Scarcity of resources is an illusion. Rather the problem is a scarcity of knowledge and the wisdom to use it.

How we educate ourselves and manage our relationship to our environment (social and physical) is the key to global economic development.

It is true that in a world of scarce resources, it’s not possible for everyone to win. But it is possible to increase the pool of resources, and the distribution of resources has an impact on that growth.

Imagine a world where all resources went to a single individual. Not much incentive to improve things, is there?

Now imagine a world in which all resources were distributed equally to all humans. Again, not much incentive to improve things.

The trick is figuring out the Goldilocks distribution–not too inequal, not too equal–to maximize resource growth. My guess is that a relatively inequal but fair distribution generates the best possible results.

The concept of a safety net for economic have-nots makes a lot of sense even if you don’t feel any compassion for the poor.

Widespread suffering tends to express itself in revolutionary behavior, and I personally have no desire to be put before a firing squad.

Even the Montgomery J. Burns-style evil rich understand that it’s cheaper to pay for a safety net than it is to raise your own private army.

I think what you’d do is provide financial assistance and retraining resources. What you want to avoid, however, is a generous welfare state that encourages idleness and resentment on the part of the working.

Instead, go for a miserly welfare state (http://chrisyeh.blogspot.com/2008/05/modest-proposal-to-solve-poverty.html) that provides an uncomfortable safety net.

And such a safety net can probably be made general enough to serve everyone, so you don’t have to come up with an elaborate infrastructure to ensure that benefits only go to those laid off by targeted industries.

In a world with limited (scarce is the term economists use, I think) resources how can everyone win?