A number of thinkers explicitly or implicitly make exactly that move: they argue that what psychologists call a scarcity mindset is not just an individual cognitive response to limited resources, but the product of a broader scarcity ideology.
That is, people feel they never have enough time, money, or attention because social institutions and cultural beliefs are organized around engineered scarcity.
Scarcity Mindset vs. Scarcity Ideology
Scarcity Mindset (Psychological Framing)
In the work of Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir, scarcity creates a cognitive tunnel:
- Immediate needs dominate attention.
- Long-term planning becomes harder.
- Decision quality deteriorates under pressure.
This framework is descriptive and largely agnostic about why scarcity exists.
Scarcity Ideology Critique (Political and Cultural Framing)
The ideological framing asks:
Why are so many people chronically short of time, money, and attention in societies with enormous productive capacity?
Its answer is that institutions and norms reproduce scarcity because scarcity disciplines behavior and sustains existing power structures.
Thinkers and Traditions That Use This Idea
Herbert Marcuse
Marcuse distinguished between:
- Natural scarcity (real material limits)
- Artificial scarcity imposed by social organization
He argued advanced societies often preserve scarcity to maintain hierarchy and social control.
Ivan Illich
Illich argued institutions designed to solve problems often create dependence and new forms of deprivation, producing chronic time pressure and reduced autonomy.
David Graeber
In works such as Bullshit Jobs, Graeber argued that large numbers of people are trapped in socially unnecessary work, generating time scarcity despite technological abundance.
Jonathan Crary
In 24/7, he describes a culture that erodes sleep and attention by treating every waking moment as potentially monetizable.
Byung-Chul Han
In The Burnout Society, Han argues that modern subjects internalize constant pressure to optimize themselves, creating self-imposed scarcity of time and mental bandwidth.
Kate Raworth
In Doughnut Economics, Raworth critiques economic assumptions that normalize endless competition over scarce resources.
Core Claims of Scarcity Ideology Critique
- Material abundance is technologically possible.
- Institutions distribute insecurity unevenly.
- Competition is treated as morally necessary.
- Time pressure becomes normalized.
- Attention is commodified.
- People internalize these conditions as personal inadequacy.
Three Forms of Manufactured Scarcity
Money Scarcity
Even in rich economies, many people live paycheck to paycheck because of wage structures, debt, and weak social protections.
Time Scarcity
Long work hours, commuting, and administrative burdens create chronic time poverty.
Attention Scarcity
Digital platforms compete for user focus, turning attention into an economic resource.
Ideological Messages People Absorb
Scarcity ideology often teaches:
- “There isn’t enough to go around.”
- “You must constantly compete.”
- “Rest is laziness.”
- “Your struggles are personal failures.”
- “Security must be earned continuously.”
These beliefs encourage people to accept insecurity as normal.
Relation to the Abundance Agenda
The abundance agenda focuses on procedural barriers that prevent production.
Scarcity ideology critiques the broader worldview that:
- Treats shortages as inevitable,
- Rewards competition for limited resources,
- And normalizes perpetual insecurity.
So the two perspectives are compatible:
- Abundance agenda: Why don’t we build enough?
- Scarcity ideology critique: Why do we organize society around perceived lack?
A Concrete Example: Housing
Scarcity Mindset
A renter facing high costs becomes preoccupied with making rent.
Scarcity Ideology
Policy and cultural assumptions prioritize property values and treat housing as an investment asset rather than a universal need.
Related Terms
Different traditions use similar concepts:
- Manufactured scarcity
- Artificial scarcity
- Neoliberal subjectivity
- Time poverty
- Attention economy
- Structural precarity
Bottom Line
Yes—many thinkers argue that the scarcity of time, money, and attention is not merely a psychological state but the result of a scarcity ideology: a set of institutions and beliefs that reproduces insecurity even in materially wealthy societies. In this view, the “scarcity mindset” is often a symptom of a deeper political and cultural system.
People call the abundance agenda “rebranded neoliberalism” because they believe its core message—remove barriers, streamline regulations, and let more building happen—sounds very similar to older market-oriented arguments that emphasized deregulation and growth.
