The Myth of Scarcity and the Truth of Global Abundance
I asked ChatGPT a simple question:
“What if all the world’s resources were distributed equally to every human — how much would each person get?”
The answer stunned me. Shocked me.
Because it wasn’t based on utopian fantasy or futuristic technology. It was based on what humanity is already using today.
In 2024, we consumed about 106 billion tonnes of natural resources — metals, minerals, fossil fuels, food, timber, plastics, and construction materials.
If we shared that equally among 10 billion people — the projected global population in the world described in my book Waking Up — every person would receive:
10.6 tonnes of resources per year
That’s 10,600 kilograms per person, every single year.
Let’s turn that into real, tangible things.
🏠 What a Family of Four Could Receive Every Year
Let’s imagine these 10.6 tonnes of resources were shared among a typical family of four. What would they be able to build, eat, power, and own — every single year — if we simply distributed the world’s existing consumption fairly?
🏡 Housing
- Each person receives enough material to build a small home every 10 years
- So a family of four could build one full home every 2.5 years
- That’s the equivalent of a modern 80–100 square meter (860–1,075 sq ft) home — with solid structure, insulation, plumbing, windows, and roof.
- In other words: each year, they could build 40% of a full, comfortable family house.
Housing insecurity would vanish — not through charity, but through simple logic and fairness.
🛣️ Roads
- Each person gets enough for 5 meters of paved road per year
- So a family of four could build 20 meters of road annually.
- In just five years, that’s 100 meters of road — enough for a private driveway, bike lane, or access road to connect with others.
🍽️ Food for All — and Then Some
A family of four would receive over 16,000 kg of food per year — that’s more than 43 kg per day.
That’s more than enough to:
- Feed four people abundantly every single day. And some animals.
- Eliminate hunger in every household
- Still have surplus — even accounting for spoilage and waste.
On a planet this productive, the fact that people still starve should be unthinkable. And yet, here we are.
⚡ Powering a Comfortable Life
Each family would receive enough energy resources annually to:
- Drive several thousand kilometers
- Power lighting, refrigeration, cooking, heating, cooling, and digital devices.
- Run all essential appliances without strain.
No one needs to live in darkness.
No one needs to burn firewood to boil water or freeze in winter — unless our system forces them to.
📱 Consumer Goods in Stunning Abundance
With current global output, each family of four would receive over 4 tonnes of consumer goods every year — that’s the weight of a large SUV, made up of electronics, clothing, furniture, and household appliances.
Just for perspective, every year a family could get one of the following:
- ~14,000 smartphones
- ~1,700 laptops
- ~60 refrigerators
- ~2,800 pairs of jeans
- ~84 dishwashers
- ~400 TVs
- ~24 motorcycles
- ~3 cars
- ~2 small boats
I know, this seems insane and unbelievable. But these are numbers chatGPT has produced based on hard factual stats found online.
Obviously, no one needs this much.
That’s the point.
🤯 We’re Not Running Out — We’re Overflowing
If every person on Earth received an equal share of what we currently extract and produce, we’d all be living in high abundance, comfort, security, and dignity.
This isn’t some green fantasy. It’s already happening — we just aren’t doing it fairly.
And here’s the kicker:
This is based on our current, wasteful, inefficient, throwaway system.
Everything truly needed — and much of what we desire — could be freely available to all.
Not in the future. Not after some miracle. But now.
The Earth already gives us more than enough.
The only reason we don’t see it is because we’re living under the wrong system.
Capitalism isn’t malfunctioning — it’s functioning exactly as designed:
to make the rich richer by extracting value from the rest.
If we simply shared fairly, designed wisely, and prioritized human need over profit,
there would be no scarcity — only abundance, dignity, and freedom.
And perhaps the most astonishing part of all this?
🌱The Planet Is Still Here — And That’s Miraculous
Despite our extreme overconsumption — 106 billion tonnes of resources extracted every year — the Earth is still here.
We are still here.
Forests still stand. For now.
Animals and insects still survive. For now.
The oceans are here still.
Many wild ecosystems continue to breathe, against all odds.
It’s a testament to the planet’s resilience… and a source of real hope.
But it must not become a resting pillow.
This level of extraction is not sustainable. Not because humanity needs all of it — but because the monetary system demands it.
We don’t consume because we lack.
We consume because the system profits from turnover, waste, and artificial growth.
We mine, cut, burn, and discard — not to meet human needs, but to feed the engine of profit.
So let this simple truth echo loud:
The world has more than enough. But the economy doesn’t let us act like it.
And that is why we need a new way forward — one rooted in purpose, fairness, and intelligent design.
That’s the world I imagine in Waking Up.
That’s the conversation this book hopes to begin.
If you are curious about what this future might look like then you can find out in the book that is available now:
