Abundance
Is the world full of abundance and plenty for all? Or do we live in a world of scarcity, where someone must lose if another is to gain.
"Abundance is about looking at life and knowing that you have everything you need for complete happiness, and then being able to celebrate each and every moment on earth." -Wayne Dyer
Abundance, the Primal World Belief
Abundance versus scarcity is one of the 26 Primal World Beliefs, and belief in the abundant universe and society is a necessary component to creating a harmonious and peaceful world. The scarcity mindset is what drives in-group/out-group identities and the eventual justification for all wars.
With future technology like artificial intelligence and 3D printing driving down the cost of many goods, and we already produce far more food than we need to feed all people, the age of scarcity is in the past. The sooner we acknowledge this, the sooner we can make abundance work for everyone.
Abundance, the Book
Abundance is in the zeitgeist in 2025 due to the publication of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's book Abundance. This book has been controversial in progressive circles because it has the support of many billionaires, who many see as a sworn enemy.
This is an example of a scarcity mindset being applied to the abundance book. If billionaires support it, then the rest of us must be getting scammed. There is a bit of contrarianism in the mix, too. We forget that sometimes people can get rich by building things we want and need, and everyone in society wins when we do. We can also do two things at once--building universal healthcare and a social safety net using progressive taxation, even as we work with the billionaires on the abundance stuff.
The abundance agenda is simply the concept of good, efficient government that works for the people instead of against them. If we are going to require compliance with a maze of regulations, we need to also fund the services that can help guide people through that maze and ensure it's as simple as possible, adding minimal time and cost to the project. This benefits everyone, and will significantly help restore trust in institutions. When bureaucracy become adversarial, trust significantly erodes.
If libertarians and progressives can agree on a model of efficient government that the vast majority can live with, we can finally get past our political gridlock and start making real progress towards a happier, brighter future of abundance.
Abundance, the Musical
Songs of abundance.