Whether that criticism is fair depends on how you define neoliberalism and how you interpret abundance.
What Critics Mean by “Neoliberalism”
In contemporary political debate, “neoliberalism” usually refers to a worldview associated with leaders like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, and later centrist figures such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.
Common features include:
- Faith in markets
- Deregulation
- Privatization
- Free trade
- Skepticism of labor power and industrial policy
- Acceptance of inequality as a byproduct of efficiency
Critics worry that abundance rhetoric revives some of these themes in more progressive language.
Why the Abundance Agenda Triggers This Reaction
1. It Often Emphasizes Deregulation
Abundance advocates argue that:
- Zoning rules block housing
- Environmental review can delay projects
- Permitting processes slow infrastructure
To critics, this can sound like a familiar claim:
Regulations are the main problem; remove them and prosperity will follow.
That resembles a core neoliberal move.
2. It Focuses More on Supply Than Redistribution
Abundance arguments often stress:
- Build more housing
- Generate more energy
- Expand production capacity
Critics on the left argue that this can underplay:
- Wealth concentration
- Union power
- Public ownership
- Social welfare
Their concern is that increasing supply alone does not ensure broadly shared gains.
3. It Can Sound Friendly to Business Interests
Developers, technology firms, and some investors may benefit from looser constraints on construction and innovation.
Critics ask:
- Who captures the profits?
- Which safeguards are weakened?
- Who bears the risks?
This fuels suspicion that “abundance” could become a pro-corporate agenda.
4. It Sometimes Treats Politics as a Technical Problem
The abundance agenda often emphasizes state capacity and better institutional design.
Critics argue that this can understate how entrenched interests intentionally preserve scarcity.
From this perspective, shortages are not just due to bad procedures; they are sustained by power.
5. Many Prominent Supporters Were Previously Associated with Market Liberalism
Writers such as Matt Yglesias and some policy organizations linked to “supply-side liberalism” have roots in traditions that overlap with center-left market liberalism.
That intellectual continuity makes some critics skeptical of the rebranding.
Why Supporters Say It Is Not Neoliberalism
Advocates of abundance argue that it differs from neoliberalism in important ways.
1. It Supports an Active State
Abundance generally favors:
- Large public investment
- Industrial policy
- Public R&D
- Strong state capacity
That is very different from the small-government instincts of classic neoliberalism.
2. It Focuses on Delivery, Not Retrenchment
The message is not “government should do less,” but:
Government should be able to build and deliver effectively.
3. It Is Compatible with Social Democracy
Countries such as Denmark or Sweden combine robust welfare states with policies that ensure ample housing and infrastructure.
The Core Disagreement
The debate often comes down to which problem is seen as primary.
Abundance View
The central challenge is underproduction.
Left Critique
The central challenge is unequal power and ownership.
Both can be true:
- Society may not build enough.
- Powerful groups may capture the gains.
Housing as an Example
If a city legalizes more apartments:
Abundance Supporters Say
More supply should lower rents over time.
Critics Say
Without tenant protections and social housing, benefits may be uneven and developers may profit disproportionately.
This illustrates why some see abundance as incomplete rather than wrong.
The Strongest Critique
The most persuasive version of the critique is:
Abundance is valuable, but if it prioritizes deregulation and growth without addressing ownership, labor power, and distribution, it risks reproducing neoliberal outcomes under a new label.
The Strongest Defense
The strongest defense is:
Building more housing, energy, and infrastructure is essential regardless of ideology, and progressive goals are impossible if institutions cannot deliver material results.
Bottom Line
Some people describe the abundance agenda as rebranded neoliberalism because it emphasizes deregulation, growth, and supply expansion—ideas associated with earlier market-oriented politics. Supporters counter that abundance is fundamentally about state capacity and effective public delivery, not laissez-faire economics.
The real divide is whether scarcity is seen primarily as a failure to build or as a consequence of concentrated power. Many observers believe a durable program needs both: stronger productive capacity and stronger protections to ensure the benefits are widely shared.
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