The dismal science

Just googled that phrase and one of the results is this Wikipedia link.  Until I did that, I had thought the name, dismal science, applied to economics because of the reality of scarcity.  The bedrock of all economic theory is scarcity.  At least, that is my understanding.

Hence, in order to deal with scarcity, a method of rationing is necessary.  Since there isn't enough to go around for everybody, some folks will get some, while others won't.  Don't think so?  Have you been living in a cave all your life?

One of the big political arguments in this country is over the term "equality".  What does that really mean? Does it mean everyone is entitled to the same things as everybody else?  If that doesn't provoke a knowing smile, then you must be mentally asleep.  There is no physical way to ensure equality, it just can't be done. Communist countries have tried it, but it just doesn't work. Actually, I should rephrase that.  Communist countries say that they tried it, but it just didn't work.  That's because there is no way around scarcity. A gun to somebody's head isn't going to make a good harvest.  But there are those who think otherwise until they find that it doesn't work.

The above discussion reminds me of a passage from a book I read many years ago.  The author spoke to his class about the difference in performance between some students who did really well, and those who did not. He spoke of it in terms of the gene pool, implying that some people were just not that smart.  This provoked a reaction in some people who spoke with him afterwards in a disapproving way.  It seems that the notion that all people are equal is really ingrained in some people's minds, but the fact of the matter is that people are not equal.  Believing in it doesn't change that fact, nor does imposing force to attempt to require it by law.  Facts are facts.

The lack of equality in the gene pool explains the lack of equality observed in the world.  You may be able to do things to mitigate the differences, but there isn't much you can do about stupid people.  They are going to be stupid because they can't be anything else.

There is one thing that you can do.  You can increase the bounty that exists, so that all people can have more. I think that is why capitalism works and socialism can never work.  Whereas, socialism attempts to redress something, such as inequality- which cannot be changed- capitalism, on the other hand, redresses scarcity, which can be ameliorated to some extent.

It can be ameliorated by the market.   Therefore, the way to ration scarce goods is by way of a pricing system, which rations the goods according to an ability to pay.  This arrangement allows a means by which people's behavior can be incentivized in such a way as to produce better outcomes than what might be achieved by establishing some sort of arbitrary standard which is enforced somehow.

Hence, if the marketplace isn't allowed to ration scarce goods, something or somebody else must.  That will require a political body to set up and administer the rationing, which will not produce the outcome that is claimed.  The outcome desired, which is equality cannot be enforced, for the amount of goods are always going to be scarce by definition.  If unlimited goods were available, rationing wouldn't be necessary.  But since goods are scarce, some folks are going to get more than others.  No way around that one. If the politicos are doing the rationing, they will be assured of getting more than their own fair share.  If you think otherwise, you are still asleep!

My idea of space colonization is advocated in the hopes that by conquering space, we will have more for everyone. There is enough resources in space to make everyone on Earth a billionaire many times over. It will make scarcity a thing of the past because there won't be any more scarcity. That is, no more scarcity in terms of basic necessities and, to some degree, certain items which, for the moment, are considered to be luxuries.

But it won't create utopia because there will always be scarce goods. It just pushes up the scarcity to a higher level according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs.