The Economics of Scarcity

[Zackz5000]

Humans are greedy that's why we are never satisfied with what ever we have, the wealthiest man on Earth is still unsatisfied with everything in his owns.

The economy is also changing the price of things humans wants and need it's never at the same price as days goes or decreases in price instead the price keep going up that's why you see human striving so hard to get more and not be stagnant in life. As we grow up we keep facing alot of responsibility, but with the amount of money mentioned by OP if i can be earning $500k every months i will definitely be over satisfied with such amount it is out of greed that makes most human not to get satisfied at times.

[lizarder]

Humans are greedy that's why we are never satisfied with what ever we have, the wealthiest man on Earth is still unsatisfied with everything in his owns.

The economy is also changing the price of things humans wants and need it's never at the same price as days goes or decreases in price instead the price keep going up that's why you see human striving so hard to get more and not be stagnant in life. As we grow up we keep facing alot of responsibility, but with the amount of money mentioned by OP if i can be earning $500k every months i will definitely be over satisfied with such amount it is out of greed that makes most human not to get satisfied at times.

That's true because most humans are never satisfied with what they get and vice versa they will pursue other things that are bigger in order to satisfy their lust. When they have one car, then they will think of getting two cars and so on. That's the human life on this earth because no one is satisfied with the previous achievements they got. That is a market law because the price of goods will definitely change either caused by inflation or recession or other activities that can encourage one item to rise in the market.

The amount of income you mentioned might be comfortable when living in my country because it is included in the category of minimum wages and even slightly larger than usual. But human nature may never be limited and they will continue to pursue more for the hope to achieve a much better life or in other words pursue wealth in any way.

[Solodoski]

The resources for human will always be scare, so the best way to survive is to make do with the available resources. How is this possible,  you need to concentrate on you needs rather than your want. Most times your needs are the basics things of life, while ways are mainly luxury.
This whole discussion centers on how you manage the limited resources to accomplish your needs, and we also have to realize that needs cokes before want.

[slapper]

Scarcity economics explains reality and, at the same time, it generates that reality. So if we have as our deepest belief that "resources are limited," we create systems that make that belief true. Planned obsolescence, patent monopoly, artificial supply restrictions. We're not managing scarcity. We are producing it to make money

You are correct that human desire is the actual infinite variable. But it's not really about wanting more. It's about wanting different. The anthropological documentation indicates that hunter-gatherers were working 15-hour weekends and that they were highly satisfied with their life. They didn't lack ambition. They had no comparison mechanisms. No Instagram, no Forbes list, no Tesla in the driveway belonging to the neighbor

Individual strategy? Audit what you are truely lacking. Majority are time-starved and attention-starved as they pursue money as a way of buying both time and concentration. Optimal individual reaction to systemic scarcity is not more adequate resource distribution. It is questioning which resources actually matter to your specific existence. Satisfaction is not hard as there are limited resources. This is uncommon as the markets prescribe our desires on our behalf

[Oluwa-btc]

Scarcity is normal and natural;it shows that human wants are unlimited,but resources are limited.Scarcity is unavoidable, because it's what pushes us to create other alternatives,improvise and launch better choices.That’s why economists would always say scarcity is the foundation of economics,it’s always there,shaping choices and managing resources.

[junder]

The resources for human will always be scare, so the best way to survive is to make do with the available resources. How is this possible,  you need to concentrate on you needs rather than your want. Most times your needs are the basics things of life, while ways are mainly luxury.
This whole discussion centers on how you manage the limited resources to accomplish your needs, and we also have to realize that needs cokes before want.

The most common problem faced by most people is desire. They will often pursue it, even if it's forced. For example, their limited income, which is only enough to cover basic needs, still forces them to pursue it, sometimes even reducing their needs.
I agree that needs are greater than wants, so everyone should prioritize their needs over their wants.

[Keevoid]

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 ?

Scarcity will always exist, but how we respond to it makes the difference. On an individual level, I think the best way to deal with it is by learning how to manage what we have, developing skills, budgeting wisely, and finding creative ways to maximize limited resources.
 
