Crisis of Scarcity?

Are we now “in crisis” and “entering an age of scarcity”? You can see anything you like in a crystal ball. But almost without exception, the relevant data–the long-run economic trends–suggest precisely the opposite. The appropriate measures of scarcity–the costs of natural resources in human labor, and their prices relative to wages and to other goods–all suggest that natural resources have been becoming less scarce over the long run, right up to the present.

The Ultimate Resource II: People, Materials, and Environment

–Julian Simon

University of Maryland, College Park