Limited Resources

Consider these resource constraints:

• First, while time continues to march forward, each day contains only 24 hours--no more. Once an hour passes it cannot be recovered. Time is limited.


• Second, while the planet Earth might seem vast, it is a finite lump of matter. With exception of the daily bombardment of solar energy and occasional meteor strikes, the total amount of productive matter available on the planet was set billions of years ago.


• Third, while the universe is also vast, and potentially boundless, if physicists are correct then the speed of light imposes a limit on the accessible universe. An unlimited universe might exist, but if we cannot see it and cannot reach it, what difference does it make?

Unlimited Wants and Needs

Needs are best thought of as the physiological requirements to remain alive--such as food, water, and oxygen. Wants can be considered the psychological desires that enhance well being and generate happiness--such as entertainment, fun, and self-esteem.

Physiological needs are unrelenting. Breathe in, breathe out, then do it all again a few seconds later. Eat today, then grow hungry again tomorrow. As long as people are alive, physiological needs persist. People can never be totally, completely, once-and-for-all satisfied.

Psychological wants also appear to be boundless. Duncan Thurly has a thirteen inch color television, then he wants a nineteen inch set, then he wants a twenty-seven inch set with a built-in video cassette recorder, then he wants a fifty-four inch rear projection big-screen television, and then he wants a forty-two inch high-definition plasma display. Of course beyond that, he might want to watch the actual live taping of his favorite television show (Brace Brickhead, Medical Detective), then he wants to join that cast, then write several episodes, then direct several more, then take over the production company, then become a major movie mogul, then be elected President of the United States, and then rule the world.

It never seems to end. People always want more.

Implications

Consider these four notable implications of the scarcity problem:

• Limited Production: There are not enough resources to produce everything that everyone wants.


• Foregone Alternatives: The same resources cannot be used to produce two different goods at the same time.


• Sacrifice: Some people must do without some of the goods and services that they want or need.


• Opportunity Cost: Doing one thing, producing one good, performing one activity, means other things cannot be done, other goods cannot be produced, and other activities cannot be performed.