be less than our need. But, what do think is the best way us as individuals can best work on the issues of scarcity ?

I once made an analogy based on my personal experience by comparing two people who earn the same amount, say $300 per month. One person feels this amount is sufficient, while the other feels it's not enough because their lifestyle exceeds their monthly income. In the example I mentioned, it's clear that the problem isn't a lack of money, but rather uncontrollable desires.
Alternatively, if your monthly income is $500, the first thing to do is separate your needs from your wants. That way, you'll be able to prioritize your needs over your wants.

So far, my family have continued to try to make these comparisons and have been quite successful in surviving the onslaught of an unstable economy, especially where I live.

[WillyAp]

227 years after Malthus's failed prophecy, time and time again, people insist on repeating the same mistake. It happens with communism (which is conceptually linked to that vision of a world with scarce resources): the more it fails, the more people it kills through starvation and repression, the better its reputation becomes.

It astonishing how few people seem to be able to draw a valid conclusion.
It is the younger gen who yearns for equality. We should model out societies much more natural, where dying is not as tragic.
Octopus live about a year, they are able to learn from other octopus's mistakes.

[lizarder]

At the beginning of every first econs lecture, we were made to understand the foundation on which the study stands, and is based upon; " human wants are unlimited, but resources are scarce". Human wants are never ending. After this, we want that, after conquering the world, we'd still be looking for more, and the resources for obtaining every single thing we need and want is limited, for all of us.  

This is the most interesting aspect of every discussion that takes place on campus and beyond, because we are always faced with a choice stage that may not be achieved by everyone. Human desires are indeed unlimited because they are influenced by the desire to control many things, while available resources are sometimes unable to provide a balance for the number of people. The fundamental question arises: how can this be balanced, since limited resources are not sufficient to balance everything.

Therefore, each individual needs alternatives to overcome this problem. If left as is, there may be no hope of ever realizing each individual's dream of achieving financial success. This is not as easy as imagined, but there is always opportunity for those who are willing to put in the effort, because the process will never betray the results.

[YellowSwap]

Human always wants to seek more not because they're not satisfied or grateful with what they have, but they only want to improve their life and reach as high as they can, what's wrong with that?

The reason why something can be valuable is due to scarcity, if the asset no longer scarce, it won't be as valuable as now.

So, scarcity isn't the issue and nothing wrong to improve life, the problem is you because you're comfortable to stuck at one place and judge other people who not want to stuck like you.

careful! something could surely be wrong with what you just said, we are humans and it means we are not perfect, what happened to "too much of everything is not good" ?

if i ask you for money because we are family, you give me a ten today and i come back for more in a week time and you give me a 20, and again and again, what do you think is happening?  i don't know how to stop, it is becoming a part of me to keep asking people for money and sooner or later it will turn me into something else.

Reaching as high as i can is of two ways, what happened to good and bad? i can decide to steal from people or sell drugs through mexico border into the US, just like you said, reaching as high as i can.

seeking more can be as bad as not seeking more, addiction starts from here too, too much of everything is bad.

[Fortify]

I don't agree with the "resources will always be less than our need statement". There are plenty of people out there who are content with what they've got and live within their means. They can be happy with a dumb phone that is 10 years old but gives them the basics they need, while others must spend endlessly to buy the latest gadgets. Having an endless desire is purely driven by greed and is unnecessary. It's often the poorest who wish for materialistic things but they're not always as fulfilling as they might seem.

[Die_empty]

So, scarcity isn't something that can be prevented on a national level & even for everyone. Resources will always be less than our need. But, what do think is the best way us as individuals can best work on the issues of scarcity ?

The world is driven by capitalism where those who are smart get more resources. There is nothing you can do about scarcity because resources are not shared equally among everyone. If you want more resources, you would have to work hard for them. Those who develop and use ideas to solve problems or create what people need attract more resources to themselves.  Those who sit around and complain about the government or the rich will end up running the rat race. Resources will always be scarce because 1% of the global population controls about half of the world's wealth.

[Jubilee58]

So, scarcity isn't something that can be prevented on a national level & even for everyone. Resources will always be less than our need. But, what do think is the best way us as individuals can best work on the issues of scarcity ?

If it is possible for you to create personal alternatives to the general choices that people around you will make, you may never find yourself in a position where you experience scarcity because you focus on  different resource that others are not focusing on and that will always give you leverage. If you are able to identify these alternative resources that people are not focusing on, in periods of general scarcity, you will not be stuck and you may even find yourself making a lot of money from the situation because you already have the alternatives in place that people formally were not paying attention to.

It is true that human wants are unending and unsearchable, the more your achievement in life, the more we desire for more and also you to try and make provision or an alternative means of survival when things are not going the way they ought to go.


For instance money is a scarce commodity and that is why it is not found in the hand of every body and some sometimes you can have money today and in the future the money will no longer be there, and the reason is because you have failed to creat an avenue of sustaining the money.

Sometimes we face economic scarcity, but at the same time we can also make provision against this scarcity by having some reserve, so that in times of scarcity the reserve will make less intensive.

[HONDACD125]

There is nothing you can do as an individual to satisfy yourself as a human unless you are someone who stays content with whatever he has or get, but deep inside, a human will always want more, no matter how much they have. However, for a human to get as much as they want, and to get beyond the scarcity part, they need to work hard and make as much money as possible so that they can get whatever they want without any problems. The resources can't be unlimited for everyone, of course, but at least some people can achieve that in their lives.

Personally, I think we shouldn't aim to have infinite resources in life, that will only make us forget everything else. I have seen people having too much money, but no time for their family or friends, they don't get to enjoy their lives at all, because they live with the thought that if they stop working even for a while, they might lose the empire they've created for themselves, but in essence, that empire is useless if you can't enjoy the gifts of life.

[WillyAp]

Personally, I think we shouldn't aim to have infinite resources in life, that will only make us forget everything else. I have seen people having too much money, but no time for their family or friends, they don't get to enjoy their lives at all, because they live with the thought that if they stop working even for a while, they might lose the empire they've created for themselves, but in essence, that empire is useless if you can't enjoy the gifts of life.

Yeah that happens frequently. Awareness is needed to slow down a little.

[AVE5]

The phenomenon of scarcity has its advantages though. It pushes people and societies to create, to trade, & to evolve. It drives innovation, competition, creativity, but unfortunately, even inequality. It is why we argue about minimum wage, housing, fuel prices, etc,. It makes sure that contentment is rare. Say, if everyone in the world earned $500k a month, do you think everyone would be satisfied? I think not. Someone out there, some people, would still complain about it and say it's not enough. Because, it really isn't enough for their lifestyle and other stuffs.

Scarcity of resources on it own attracts values and especially when demands is higher than supplies. And when there's no increase of income nomatter how much you may be earning, you'll only feel contented in the main time and when economy increases, the fiats values definitely depreciates due to no intrinsic backed value to also hold hedge against inflations if not, even if you've me so wealthy, you must be dangling to poverty because, your funds in the bank will lose values. A lot are still making that mistakes of saving in the bank for a long term instead of investing it where it can profit them income. Perhaps the needs of mdn never ends and that's why one source of income or holding your in a stable resource also leads to poverty if you're not topping up for increase.