There is a limited quantity of resources available to us. However, our desire for these resources is theoretically limitless. This discrepancy between supply and demand is referred to as scarcity. Scarcity gives rise to the challenge of allocating resources in a manner that satisfies as many basic needs and additional demands as possible.1 Abundance is the opposite of scarcity.
Prime examples of scarce resources are time and money. Frequently, people find themselves with an abundance of one, while significantly lacking the other.2 A doctor, for example, might turn an impressive salary, but work well over forty hours a week, leaving them with very little time for themselves. Every resource comes at a cost; in this situation, the doctor’s abundance of money costs them a significant amount of their time. Although some resources may be available in a seemingly vast supply, they are still considered scarce, in a technical sense, because there is only a finite quantity available.
Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.
– Lionel Robbins (1932).