The ideological claim that resources are inherently and permanently insufficient to meet human needs, used to justify inequality, hoarding, and the exclusion of certain groups from access. It presents a contingent political choice—who gets what—as an immutable law of nature, framing greed as prudence and sharing as naive.
Example: "There just isn't enough to go around," said by a wealthy nation debating healthcare or housing, while immense wealth concentrates at the top. This scarcity rationalization masks artificial, politically-engineered scarcity (e.g., vacant investment properties, drug patents) to naturalize deprivation and defeat demands for redistribution.
by Abzugal February 8, 2026
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