2009 Lecture 03

The Ethical and Political Foundations of Scarcity

Scarcity is taken as the defining principle of economics. It is supposed to be objective, factual, positive element of reality.

This lecture argues that making scarcity the central principle of economics requires making a commitment to certaikn ethical and political principles. It is a result of social agreements, rather than an objective reality.

A more detailed and in-depth analysis is given in my paper on "Normative Foundations of Scarcity" [link]