The Downsides of Cheap Abundance by Ralph Nader

Never Let Me Go

Image by KROCKY MESHKIN via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
October 22, 2015

In college, Economics 101 is often described as the social science discipline that deals with the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. MIT Economist Paul Samuelson liked to focus on scarcity, or more specifically, the allocation of scarce resources. “Abundance” was always a pretty word with an idyllic connotation for Professor Samuelson. I often wonder why there weren’t a few classes about the real-life consequences of abundance, along with scarcity and people’s material welfare.

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