The writings of Erik Gustaf Geijer allow us to distinguish between two modes of thought in representations of scarcity: the idealization of scarcity as the “simple life” and its problematization in discourses on poverty. For Geijer, the specific environmental conditions of Sweden were useful to explain Swedish history; for example, the periods of scarcity resulting from a long winter become the foundation for economic practices such as storage and planning.
DOI: doi.org/10.5282/rcc/7142