| Simply defined, scarcity is the condition resulting from there
being unlimited wants and limited resources available to satisfy
those wants. (from Richmond University economics class)
What does this mean?
It is trivial to quote dictionary definitions about economics terms,
without giving them a single essence of what they mean in our life.
Scarcity requires choice. It is a simple fact that we (as individuals
or groups) cannot have everything that we want. It is almost a
universal truth that you can't always get what you want (but if you
try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need...
(Sorry)).
The essence of economics is how does a society manage scarcity.
Within cities there is a scarcity of food, on farms an abundance.
While in the cities there is man power and tools in abundance while
these are lacking on the farms. The movement of scarce things from one
area to another is the essence of economics. Granted, this is a bit oversimplified but it does demonstrate the issue at hand.
In much of the industrialized world today, scarcity has taken a sideline
to other economic factors. We produce too much food, too many commodities,
and much of what is produced has no tangible material equivalent (such
as computer software, films, and songs). This change has
caused much confusion in economics that previously had a firm relationship
between material produced and its value.
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