Extending Social Resource Exchange to Events of Abunance and Sufficiency

Abstract

This chapter synthesizes SRT and SAS-theory, enabling SRT to analyze abundance and sufficiency in tandem with scarcity for analyzing resource exchange. First, we outline how SRT rests on an assumption of scarcity as the primary resource state causing exchange motivations and the problems caused by that assumption. Second, we used SAS-theory to formalize Scarcity, Abundance and Sufficiency (SAS) in an agnostic manner, tying them to different behavioral strategies that individuals use when engaging with a specific resource state. Third, we formalize the relation between individual and systemic level SAS. This relation is influenced by entitlement functions, allowing the distinction between an individual’s experience of absolute and quasi-SAS. This difference is essential, as quasi-SAS implies different exchange motivations and strategies than absolute SAS. Lastly, we demonstrate the formalized relations through two examples of abundance-based motivations, and how quasi-scarcity requires different explanations than absolute scarcity.

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson och Carl Wennerlind. Scarcity: A history from the origins of capitalism to the climate crisis

“…Det är lätt att känna igen exempelvis klimatforskaren Johan Rockströms idé om att mänskligheten måste bli "planetskötare" i deras resonemang. en sådan ansats kräver också nya sätt teoretisera resurshantering på ett sätt som inte utgår ifrån ymnighetsknappheten, vilket öppnar för en mängd mer sociologiska och, inom nationalekonomin, ofta styvmoderligt behandlade ansatser (se även Bååth 2018;Bååth & Daoud 2023).…”

A theory of famines—A response

“…At the micro level (i.e., persons, households and groups), scarcity has one additional driving mechanism beyond available resources and human requirements at the macro level: entitlements. Entitlements refer to ownership relations and the legitimacy under which they can be exchanged between individuals (Bååth & Daoud, 2023;Sen, 1981, p. 1). 2 That is, even if there is macro sufficiency of food (where available resources are just about equalling requirements) or macro abundance of food (when there are more than enough available resources than requirements), some individuals' entitlements are insufficient to enable them to access available food resources (Daoud, 2011a).…”

“…The possible combinations would be (1) R is increasing and E is failing for some social groups; (2) R is increasing and E is failing for some social groups and A is decreasing; (3) E is failing for some social groups; and (4) E is failing for some social groups and A is decreasing. SeeBååth and Daoud (2023) for further refinements.5 One can refine the macro-micro distinction to cover nested systems (e.g., individuals in households, households in cities, cities in regions, regions in countries and countries in continents, and all embedded in one planetary system). SeeDaoud (2018) for further details.6 Excess mortality estimates range from 1.5 million(Famine Inquiry Commission, 1945, pp.…”

Information economics examined through scarcity and abundance

“…Despite this strong emphasis on scarcity, abundance has started to receive increasing attention by economists (Bååth & Daoud, 2021;Dugger, 2009;Peach & Dugger, 2006;Rifkin, 2014;Sheehan, 2010;Taleb, 2012), sociologists (Abbott, 2014;Hoeschele, 2010), philosophers (Swan, 2016(Swan, , 2017, legal scholars (Desai & Lemley, 2022;Madison et al, 2022), and communication scholars (Boczkowski, 2021). 3 Some attempts to conceptualize abundance echo early developments in economics.…”

“…Considering the relative perspective, abundance occurs when resources are available in larger amounts compared to wants, which may lead to negative prices (Bååth & Daoud, 2021). However, it is possible that the distribution of output and income precludes a part of society from enjoying abundance and pushes individuals into scarcity associated with poverty (Sheehan, 2010).…”