Beyond Scarcity — A Moment to Reimagine Value

There was a time when salt was wealth. In fact, in Ancient Rome, soldiers were sometimes paid in salt — the word salary even comes from salarium, meaning “salt money.” Whoever controlled salt controlled trade, armies, even nations. 

Today, salt is on every grocery shelf — still useful (and I find it delicious), but no longer currency. Its value didn’t disappear; its scarcity did.

Money, too, is built on shared belief. It holds value only because we’ve all agreed it does. But what happens when the world begins shifting beyond scarcity — when technology and human creativity start to make the essentials of life more abundant?

Scarcity as Teacher
For generations, scarcity has been the teacher of this simulation we call life. It taught us resilience, innovation, generosity, and even compassion. We’ve learned what it means to give when resources are tight, and to value what we work hard to obtain. Scarcity shaped human storylines — but perhaps it isn’t meant to be our forever story.

The New Tools of Abundance
Artificial intelligence, automation, renewable energy, and global networks are starting to change the equation. Tasks that once took hours, days, or even lifetimes can now be done in moments. Knowledge, once hoarded in libraries or ivory towers, is accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Energy, food, and even healthcare are moving closer to breakthroughs that could make “not enough” less defining.

These shifts don’t erase the importance of human contribution — they amplify it. As scarcity loosens its grip, the question becomes: What do we choose to give?

From Money to Contribution
If money is just a symbol of value, perhaps its role is fading as our collective story evolves. In a post-scarcity world, what becomes valuable isn’t accumulation, but contribution. What we each bring to the table — creativity,  service, compassion, perspective — may become the new “currency.” Not because it can be traded for survival, but because it expands the richness of human life.

The Ripple We Can Start Now
We don’t have to wait for global systems to catch up. We can begin living as if enoughness is already here:

• By practicing generosity where we can.
• By honoring contribution as much as consumption.
• By redefining wealth not just as what we have, but what we share.

Each small act — a gift, a service, a willingness to create without hoarding — ripples outward. It models a new economy of value, one that AI and technology may help us scale in the decades ahead.

A New Story of Value
Salt once shaped civilization, until it didn’t. Money may feel immovable now, but it too is a story we’ve agreed to tell. Perhaps this moment — with AI accelerating possibility — is our chance to write a new story. One where enoughness is the baseline, and contribution becomes the measure of what we value most.