Can you have your cake and eat it, too? This week we will be talking about the concept of scarcity. There are a few terms that economics has taken from the geneal use, and imbued with special meaning, none are more key than the term “scarcity.” To a lay person, scarcity means there’s not enough of something to meet everyone’s needs. To an economist, scarcity means that something is finite, that it takes time to acquire, and that your consuming it precludes someone else from consuming it, possibly even your future self. Once you’ve eaten your cake, you no longer have that particular cake.
What separates truly abundant goods from scarce ones, and how do we turn one into another for our own profit?
How do misapprehensions about the concept of scarcity shape our modern politics?
What rules of economics, if any, apply to non-scarce goods?
Please join us, as all these questions and more will be discussed this Monday.
Viewings
Scarcity in the economic sense: when i drink your milkshake, you can’t drink your milksake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_hFTR6qyEo
Why can’t we have everything we want? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0od0t45oeY
The economics of non-scarce resources (OPTIONAL, but worth checking out) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnY_vl7Ids8
Listenings
and I want it now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFDcoX7s6rE
Readings
There will always be scarcity https://mises.org/library/star-trek-wrong-there-will-always-be-scarcity