We all want more than we can get. We want good health and long lives. We want
spacious and comfortable homes. We want running shoes and jet skis. We want
the time to enjoy our favorite sports, video games, novels, music, and movies; to
travel to exotic places; and just to hang out with friends. Human wants exceed the
resources available to satisfy them, and this fact is the source of all economic ques-
tions and problems.
Scarcity
Our inability to satisfy all our wants is calledscarcity. The ability of each of us to
satisfy our wants is limited by the time we have, the incomes we earn, and the
prices we pay for the things we buy. These limits mean that everyone has unsat-
isfied wants. The ability of all of us as a society to satisfy our wants is limited by
the productive resources that exist. These resources include the gifts of nature, our
labor and ingenuity, and the tools and equipment that we have made.
Everyone, poor and rich alike, faces scarcity. A student wants Beyonces latest
album and a paperback but has only $10.00 in his pocket. He faces scarcity. Brad
Pitt wants to spend a week in New Orleans discussing plans for his new eco-
friendly housing and he also wants to spend the week promoting his new movie.
He faces scarcity. The U.S. government wants to increase defense spending and
cut taxes. It faces scarcity. An entire society wants improved health care, an
Internet connection in every classroom, an ambitious space exploration program,
clean lakes and rivers, and so on. Society faces scarcity.
Faced with scarcity, we must make choices. We must choose among the avail-
able alternatives. The student must choose the album or the paperback. Brad Pitt
must choose New Orleans or promoting his new movie. The government must
choose defense or tax cuts. And society must choose among health care, comput-
ers, space exploration, th
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