For most of human history, scarcity has been our greatest teacher. We innovated because we had to. We created because we lacked. Survival demanded ingenuity.
But what happens when scarcity is no longer the central story?
Visionaries like Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX, and Peter Diamandis, the futurist who founded the XPRIZE Foundation and wrote Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, argue that the world is moving toward an era where energy, information, and even material goods will become increasingly plentiful. Solar power, artificial intelligence, and automation are bending the rules of economics. What once seemed finite may soon feel infinite.
It sounds like utopia. Yet abundance carries its own dangers. Culture has long warned us about this. In Wall-E, humanity achieves effortless living only to lose purpose and vitality. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World imagined a society where endless pleasure eroded meaning. Even today, our overexposure to social media and infinite entertainment shows how too much can numb rather than enrich.
So how do we actually thrive in abundance? It begins with discipline: the ability to choose well when everything is available. In a world of infinite options, clarity of values matters more than access. It also demands taste and discernment: not simply consuming more, but learning to recognize what is good, what is beautiful, what is worth your time. To flourish in abundance also means anchoring purpose beyond consumption. Contribution—whether through work, art, relationships, or community—becomes the new source of meaning. And finally, it requires cultivating resilience against indulgence, understanding that abundance tempts us toward comfort, but growth still comes from challenge.
If the last century rewarded those who mastered industrial skills, and this century rewards those who master digital ones, then perhaps the next advantage will be psychological: the ability to live in a world where you can have almost anything, and still choose to make it count.
Abundance is coming. The real question is whether we’ll grow into it—or be consumed by it.