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Introduction

Culture is the paradigm of common beliefs, values, behaviors, artifacts and customs that people in a community use to deal with life situations and in interacting with others. It passed on from one generation to another through education. Scarcity is the lack of necessary and basic needs in people’s life. These wants and needs are limited in supply making people's life difficult. According to Anthropology, scarcity is mainly attributed to cultural reasons, this explains why some societies have more abundant resources while in others, the same resources are scarce. The difference is brought about by ways of doing things for example means of production, technology, beliefs, attitudes, lifestyles and values. Which vary among communities as discussed below (Goodbun, Till & Iossifova, 2012).

Methods of production

It entails ways in which people in a certain society produce goods to satisfy their own needs. These ways include tools, machines and appliances used. Societies that are culturally behind using traditional tools like wooden djembes, sticks, and holes to plough their farms. Tools used are slow, and inefficiencies make a production of abundant goods impossible hence causing scarcity. Countries that are developed use modern tools in farming, for example, mould board plough, bulldozers, threshing machines, tractors and other efficient tools which make work easier and fast. This ensures large amounts of goods are produced hence no scarcity (Goodbun, Till & Iossifova, 2012).

Land tenure systems

The land is a major factor in the production of goods and resources with alleviating poverty and scarcity in people’s life. It provides a ground for agriculture, source of minerals, oil, and water. Land tenure is a way in which people in different societies own and possesses the land. Different societies have different ways of owning land, for example, some can buy land and practice any activities on it while others land cannot be bought. However, it is owned by a family and passed from one generation to another. Land ownership methods constrain people on what to do in terms of production, limiting them economically hence scarcity. This applies to societies whose culture does not allow them to buy land as they please. (Tellegen, 2014).

Gender beliefs

Gender defines whether one is male or female. People are important factors in alleviating scarcity since they are sources of labor both mechanical and mental. Societies differ in labor roles hence affecting productivity. Female members of societies are not allowed to work in some cultures since they believe they are weak and non-productive. Such beliefs have minimized production in many sectors since in reality females are productive and performers like their male counterparts. Societies whose labor policy does not discriminate females are more endowed in terms of an abundance of their needs since more hands equal more production. (In Bandelj & In Wherry, 2011).

Values

Values are vital beliefs and practices common in a society which are applied in their daily lives. Different people have values which are distinct. Sharing of resources and material needs is one of the important values which affects scarcity. Societies who uphold this trait help cope with scarcity by distributing their resources to those less endowed. This practice combats scarcity among members of society. Capitalism is a value practiced in other societies where individuals accumulate resources and wealth and do not care about the less privilege. This concept renders some people poor while others enjoy abundance. Scarcity is prevalent in such societies since every “person is concerned about their welfare without considering those in need. (Goodbun, Till & Iossifova, 2012)”.

Customs

These are practices and way of doing things which vary among people in societies. They include inheritance patterns. Inheritance is a major cultural concept which influences scarcity. Societies have different ways in which wealth and property of a deceased person are passed on. Some cultures distribute wealth and property among the daughters and sons of the deceased, while others, the deceased leaves behind a written will leaving their belongings to people who are not necessarily their family. The presence of inheritance affects scarcity in two ways. Those who are awarded the wealth are left to resources to satisfy their needs if properly and sustainably used, reducing scarcity. Inheritance can contribute to scarcity by making the trustees lazy since they adopt the erroneous attitude of not working by believing they have inherited enough. As time goes by, the inheritance gets depleted by continual use without replacement which eventually leads to scarcity (In Bandelj & in Wherry, 2011).

Property ownership

The property is owned differently in societies. It includes how a property is acquired, who is entitled to own property and what amount of property one can own. Property and scarcity are interrelated since the “more one”, has “the less their”, wants. In certain societies, a property is only owned by the male gender and no female is allowed to own or acquire property. This practice increases scarcity since only a few members of the society can own property making the overall amount less. Societies where both males and females can own property suffer less scarcity since everyone has the right to acquire property according to their needs. Societies which restrict levels of property ownership also limit production potential of people leading to scarcity. Regardless of the amount, every member of the society should be allowed to own property provided it has been acquired according to the set legal procedures. Property ownership as a culture is a major determinant of scarcity (Tellegen, 2014).

References

Goodbun, J., Till, J., & Iossifova, D. (2012). Scarcity: Architecture in an age of depleting resources. London: John Wiley & Sons.

In Bandelj, N., & In Wherry, F. F. (2011). The cultural wealth of nations. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.

Tellegen. (2014). Society & Its Environment. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

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