Beyond that, collaboration and partnership play a huge role. When people come together to share knowledge, trade value, or build communities around efficiency, it reduces the impact of scarcity. It’s less about having everything and more about using what’s available effectively.

This philosophy has helped me so much, especially when it comes to appreciating the little resources I have in life.

[Chilwell]

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.

You just define scale of preference, and the reason why we are having a lot of failures in our entire life we don't always consider this scale of preference from economics, honestly to me i have tried it and it is working for me perfectly. I equally agree with you that if you talk about WANT it always beyond our capacity, could you imagine a person who does not have a bicycle a is planning to have a Lamborghini, you can see this gap is very wise and it's not going to be possible because a reasonable human being who thinks deeply will never have this kind of thought. NEED are always surrounding us because those are the things we equally need immediately  and we can afford with comfort.

[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.

You just define scale of preference, and the reason why we are having a lot of failures in our entire life we don't always consider this scale of preference from economics, honestly to me i have tried it and it is working for me perfectly. I equally agree with you that if you talk about WANT it always beyond our capacity, could you imagine a person who does not have a bicycle a is planning to have a Lamborghini, you can see this gap is very wise and it's not going to be possible because a reasonable human being who thinks deeply will never have this kind of thought. NEED are always surrounding us because those are the things we equally need immediately  and we can afford with comfort.

The major difference between this two is that WANT is luxury, while NEED is survival or necessity. At this point people only think wants instead of needs, if you focus on your need your contented and will do exploit by the time those who went for wants (luxury) are done with wants and struggling with needs then you will be dealing on luxury because you have settled your needs and have no much to do with needs are they are taken care of by your investments. Once the mentality of live a life you seem to not be able to afford and you will afford it, comes in your head you are bond to fail except things changes.

[Scarlett_23]

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 ?

In this era of capitalism, the rich have become richer and the poor are becoming poorer. Apart from the rich countries, the people in the poor countries are suffering from poverty. Therefore, the poor need to be more conscious about their spending. They should not spend unnecessarily except on essential things. They should make a budget and spend. And by increasing their skills, they should look for new jobs and develop a saving mentality.

But there are also some people among us who are in need of wealth. Because the more they have, the more they will want more. Their lack will never be fulfilled until they can control their needs.

[letteredhub]

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 ?

The highest level of solution to the world scarcity which might not essentially eliminate scarcity but could draw a half closed cotton to the problem is in massive vigorous production  and minimizing to a certain number in each family size to prevent the astronomical increase in world's population against resources that are not increasing in correspondence to the human population.

Say, individual every needs can be controlled some of the unhealthy economic competitions and wars that is experienced across borders would have no place in the world but unfortunately, every human wants to be in possession of what they can't even account for in ownership.

[XOOMBOX]

The resources for human will always be scare, so the best way to survive is to make do with the available resources. How is this possible,  you need to concentrate on you needs rather than your want. Most times your needs are the basics things of life, while ways are mainly luxury.
This whole discussion centers on how you manage the limited resources to accomplish your needs, and we also have to realize that needs cokes before want.

That actually makes a lot of sense and I feel the same way. Resources will always be limited for humans because this is essential for economic and human development. But I think it is necessary to balance needs and desires both in our life. Because needs keep us alive and desires gives us joy in life. If we only focused on fulfilling our needs, we would not have new ideas to grow. So, little wealth limit us but they teach us to think about new invention and other creative activities. So, if we go ahead with fulfil our desires, then the quality of life will increase and society also moves forward.

[Keevoid]

.
But, what do think is the best way us as individuals can best work on the issues of scarcity ?

Scarcity is something we all live with daily, whether we notice it or not. I think the best way to deal with it as individuals is through prioritization and self-awareness, knowing what truly matters and managing our resources around that. We can’t control how scarce things are globally, but we can control how we use what we have.

Also, scarcity doesn’t just apply to money or material things; it’s also about time, attention, and energy. The more we learn to allocate these wisely, focusing on value instead of excess, the less we feel the pressure of “not having enough.” In a world that constantly pushes us to want more, contentment and intentional living might just be our best response to scarcity.