Scarcity vs plenty
I’ve been thinking a lot about political rhetoric here in the US, and one thing I’ve identified in it is a dichotomy, or maybe a spectrum, between poles of Scarcity and Plenty.
A politics of scarcity says that the pie is only so big, only big enough for so many to get their share of the pie.
A politics of plenty says that we can and should make the pie bigger to include everyone.
In a politics of scarcity, you have discussion of who should get a share of the pie; everyone else is to be de-prioritized at the very least, or intentionally excluded at most.
In a politics of plenty, you have discussion of investment in society so that everyone can get a share, and of taxing those with more than enough so that those with less than enough can be included and raised up.
Some examples:
Plenty | Scarcity | |
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Health care |
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Income and work |
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Immigration |
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Housing |
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(I’m a techie living in SF, so I may have a personal stake in that last one.)
Notice how scarcity rhetoric sets people against each other. Often this means specific groups: immigrants vs Americans; techies vs non-techies. One group is cast as outsiders coming in to take what rightfully belongs to the other group.
There’s a broader level of division underneath that and independent of it, present even on issues where there aren’t two specific groups. This is the notion that people, individual people, should be in competition with each other for (jobs/housing/membership in society/etc). Those with the most “merit” (whether this is defined or not) “earn” what they are able to get. That this definitionally creates a society of Haves (who did “earn” the thing) and Have Nots (who didn’t) goes unstated and unquestioned.
I should also point out that a person can hold views that are of plenty on one topic while holding views of scarcity on another topic. For example, supporting universal health care (plenty) but also restrictive immigration policies (scarcity).
Plenty is something to strive for
The problem that I see with politics of scarcity is that focusing on parceling out the existing pie leads to the pie dwindling: Both because without investment, there is no growth to counter people’s consumption of the pie, and because many of these policies have their own costs. In cold economic terms, when people die for lack of health care, medicine, housing, or food, or are priced out or forcibly deported, they’re no longer taxpayers in your jurisdiction and they’re no longer participating in its economy.
Politics of scarcity screws both the society and the individual. In a society in which more affluent people pay more in taxes, keeping people from becoming affluent keeps the government starved for tax revenue, so it can’t use tax money to pay for growth projects or (ultimately) even basic maintenance. (Which incentivizes the rich who are on the hook for that tax revenue to push for tax cuts, further starving the government.) And the individual loses out on the freedom and enjoyment they could have if they weren’t scrabbling with all their time and energy just to continue scrabbling.
Poverty is a trap, at both ends.
Politics of plenty is politics of investment and growth: Make sure everyone has enough to live and function, both because it’s the humane thing to do, and because (again, in cold economic terms) they can then continue participating in the economy and paying taxes. The poor can become comfortable and then affluent, buoyed by the economy supporting them. And the economy/society can grow, fed by the people in it, as they rise in means and accumulate in number.
We can end poverty and homelessness, and build a welcoming, inclusive society. It’s possible. It’s imaginable. But we have to want it, we have to advocate for it, and we have to demand that our government—at every level—enact the policies to make it happen.
Otherwise, we continue grinding ourselves into dust forever.
Updated 2019-05-23 to reflect some nuance my housing politics have absorbed over the years.