Global Scarcity – A Challenge to Technology

Abstract

An assumption of general scarcity is at the heart of conventional economics. Binary economics, however, denies this assumption. Professor Amartya Sen argued that starvation is primarily due to lack of money in the hands of the starving and not the absence of food. To him, human practices and institutions are at fault. According to him improved technology can overcome the problems of food shortage. Our cited evidences suggest that human activities and natural phenomena, by constantly destroying resources, lead to global scarcity and will also pose a challenge to technology. In this paper, the real world is briefly looked at. We look at the availability of land, food supply, energy, natural causes of resource destruction and the weaknesses of some instruments that have been applied by many nations against scarcity. Certain signs such as inflation, corruption and wars suggest that global scarcity is there and that the growing technology may not be adequate to insure continuous growth in the long-run. Entrepreneurship that creates technology, may be subject to diminishing returns, just like any other factor of production.