scarcity

noun, plural scar·ci·ties.

1. insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth.
2. rarity; infrequency.

noun plural -ties

1. inadequate supply; dearth; paucity
2. rarity or infrequent occurrence

n.c.1300, from Old North French escarcete (Old French escharsete), from eschars (see scarce). The basic problem on which classical economic theory is built: simply, that human wants will always exceed the resources available to fulfill those wants. This tenet was challenged by the rise of what John Kenneth Galbraith described as the affluent society.