Scarcity is a lie

Scarcity is a lie. There are enough resources to meet everybody’s needs, but white supremacy systems were not designed to meet human needs. Lack, scarcity, and poverty are manufactured by these systems in order to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of the very few. Reject the lie of scarcity and rediscover your shared interest in reclaiming the abundant resources that can fulfill every human need. (From CRC’s Divestment Principles)

Like so many other white people, I was raised to be staunchly individualistic and self-reliant: Work hard and protect what you have – there’s always someone out there who is trying to take it away from you. Never show weakness, never ask for help.

But as an adult, I’ve seen the beauty of community care, mutual aid, and asking for and receiving help. I’ve seen organizations like Community Ready Corps feed whole families with their gift card giveaways; I’ve seen folks pull together during wildfire season to make sure that unhoused and disabled folks have the protections they need to breathe safe air; and I’ve seen white folks divesting of their wealth so that others can live with the dignity that white supremacy tries to strip from them.

And yet, white supremacy’s focus on the individual – how can I succeed, how can I do this on my own, how can I make sure to get as much as possible – is something I am still working to undo in myself.

The best way to internalize this truth – that scarcity is a lie, that there is enough for everybody, and that we need each other – is through concrete practice. I practice divestment. Muscle memory is built through repetition. So I keep practicing.

As white people, we collectively hold the majority of the world’s wealth. The reality is that we have the power to change our beliefs and our practices, to turn our back on individualism and toward the abundance of community. It’s only once everyone’s needs are taken care of that any of us will be truly safe – and that’s something worth working towards right now. That work, that concrete practice, is how we untangle ourselves from the myths of white supremacy.

If you are also a white person working through feelings of scarcity, pushing against individualism, or just trying to show up and deepen your anti-racist practice: join CRCAA’s Divestment Circle! We can’t do this work alone.

– Nikki, CRCAA organizer

NOTE: If you missed our November 2023 Divestment Circle, there will be more circles in 2024. Email us at info@the5methods.org to learn more.