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    <title>Reaching post-scarcity</title>
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      <p><a href="/">Index</a></p>
      <article>
        <header>
          <h1>Reaching post-scarcity</h1>
          <small><time>2025-08-15</time></small>
        </header>
        <p>
          An argument I've heard against socialism/communism/anarchism is that
          any such society would only work once we've reached
          <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-scarcity">post-scarcity</a>.
          The mechanism that would make post-scarcity happen, they argue, is
          advancements in technology and automation of work. Tech and
          automation is advancing under the current dominating economic system
          and we only need to keep it functioning well enough until we can
          produce everything everyone needs, and that will bring about a
          better, maybe post-capitalist (?) society.
        </p>
        <p>
          Capitalism does help advance technology and automation, no question.
          Will it bring post-scarcity? I doubt it. Capitalism needs scarcity.
          The beloved formula of <i>supply and demand</i> does not work if
          supply is saturated.
        </p>
        <p>
          There are many examples of artificial scarcity today: planned
          obsolescence, throwing away unsold goods, patents, copyright, (lack
          of) right to repair... Even unemployment is artificial scarcity of
          work, a concept essential for capitalism to function. Abandoning
          scarcity for the good of mankind seems an unlikely goal of capitalism.
        </p>
        <p>
          Assuming that capitalism would somehow, when production is efficient
          enough, cease to be or take on some other form where every person's
          needs are met, there's another issue: Capitalism requires economic
          growth.
        </p>
        <p>
          This growth has, thus far, been closely associated with greater
          exploitation of resources. We
          (primarily
            <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_North_and_Global_South">the global north</a>)
          are
          <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/consumption-based-co2#consumption-based-co2-emissions-per-capita">using more resources</a>
          than
          <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Overshoot_Day">what is sustainable
            for a single earth</a>. Seeing as the global north has not yet
          reached post-scarcity, how would capitalism be able to bring humanity
          to post-scarcity
          <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/climate-change?Metric=Temperature+anomaly&Long-run+series=false&country=OWID_WRL~ATA~Gulkana+Glacier~Lemon+Creek+Glacier~OWID_NAM~South+Cascade+Glacier~Wolverine+Glacier~Hawaii~Arctic+Ocean">before the climate collapses</a>?
          I see no other possible conclusions than:
        </p>
        <ol>
          <li>Post-scarcity is not possible, or</li>
          <li>Post-scarcity is not possible under capitalism.</li>
        </ol>
        <p>
          The latter seems more likely.
        </p>
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      <h2>Thoughts</h2>
      <ul>
        <li><a href="/blog/2025-08-15_post-scarcity.html"><small>2025-08-15: </small>Reaching post-scarcity</a></li>
        <li><a href="/blog/2022-05-09_this-website.html"><small>2022-05-09: </small>This website</a></li>
      </ul>