Scarcity

[YSR]

It's an oft-repeated line in leftist circles that "scarcity is a myth." While this certainly seems plausible with the modern technological advances, I'd like to see some actual proof. Can anyone point me to an illustration that proves that scarcity is indeed outdated?

[enigma2517]

It gets a little murky when you ask, scarcity of what?

Could everybody really own a huge a house and a Ferrari? Obviously not.

However, there are studies about things like food supply conducted by the UN that says we could be producing enough food for something like 60 billion people right now.

www.worldsocialism.org has a lot of good concrete information about some of the worlds resources.

[Connolly]

It's an oft-repeated line in leftist circles that "scarcity is a myth." While this certainly seems plausible with the modern technological advances, I'd like to see some actual proof. Can anyone point me to an illustration that proves that scarcity is indeed outdated?

(OOoooh first post in ages :lol: )

Id say scarcity does exist. Its a very broad question which includes factors like manufactured items, the means to manufacture and produce and the raw materials needed.

Food, I imagine, can potentially be grown to satisfy all need and remove hunger. One of the main reasons the third world is the way it is now is due to overproduction. Much of the crop produced is destroyed or stored waiting for a buyer. Western nations give incentives to their farmers to produce crops which otherwise would have been produced cheaper in less developed nations, leaving these developed nations with a store of produced crops which 1. dont have any where to be exported too, 2. no buyer 3. have no where to be processed (since most resources produced from developing nations are primary and need to be transformed for use).

So, in terms of food, if crop production was rearranged and restrictions removed, we could eliminate food scarcity - providing the land, technology and climate allow us too.

Other things non-edible, which are finite, would be limited, and scarce. I must also say that scarcity is kind of relative - it depends on the need and use of the item. Radon for example, might and might not be scarce. Its a very rare material to find (radioactive too), but whether it has any use is of utmost importance - it either has no use at all (and is not scarce to human need) or has limited use and is possibly scarce. I dont know the answers to these questions.

All resources are limited and have the potential to cause scarcity, and their limited availability im sure do, but, when you look at the necessities and the important materials such as iron copper and aluminium being dumped without any recycling in place - there must be enough being produced to go around. In all fairness though, 70% of all aluminium used is recycled - even still.

We do have the technology to recycle and re-use materials, we do have the technology to create renewable and continuous (and predictable) energy, we do have the land to produce enough food for all (12 times the present population according to the WHO) and, although it dosnt effect most in the west, we do have available technology to produce fresh drinkable water.

Whats missing for its implementation and advancement to benifit all, is another social structure in the interests of all.

[Lamanov]

Originally posted by Young Stupid [email protected] 25 2006, 01:10 AM
It's an oft-repeated line in leftist circles that "scarcity is a myth." While this certainly seems plausible with the modern technological advances, I'd like to see some actual proof. Can anyone point me to an illustration that proves that scarcity is indeed outdated?

1) There are huge levels of unemployment, so there's no rational usage of workforce, 2) the upgrade in the means of production is a thing of monopoly, thus not shared by all producers equally, which damages the growth of productivity for the means of market domination, 3) even with both of these two elements existing in the present system, people can still survive and reproduce, 4) there's a huge waste of resources and labor on luxury used by the minority, or not used at all.

Imagine what the workers' councils and cooperatives in power can do on a global level: 1) free association of laborers can increase productivity of labor and decrease socially necessary labor time, 2) workers collectives can share the means of production and upgrade them in a synchronized manner.

[Demogorgon]

Of course scarcity is real. Add up everybody's wants and it will always come to more than the planet can sustain.

Leftists would do very well to acknowledge scarcity, because one of the best arguments for socialism is that capitalism has abjectly failed to deal with scarciity properly.

[rouchambeau]

I don't think it is a myth. It's only natural for people to want to have more goods while laboring less.