In an event I attended this fall, a speaker claimed “there is no such thing as scarcity.” The absurdity of the claim should be obvious, but it’s a symptom of a common form of thinking. It’s denial of basic economic principles.

I’m not an economist. I don’t know a lot about demand curves and monetary reserves. There are some things, though, that everyone should understand about economics. I’m talking about understanding on the everyday level, just as we should have basic knowledge of the physical sciences. We should know that being hit by a massive, fast-moving object will have a big impact, that water expands when it freezes, that touching a high-voltage electrode is dangerous. Similarly, in economics we should know that resources exist in limited amounts, cost increases drive prices up, and shifting costs doesn’t make them go away.

Most people don’t think much about these things. Some actively reject basic economic principles, even when it means rejecting common sense. The “no such thing as scarcity” line is an example. Another is the notion that an increased minimum wage constitutes a “pay raise.” They can’t or won’t grasp that when the mandated wage goes up, something else has to yield. Employees will get fewer hours, be worked harder, or lose their jobs, or what they deliver will become more expensive or less available. Economics says there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but they imagine that governments can magick free lunches into existence. They’re economics deniers.

“Free” services on the Internet boost the illusion that economics is optional. People can access all kinds of information without paying for it. Actually, they pay, in the form of being exposed to advertising and having the content they see manipulated. If they use an ad blocker (as I do), they pay in inconvenience, as some sites don’t work properly or refuse access. Some sites offer a paid level of access with extra features. I’ve been paying for Dreamwidth and some other services for years, because I think they’re worth it. Many people, though, think they should get them for free.

Star Trek makes this idea into a futuristic reductio ad absurdem. Supposedly money is unnecessary because you can get anything you want from a replicator, including more replicators. Don’t ask where all the energy to power the replicators comes from. Don’t ask why Starfleet can’t defeat any enemy just by churning out starships without limit. Don’t ask why the streets aren’t overflowing with stuff people replicate on a whim.

People would laugh at a story that posited machines running forever without a power source, but they think economic resources can come out of nowhere. Eventually they discover the real cost of expecting “free” stuff.