Scarcity: What do you think?

Last updated on: August 24, 2013 at 2:50 pm by Christopher Smith

Scarcity: What do you think? 2013-08-24T14:50:58-05:00 Christopher Smith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A brief passage from the Slow Church manuscript (specifically the part on economics).

I’d love your input on this… Are there enough resources to sustain creation as a whole? And regardless, how do we know, if there are or are not? Is this a question that can only be answered theologically?

Despite the opulent abundance of creation, the world’s economic systems are built upon a foundation of scarce resources. Scarcity is explicitly or implicitly given primacy of place in many definitions of economics as a social science. For example, the “most commonly accepted current definition” is from Lionel Robbins: “Economics is a science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.”[i] The standard economic story is that if a resource is perceived to be scarce and the demand for it is high, then people will be willing to pay more for it, and the price will go up. There are situations of real and apparent scarcity in the world; people die of hunger due to famines and complex socio-economic systems that prevent the movement of sufficient food from places that have too much to famine areas. We also see the effects of apparent scarcity when prices skyrocket for the latest toy or video-game that every kid wants for Christmas and that stores can’t keep in stock. What we are primarily interested in, however, is the big picture: are there enough resources in creation for the sustenance of all life? This question is a complex one and we can create vast systems that support our particular answer, but ultimately we can only answer in faith. Although answering in negative is a useful mythology for protecting the interests of wealthy nations and individuals, we believe that the biblical narrative compels us to answer in the affirmative: God loves creation and has provided and will provide the sustenance that we need.

[i] Backhouse Roger E. & Steven Medema 2009 “Retrospectives: On the Definition of Economics” J of Economic Perspectives V. 23 #1 p. 225. (emphasis added)

Previous Post

August 23, 2013

Howard Thurman: Slow Church and Social Liberation

Next Post

August 28, 2013 The Table of Brotherhood: On Having Adversaries.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abundance Advent Books Community Conferences Conversations Ecology Economics Emergent Eucharist Family Food Gratitude Happenings Health history Hospitality Justice Lent Meditations Neighborhoods News Peace Place Poetry Politics Sabbath Scripture Stories Technology The Table Theology Uncategorized What is Slow Church? Youth

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 March 2016 June 2015 March 2015 February 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group believes in a "Memorial" instead of a traditional communion?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Catholics Anglicans Lutherans